Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Jesse Helms
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
==Childhood and education (1921β1940)== [[File:Jesse Helms, Sr., quotation, Wingate, NC IMG 4260.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Advice from Jesse A. Helms Sr., to his son; [[Jesse Helms Center]] in [[Wingate, North Carolina]]]] Helms was born in 1921 in [[Monroe, North Carolina]], where his father, nicknamed "Big Jesse", served as both fire chief and chief of police; his mother, Ethel Mae Helms, was a homemaker. Helms was of English ancestry on both sides.<ref name="Link 2008 ch 1">Link (2008) ch 1</ref> Helms described Monroe as a community surrounded by farmland and with a population of about three thousand where "you knew just about everybody and just about everybody knew you."<ref name=Helms3>{{cite book|title=Here's where I Stand: A Memoir|pages=3β5|first=Jesse|last=Helms|year=2005|isbn=978-0375508844|publisher=Random House}}</ref> The Helms family was poor during the [[Great Depression]], resulting in each of the children working from an early age. Helms acquired his first job sweeping floors at ''The Monroe Enquirer'' at age nine.<ref name=Helms3 /> The family attended services each Sunday at First Baptist, Helms later saying he would never forget being served chickens raised in the family's backyard by his mother, following their weekly services. He recalled initially being bothered by their chickens becoming their food, but abandoned this view to allow himself to concentrate on his mother's cooking.<ref name=Helms3 /> Helms recalled that his family rarely spoke about politics, reasoning that the political climate did not call for discussions as most of the people the family were acquainted with were members of the [[Southern Democrats|Democratic Party]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Here's where I Stand: A Memoir|page=9|first=Jesse|last=Helms|year=2005|isbn=978-0375508844|publisher=Random House}}</ref> Link described Helms's father as having a domineering influence on the child's development, describing the pair as being similar in having the traits of being extrovert, effusive, and enjoying the company of others while both favored constancy, loyalty, and respect for order.<ref>Link, p. 23.</ref> The elder Helms asserted to his son that ambition was good, and accomplishments and achievements would come his way through following a strict work ethic.<ref>Link, p. 20.</ref> Years later, Helms retained fond memories of his father's involvement with his youth: "I shall forever have wonderful memories of a caring, loving father who took the time to listen and to explain things to his wide-eyed son."<ref>{{cite book|title=Here's where I Stand: A Memoir|page=10|first=Jesse|last=Helms|year=2005|isbn=978-0375508844|publisher=Random House}}</ref> In high school, Helms was voted "Most Obnoxious" in his senior yearbook.{{sfn|Link|2008|p=25}} Helms briefly attended Wingate Junior College, now [[Wingate University]], near Monroe, before leaving for [[Wake Forest College]]. He left Wingate after a year to begin a career as a [[journalist]], working for the next eleven years as a newspaper and radio reporter, first as a sportswriter and news reporter for Raleigh's ''[[The News & Observer]]'', and also as assistant city editor for ''[[The Raleigh Times]]''. Helms retained a positive view of Wingate into his later years, saying the school was filled with individuals that treated him with kindness and that he had made it an objective to repay the institution for what it had done for him.<ref>{{cite book|title=Here's where I Stand: A Memoir|page=18|first=Jesse|last=Helms|year=2005|isbn=978-0375508844|publisher=Random House}}</ref> While attending Wake Forest, Helms left work early and ran a few blocks to catch a train every morning to ensure he was on time to his classes.<ref>{{cite book|title=Here's where I Stand: A Memoir|pages=15β16|first=Jesse|last=Helms|year=2005|isbn=978-0375508844|publisher=Random House}}</ref> Helms stated that his goal in attending was never to get a diploma but instead form the skills needed for forms of employment he was seeking at a time when he aspired to become a journalist.<ref>{{cite book|title=Here's where I Stand: A Memoir|page=17|first=Jesse|last=Helms|year=2005|isbn=978-0375508844|publisher=Random House}}</ref>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)