Introduction
DR. DAVID D. HELM JR. was born in Camden NJ on May 31, 1895 to David and Barbara Helm. The Helm family had been in Camden as early as 1867. David Helm Sr. was a butcher, and his grandfather, Charles Blaine, was also a butcher, as were his uncles Harry and Walter Helm. The David Helm family lived at 413 Walnut Street in Camden at the time of the 1900 Census; Harry and Walter Helm lived next door at 415 Walnut. Grandparents Charles and Louisa lived at 31 North 3rd Street at that time, along with five adult children— daughters Mary Clara, and Emily; and sons Joseph and George, who also worked as butchers in the family business. Another son of Charles Helm, Dr. Charles Blaine Helm, appears to have been away at school at that time. He would become a veterinarian in the city of Camden, serve as the city’s purchasing agent in the 1920s, and also was the co-owner of the 1919–1920 Eastern Basketball League championship team, the Camden Crusaders.
When he registered for the draft on June 5, 1917 David Helm had received his doctorate. He was still single, and still lived at 413 Walnut Street in Camden.
David Helm married around 1924. His wife Lizzett soon bore a son, Albert Harry, late in 1925. When the census was taken in 1930, Dr. Helm was working as the health inspector for the city of Camden. The family then lived at 514 Spruce Street. The family was still at that address in 1947. By this time Dr. Helm held the title of Director of the city’s Board of Health, a title previously held by Dr. Arthur L. Stone, who had passed in 1945. As director of Camden’s health department, Dr. David Helm added pertussis and tetanus immunization to the city clinics and school program and eliminated rabies from the area through rigid control of stray dogs. He worked closely with long-time health department clerk Lewis Lee.
Dr. Helm appears to have moved to Audubon NJ by 1956. His son followed him into medicine. Dr. Albert Harry Helm was assistant cardiologist at Cooper Hospital in the mid-1950s.
World War I Draft Registration Cards for David and Charles Helm
WWI draft registration cards for Dr. David D. Helm Jr. and Dr. Charles B. Helm
60 Overcome While at Work in RCA Victor; Probe Started
Camden Courier-Post —
Stricken by Food in Camden Factory
New York Ship Employees Sent to Hospital From Ptomaine
WORKERS OF 4 FIRMS LISTED AMONG VICTIMS
Sandwiches Served by Philadelphia Caterer Believed to Be Responsible
Nearly 100 Camden factory and shipyard workers were poisoned yesterday after eating food contained in box lunches.
More than 60 of the workers, stricken at their machines in the RCA Victor Company plants, were rushed to the company’s dispensary and local hospitals. Many are reported in serious condition.
At the New York Shipbuilding Company others became ill after partaking of the lunches. Four are in West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital recovering from the effects of the poisoned food. At least three more were stricken at the leather plant of the John R. Evans Company, Second and Erie Streets.
In Philadelphia more than a score of laundry workers were carried to physicians and hospitals, all said to be victims of contaminated foods. Physicians believed all would recover.
Dr. David D. Helm, city sanitary inspector, believed the ptomaine condition resulted from the eating of egg sandwiches.
Dr. Helm, along with Sergeant Rox Saponare and detectives, last night questioned Ray Konst, 3313 D Street, Philadelphia, owner of a Philadelphia box lunch concern.
Put Ban on Sales
Following the quizzing, Konst was ordered to refrain from further selling of the box lunches in Camden, pending the result of an investigation. He also must obtain complete approval from the Philadelphia Board of Health before being allowed to resume operations here.
The boxes, distributed by Konst, are labeled “The Majestic Lunch.” Konst declared that never before had complaint reached him as to the quality of his food.
“I have ordered distribution of Majestic Lunches in Camden be stopped,” Dr. Helm said, “until the investigation has been completed and the health authorities in Philadelphia to whom all evidence will be given because they supervise this company, give them a clean bill of health.”
Two of the box lunches have been obtained by police and will be chemically analyzed today by order of Dr. A. L. Stone, city health officer.
Konst assured police he would assist in any manner possible to learn the source and nature of the foodstuff causing the illness.
Woman First Victim
The first illness occurred shortly after 3 p. m. at the RCA Victor plant. A young woman was overcome after partaking of a glass of water. She was taken to the dispensary where Dr. Reuben L. Sharp said she was suffering from ptomaine poisoning.
Within a short time several other girls and men in various sections of the plant were stricken. Some fainted at their machines and had to be carried to the dispensary.
Soon Dr. Sharp and his staff of nurses had more than they could handle. Private automobiles were pressed into service and many of the victims taken to Cooper Hospital, where stomach pumps were used to clear their bodies of the poisonous food.
One man, B. H. Poole, 40, of 144 North Sixtieth street, Philadelphia, was admitted and his condition described as serious.
Others were treated and sent to their homes, where many were attended last night by their personal physicians.
Girl Describes Scene
Miss Clara Schaeffer, 19, of 226 South Fifth Street, Gloucester, employed at the RCA Victor, told of the scenes near her shortly before she became ill and was rushed to Cooper Hospital for treatment.
“I saw many of the girls running upstairs to the restroom,” Miss Schaeffer said at her home, where she is confined to bed, “but paid little attention to them, although several had to be assisted up the steps.
“Suddenly I felt sick at my stomach and had a desire for a drink of water. I asked the girl next to me to get me a drink, but she was unable to leave her machine at the time and I walked to the fountain.
“After taking the drink everything seemed to whirl about and I thought I was going to faint. I told my foreman and he ordered me taken to the dispensary.
“When I arrived there the place was filled and someone took me to Cooper Hospital, where the doctor gave me some medicine and I was taken to my home.”
Miss Schaeffer said she grew worse after she arrived home and her parents summoned a physician.
Fall at Machines
Others told similar stories of the scenes as worker after worker was stricken. Plant officials said many had fallen where they stood, the ptomaine attack seizing them so suddenly they had no time to summon aid.
Konst told Detectives Benjamin Simon and John Opfer that he sells more than 200 box lunches in Camden daily. He has agents at the RCA plants, New York Shipyard and at the leather companies.
He also sells more than 500 box lunches daily in Philadelphia.
The lunch yesterday was made up of a cheese sandwich, an egg and lettuce sandwich, a piece of apple pie, cupcake and fruit. Some of the lunches contained tuna fish sandwiches.
Man’s Condition Serious
According to Dr. Helm, all of those taken ill had eaten the egg sandwiches, some had partaken of the tuna fish and others of the cheese.
One man became ill when he ate half an egg sandwich given him by a fellow employee late in the afternoon.
The laundry workers affected were employed at the Forrest Laundry, 1225 West Columbia Avenue, Philadelphia.
One of these, John Gilligan, 52, of 1923 East Willard Street, was taken to St. Luke’s and Children’s Homeopathic Hospital in a critical condition.
Police were checking other hospitals to learn if additional victims were unreported.
Partial List of Poisoned
Camden Courier-Post —
A partial list of the nearly 100 persons poisoned by food at local factories yesterday follows:
RCA VICTOR EMPLOYEES:
Treated at Dispensary:
Barbara White, 3136 North Twenty-ninth Street, Philadelphia.
Vera White, 825 North Sixth Street, Philadelphia.
E. B. Bauers, 1255 Kenwood Avenue.
Mary Mossman, 3163 Amber Street, Philadelphia.
Anna Cullen, 2124 Memphis Street, Philadelphia.
Clyde Lape, 562 Mickle Street.
William H. Scott, 222 Crestmont Terrace, Collingswood.
M. E. Wagner, 581 Carman Street.
A. Burman, 1466 Kenwood Avenue.
Miss M. Brennan, 2141 North Dover Street, Philadelphia.
Emma Randelbach, Lindenwold.
John Derry, Camden.
Helen Shevlin, 854 South Fifth Street.
Miss Shaefer, 2825 Amber Street, Philadelphia.
Treated at Cooper Hospital:
B. H. Poole, 40, of 144 North Sixtieth Street, Philadelphia. Admitted to hospital.
Miss Violetta Brown, 21, Brooklawn.
Miss Clara Schaeffer, 226 South Fifth Street, Gloucester.
Dorothy Kurtz, 32, of 308 Penn Street.
Alfred Shaefer, 42, of 932 Cooper Street.
Gertrude Carl, 17, of 820 Brown Street, Gloucester.
Peter I. Cassell, 42, of 353 East Cambria Street, Philadelphia.
Willard Stipezell, 25, of 3918 Camden Avenue.
Frank Di Nardo, 24, of 222 Second Street, Schenectady, N. Y.
NEW YORK SHIPYARD EMPLOYEES:
Treated at West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital:
Howard Fryer, 42, of 214 Bergen Street, Gloucester.
William Shaeffer, 54, Woodbury Heights.
Philip Saponaro, 33, of 422 Evans Street.
John Joyce, 32, of 310 Manton Street, Philadelphia.
2 Ice Dealers Held as License Violators
Camden Courier-Post —
Camden’s drive against unlicensed ice dealers last night netted two alleged violators of the city ordinance.
On complaint of Dr. David D. Helm, city health inspector, Alphonso D’Alonzo, 45, of 804 South Fourth street, and Isaac Anderson, 29, colored, of 837 Bridge avenue, were arrested by Policemen Howard Harden and George Clayton. They will be arraigned in police court today.
5 Bitten by Mad Dog in North Camden Treated for Rabies
Camden Courier-Post —
STATE TEST SHOWS ANIMAL INFECTED, DR. HELM INFORMED
Drive to Capture All Strays Pushed by Police Chief Colsey
LICENSES NECESSARY
The dog which ran amok and bit five persons in North Camden Saturday night was suffering from rabies.
That was announced yesterday by Dr. David D. Helm, Jr., city sanitary inspector, after receipt of a telegram from the state board of health in Trenton. Examination of the head of the dog revealed the animal had rabies.
The five victims of the dog who received Pasteur treatment at Cooper Hospital pending examination of the dog, will continue to be treated, Doctor Helm said.
The victims were: William Wagner, 65, of 1554 Forty-eighth Street, Pennsauken township, bitten on leg. Miss Florence Smith, 19, of 833 Grant Street, bitten on wrist and leg. William Luers, 3, adopted child of Mrs. Frank Smith, 833 Grant Street. William Winstanley, 11, of 835 Grant Street, bitten on hands. Thomas Owens, 12, of 631 North Ninth Street, bitten on right forearm and left hand.
At the same time Doctor Helm announced he and Police Chief Arthur Colsey were co-operating to capture and destroy all unlicensed and stray dogs and cats found on city streets.
Diamond in Dutch—So Is City Over Bill for Treating Horse
Camden Courier-Post —
Question—Can Municipal Employe Collect for Coming to Aid of Fellow ‘Worker’? Then, Too, Is Animal Worth Fee of $3?
By CHARLES L. HUMES
Diamond, Camden’s famous white cemetery horse, has eye trouble.
And so has Camden, or so it seems.
Anyhow, Diamond has the city legal department in a quandary, Commissioner Hartmann’s office in a turmoil and Dr. David D. Helm in—or out—a $3 bill for services rendered.
It all started when the eyes of the big work horse started to water. Dr. Helm, who also is sanitary inspector, was summoned and treated the animal, after which he turned in a bill for $3 to Commissioner Frank J. Hartmann, Jr., in whose department “Diamond” now works.
There is where the city got its eye trouble. The commissioners thought they would put the bill on Dr. Helm’s “eye”—and for that matter they may still do
Bill for Diamond Has City Worried
(Continued from Page One) the veterinarian paid a visit to Diamond in his stall and gave him an eye wash to keep him from going blind, also is not contested.
Diamond a City Employe
But, and here Raymond Dobbs, assistant to Commissioner Hartmann, entered the picture. Is it right for a city employe, working on city time, to treat another city employe—to wit, Diamond—and to bill the city for services rendered?
Dobbs didn’t know. He didn’t want to do anything illegal, and neither did Dr. Helm, so a legal opinion was requested from City Solicitor E. G. C. Bleakly.
Then Bleakly began raising a few questions of his own.
Is Diamond worth the amount of the bill? If so, then the city should not be too tight to pay the bill.
Does a veterinary surgeon have to perform services free of charge for the City if he is employed as a clerk and paid clerk’s wages?
To put it in other words, if the city employs some person in a clerical capacity is it entitled to his expert knowledge and expert service in an entirely different capacity?
Letter To Pay Bill?
It was too hot for the city solicitor to argue, so he advised that Dr. Helm be asked if he would cancel his bill if the city would send him a letter of thanks for saving the life of the famous horse.
Bleakly promised to advise further in the event that Dr. Helm did not agree to this compromise.
At any rate, it was the consensus of opinion that Diamond should be taken care of by all means—if only to have him around to give to Mayor von Nieda when and if the New Deal commissioners decide to shift any departments now under the mayor.
For, if you remember, Diamond is the consolation prize of all “forgotten commissioner” when they are being punished by their fellow rulers.
The only reason he is in Commissioner Hartmann’s department is that the New Dealers saw his vote-getting abilities and decided to keep him away from the Organization Republicans.
Restaurant Owners Warned on Licenses
Camden Courier-Post —
Camden restaurant licensees yesterday were warned by Dr. David Helm, city sanitary inspector, to obtain 1938 permits by March 1 or face prosecution.
Dr. Helm said that while approximately 150 restaurant owners have renewed their 1937 licenses, about 200 have failed to do so. A city ordinance calls for renewals on or before January 1.
125 in County Form U. of P. Alumni Club
Camden Courier-Post —
More than 125 Camden county graduates and former students of the University of Pennsylvania last night completed organization of an alumni club and became charter members of the organization, with the rolls held open for an expected 300 additional charter members.
The charter and constitution of the Pennsylvania Alumni Club of Camden County were adopted at a meeting in the auditorium of Woodrow Wilson High School. Spirited interest was shown in the election of a board of trustees, and the constitution was amended to permit 18 trustees to serve instead of 15 as originally proposed.
Those elected were R. Pearce Conner, Thomas J. Daley, Judge Joseph Varbalow, Common Pleas Judge Clifford A. Baldwin, Ellery K. Taylor, William H. Wythes, William G. Moore, J. David Stern, J. William Markeim, Theodore F. Moench, W. Tingle Dickerson, Dr. Joseph E. Roberts, Frank M. Travaline, Jr., John H. Reiners, Jr., Dr. Byron G. Tuttle, Edmund D. Bowman, Dr. David D. Helm and Jesse G. Haydock, Jr.
Varbalow Presides
Judge Varbalow conducted the business session and Judge Baldwin introduced the guest speakers, Dr. E. LeRoy Mercer, dean of the department of physical education, and Dr. Cornelius Weygandt, professor of English literature.
Dr. Mercer outlined the work of his department, pointing out its intercollegiate, intramural and health activities, and then discussed Pennsylvania’s football coaching staff. George Munger, recently named head coach, plans to begin Spring football preparation March 21, with 24 to 30 days of practice, he said.
Penn’s agreement with Yale, Harvard and Princeton to begin Fall practice on September 15 may be modified, he said, to permit earlier work. Munger plans to have a three-meal training table, he said, and will limit the varsity squad to 22 to 28 men, permitting more highly personalized training, with a junior varsity squad of about 50 candidates.
Student Days Recalled
Dr. Weygandt, widely known as an author, recalled the professors and classroom atmosphere of his student days. He entered the university in 1887, became a newspaperman after his graduation, and returned to Pennsylvania to teach, remaining there for 41 years.
South Jersey alumni of the university represent the third largest group in the country, with approximately 875 graduates in the Camden county area. The alumni association will sponsor social and cultural activities and will co-operate with university trustees for the welfare of the institution.
Tenement Owner Granted 10 Days For Cleaning Job
Camden Courier-Post —
By WILBUR MORSE JR.
The Philadelphia owner of a South Camden tenement has been given 10 days to clean up the conditions at 432 Stevens street.
Louis R. Cohen, 271 South Fifteenth street, Philadelphia, was summoned to a hearing Monday before Director of Public Affairs Rhone, to show cause why he should not be restrained from operating the rooming house.
Charges lodged against the management of the property by city health inspectors and the fire marshal were read to Rhone by Ventorino Francesconi, chief clerk of the health department.
The inspections, Francesconi said, showed the tenement consists of 23 apartments, comprised of 29 rooms, occupied by 38 adults and 22 children.
Fire hazards were said by inspectors to include improper lighting of stairways and hallways; hallways and stairways blocked; loose wood and litter scattered about the premises, and an inadequate number of exits.
“Health violations,” Francesconi reported, “were contained in the excessive number of persons occupying single, or two-room apartments; improper disposal of garbage; faulty plumbing and general unsanitary conditions.”
Cohen, in his defense, laid the blame for the conditions on his tenants. “You can’t make people be clean, if they don’t want to,” he told Rhone.
Termed Deplorable
Deputy Director Garrity, who had accompanied Dr. David D. Helm and Francesconi, on a tour of inspection of the tenement, however, told Dr. Rhone that a single, elderly woman was responsible for the janitor service of the 23 apartments and that from a standpoint of “public welfare” more adequate management, supervision and janitorial service should be supplied. Garrity labelled the conditions as “deplorable and shocking.”
Dr. Helm added that inadequate number of garbage containers were supplied by Cohen. He reported that the yard in back of 432 Stevens had been filled with “more than a truckload of filth,” for which no containers had been provided.
“It’s the tenants’ fault,” reiterated Cohen. “They send their three and four-year-old youngsters out to dump the garbage and trash.”
Despite his protests that the health department’s objections “already have been met,” Cohen agreed to further improve conditions at the tenement within 10 days.
Dr. Rhone said he would order another inspection by health department aides within that time. “The matter of any violation of fire regulations is between you and the fire marshal,” Rhone told Cohen.
An official report by Capt. Maurice O’Brien, acting fire marshal, to Dr. Helm had recommended a further inspection of the property by fire underwriters.