Up for auction a RARE! "John Birch Society" Robert Welch Hand Signed 3X5 Card. This item is certified authentic by Todd
Mueller Auctions and comes with their Certificate of Authenticity.
ES-4447
You may have eaten a
Sugar Daddy candy bar at one time, but did you know that the candy was invented
by The John
Birch Society’s founder Robert Welch 33 years before he created the
JBS? After manufacturing candy, Welch saw a greater need than enjoying leisure
time: combating the evil forces that threaten our country, freedom, and lives. And
he did just that! By forming an organization that seeks men and women of good
character, humane conscience, and religious ideals, America would be much
different today without the influence of Robert Welch. At an age when most
people are enjoying their retirement, Robert Welch decided to forego a life of
leisure and create an organization to promote what he saw as ideals of
Americanism in order to battle the overwhelming wave of communism he saw taking
over numerous countries. He had already seen communism’s prominent influence in
America throughout his lifetime. While his detractors would have rather seen
Robert Welch sit idly by in a rocking chair, he would have none of it. He
devoted the rest of his life from age 58 on to help secure to future
generations the freedoms he had enjoyed, and to give them the educational tools
they would need to use to hold onto those freedoms. He recognized and was fond
of saying that “All we need to succeed is sufficient understanding.” Based on
this, JBS was founded as a member-based educational organization designed to
reach out to others to educate them on the original intent of the founding
fathers, getting back to the Constitution, and why the United States was
established as a Republic and not a democracy. He had a knack for boiling down
complex ideas, thoughts, and problems into easily understood stories and
solutions. As a voracious reader, learner, and man of high intellect, this came
naturally to him. A child prodigy, he entered high school at age 10 and
graduated near the top of his class two years later. He then entered the
University of North Carolina and graduated in 1916 at age 16. Next, in the
midst of World War I, he began studies at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.
When World War I ended a couple years later, he left the Naval Academy and
dipped his creative toe into journalism, becoming a syndicated columnist. A
short time later, he decided to take a Merchant Marine position. Unfortunately,
Congress ended the program seven days before he was to leave. He then knew he
had to find an occupation that would allow him to flourish while at the same
time permitting him to make time for his academic interests. In the fall of
1919, he enrolled in Harvard Law School to learn the free enterprise system. By
1922, he had had enough of the school and Marxist Professor (and later Supreme
Court Justice) Felix Frankfurter. He left Harvard and launched the Oxford Candy
Company. In 1926, he invented the Sugar Daddy candy and sales skyrocketed. He
left the company he worked so hard to build after a dispute with management and
started again. Eventually, he ended up working for his brother at the James O.
Welch Company from 1935 until he “retired” in 1956. Two years later he founded
The John Birch Society. He had an extremely sharp memory, which enabled him to
recite poetry for hours that he had last read 50 years earlier! But that memory
and his very deep knowledge of all things historical could also be a hindrance,
for he could hardly give a short answer to a question, which tended to
infuriate those in the media looking for quick sound bites. He guided JBS
through its first three decades until his passing in 1985. There is so much
more to Robert Welch than can be provided in this short account. To those who
knew him and worked with him, Robert Welch was truly a fascinating and loving
man who wanted nothing more than to preserve freedom and future prosperity for
later generations. We invite you to learn more about him by reading The Blue Book and The Politician.