H. Roe Bartle

Harold Roe Bennett Strudevant Bartle (June 25, 1901 - May 9, 1974)

Conclusion

H. Roe Bartle served so many organizations and had so many honors and awards bestowed upon him during his lifetime that it boggles the mind. He received honors and distinguished service medals from Great Britain, Ecuador, Belgium, Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, Venezuela, Peru, Guatemala and Mexico. When Harry Truman asked him to serve as a regional public official in 1951, Chief Bartle reportedly had to resign from 57 boards he was a member of in order to comply with the non-conflict of interest requirement of the job. He was a trustee for hospitals, foundations and helped found such things as the Kansas City Boys Club. He served on boards for religious and osteopathic colleges, corporations, banks, trade commissions and more. After everything I found and read about him, I concluded Chief Bartle was a towering example of what an American citizen should be. He deeply cared about his community, his fellow man and lived a life of extraordinary service to others. Maybe above all he genuinely cared about children. He had instilled in his Scouts for years that when your family, church, community or country called upon you that you fulfilled the call. A group of former Scouts visited him one day to say the city needed honest leadership and asked him to run for mayor. He made no political deals on the way there. His only campaign promise was "I will take my honor, integrity and ability to City Hall and nothing else ." When he was elected he retired from his career in Scouting. This giant of a man had a profound influence on many thousands of people that lasts to this day. He counted among his friends the high and mighty including U.S. President Harry Truman yet took the time to help the common man and his beloved Kansas City in so many ways. The legacy of his life and the wide ranging effects of it are almost immeasurable. In the Christmas movie, "It's A Wonderful Life," the angel Clarence said "Each man's life touches so many other lives...". His statement rings true above and beyond in the case of H. Roe Bartle. "Chief" Bartle lived and remains an almost mythical legend of scouting and perhaps of life.

Related Topics:
Great Britain - Ecuador - Belgium - Chile - Uruguay - Brazil - Venezuela - Peru - Guatemala - Mexico - Harry Truman - Conflict of interest - Trustee - Hospital - Religious - Osteopathic

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