H. Roe Bartle

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

Scouting

While Chief Bartle accomplished much during his lifetime, Scouting was his passion. He was a professional scouter who knew how to lead and possessed magnetic qualities. He entered professional Scouting at age 21 in 1922 as the Scout Executive for the state of Wyoming. It was at the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming that he spent a great deal of time learning about the values and culture of the American Indian. Bartle was inducted into the Northern Arapaho Tribe as a blood brother and was sponsored into it by a Chief named Lone Bear. Roe Bartle was given the name of his sponsor, "Lone Bear". He arrived in Saint Joseph, Missouri in 1925 and remained until late December, 1928 when he left and came to Kansas City which became his home for the remainder of his life. He was the Council Executive in Kansas City for 27 years. While he was the executive in St. Joseph he had appointed a Roman Catholic man as a commissioner. After he did a Ku Klux Klan mob came calling one night and demanded that he get rid of the man. His answer to them was "If any three or four of you want to step forward, I'll show you who is running Scouting in St. Joseph." The mob left. The commissioner stayed. Chief Bartle never took a salary while serving as a Council Executive, he donated it back to the council each year to be used to further the cause of Scouting. It is hard to imagine someone working a full-time job for free and doing it over thirty years but he did.

Related Topics:
Wyoming - Wind River Indian Reservation - American Indian - Arapaho - Chief - Saint Joseph, Missouri - 1925 - 1928 - Roman Catholic - Ku Klux Klan - Salary

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