Remembrances of Jesse Helms

A lifetime of friendship, if not agreement

Bill Friday, former UNC system president:

"We started a friendship as college freshmen at Wake Forest in 1937 and maintained that friendship through a lifetime. We didn't always agree, but Jesse always did what he could to help me and the university.

"He could be very hard and antagonistic at times, all of which has been openly and publicly reported. But we were very open and cordial with each other."

When Helms was doing commentaries on WRAL, he had Friday fill in for him in five episodes.

"We knew where each other stood. There was no point in being antagonistic with one another."

For what it's worth, Friday said, Helms told him he never actually uttered the famous remark about putting a fence around Chapel Hill.

"He was always very loyal to this state and to the people of North Carolina."

A leadership example

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, Republican from Winston-Salem:

"Jesse was a mentor and good friend, and his contributions to North Carolina and to the nation were countless. We will miss him tremendously. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dot and the entire Helms family."

A servant and patriot

Bill Cobey, a former lawmaker and former state Republican Party chairman:

"He was such a patriot, and to die on July 4 ... After his family, he loved this country."

Cobey said he will never forget the day he was in the lounge on the House side of the U.S. Capitol when he saw Helms leading a family through the hall. Helms, Cobey said, had found the family, whom he had never met before, on the Senate side and personally showed them how to get to the House side.

"He saw himself as a servant to his constituents. Even his critics always ended with 'at least Jesse is honest.' "

"It's a great day to celebrate his life. He was a great patriot."

An able statesman

Gov. Mike Easley:

"Whether you liked his politics or not, he was a national force able to deliver for his constituents. ...Whether we were working together to stop international drug trafficking or opposing each other on the campaign trail, he was always a gentleman to me."

'An American hero'

David Martin, developer of South Hills Mall:

Martin said Helms helped him get 100 acres rezoned in 1961 and paved the way for the Cary shopping center. After that, Martin watched Helms' career with interest.

"He's responsible for the iron curtain falling."

As a tribute, Martin had "Jesse Helms 1921 - 2008, An American Hero" put up on the plaza's sign for I-40 motorists to see.

A simple loss

Art Rimbert, 57, of Southern Pines, who was on the grounds of the state Capitol Friday:

"It was a real heartbreaker for us."

A conservative icon

Jean White, 27, homemaker from Wake Forest:

"Whether you agreed or disagreed with his views, you couldn't deny that he was a champion in his own right. He made up for his indiscretions in race relations later in life, and no matter if you supported his views back then or today, his actions demanded respect."

White called Helms a conservative icon. "They just don't exist anymore," she said.

A humanitarian

Rock star Bono of the band U2, who worked with Helms on the issue of AIDS relief in Africa:

"There are two million people alive in Africa today, because Jesse Helms did the right thing."

'A very divisive figure'

Carol Anderson, 57, owner of Vaguely Reminiscent on Ninth Street in Durham:

"He was a very divisive figure. He was an old-school divisive figure. There was no room in the tent for those who didn't believe like him."

A thoughtful human being

Jimmy Broughton, Helms' former chief of staff:

Broughton said he will always remember the personal side of Helms -- the side that was rarely covered in the news.

One of his favorite memories occurred in early 1994. Helms was on his way to add some amendments to a bill. As his staff got him ready, Helms picked up one of the phones on his desk and called Sen. Paul Simon's office. Broughton was surprised to hear his boss ask for Simon, a liberal Illinois Democrat.

Simon wasn't in, so Helms left a message.

"He said, 'Tell Paul he needs to go out and fill up his tire before he goes home to his wife tonight,' " Broughton recalled.

Broughton said Helms' death on July 4 is fitting, "Tonight, I will watch the fireworks and think about Sen. Helms."

A straight-shooter -- and a namesake

Claude Sitton, former editor of The News & Observer and a frequent critic of Helms:

"He practiced what he preached, always. He believed that what he was doing was right, as far as I know.

"To my knowledge, he never put his finger in the public till and was honest about his beliefs, which were not my beliefs. But he went his way, and I went mine."

Sitton recalled his retirement party, in 1990, at the home of Frank Daniels Jr., then-publisher of The N&O. When Sitton arrived, he saw a huge white-and-brown horse in the driveway, a gift from Daniels. There was a sign on the horse's back that read, "Sitton, this is Jesse. You've been riding Jesse for 22 years, no need to stop now."

Sitton, 82, who lives in Oxford, Ga., said he still has the horse.

"He's just like his namesake."