childhood, he associated mostly with older boys and men, as there were few boys his age. He became involved in cock fighting, buying a few cocks with the money he made from delivering Desert News, but stopped after police started persecuting offenders. In order to cultivate his faith as a member of the LDS Church, his mother suggested he attend Weber Academy in Ogden, which was then owned by the church. Before his graduation, he won the Dr. Edward S. Rich oratorical contest with his speech entitled, "American Ideals". He graduated from Weber Academy in 1917. He continued his studies at the expanded Weber Academy, then known as Weber College. During his time at Weber, he organized the Public Service Bureau (a service organization), was editor of the yearbook, and was president of the student body for two years. He competed in forensics meets and won the state championship with his team. He received the Lewis Efficacy Medal for students excelling in scholarship and public service and was valedictorian of his class. After a year at Weber College, Wilkinson became a member of the Student Army Training Corps unit located at BYU. Wilkinson attributed his success to what he learned at Weber Academy and became interested in the idea of offering a religiously affiliated education to more LDS youth. After the war, he became a regular student at BYU and among other things served as the editor of the weekly newspaper White and Blue and was president of his senior class. Wilkinson and a few colleagues received special recognition when they beat the Princeton debate team. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at BYU in 1921. He married Alice Valera Ludlow, a native of Spanish Fork, whom he had met while they were both students at BYU. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on August 16, 1923. The ceremony was performed by James E. Talmage. Alice was elected vice president of the student body with Wilkinson as her campaign manager and had studied drama at BYU. The Wilkinsons had five children. Career After graduation, Wilkinson began teaching English and speech at Weber College. During this time, Wilkinson began to take an active interest in politics. He ran as a Democrat for county auditor and lost. Law School In 1923, Wilkinson was involved with the campaign of William H. King for United States Senate. King invited Wilkinson to