Mikehelms

I am a 49 year old firearms historian living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.

Places

I was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and lived in 11 Canadian cities and towns (Burlington, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Surrey, Agincourt, on a farm in rural Brock Township, Peterborough, Guelph, Cambridge, and Calgary) before moving to the United States; first to Raleigh, North Carolina in 2001, and then to Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 2017.

Education

I hold a history degree (summa cum laude) from North Carolina State University where I was elected to Phi Beta Kappa as a junior. My honors thesis was on the rise of Smith & Wesson as an example of an early Chandlerian modern enterprise.

At various times I have also attended Brock High School, Trent University, Fleming College (from which I graduated as a geological technician), Niagara College, Durham Technical Community College, Fayetteville State University, Baton Rouge Community College, Louisiana State University, and Indiana University Bloomington.

Firearms Research

My primary research interests are in early American cartridge load revolvers. I focus heavily on the Smith & Wesson Model 1, but I also study guns like the Slocum revolver, those of Lucius Willson Pond, the Manhattan Firearms Company, and Rollin White, to name a few.

I am the vice president of the Smith & Wesson Collectors Association and the treasurer and historian for the Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation. I'm also a member of the American Society of Arms Collectors.

Random

• I was a DJ at CFFF-FM from 1993 through 1995.
• I was a DJ at CFRU-FM from 1999 through 2000.
• I have owned seven different motorcycles. I think the XL883R was my favorite.
• I play a Martin acoustic guitar and a Fender electric guitar.
• I use a MacBook Air computer.
• I have traveled to Trinidad and Tobago, France, Iceland, England, Scotland, Canada, the United States, Cuba, the Netherlands, Egypt, Italy, and the Vatican.
• My great-grandfather, William Helms, was the longtime mayor of Lansdowne, Pennsylvania. We are patrilineal descendants of Israel Helm -- one of the first settlers in Pennsylvania.
• Betsy Ross is my 7th great aunt.
• We miss our English Springer Spaniel very much. [1] Our American Staffordshire Terrier (who looks a lot like a Catahoula Leopard Dog) is a goofball.

Pages I have contributed substantially to

• The Observator, a 17th century English newspaper
• The New-England Repertory, a Boston newspaper from the early 19th century.
• Southern States Confederate Currency
• Blues musician Blind Boy Fuller
• Canadian musician Stompin' Tom Connors
• Fleming College, the community college I graduated from in Lindsay, Ontario (there are also campuses in Peterborough, Haliburton, and Cobourg).
• Brock High School, my old high school in Cannington, Ontario.
• Sunderland, Ontario - the closest thing I have to a hometown.
• Larrivée (guitar company)
• Smith & Wesson Model 1
• Smith & Wesson Model 1 1/2

• Visit me at http://mikehelms.org