sedona legend helen frye

A Frye Family Aviation Legacy

Sedona Legend Profile Series

Patrick
Mc Donald
Frye

November 29, 1906

Wheeler County, Texas

November 4, 1942

Dallas, Texas

PRESS RELEASE

Donald Frye, founder and director of the copyrighted system of schools which bear his name is a pioneer in the aviation industry. At the age of 10, he was building model airplanes with his brother Jack Frye, who is now head of T.W.A. Airlines. When 24, (1930), Donald Frye had already served 2 years in the U.S. Air Corps and was engaged as a flying instructor for the Guatemala Air Service. Later in California he worked in almost every department of the Douglas Aircraft Company. Leaving Douglas, he became personnel manager for Consolidated Aircraft Company. While serving in this capacity for five years, he became aware of the critical shortage of trained aircraft workers. Knowing the needs and requirements of the aircraft manufacturers, Donald Frye organized the Frye Aircraft Company with the sincere purpose of helping American men and women get basic training in aircraft production.

This website has led me down many paths and to the doors of many remarkable people. When I decided to start a remembrance for Jack and Helen Frye and their association with Sedona Arizona, I never dreamed it would lead in so many directions. I came to know Jack's sister Ople, who I found to be a rich source of information, and her daughter Pat. Through Ople I came to realize that Jack had a beloved younger brother who not only helped him get started in the airline business, which led to his founding TWA and building it into a World-Wide-Airline, but as well this brother also had a remarkable career in aviation himself. His name? Patrick Mc Donald Frye. He grew up with Jack in Texas on the family cattle ranch near Wheeler. He and Jack both joined the Army, a path that later led them to California. Don was not only one of the original investors in Aero Corporation, which Jack Frye founded, but worked for the company for a time as well. Born in November 1906, Don was Jack's "younger" brother. For a time he lived with Jack and his first wife Debbie Greer in 1920's Los Angeles. See profile on Don Frye below, from about 1941.

A rare early photo of Jack Frye with arm around his beloved brother Don, in about 1924 at Burdett Airport, Los Angeles. Both were immersed in the infancy of United States aviation, each forging noteworthy paths. See this page. Donald, like his brother Jack, was a crack aircraft mechanic. His friend Walter Hamilton trained him and included him in air-show-outings, maintaining planes.

PRESS RELEASE

Patrick Donald Frye was born in Wheeler Texas, November 1906, of English and Irish ancestors. Experience in aviation since 1922, includes mechanic, pilot, purchasing agent, toolmaker, Jr. Tool Designer and Inspector. Don Frye (1920-1921) broke into aviation at the age of 15, becoming so far as it is known, the world's youngest pilot at the time! He took a job as a dishwasher to get started and became a flying member of the famed Holmoky Flying Circus, stunting clipped winged Spads and Newports. Donald Frye worked with Aero Corporation

of California, Standard Airlines, Western Air, the United States Army, Guatemala Air Service, and Douglas Aircraft. Mr. Frye joined Consolidated Aircraft Company as an assistant in 1935, and soon became director, a position he currently holds. Having worked in many phases of the aircraft industry and observed it from all angles, Frye knows the viewpoint of the man seeking work for the first time. Consolidated has many of the finest aircraft craftsmen in the world. We consider ourselves privileged to be associated with, and hire trained students from the Frye Aircraft Company!

For further information on the Frye Aircraft Company, as written by Don Frye, please click here to read the PDF File.

The Frye Family name, stands tall and solid. A beacon in the development of the largest most advanced air transportation network (TWA), in the world. And a nationwide school to train men and women to work in the aircraft industry and the war effort. An amazing legacy of dedication and leadership!

Frye Aircraft Company, Dallas and Omaha.

Please click on photos for larger files

Frye Aircraft Company, Denver and St Louis

April 7, 1941

Douglas Aircraft Company Inc........
Permit me to say a few words in behalf of the Frye Schools. For several years, I have personally known Jack and Don Frye, and I am happy to say that both are fine gentlemen and are doing a splendid job in organizing schools and training personnel for the aircraft industry...........(see letter above to the left)

My Brother Don-
By Ople May "Sunny"
Frye Thomas

Patrick Mc Donald Frye- my brother called Don was born November 29 1906, Wheeler County, Texas. Died November 4, 1942 in Dallas, Texas. He was married to Marguerite Wilkinson and attended Rock School, Wheeler Jr. High, and Clarendon High School. Don was at 16, one of the youngest pilots in the nation. He held a transport pilots license, barnstormed over the country, was a stunt flyer and owned a flying circus. At 24, Don served 2 years in the Army Air Corps and was an instructor for Guatemala Air

Service. Donald Frye was at one time the Personnel Director, and served in other capacities for Douglas Aircraft Industries, before becoming Personnel Director for Consolidated Aircraft Corporation. Don realized the critical lack of trained aircraft workers, so he organized and became President of "Frye Aircraft Company, a Copyrighted System of Schools for Basic Training in Aircraft Production". The first facility was located in Kansas City, with others in Omaha, Denver, St. Louis, Dallas, Long Beach, and Salt Lake City. Don's career, of such promise, was ended tragically in a Dallas Hotel, November 4, 1942. He was buried in Wheeler, our dear friend and school principle, Judge R.H. Forrester was the speaker. Don was quiet, sensitive, very bright- a good artist and writer, with an analytical mind. His death- a very useless and sad loss!

This page is co-dedicated to the most remarkable woman:
Ople "Sunny" Frye Thomas, sister of Donald and Jack Frye.
Shown below in New York City, Sunny has desired a remembrance of sorts
for her other favorite brother- "Don". This page is a long overdue reflection of these efforts.

Sunny moved out to California when she was 12, first living with her grandmother. Soon though she felt it would be much more adventurous moving in with her brother Jack. It appears she was right! Of course Jack lived out near his Burdett Air Field in a small house with his wife Debbie, her mother, his brother Donald, and a family poodle. All parties were trying to find a foothold in this rich land of opportunity. Within a couple years Sunny now in high school spent all her free time out at Burdett Field. Soon she started paling around with one of Jack's closest friends. This young pilot had his own plane- a real luxury and would take Sunny up for flights whenever she would appear. Sunny relates that they would have great fun diving at the ships on the ocean, roaring through haystacks, and buzzing up and down the Los Angeles Coastal Areas- full throttle! At the time- all open sandy land devoid of the current, present gridlock, of Los Angeles homes. Jack trusted "Paul", perhaps blindly so. Either way, Paul and Sunny never had a mishap and Jack was never to find out the mischief they sought. Surely a grounding would have been in store if the wild duo was ever found out. Paul lived in a big house down on Sunset Boulevard, at that time an area sparsely built up.

Sunny and her daughter Pat, say Paul and his English actor-business-partner, Reginald Denny, successfully operated a airplane hobby shop on Hollywood Boulevard. Both were extremely talented model airplane engineers. The store opened in 1935, and sold "Denny-Planes", among other items. Quite a popular hang out, it was frequented by celebrities, and Pat's husband, with all his high school buddies. What did Paul and Reginald do in their spare time? They went "hedge-hopping" in their planes. Not at all surprising for Denny who was one of the original Hollywood Black Cats, (a local Hollywood aerial stunt team)- see this page. It is not known if "Paul" was a member, but Jack Frye was one of the original 13 members, per Denny. The team performed in many Hollywood movies, and included Jack and Denny. Other memories of this time, was Denny's wife, who Sunny says they called "Bubbles". One exciting weekend is recalled, traveling with Jack and Debbie to stay at Paul's family farm, out past Palm Springs, perhaps at Indio. With a piano in the living room all guests had a weekend of camaraderie and great fun!

In my Sedona Legend work I try to verify every detail possible. This of course is often difficult with a time span of 1920-2006. I was aware of "Paul", as he and Jack had managed to get their names in the paper with an aerial publicity stunt over Beverly Hills. Something Jack, an aviation entrepreneur, excelled at in a time when publicity meant the success or failure of one's business. However up to this point I was never able to find anything specific about this aviator associate. Recently, however, Sunny, at 97, remembered among other details, the last name of this elusive aviation hero. As well, the house Paul and his family once lived in. This mansion was eventually sold to a Saudi Sheik. The well-publicized controversy which resulted, served as the breakthrough I desperately needed. I found there was indeed a notorious "Beverly Hills Sheik", Mohammed al-Fassi, to be exact. After securing the mansion in 1978, described as a "quasi-Palladian palazzo" the Sheik proceeded to execute quite a makeover inside and out.

For the exterior- a brilliant coat of lime green paint. The stunning original Grecian statuary on the veranda? All re-painted in flesh tones and adorned with hair and realistic looking appendages. All this gaudy landscaping was further enhanced by filling giant Grecian Urns bordering Sunset Boulevard with brightly colored pink, blue, and orange plastic flowers. Needless to say, this blatant lack of neighborly decorum and respect, horrified the adjoining conservative Beverly Hills neighbors. Especially when one considers the significance of this particular historic property. The traffic-stopping-display was short lived however, as the 38-room-mansion suffered a devastating fire, January 1, 1980, and in 1985, it was demolished. The real tragedy is that this historic mansion had originally belonged to one of Beverly Hills' most renowned families- the name: "Whittier", as in Mericos "Max" Hector Whittier. This is the very same illustrious entrepreneur who developed and founded Beverly Hills, from about 1906, the famous Beverly Hills Hotel, in 1912, Rodeo Land and Water Company, a huge dairy, and Belridge Oil Company, in 1911. The latter company soon developed one of California's richest oil deposits into a multi-billion dollar dynasty.

Sunny knew not of this frivolous opulence though, just Paul's name, where he lived, and the fun they shared together. Discovering "where" Paul lived, was the break in this story I needed. The Whittier Mansion at 1001 Sunset Boulevard, was built in 1917 on about 3.6 acres, a landmark quite well known in the Beverly Hills region. Max, originally was from Caribou, Maine, around the turn of the century he went out to California to find his fortune, and what a fortune he discovered! Through speculation and risk, he created a dynasty for a generation of Whittiers. Unfortunately, Max wasn't to reap the long term benefits of this legacy though, as he died at Redlands, California in 1925. His wife Joanna, preceded him in 1923. The Whittier oil interests were bought out in 1979 by Shell Oil Company. The Beverly Hills development? Well, that is just about the most glorious legacy in the world, shared by Max and his two business partners, Charles Canfield, and Burton Green. The Whittier Estate, in 1979, after it was sold to the Sheik, was utilized by Steve Martin for the filming of the movie: "The Jerk". The Whittier children in the 1920's were tragically left parentless at early ages, fortunately though with ample income. Three sons: Donald, Leland, and a daughter named Helen, (later, the renowned philanthropist- Helen Whittier Woodward). But what of this Paul? Not so easy to track this elusive aviator, especially when I found his name was not quite what it appeared! At last I discovered him as "Nelson Paul Whittier", an early California aviator who actually went by "N. Paul Whittier", or "Paul". Today we know him as a very successful oil tycoon.

Noted for his appealing personality with a passion for aviation and boating. It was this man that grew up in that lovely old historic mansion just two blocks east of the Beverly Hills Hotel. A man that in his carefree youth, before the tragedy of his father's death, flew with the "Flyers of Burdett Field". His other partner in adventure, no other than Jack Frye's "baby" sister! A time of innocence, soon snatched away as Paul dealt with the sorrow of the death of his mother and father, and a mind boggling empire of wealth and responsibility that demanded instant maturity. Sunny hoped that I could find him alive, reuniting them in a journey of remembrance and joy. However, this was not to be, as Paul Whittier died in 1991, at age 87. Jack and Paul were both born in 1904, their age perhaps a common bond that belies the reason Jack trusted him with a sister he adored. And let's not forget their founding W.F.W. Aircraft Corporation, the initials represented: Theodore Woolsey, Jack Frye and Paul Whittier. Sunny now at 97, has lived a life rich and full! Within the depths of her weary body she has but to close her eyes.......soon the shadows clear- orange groves appear, and the vision of a two-seater sputtering in the sunset, fumes of petrol and oil flood her senses. Amid the overwhelming scent of citrus, she climbs in behind her trusted aviator friend- Paul Whittier. With engine roaring- the plane rockets off the primitive dirt runway in a cloud of dust, climbing- climbing- up and away- out over the bejeweled California coastline. For hours they fly through the intoxicating evening air over the small town of Los Angeles- swooping- diving- never wanting to land- free from the gravity of earth- free from life on the ground.

For more information on Paul Whittier, see "Jack Frye- An Airline Legacy" and "Burdett Airport School of Aviation".

Please click on articles to read

Note:
The Whittier Mansion's address in 1920 was 1001 Sunset Boulevard, Beverly Hills California. Quite well-appointed with 20,000 square feet, 56 rooms, tennis courts and pool, certainly more akin to an Italian Renaissance palace than a private home. Yet this grand villa was frequented by the Fryes and other intimate Whittier associates of the time when it was nearly new. It is not remembered as a cold sterile Bel Air-like estate, but "home" where early Los Angeles pioneers were welcomed and entertained warmly. For anyone desiring to visit this historic site, the address is rather hard to find as the street numbers have changed throughout the years. However the Beverly Hills Hotel, developed by Max Whittier, is just a couple blocks away at 9641 Sunset Boulevard. The current street address of the historic mansion, (now demolished), is 9561 Sunset Boulevard- @ Sunset Boulevard and Alpine Drive.

Tom Frye

Captain, Braniff Airlines- Dallas Texas, Retired

Tom Frye, Jack Frye's cousin, served with Braniff Airlines in a long and distinguished career (1942-1978) as Captain.

Tom Frye at the Braniff Gate, Brownsville, Texas

Yes, it does look like a young Jack Frye, however it's his cousin Tom at the beginning of his career, as a flight instructor, June of 1941.

Tom's beautiful wife, Virginia Foster Frye,
served as a Braniff Hostess, and a Braniff publicity model.

This page being updated, more to be added as time allows!

"All of the my brothers learned to fly," said Tom.
(Shown) Lieutenant Dick Frye, Pecos, New Mexico.
Dick was training at the Pecos Military Flight School on twin engine planes, (Cesnas) night and instrument flying. After the service he started a career as Dr. Richard Frye, D.D.S. Sulphur, Oklahoma.

Dr. William Henry Frye, father of Jack, Donald, and Sunny Frye. (Uncle of Tom)

Stinson Detroiter, N-1929, Beginning of what became Braniff Airlines. June 1928

Jack Frye of Transcontinental and Western Air, is seen here in 1931 after landing at Sulphur, Oklahoma. Jack was ferrying the new Fokker from New York to Los Angeles. Next stop was El Paso. Jack is shown with his Texas nieces and nephews who all received a ride in the new Fokker over the Frye Ranch.
Courtesy Captain Tom Frye.

Paul Braniff's first plane, all metal Lockheed Vega, Braniff Airlines. 1934

Wish I could say this is a Braniff Ford Tri-Motor, but I have not been able to nail it down.

Braniff Gate Love Field Dallas, Texas

DC-2, NC- 13728, S/N 1254, first served with Transcontinental and Western Air, (1934-1937) seen here as Braniff (The B Line) 1937-1942, In June of 1942, it was turned over to the Army (USAAF) for the war effort. From there it served as 42-57228.

Return Sedona Legend Helen Frye Entry Page

October 2007-
Sadly Sunny Frye Thomas, reigning matriarch of the Frye family has passed away. This remarkable woman was the very last of Jack Frye's immediate family, a lady who truly knew him his entire life. I am saddened by her death and honored to have been her friend. Sunny was a rich wealth of information in regard to the Frye legacy!

Thank you for visiting
Sedona Legend Helen Frye