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"I said yes, it would, and he said, 'You know that little grey box up on the shelf? Well, you go in and get it.' I did, and he had me cup my hands while he dumped the contents into them. There was $19—all he had, his savings of 14 years, and he gave it all to me."
At Harvard, Welch was a brilliant member of the class of 1917. He continued to sell maps in the summer. In Boston he met Judith Lyndon, a lively Georgia girl attending Emerson College. In 1917, he and Judith were married.
After a brief tour as an Army private in World War I, Welch settled down with the eminent Boston legal firm of' Hale & Dorr, has been there ever since. Immediately, he began to build a reputation among lawyers as one of the shrewdest, soundest attorneys in the city.
Neckties Galore. A Republican, Welch has never been active in politics or civic affairs. Twenty-five years ago he took a spacious Colonial house in nearby Walpole. (The Welches have two married sons, three granddaughters.) Although he has an air of studied carelessness, Welch is actually something of a dandy, owns 18 suits, 18 pairs of slacks. He owns more than 150 neckties, all bows. Once, when the Welches were vacationing at Lake Winnipesaukee, the house in Walpole was looted. Joe was horrified when he had to make out a list of his losses. "I cannot admit that I have 150 neckties," he groaned, so he told the police that 75 were stolen.
At home, Welch is a thermometer-watcher (he has twelve around the house), a single-minded Carrom and cribbage player (he hates to lose), a relaxed fisherman and a crack shot with a rifle. He took up gardening during World War II when gas rationing cut off his golf. His wife suggested that victory gardening was patriotic, and Welch agreed to try it if she would make a hard bargain with him: he would garden (which he detests) if she would drink beer (which she detests) with him. So the Welches spent their weekends with rake and hoe, diligently working in the hot sun, with time out for beer in the shade, each suffering alternately.
When Joe McCarthy finally takes the stand (presumably this week), Joe Welch will be primed and ready for the legal battle of his life.