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ROBERT H. HARTLEY

Deputy Grand Master, 1995

BIOGRAPHY

From TROWEL, Spring 1989, Page 15:

When Robert H. Hartley was installed as Grand Lecturer in December, he not only brought to Grand Lodge his expertise in Masonic ritual but, equally important, he brought his cultivation of the Spanish tongue that earned him the award of Massachusetts Spanish Teacher of 1988, by the Mass. Foreign Language | Association. The award given him on October 29 is a one-month, all-expense-paid trip to Spain this summer.

Appointed Grand Lecturer by M. W. Albert T Ames, Bro. Hartley had been the Spanish interpreter for Grand Lodge and the Supreme Council, Scottish Rite. Now in his 17th year as a teacher in Seekonk High School, the 39-year-old native of Dighton is chairman of the foreign language department and the curriculum steering committee of the Seekonk public schools. In 1974, he established the Alfonso X. El Sabio chapter of the Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica at Seekonk High School, where he is still an advisor.

A 1966 graduate of Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School, Bro. Hartley pursued the study of foreign languages at Central Connecticut State College where he received a B. S. degree in 1970. He received a Master's degree in Spanish at the Univ. of Massachusetts in 1975. Seekonk Principal Doreen Meeker stated, "He is a truly exceptional teacher who has provided students with many years of quality service."

Bro. Hartley has successfully arranged his foreign language classes to fit the ability of the students. "The problem with the way language is being taught," he pointed out, "is that many schools lump students of varied abilities in the same class, thus causing students with limited ability to become frustrated." He noted that more than 70 percent of graduating seniors have passed two years of language, an increase of 15 percent over previous years. "Every student can learn a foreign language if allowed to practice with a class geared to his or her limits."

Bob Hartley is no stranger to Spain. He has chaperoned students on summer trips and is looking forward to his return this summer when he can renew some old acquaintances with friends and also visit some areas he has not seen. Educational organizations of which he is a member include: the American Assn. of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, Seekonk Educators Assn., Mass. Teachers Assn., National Education Assn., American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages, South Coast Foreign Language Department Heads Assn., and the Mass. Foreign Language Association.

Raised in Charles H. Titus Lodge of Taunton in 1973, he was Master in 1978-79 and was appointed D. D. G. M. of the Taunton 28th District in 1984-85. He has been Secretary of his Lodge since 1979 and is Junior Deacon of the 25th Lodge of Instruction. He is the training instructor for the 17th, 25th, 37th, and 41st Lodges of Instruction, and an instructor for the 25th. He is a member of St. Mark's R. A. Chapter and Taunton Council Royal and Select Masters, Scottish Rite (Valley of Boston), the Masonic Secretaries' Assn., and the Past District Deputy Grand Master's Association.

A lay reader, treasurer, member of the board of trustees, and a Sunday School teacher in the Trinity United Methodist Church in Taunton, he is the son of Harold and Inez Hartley of North Dighton. A brother, Gary, is also a Past Master of Charles H. Titus Lodge. From the turn of the century, the Hartley families in the Fall River and New Bedford areas have been renowned for their famous pork pies, ever since Thomas Hartley came to Fall River from England in 1900. Their story is told in the October 1988 issue of Yankee Magazine.

Distinguished Brothers