Interview with Dr. Robert and James Helsabeck
September 24, 2009
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A transcript of interview with Dr. Robert Helsabeck.
McCoy: This is McCoy Helsabeck and Ola May Tate Bovender with the Rural Hall Historical Society interviewing Dr. Robert Helsabeck on September 24, 2009, at
Brookridge Retirement Center, Winston-Salem, NC.
McCoy: What is your name?
Robert: Charles Robert Helsabeck
McCoy: You are a dentist and practiced in Rural Hall?
Robert: Right.
McCoy: Who were your parents?
Robert: Charles Helsabeck and Ruth Payne.
McCoy: Who were the other children in the family?
Robert: Elizabeth Helsabeck, Dorothy Helsabeck and Allene Helsabeck. She died early in life. She was about six years old.
McCoy: Where did you live in Rural Hall?
Robert: About a block from Kiser’s Store.
McCoy: Where was Charles’ law office?
Robert: Near house. He was on one side of building and my dental office was on the other side.
McCoy: What year did he start practicing law?
Robert: It was about 1915.
McCoy: What year did you start your dental practice in that office building?
Robert: About 1940.
McCoy: How long did you practice dentistry at that location?
Robert: About 10 or 12 years.
McCoy: Then you moved your office near Warren Drug Store?
Robert: It was just behind Warren Drug Store.
McCoy: Did you stay there until you retired?
Robert: No. We built a general office about 1 mile toward Winston on Hwy 52.
McCoy: I want to mention we are recording this interview with Dr. Robert Helsabeck with his permission.
McCoy: You moved your office to this new building. When did you retire? Do you remember?
Robert: I am trying to think.
McCoy: Was it about middle 1980s?
Robert: I guess that is close.
McCoy: When did Dr. James Helsabeck, your son, start his dental practice?
Robert: About 1985, I guess. About the time I retired. (Robert made a correction). We practiced together about 30 years.
McCoy: Is he still practicing now?
Robert: That is right.
McCoy: When you grew up in Rural Hall, did you attend Rural Hall School?
Robert: Yes, my first year was in the old wooden building. It was later town down and materials used in the athletic building.
McCoy: When were you born?
Robert: September 16, 1916
McCoy: You started school about 1921.
Robert: Correct.
McCoy: Was Charles Helsabeck a school principal in the early 1920s?
Robert: Yes, he was.
McCoy: Was he principal for about two years?
Robert: That is about right.
McCoy: When did you graduate from Rural Hall High School?
Robert: About 1929.
McCoy: Where did you go to college for dentistry?
Robert: I went to the Medical School of Virginia.
McCoy: What are some of the activities you remember you participated in at Rural Hall School?
Robert: I wasn’t very athletic.
Ola May: Did you sing in the glee club?
Robert: No. I didn’t do much of anything spectacular.
McCoy: What church did you attend?
Robert: Rural Hall Christian Church, now rural Hall Church of Christ.
McCoy: Were your family members for many years?
Robert: Correct.
McCoy: What were some businesses and activities in Rural Hall as you were growing up?
Robert: E. L. Kiser Store, A. L. Payne and sons, Ledford’s Drug Store, across the street from Payne’s Store. It was a drug store. Mrs. Wolfe had
a partnership with Mr. Ledford and sole women’s hats and other women’s clothing.
McCoy: Do you remember Wilson Lumber Company across from the railroad tracks?
Robert: Right.
McCoy: Near your office near depot.
Robert: Almost straight across.
McCoy: Do you remember Covington Ford Motor Company?
Robert: Yes. It was Covington Wilson Company.
McCoy: What other business do you recall?
Robert: There was an old building I remember talking about. It was a casket business located between Ledford building on Bethania Road. I didn’t
remember the casket factory just talking about it.
McCoy: Do you remember the Ernest Helsabeck Building near Wilson Lumber Company?
Robert: Yes. It was across the street.
McCoy: A brick building, and you have a picture here on wall.
Robert: Yes. A drawing.
McCoy: Do you remember any other activities?
Robert: We had a good basketball team at school
McCoy: Do you remember E. E. Shore at Commercial and Farmers Bank?
Robert: Yes. I remember a robber came in to hold up the bank.
McCoy: Was this about 1932?
Robert: I suspect that is close.
McCoy: Do you remember a bullet hole in the building where robber shot his pistol?
Robert: Yes, I do. The man was driving away toward Winston-Salem and they had driven him out of the building.
McCoy: Where was your home after you and Ruth married?
Robert: About one block from school between the Walls and Wilsons.
McCoy: What activities do you remember about the churches, like lawn parties and chicken stew dinners?
Robert: That’s right. I don’t think the Lutheran Church did. The Christian Church did. We didn’t have a Moravian Church at that time.
McCoy: Was Charles Helsabeck on the bank board of directors?
Robert: Yes. He was the bank attorney. E. E. Shore also had an insurance business in the bank.
McCoy: Did Bonnie Shore work in the bank?
Robert: That is right.
McCoy: Also Buck Kiger?
Robert: Yes. The motto of the bank was “Never lost a cent.” The organization never lost a cent.
McCoy: He was a fine banker, a fine man.
Robert: Yes, he was.
McCoy: You were born in 1916. You are 93 years old.
Robert: Right.
McCoy: How long did you practice dentistry?
Robert: I practiced for 53 years.
Ola May: I was one of your patients when I lived in Rural Hall.
Robert: Where are you living now?
Ola May: Boonville, NC. I married a follow from Boonville. I was a postmaster in Boonville for seven years, retired at age 65. I still have interest in Rural Hall.
McCoy: When did you and Ruth marry?
Robert: 1941
McCoy: Who were the children?
Robert: James, dentist. Hassel, changed officially to Charles.
McCoy: Where does he live and what does he do?
Robert: He is a minister in Oregon.
McCoy: Who are the other children?
Robert: Eric.
McCoy: Where does he live and what does he do?
Robert: He is a doctor at Asheboro, NC, Hospital. Annette, not married.
McCoy: Where does she live?
Robert: She lives with my wife Ruth.
Robert: Talks about a toilet seat factory. They made wooden toilet seats.
McCoy: You mentioned the old school building. Describe this building?
Robert: It was torn down and part of the building was used to build the gymnasium.
McCoy: Was the high school building built during the time you attended school?
Robert: That is right. I graduated there.
McCoy: What families to you remember in Rural Hall?
Robert: Paynes, Kisers, Ledfords.
Ola May: What about the Wright family next to you?
Robert: That is right. The Wrights had a daughter who married Milton Payne.
Ola May: Her name was Irene.
Robert: Yes.
McCoy: Do you remember the Wall family?
Robert: Yes, the Wall family.
McCoy: Do you remember the Tate family?
Robert: Yes, I do.
McCoy: Do you remember the Wilson and Tuttle families?
Robert: Yes, James Tuttle.
McCoy: What other activities do you remember?
Robert: There were a lot of fraternal organizations. My daddy belonged, the junior order, the Pythians. We didn’t have a Masonic Order during my time.
McCoy: Anything else you remember about Rural Hall?
Robert: There was a broom factory.
McCoy: Where was it located?
Robert: On the same street as the Helsabeck Building. My daddy had a printing contract with one of the fraternal organizations
to print a newspaper, a fraternal order.
McCoy: Did he print “The Messenger” newspaper?
Robert: Yes. I believe in the same building.
McCoy: Was that in the 1920s?
Robert: Probably earlier, 1910. It was a large building that burned down. We had a hotel near the railroad tracks.
McCoy: Near the railroad tracks for passengers to spend the night.
Robert: The depot was a busy organization. Two railroad tracks. Trains came in at same time, 10 AM. That was the reason the Helsabeck Building
was built across the street. If they had to wait a while, they would come over and have a snack in the Helsabeck Building.
Robert: Discusses the school propery and problems with the title and ownership.
McCoy: Dr. James Helsabeck, Robert’s son, came in.
James: Robert’s father-in-law gave the property to the school to build a building. Title was not cleared and they obtained permission from the Payne heirs to make
it legal.
McCoy: Asked James when he started his dental practice.
James: 1972
McCoy: Where was it located?
James: Wall Street, off Broad Street. The building has been added to and I still practice there.
Robert: The property was on the Wall dairy farm.
McCoy: I want you to talk about the cannery.
Robert: We mostly canned tomatoes, some canning for the county. The county would bring their produce to be canned in large cans.
McCoy: What was the name of the cannery?
Robert: Kabeck.
McCoy: Who owned the cannery?
Robert: It was a partnership between my daddy and Oscar Kiser.
McCoy: Owned by Charles Helsabeck and Oscar Kiser.
Robert: Right.
McCoy: How long did it operate?
Robert: About three years?
Ola May: They also canned beans.
Robert: Yes. We tried corn but they all busted.
McCoy: You mentioned to us earlier about you driving a truck to Roanoke, VA, to pick up a load of cans.
Robert: Right. One time we had a carload of cans, a larger load than on the truck.
McCoy: I understand there was a Scout troop in Rural Hall.
Robert: Yes.
McCoy: When was that period of time?
Robert: I was about 12 years old.
McCoy: Was it at school or church?
Robert: Mostly at church because our scoutmaster was Dr. Croft. Most of the kids were from our church.
McCoy: Do you remember the medical doctor in Rural Hall?
Robert: There were a group of them. They had their offices on the second floor of Ledford’s Drug Store.
McCoy: Do you remember Dr. Phillips?
Robert: Yes.
McCoy: Do you remember Dr. Lancaster?
Robert: Yes. Dr. Lancaster practiced here many years. His office was also on the second floor of the Ledford Building.
McCoy: Do you remember when he practiced? (pause) Was it in the 30s or 40s?
Robert: I think it is real close.
Discussion of school property.
James: A school was built on the land. Jack Covington was in politics and helped in using the land.
McCoy: Going back to the late teens and early 1920s, what do you remember about transportation in Rural Hall, other than trains?
Robert: The tracks came in, the Atlantic and Yadkin had a track. The Southern Railway had a one track. It was a railroad intersection.
McCoy: What do you remember about the first cars in Rural Hall?
Robert: Mr. Zimmerman, Oscar Kiser’s father-in-law, owned an automobile about 1920. Don’t remember the name. Had a little front end, looked like
it didn’t have a radiator. It was not like a Ford, Chevrolet or Chrysler or a common name.
McCoy: Do you remember Brady Furniture Company?
Robert: Yes. Originally made toilet seats by Ernest Helsabeck and he also built some tables and chairs.
James: They were solid oak and daddy has some of this furniture.
McCoy: Anything else you remember about Rural Hall?
Robert: My memory is not so good.
McCoy and James: It is very accurate.
Ola May: Who was postmaster in Rural Hall?
Robert: A variety of postmasters in Rural Hall, Mrs. Lancaster, James Osburn, son of the hotel owner.
McCoy: Osburn was postmaster in the old post office building.
Robert: Right.
McCoy: Do you remember Boonie Plunket was postmaster.
Robert: Yes.
McCoy: We were in school together. (We then talked about the fire department.)
Robert: The fire department was established by Carl Baker, the first fire chief.
McCoy: I ask you about the water sanitary district installed by Mr. Alley in 1936.
Robert: Yes. Correct.
McCoy: What do you remember about the water/sewer system and lines?
Robert: It took a while for financing. My daddy went to Washington to obtain consent from government to build it and borrowed the money.
McCoy: Do you remember water bonds were issued to build the system?
Robert: Yes, they borrowed the money and sold bonds.
McCoy: Is the water system still in operation?
Robert: No. It is now disbanded and now a part of the Winston-Salem system.
James: There was no treatment in the plant and it became part of the Winston-Salem system.
McCoy: We thank you for your information and will place it in our Rural Hall Historical Museum.
Robert: I was glad to participate as much as I could remember.
McCoy: Thank you.
(We are talking with Dr. James Helsabeck about his life and dental practice.)
Where did you go to school?
James: Undergraduate degree at Wake Forest. Dental degree at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, in 1972.
McCoy: You started practicing in 1972.
James: Started practicing with Robert. In 1980, we added to the building, enlarged it and still occupy building.
McCoy: What is your wife’s name?
James: Linda, from New Bern , NC
McCoy: When did you marry?
James: 1973.
McCoy: Did you have any children from that marriage?
James: Two daughters, Julie and Amanda. Amanda is married, lives in Huntersville, NC, and expects first grandchild in November. Julie is not
married, is a graphic designer, graduate from NC State University, lost job due to economic conditions, not employed at this time.
McCoy: Mention any activities in which you participated in Rural Hall.
James: Growing up, Scouting. A lot of kids participated. Good leaders.
McCoy: When did you graduate from high school?
James: 1962. Northwest High School.
McCoy: Thank you for the information about your family and dental practice.
This concludes the interview.