Born in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, on June 28, 1911 to Richard and Sallie Helm, Eddie Winfred "Doc" Helm was one of eight children. As a youngster he played catcher on the local baseball team and was known for making the highest-flying kites in town. He attended Mt. Vernon Township High School where he excelled in woodworking. Young Helm was so good in fact, that he became the teacher's assistant. By age sixteen, he was working alongside his father at the Mt. Vernon Car Manufacturing Company, maker of freight train cars. His curiosity led him to riding the rails for fun and adventure. After a short time however, the romance with "hobo life" wore thin and he gave it up after getting "put-off" trains at inconvenient destinations one too many times.

As a very young man Doc worked as an assistant at Bonds Pharmacy in Mt. Vernon. The tough times of the 1930s left some people in the community unable to afford medicine. Helm took it upon himself to do something about it. With his own earnings he purchased prescriptions for those most in need and at the end of the day would hand deliver them. This is how Helm acquired the moniker of "Doc."

Doc Helm moved to Springfield in 1934 to become a state employee. An uncle active in Illinois politics had secured him a janitorial position which included the dubious task of raising and lowering the flag high atop the Capitol dome. Years later he recalled that the height never bothered him (in fact he rather liked heights), however, what got to him was the 360-stair climb and the ladder with no safety screen around it.

Doc's love for photography began before leaving Mt. Vernon. He started by taking pictures of friends and family who became his earliest critics. By 1936, Doc noticed that Springfield lacked a professional black photographic studio and knew with some work he could fill that niche. He scraped together enough cash to buy his first professional camera, took correspondence courses in photography, and created a darkroom space within his home. In 1943 he opened his commercial studio at 809 E. Washington.

After eight years as a janitor Doc transferred to the Illinois State Library, where he quickly rose from filing documents to book stack clerk then microfilming documents. Here Miss Helene D. Rogers, the head Librarian, took notice of Helm's gift for photography. In February of 1944, she called him into her office to tell him he had been promoted to Official State Photographer. He was now able to pursue full-time his true love of photography. He photographed State Receptions, State Funerals, portraits of politicians, dignitaries, and celebrities, and much of his work went into the Illinois Blue Book.

Doc's freelance subjects were the typical fare: weddings, family photos, group shots of various organizations and club functions, including church pictures. He did a booming business photographing World War II soldiers home on leave. He also took many pictures in local night clubs. He would take some pictures, go back to his studio and develop the images, then return moments later to sell them to band members or club clientele.

He photographed just about every subject imaginable, from candid shots of people socializing and just plain having fun to children at play. He photographed local African American businesses, entrepreneurs, and leaders, documenting shoe shines, gas stations, restaurants, local doctors, dentists, firemen, and reverends. The roster of national African American leaders he photographed includes Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Reverend Jesse Jackson, Andrew Young, Julian Bond, Mayor Harold Washington, to name a few. He also shot numerous celebrities, from B.B. King and Fats Domino to local sensations such as "Peg-leg Bates."

In addition, Doc freelanced for The Voice newspaper, which covered Decatur, Bloomington, Springfield, and Peoria. He even provided photo services for people in automobile accidents and was virtually "on call" around the clock to ensure proper documentation for insurance claims. He became the official photographer for the Scottish Rite, Northern Jurisdiction, in 1955 and became official photographer for the Grand Lodge of Illinois and the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States as well. Until his death on January 1, 1994, he was also photographer for St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church where he had been a member since 1934.

Throughout his career Doc was the consummate professional and was always dressed in a suit and tie from the time he got up until he was ready for bed. Wherever he went his camera went with him. Whatever the situation, Doc treated each photographic moment with the same sense of professionalism no matter what the subject or, for that matter, who the subject was. He believed in treating people exactly as you would have them treat you.

In his position as Official Photographer for the State of Illinois, Doc lived and worked by his own credo "be on time, be loyal to the people in office and do your job to the best of your ability." Early on, he mastered the art of getting the shot right on the first click of the shutter, earning him the nickname "One-shot Doc." Film was expensive, and Doc being a practical man, worked hard not to waste it. This discipline served him well and some years later he remarked, "If you don't get it right the first time, you're not going to get it the second--it's going to be the same shot."

Most of all, Doc Helm believed in helping others. He felt that giving back to society was the highest form of accomplishment a person could achieve. He led a life of service--from his three years of hard work helping to open Peoples Bank to his fifty-eight years as a State employee and his various charitable activities. In the end, Doc Helm continues to give back to this community through the photographic legacy he leaves behind, for it certainly will help us and future generations have a richer understanding of the past.

Robert Sill
Associate Curator of Fine Art

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