1939
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The Jack and Helen Frye Story!
Copyright © 2003
Sedona Legend Helen Frye Website
Created By R. D. Reynolds
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Sedona's Celebrity Love Story!
This is the official not to mention only web portal in the world
dedicated exclusively to the legacy of Jack and Helen Frye!
The Frye Legacy-
a Lifetime of Accomplishment!
By Randall Reynolds
The Sedona Legend Web Site is a historical narrative enhanced with photos presented for
educational and entertainment purposes. Some materials may be displayed in regard to the
United States Fair Use Act. This web portal is totally non-profit and generates no income, nor
does it seek or has it ever accepted a single donation. It is an independent venture.
While this web site is not "officially" affiliated with Red Rock State Park in any way, it was
envisioned and created to give park visitors a more indepth historical perspective in regard to
the former 700 acre Frye Ranch property.
Sedona Legend is encouraged and supported by the Jack Frye Family, to include Jack's
daughter, Nevajac Frye, Jack's late sister, "Sunny" Frye Thomas, the Helen Frye family,
and the many friends of Jack and Helen Frye.
Jack Frye had 2 other residences in Kansas City (according to his sister Sunny) other than the
Foster home. This included a condo near Jack Frye's executive office on Richard's Road
(Municipal Airport area) and a second large country home. Sunny has fond memories of this
"flat" as she called it at the airport and visited her brother here often. Sunny also stayed at the
two other homes her brother owned in Kansas City too. She has rich memories of distinguished
V.I.P. dinner guests (many senators and congressmen) yet she remembers it was always a
comfortable atmosphere- so much so that on one occasion everyone sat around and played
games like children. Jack and Jean, and later Jack and Helen, entertained constantly for TWA.
The earliest Frye home which Sunny described as a "country home" was about 10 miles
northeast of Jack's office.

This second property (the flat was likely the first) is said to have been on the (now) site of the
current Ford assembly plant at Claycomo, Missouri (northeast of Kansas City). I have not had
the opportunity to investigate the validity of this claim yet, but it is cited on a Wikipedia website
regarding the Ford Kansas City Assembly Plant. Nothing is known about the physical address of
this home but it would likely be the first residence bought by Jack Frye at Kansas City after the
formation of Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc. And certainly it would be the address listed
in census and City Directories from 1932 to 1939. After nearly 10-years, in the late 1930's, Jack
and Jean Frye sold this property and moved to the Foster Street estate. The Lindbergh event
cited below would have occurred at the Claycomo location.

Interestingly, the same Ford Assembly Plant article states that the Lindberghs visited often at
the Claycomo Frye home and reputedly spent their honeymoon here. This unfortunately is
bogus though, as the Lindbergh honeymoon took place in 1929, before, Jack lived at Kansas
City. This proves out the fallacy of hearsay and rumors that are not verified historically.
The Jack Frye Estate @ Kansas City
Other Homes Owned By Frye in Kansas City
Merriam Kansas (Overland Park-Mission area)
The Lindberghs Stay At The Jack Frye Home In Kansas City
Only 1 Frye home is identified in Kansas City- out of 3 one-time Frye
residences at Kansas City (TWA's nationwide home base)
The Lindberghs stayed with the Frye's on 2 separate occasions, to include the following visit as
described below. This would have been the first Frye home (Claycomo location) as Jack moved
to Kansas City from Los Angeles around '31, perhaps without his then wife Debbie Greer
(divorced in 1932). This well-tanned beauty likely baulked at leaving her career in Los Angeles
(she managed a large Mercantile on Western Avenue and was a professional dancer with the
Los Angeles Follies at a theatre downtown). After all, what sane person would want to move to
Kansas City, of all places, from beautiful southern California in the 1930's? Debbie eventually
remarried and moved to Hawaii, if that tells you anything about this San Antonio-bred girl's
choice of climate. So all that said- the Lindberghs were entertained by Jack and his (new)
French wife Jean LaCoste Frye, on April 23-26, 1933.

Lindberghs Stop in Kansas City on way east and stay at home of TWA executive Jack Frye

On April 23 @ 7:33 p.m., after a leg of 239 air miles from St. Louis, Mr. and Mrs. (Charles and
Anne) Lindbergh landed at Kansas City Municipal Airport. They were met by a throng of
some-1000 well wishers, as well as, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Frye. After being warmly welcomed the
travel weary couple graciously accepted an invitation to stay at the suburban home of the Fryes.
They planned to remain in Kansas City for two to three days.

The Lindbergh hop from St. Louis was approximately 1 hour and 38 minutes in duration, with
no problems experienced in flight. On April 24, Charles Lindbergh spent the day in meetings
with Jack Frye, though part of the day was spent touring the facilities and "hangar flying" with
the men on the ground. Anne Lindbergh spent her time with Mrs. Frye and fulfilling other
commitments.
Please keep in mind that Jack Frye did not always reside (full-time) in Kansas City. Because
TWA was nationwide he had to reside in other locations as well. One of these was a penthouse
apartment at 345 Park Avenue (the famous Hotel Ambassador) in New York City. Another was
the famous Ambassador Hotel in L.A. He and Helen Vanderbilt also lived in Washington D.C.
where they stayed at the Mayflower Hotel and Wardman Park Towers, later, of course, at the
Doubleday Mansion (see Page 1943). The Fryes also owned 3 Arizona ranches (one at Sedona)
and not to forget a Texas Ranch (Wheeler) that Jack owned most his adult life.
Soon after, on May 8, 1933, the Lindberghs again visited Kansas City and were to stay with the
Fryes at their suburban home where Mrs. Frye looked forward to being the hostess for their
stay. But, although Jack's wife Jean waited at the Kansas City Airport till dawn, the Lindberghs
were disappointingly, a no-show. The consensus was, after the plane failed to arrive at the
expected 9:30 P.M., that the Lindberghs possibly, were 'lost' in a sandstorm, and an aerial
search was soon launched. Because the Lindberghs had no radio communication equipment on
board they were "out-of-touch" long enough to cause this concern. The search was conducted
with 6 planes, Jack Frye (Vice President in Charge of Operations for T & WA) in one, Paul
Richter (T&WA's West Coast Supervisor) in a second, with Major A. D. Smith (TWA's
Albuquerque Division Manager) in the third. The 3 additional ships were scheduled TWA
transports. Troubling were the rumors received by T.&W.A. at 2:00 A.M. that the Lindberghs
had landed in New Mexico at Otto Field in Moriarity but further investigation uncovered no
such appearance there by the Lindberghs.

That afternoon the Lindbergh ship (unbeknown to the searchers) had been forced down after
encountering a severe wind storm over the Texas Panhandle. Lindbergh found a flat area to
land for the night north of Amarillo. They had left Albuquerque at 3:34 P.M. with 200 gallons of
fuel but were only able to fly for 2 hours before threatening weather and high winds enveloped
their red and black monoplane. Charles and Anne hunkered down in the plane's fuselage for
the night- glad to be safely on the ground. They continued their flight the next morning, taking
off at 9:30 A.M. and landing at Kansas City by 12:45 p.m.

The Lindbergh ship, internationally known as the "Tingmissartog" (meaning "one who flies
like a big bird") was the same monoplane utilized on the famous Lindbergh Orient Tour of
1931. The 1929 Lockheed Sirius equipped with a single 680 horsepower Wright Cyclone engine,
burns 35-40 gallons of gas an hour @ 130-170 m.p.h.

Lindbergh apologized for the night-long vigil of worried greeters, and the search, stating, "I'm
sorry- people shouldn't worry- it's liable to happen anytime in the Western country." He went
on to say the plane was equipped for sleeping, if needed, and they had food and water on board.  
Visibility around the ship the night before, on the ground, was a mere 100 yards. Anne
commented "we passed a very comfortable night." The Lindberghs had departed California at
9:27 A.M., enroute from Glendale, California to Washington D.C, with stops planned for
Albuquerque, Kansas City, St. Louis, and Columbus.

The Lindberghs shortly departed Kansas City by 2:08 P.M., continuing on to St. Louis, where
they landed at 4:00 P.M. After a short refueling stop of just 20 minutes, they again departed
again landing in Columbus, at 8:32 p.m. that evening, and continued only as far as Pittsburgh.
The next day they went on to D.C.

Interesting to note: This same plane was donated by the Lindberghs to the American Museum
of Natural History at N.Y.C in late 1933. In 1955, it was offered to the United States Air Force
Museum, at Dayton, Ohio, and in 1959, it was transported to the Smithsonian, at Washington
D.C. where it can still be viewed today by aviation enthusiasts. This particular plane was
designed by John K. Northrop and Gerard "Jerry" Vultee. Jerry, and his wife Sylvia, later died
in a plane crash north of what is now called Sedona (then very remote) on January 29, 1938.
The couple were trying to navigate through a 0 visibility snowstorm. A natural sandstone arch
near the crash scene was named Vultee Arch in his honor. Jack and Helen Frye over-flew this
area 3 years later in their Lockheed Electra 12A, and soon after, purchased their famous
700-acre Sedona Ranch which remains today, after 70 some years as Red Rock State Park.
Mrs. Frye to Play Hostess to Lindberghs at her Suburban Home  
The Jack Frye estate currently as seen on Valentines Day 2009 @ Merriam Kansas, graciously
submitted by former TWA employee, David Lukin. Eventually I will be traveling to Kansas City
for research and I will at that time obtain additional images and further information.
House Remains Virtually Same As the Frye Era
The Jack Frye estate at 5720 Foster Street, Merriam, Johnson County, (now considered
Overland Park) looks much the same today as it did in an old 1939 newspaper clipping
(according to the current long-time residents) sans the mature landscaping. One large tree
planted by Frye (which shows in the vintage photo) had to be removed because it got too big.
The home currently has 3 fireplaces (this was also mentioned by Helen Frye April 10, 1943), 4
bedrooms, and 3 baths (with one bedroom currently converted to a bar/office). The stone entry
walls are original but were repositioned when Foster Street was widened (however they were re-
constructed per original placement). At the same time the mail box was moved to the left side
of entry drive from the right (original) Frye placement. The current driveway entry lamp posts
are thought to have been added sometime in the last 50 years. The drive drops down from
Foster and curves around to an underground garage on the right. This is where Jack would have
parked his new Pontiacs (as mentioned on Page 1948). The roof of the main house is slate (Frye
original) but the original Frye guest house has a faux asphalt roof (to match the house).

Swimming Ponds and Dogs
This grand stone three-story country chateau (part at sub-level) sits on 5 rural acres, with back
yard swimming pond (original to property and recently dug out) -the Fryes both loved to swim.
The current owners state the pond is full of snapping turtles, raccoons and other wildlife
abound. At the 700-acre Frye Ranch in Sedona (now a beloved State Park) the Fryes had Oak
Creek excavated so the area below the House of Apache Fires could provide a deep swimming
pond for the Fryes and their many guests to include Howard Hughes. This was the same time
frame they would have enjoyed swimming at their Foster estate at Merriam. Per the current
owners, at one time the prior owners had several dogs as there were several dog houses on the
property. Jack and Helen did own two Great Danes and Helen had a police dog, from her
Vanderbilt years. However the dog-houses could have been attributed to other property owners,
of course. The lay-out certainly lends itself to harmonious canine ownership.

Frye House Witnesses Two Separate Marriages
The Foster Street home was associated with two Frye marriages- (Jack and Jean) and (Jack and
Helen). This was the Frye's primary residence from 1938 on. By spring of 1944 Jack and Helen
Frye took up residence at the TWA executive mansion in Arlington Virginia then known as
(Falls Church VA.). This Washington D.C. mansion is historically known as the "Doubleday
Mansion" and (currently) called "The Cedars". The Fryes called it simply "Hillcrest Farm" and
Howard Hughes referred to it as the "Four Winds" when he visited there with Jack and Helen
(see Page 1944). It remains one of Washington’s most historic and grandest historic properties.

History of Property- Rich With Indian Lore
TWA President Jack Frye renovated his home from a small farm house as purchased
November 15, 1938. Originally, this dwelling supposedly belonged to a Native American Indian
Chief (Shawnee?). This tribe has a colorful past in the region- within blocks. If true this would  
prove a nice fit for Jack Frye who was part Cherokee himself. As a matter of fact, 2 original
foundation walls in the cellar are notated locally as being the oldest building foundations in the
area. These support walls would been part of an original structure (thought to have burned at
one time) dating to the 1880’s. It has also been said the property was connected to the name
“Chouteau” a prominent old French fur-trading family heavily associated with a wide region.
How this name is associated with the Frye property (or plat) is unknown, if at all.

Frye Estate Architectural Influence
Jack hired the famous Frank Lloyd Wright trained architect, Edward Buehler Delk to design
the new mansion around the original ruins. The project was finished in 1939, just five years
after Jack Frye became president of Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc. (December 1934).
Edward Delk was the prominent architect who designed the nationally famous Kansas City
Country Club Plaza, in 1922. This open-air shopping center was the first such in the nation.
Although Delk designed many other noted buildings in Kansas City, to include the famous
Starlight Theatre at Swope Park, he also designed many private homes as well. A plaque with
his initials are cemented into the back private patio of the Jack Frye House. Mr. Delk was
noted for his interest in Tudor design and likely this is the reason for this particular influence
on the Jack Frye project. The current owners say the home is thought to be French Country,
perhaps (my opinion) also a bit of a chateau-like Tudor. As well, it is not difficult to see a slight
"Storybook Home" style, quite popular in 1930's Hollywood, (Jack Frye's early stomping
grounds).

Frye’s Folly- Expensive Project
The Frye home renovation project proved quite expensive as the property was isolated and
considered "way out" in the country at the time of construction. Local residents were said to
have called the renovation "Frye's Folly"; however, true to Jack Frye's legendary vision and
insight the "folly" tag was quite unfounded and the locals who stated such were the actual
"fools". The neighborhood soon became popular for Kansas City residents (especially TWA
employees) who desired close-in rural acreages and large ranch home estates. Jack was always
interested in "country living", a lifestyle very popular in the 1930's and 1940's. This home was
a perfect example of the ambiance he sought as it enabled him a retreat from his stressful life
as president and founding architect of Transcontinental & Western Air.

Overland Park- Becomes Popular Urban Residential Region
Interestingly, Overland Park has in the recent past been selected by CNN Money Magazine as
one of the "Top Ten Small Cities" to live in the United States with a ranking 6th place.
Overland Park is as proud of this rating, as too, their association with Jack Frye and TWA!

1939 Profile on Frye and His New French-Country Estate
In a newspaper profile written by Jack's long-time friend, journalist J. D. Bowersock we learn
about Jack's life during this time period. The lengthy profile on the founder and long-time
president of TWA ran in the Kansas City Star, and in-part, nationally. Jack at this time was
still married to his previous Parisian wife, Regina (Regine) “Jean”  Yvonne LaCoste (also
spelled La Coste). Helen too was married at this time to Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr. Little is
known about this woman who was called Jean, except that she was well loved by Jack's circle of
friends and family. A vintage image of the Merriam estate, and another of Frye with his then
wife, Jean, sitting out on the rear terrace (which accessed by French entry doors), ran along
with a profile of Jack and TWA, on Sunday, May 7, 1939. I am unable to reprint it here because
of copyright restrictions.

Memories of Jean Frye From Jack’s Sister
From Jack's sister Ople "Sunny" Frye Thomas, we learn Jean was very beautiful and the
perfect corporate wife- charming, educated and a perfect fit for Jack. Sunny loved her "cute"
accent. Others, too, remember her as being the perfect president's wife with a lovely accent and
manner. Regina (Regine) and Jack met at Sak's Fifth Avenue in New York City, where Jean
was employed as a buyer. It is thought this was about 1931, as they were married on December
23, 1932, at Excelsior Springs, Missouri. Unfortunately, additional information about Ms. La
Coste has not been forthcoming. The couple divorced September 9, 1939 at Independence,
Missouri. Shortly after, Jack Frye and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr. were married at
Scottsdale, Arizona. After this time Jean disappeared from public life but did stay in touch with
Jack’s sister for a time.

Noted TWA Pilot Walt Gunn Remembers the Frye Estate  
One story about the house, as related to me in an interview with TWA Captain Walt Gunn, was
that early on in his TWA career he was at the airport when a call went out for someone to run
out to Jack Frye's house and give him a ride to the office. The reason given was that Jack was
having car trouble. Walt told me he jumped at the chance to help out his boss- so he rushed to
his car and raced out to the house. When he arrived, (he now remembers) the house as a large
Tudor-style home which sat on a large acreage set down from the road. He descended down the
drive with his car, parked, walked around to the front door, and knocked. Someone answered
the door (he said he thought it was a maid or housekeeper) who stated that Frye had already
been picked up by someone else. Walt was so disappointed! The date was about 1942. This lucky
pilot was to shortly serve as a Frye executive co-pilot on Frye's private Lockheed 12A for two
separate trips in about 1942-1943. At this time, Jack had a live-in butler/valet named "White"
and would have had a cook-housekeeper as well at the home.

Rumors From Current Owners
In my interview with the current owners of the Jack Frye House I heard several interesting
stories. The most plausible was that Howard Hughes (at one point) sketched out some designs of
the H-4 Hercules (or as the press batted about the "Spruce Goose") in the guest house that
Jack had built. This story likely would be impossible to prove one way or the other. I did visit
and later contacted the Evergreen Aviation Museum which now owns the Spruce Goose but
found no information as to where the famous project was hatched. Howard did on occasion stay
at Jack and Helen's mansion in Washington D.C., and their famous Smoke Trail Ranch near
Sedona. At the ranch it has been said Jack and Howard secretly worked on the Lockheed
Constellation plans. So, it certainly is plausible that Howard may have visited the Merriam
mansion as well and certainly would have stayed in the guest quarters. Hughes would have
loved the isolation and the privacy. Jack Frye was not officially involved with the Spruce Goose
but he and Howard were working closely together on other projects during this time period.

Jack and Helen Frye Sell Foster Street
The Overland Park estate was supposedly sold by Jack and Helen Frye on October 28, 1943
when they moved to Arlington, Virginia. However, it went through some complicated deed
transfers during the divorce from Jack and Regina. For a time it was even deeded to Jack's
personal, long-time secretary, Meriam L. Furse Filkins. However, she was thought to never
have actually lived at the house. Eventually she deeded it back to Jack and Helen Frye. About
20 years later, another mystery resident of the Merriam house was Charles Tillinghast (TWA
President and CEO) May of 1961 (as listed on an old utility bill) but not title, (according to
current house owners). An interview with the homes occupants, unfortunately, raises more
questions than answers. It is not known exactly when the Fryes association with the house
ended. Obviously, more thorough research is needed in the region- something difficult and time
consuming especially from the remote locale of Sedona Arizona but eventually it will get done.
Many Frye Properties