Nixon Could Trust No One: A Surprising Portrait of a Brilliant and Contradictory Man

Young Richard attended East Whittier Elementary School, where he was president of his eighth-grade class.[13] His parents believed that attending Whittier High School had caused Richard's older brother Harold to live a dissolute lifestyle before he fell ill of tuberculosis (he died of the disease in 1933), and so they sent Richard to the larger Fullerton Union High School.[14][15] He had to ride a school bus for an hour each way during his freshman year, and he received excellent grades. Later, he lived with an aunt in Fullerton during the week.[16] He played junior varsity football, and seldom missed a practice, even though he was rarely used in games.[17] He had greater success as a debater, winning a number of championships and taking his only formal tutelage in public speaking from Fullerton's Head of English, H. Lynn Sheller. Nixon later remembered Sheller's words, "Remember, speaking is conversation ... don't shout at people. Talk to them. Converse with them."[18] Nixon stated that he tried to use the conversational tone as much as possible.[18] Nixon at Whittier High School in 1930 At the start of his junior year beginning in September 1928, Richard's parents permitted him to transfer to Whittier High School. At Whittier High, Nixon suffered his first electoral defeat, for student body president. He often rose at 4 a.m., to drive the family truck into Los Angeles and purchase vegetables at the market. He then drove to the store to wash and display them, before going to school. Harold had been diagnosed with tuberculosis the previous year; when their mother took him to Arizona in the hopes of improving his health, the demands on Richard increased, causing him to give up football. Nevertheless, Richard graduated from Whittier High third in his class of 207 students. Nixon was offered a tuition grant to attend Harvard University, but Harold's continued illness and the need for their mother to care for him meant Richard was needed at the store. He remained in his hometown and attended Whittier College, his expenses there covered by a bequest from his maternal grandfather.[20] Nixon played for the basketball team; he also tried out for football but lacked the size to play. He remained on the team as a substitute and was noted for his enthusiasm.[21] Instead of fraternities and sororities, Whittier had literary societies. Nixon was snubbed by the only one for men, the Franklins; many members of the Franklins were from prominent families, but Nixon was not. He responded by helping to found a new society, the Orthogonian Society.[22] In addition to the society, schoolwork, and work at the store, Nixon found time for a large number of extracurricular activities, becoming a champion debater and gaining a reputation as a hard worker.[23] In 1933, he became engaged to Ola Florence Welch, daughter of the Whittier police chief. The two broke up in 1935.[24] After his graduation from Whittier in 1934, Nixon received a full scholarship to attend Duke University School of Law.[25] The school was new and sought to attract top students by offering scholarships.[26] It paid high salaries to its professors, many of whom had national or international reputations.[27] The number of scholarships was greatly reduced for second- and third-year students, forcing recipients into intense competition.[26] Nixon not only kept his scholarship but was elected president of the Duke Bar Association,[28] inducted into the Order of the Coif,[29] and graduated third in his class in June 1937.[25] After graduating from Duke, Nixon initially hoped to join the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He received no response to his letter of application and learned years later that he had been hired, but his appointment had been canceled at the last minute due to budget cuts.[30] Instead, he returned to California and was admitted to the bar in 1937. He began practicing with the law firm Wingert and Bewley in Whittier,[25] working on commercial litigation for local petroleum companies and other corporate matters, as well as on wills.[31] In later years, Nixon proudly stated that he was the only modern president to have previously worked as a practicing attorney. Nixon was reluctant to work on divorce cases, disliking frank sexual talk from women.[32] In 1938, he opened up his own branch of Wingert and Bewley in La Habra, California,[33] and became a full partner in the firm the following year.[34] In January 1938, Nixon was cast in the Whittier Community Players production of The Dark Tower. There he played opposite a high school teacher named Thelma "Pat" Ryan.[25] Nixon described it in his memoirs as "a case of love at first sight"[35]—for Nixon only, as Pat Ryan turned down the young lawyer several times before agreeing to date him. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon