In 1955, at the age of 23, Massachusetts native Helen Lempart moved to Washington DC and joined Senator John F. Kennedy’s staff. As the 1960 presidential campaign began, Lempart assisted Kennedy advance man Jerry Bruno in Wisconsin and West Virginia transcribing speeches, developing local headquarters and interacting with the press.
During the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, Lempart worked 14-hour shifts and celebrated Kennedy’s nomination on the Sunset Strip. She went on to work with Ken O’Donnell scheduling campaign events and preparing speeches while traveling with Kennedy on his plane “Caroline” as he delivered his vision for the future of the country.
As Kennedy transitioned to the White House, Lempart transitioned to working in a space connected to the Oval Office. She served there until January 1963, taking a leave of absence to travel intending to return for the 1964 campaign.
Hake’s Auctions #226 is currently presenting a selection of items she collected during her time in “Camelot” through the Helen Lempart Archives.
This includes Lempart’s 1960 “Kennedy Staff” campaign badge. This 2” x 3” plastic badge has her name neatly handwritten in blue ball pen ink and sees only moderate wear. An unused 1960 “Kennedy Staff” campaign badge is also crossing the auction block.
A subsequent lot features Lempart’s traveling secretary staff key ring. This red leather key fob, which reads “Kennedy for President,” was issued to Lempart for the 1960 campaign.
Produced for the 1960 Democratic National Convention (DNC), another rarity on offer is a “Welcome Johnny” button. According to legend, Frank Sinatra knew that after JFK was the nominee he could no longer call him “Johnny” and thus had these buttons produced.
On election day in 1960, JFK had campaign staff wear a “Kennedy Election Night Staff” button to be admitted by Secret Service to the Hyannis Port compound. A fine example of this is being featured in the auction.
An additional offer is a “President Elect” plastic badge with a long ribbon attached. After JFK’s victory, the campaign staff transitioned to DNC staff and these badges were issued in extremely limited numbers.
A lucite cigarette box, presented to Lempart during the 1960 campaign is also featured in the auction. This box, given out by JFK as gifts for journalists and campaign aides, sees JFK’s campaign plane “Caroline” on lid and facsimile signature below.
Once JFK was in the White House his temper towards staff would occasionally flare up, causing an unknown staffer to produce a button that was distributed anonymously to the Secretaries. The rare button reads “When You Call Me That Mr. President Smile!” and is being offered in the Helen Lempart Archive.
All of these exceptional political collectibles are currently open for bidding on hakes.com and close on March 13-14, 2019.
