sedona legend helen frye

Eternal Girfriends

Helen Varner Vanderbilt Frye

Evangeline Jones Brown

Baroness Garnett Butler Gardiner Stackelberg

Sedona Legend Profile Series

The "Camelot Years"
of Transcontinental and Western Air

Three Paths Connect

This saga has never been told- a story rich in love and companionship. Though some details are lost to the sands of time.... the love and depth has endured. This is a story about three women.... three very special angelic souls. These three spirits came together to forge a lifelong friendship here on earth, a friendship that will surely endure for an eternity. From different stations in life, miraculously they came together as equals, each bringing her own special sacred gift to the circle. Their lives filled with happiness and joy, tragedy and tears.... each was there for the other throughout the years. Beyond the curtain of death the bond remained. The circle.... never broken.

In 1935, Helen Varner, a stunningly beautiful small town girl from West Virginia, married into one of the most prestigious and well-connected families in America. The Vanderbilt name was synonymous with riches and wealth far beyond the average person's imagination. Her name now Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr., Helen became a member of an American Legacy. This young girl, wise and mature beyond her years soon became a woman. Helen was not only a Vanderbilt, but a member of the main branch of the Vanderbilt family. Her husband was a direct descendant of the very first Commodore Vanderbilt. (For more information on this lineage please click here.) Helen suddenly found herself in a world of opulence and pomp, in her new world people lived by a sacred code- wealth, power, and privilege. Throughout her time as a Vanderbilt wife, Helen experienced quite a different path. The Vanderbilt name was well-connected all over the world and Helen was welcomed into the finest palaces and dined in the presence of some of the most respected icons of our planet. But the important thing to mention here is that Helen never forgot where she came from, her life enriched by the marriage yet never corrupted by the materialism therein. Always she strived to reach out to those she met with compassion regardless of their path.

Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr., as shown in a Pond's Cold Cream ad. Helen's Pond's portraits were advertised worldwide from 1935 to about 1945 (later as Mrs. Jack Frye) making Helen one of the most recognized women in the world. As Helen was once heard to say, "it mattered not whether I traveled the ends of the earth or within Beverly Hills people would come up to me and say, aren't you Helen Vanderbilt?" This particular ad ran in December of 1935. Helen is shown with a sable or mink fur draped behind her, wearing an elaborate embroidered top. Her hair dressed with an unusual comb, diamond and ruby ear rings, all highlighted by an art deco broach. Ad courtesy of the Pond's Extract Company. For a larger photo please see "The Lost Photos of Helen Frye" or "Her Story."

Helen and Cornelius Vanderbilt socialized all over the world. The Vanderbilt name opened doors- American Royalty mixed with the age old titles of Europe. Traveling throughout Europe, India, and China, and observing the way people lived Helen was struck by the tremendous rift between the rich and poor. During these years Helen found comfort in the elite international commune of Shanghai, an exotic locale then called "the Paris of the East." An era unsurpassed in recent times Shanghai was heady with glamour and exciting people. From artists to royalty, opportunists to the idle rich, Shanghai was a vision of decadence, wonder, and liberation. Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr., was a perfect fit!

The photo above is from a tour of Europe and the Orient which Helen and Neil Vanderbilt took in 1935-1936. Shown is Neil Vanderbilt in a rickshaw at either Peking or Shanghai. This is likely where Helen first became enthralled with the Orient later living there for extended stays and meeting her soon to be, dear friend, Garnett Gardiner Stackelberg. Please see this page.

Intoxicating Fragrances Waft Over Shanghai Harbor

The scent of gardenia and jasmine wafted over Shanghai Harbor and found its way to another kindred spirit, Garnett Butler. This lovely girl, reared in Nebraska, later settled in Portland Oregon with her family. At 22, Garnett went south to Oregon State College, now Oregon State University, in Corvallis. From there she went to San Francisco and took a position with the Northern Pacific Railway. Yearning for a life of enchantment it was there she became passionately interested in an exciting place in a far away land where a group of friends had already arrived. With a college and childhood girlfriend, Margerie Popple Richards as a traveling companion bravely the two booked passage to the Orient in 1932. As her ship steamed out of the San Francisco Bay, Garnett gazed back on her familiar world, excited and apprehensive about her new path. The steamer's heading was the commercial port of the Yangtze region, the gem of the orient..... Shanghai China!

Garnett arrived with modest means.... all of $200.00 in her handbag. Frightened but brave she knew she would survive somehow. Thankfully she had friends in Shanghai and in discussing her survival they encouraged her to visit the American Consulate. Soon she found her way to the agency through twisting streets filled with the hubbub of rickshaws, vendors, and intoxicating aromas she didn't recognize. When asked about her skills all she could offer was her typing. One additional asset though was that she was radiantly beautiful. As a matter of fact, many have said since "she was the most beautiful woman I have ever met." So with a quick look up and down of this entrancing vision, the Consulate's assistant immediately said, "your hired!" From this point, Garnett's life truly began! With her embassy connections she was integrated into Shanghai society and included in the social gatherings of the very finest residents.

It was during this time she met Helen Vanderbilt. Both women glamorous and lovely had a legion of men at their feet. Helen, a Pond's Cold Cream spokeswoman was involved with the new orient Pond's manufacturing-distribution division. Garnett received six marriage proposals in as little as 6 weeks. Out of these, one gentleman captured her heart. He was a charming renowned Canadian doctor named William Gardiner. Soon they were married at the Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki then they settled in Shanghai at a lavish residence suite overlooking the waterfront on the harbor. As told by Helen Vanderbilt Frye, many years later, "the man was rich as sin, their home filled with ivory, jade and pearls." Garnett was once quoted in regard to the experience, "Life was wonderful- we had a 14-room penthouse and a houseboat. Everybody had a car and a chauffeur..... to say nothing of the good and faithful houseboys, cooks, and amahs. If you were at one of the clubs, swimming or playing cards you'd call the cook and say, 'We're going to be 12 for dinner' and then you'd go home at 8 p.m. and there would be dinner! Life was so easy and fascinating." Helen and Garnett would often share outfits and pass themselves off as sisters. Other associations during this time in China included a lady named Mary Star, Trudy Davis, and Marlys Chartel, (who lived with Garnett for a time in Shanghai.)

The Baroness Garnett Stackelberg, said to be one of the most regally beautiful women in the world. Glamorous and lovely, she had the world's most eligible men falling at her feet! Courtesy of Sandy von Stackelberg

A Tattered Fairytale

Meanwhile Helen her marriage waning, and she weary of her husband's womanizing eventually returned to the states for a divorce. Helen often would catch Cornelius Jr. with various women and he would try to win her back with roses and furs. Finally Helen had enough and expressed a desire to divorce. However money and power do not always equate to fairness. Neely (Cornelius) locked Helen in a tower room of one of the Vanderbilt mansions and Helen, like a bird in a gold-gilded cage, was unable to escape. Garnett, visiting the mainland tried to see Helen and was horrified that she had been restrained. So she enlisted the help of (some say her husband or a friend) found the key, and rescued Helen. Understandably that was the end of the Vanderbilt marriage and a close friendship between Helen and Cornelius, which had ignited in 1932.

By 1939, Helen and Tommy Smith were rumored to have rekindled their teenage romance planning marriage, (but Helen Vanderbilt vehemently denied the rumor as published in newspapers.) Whatever the true story, Tommy decided to fly a commemorative trans-atlantic flight and was soon tragically lost without a trace. Helen was very close to Anita Smith (Tommy's mother) and Helen's mother Maude was Anita's best friend.

Helen had met Jack Frye, president and founder of TWA in the fall of 1938, and thought he was as she said, "a nice looking fellow." They were seen together often at parties and events after this time period, the rest is history of course. Helen and Jack became romantically entwined and it was he who helped her finally obtain a divorce from Vanderbilt. The Fryes were married January 1 1941, with Anita Smith, as the Matron of Honor. Helen never forgot a friend in need and it grieved her that Tommy Smith was lost somewhere in Newfoundland, likely dead, but never properly buried. So it was she who enlisted the aid of Jack with TWA, and Howard Hughes to search for the wreckage. This they accomplished but the body mysteriously was never found. As busy as Jack Frye was he was never so short of time that he couldn't offer assistance to a fellow aviator in need.

Vanderbilt Comments To The Media

About His Marriage To Helen Frye

About ten years after the Vanderbilts divorced, Cornelius had the following to say about Helen as published in an article by David Camelon in 1948. I thought it was a nice, rather benign and reflective insight on Neil�s part. We must keep in mind that the Vanderbilts dated for three years before they got married. It always seemed to me that their union was a classic case of two people who are great friends and companions- until they marry- then the dynamic shifts and the friendship no longer works.

Excerpt from the article- Vanderbilt remained single for several years, then, �on the spur of the moment,� he said, he married Helen Varner Anderson, a young artist in Albuquerque, N.M., who had illustrated some of his magazine stories.

�Helen was a flier,� he said. �She had her a pilot�s license. I am a motorist. She thought motoring was too slow and old-fashioned. She always wanted to get to places in a hurry. �Our lives didn�t mix. Though we were married six years, we only lived together six months of that time. The rest of it she was away, hopping all over the earth. At the end of six years, she divorced me and married Jack Frye, then president of an airline.�

Please note- As far as Vanderbilt's comment that Helen had her pilot's license? I have no doubt that Helen knew how to fly and likely was taught by Tommy Smith or Jack Frye. But a license? -this is something that is pending research. Another of one of many Helen Frye Mysteries!

Shangri La becomes a Nightmare

In China, Garnett and her physician husband were caught up in the Japanese occupation of the Shanghai region after December of 1941. Interestingly, like two sisters living uncannily similar lives, Garnett, too, was held prisoner in her home, but her jailer was the Japanese Government. For seven long months all non-Japanese residents were kept under house arrest. Garnett subsisted on cracked wheat. Protecting Garnett with his silence, her husband would slip out of the flat each day on covert missions, which have never been revealed. Finally a political deal was arranged, whereas the United States offered to exchange a Japanese spy for one of Dr. Gardiner's patients, a diplomat, John Benjamin Powell. "JB" Powell was a well known columnist, managing editor of the Weekly China Review, managing director of the China Press, and correspondent for the Manchester Guardian, London Daily Herald, and Chicago Tribune. During the early 1940's, Mr. Powell proved no friend to the Japanese government of which imprisoned him, from 1941-1942. His health suffered severely at the hands his captors. (Later, he died in 1947 but not before he became a international spokesman and denouncer of the Japanese brutality of World War II.) Obviously a man which could not be allowed to become a political pawn of the Japanese government. To insure his physical health during his liberation, Dr. Gardiner and his wife, Garnett were allowed to accompany the diplomat, and soon all escaped from China.

Garnett Butler Gardiner, shown in Shanghai with her chauffeur and a Japanese guard in the early 1940's. Behind Mrs. Gardiner, you can see barricades and rolls of barbed wire. It is assumed these barricades were in place to restrict access in Shanghai during the Japanese occupation.
Courtesy Sandy von Stackelberg

As the steamer left the mystical "mecca" of Shanghai, now a barbed wire-enshrouded containment camp, Garnett stood on the deck in tears, knowing they would not be returning anytime soon. In a letter posted to her mother she said, "The Paris of the East has deteriorated from a fascinating thriving city into a dreary dismal and virtual concentration camp." Little did Garnett realize that her heavy heart would soon being mourning the end of her marriage as well. After reaching the United States and settling in Los Angeles, Garnett spent a majority of time on the lecture circuit, speaking about her experience in Shanghai. During this time she and the doctor grew apart, partly it is said, because he did not desire children. Often in life when one door closes, or two, in this case another is flung wide open. Soon after most published sources state Garnett met the dashingly attractive Baron Constantine (Steno) Stackelberg at a Washington D.C. luncheon. However, surprisingly, Garnett herself related quite a different story to a friend and business associate many years later. Garnett said she was enroute to a speaking engagement, "chewing gum like a teenager," this always helped her relax in between her taxing schedule of lectures. As she stepped out of the taxi cab Garnett literally bumped into the Baron, "it was love at first sight" she said. A lovely memory for a woman that had seen her share of anguish in the world and was certainly due a little bliss! Sandy Stackelberg, Garnett's son, stated the location possibly was the British Embassy. During this time the Baron was involved in state work in Washington. In a prior interview with Baroness Stackelberg she stated, "Steno knew Jack Frye long before I came on the scene." It is thought he may have known Helen Vanderbilt Frye, as well. However, they all met, they all became wonderful friends, and the Baron soon became an employee of Transcontinental and Western Air (TWA.)

Jack and Helen hire a staff for their estate and make new friends Spring of '42

Evangeline Jones Brown, shown to the right in her early 20's. At her first interview with Jack and Helen Frye, at the Doubleday Mansion, Helen Frye thought Evangeline was too young, at 22, to handle the enormous responsibilities of entertaining at the estate. However, Evangeline presented the Fryes with an impromptu idea! She asked Helen to let her in the kitchen (which at the time was poorly stocked and not organized.) Evangeline quickly busied herself and within no time, she served dinner to Jack and Helen in the mansion's large kitchen. The Fryes were so astounded by the delicious fare Evangeline whipped up, with so little to work with, that Jack Frye hired her on the spot! The Fryes also hired her husband as a Chauffer and a Caretaker for the stately estate. Please see memorial site here.

The "Camelot Years" of Transcontinental & Western Air

During the 1940's Helen and Jack Frye were in Washington regularly, politicking for TWA. Helen found a wonderful old estate- (the Doubleday Mansion) now called the Cedars in the Arlington area of Virginia. She hired a lovely and very beautiful woman to be the chef for the mansion. Thus Evangeline Brown, and her husband, Aubrey, came to work for the Fryes as caretakers, moving into the 70-acre-estate with a number of other employees. Aubrey and Evangeline were said to be the very first black employees ever hired by TWA! Helen and Evangeline soon became fast friends. They not only bought all the furnishings for the estate, but Jack and Helen were thrilled at what a world-class chef Evangeline proved to be. At about this time Helen was excited to hear that the Baroness was pregnant. A child was born, and named Charles Alexander. But "Sandy" as they called him, was a very large baby and the Baroness had a difficult recovery, and she wasn't too keen on hospital food. Helen in visiting the Baroness at the hospital, was alarmed in seeing her dear friend slipping away, suddenly, she got an idea! She went home to Hillcrest Farm (the Doubleday Mansion) and asked her cook, Evangeline to prepare the Baroness some of her wonderful home-made chicken soup, this they rushed up to Garnett. This is the first time that Evangeline met the Baroness, and they soon, too, became fast friends. The circle was now closed with Evangeline becoming the third member of the group. Garnett loved the soup and after dining on a fair amount of the healing "elixir," she made a complete recovery. Helen and Evangeline helped the Baroness pack her things and sprung her from the dismal building. Evangeline soon become renowned as being one of the finest chefs in Washington D.C., and later in her life, she was to cook regularly for several Presidents, political celebrities, and private families, including the Stackelbergs.

Helen Frye, in Washington D.C. April 17 1944, awaiting her husband, Jack Frye and Howard Hughes which were piloting the brand-new incoming Constellation airliner. Left to right, Jack's personal secretary, Beverley Dille, Helen Vanderbilt Frye, and society columnist, Austine (Bootsi) Cassini, (later Mrs. William Randolph Hearst.) Other persons seen are military brass and the press. See the Lost Photos of Jack and Helen Frye, the TWA Constellation Story, and the "Star of Paris."

Not only were all three Eternal Sisters stunningly beautiful, but they were fashionable dressers as well. At different times in their lives they all received that coveted accessory, which all women desire- full length mink coats!

A Martini Luncheon at the Mayflower Lounge with a Mystery Guest!

The photo below became quite a story in the end. On a hunch, I decided to add the image to this page, but at the same time, I thought, perhaps it didn't "belong" with the story-line. However I never dreamed at the time there was more to the "dual" luncheon than meets the eye, there was a "third participant" at the gathering. This was none other than Baroness Garnett Stackelberg, she just didn't appear in the photo. However, she is mentioned in other media sources covering the event. So in the end, the photo most certainly belongs here and I would like to think Garnett helped me find "the rest of the story" as it related to her! Thanks Garnett!

Home For The Holidays 1944

A very glamorous Helen Frye is shown holding a cigarette, with deep red painted nails, at a Martini lunch with movie star, Faye Emerson in Washington D.C. Helen and Jack were spending Christmas at their 70-acre estate, the Doubleday Mansion, at Arlington, VA., across the Potomac from the White House.
Please see this page.

Society Column Spread December 20, 1944

Colonel's Lady-- In Washington with her husband's family, Mrs. Elliott Roosevelt, newest daughter-in-law of the president, and Mrs. Roosevelt, is shown lunching with Mrs. Jack Frye, wife of the TWA executive. Colonel Roosevelt and his bride, film actress Faye Emerson, were married in Arizona on December 3. (Jack Frye attended as best man and Helen was part of the wedding party. The Roosevelts spent part of their honeymoon at the Frye Ranch in Sedona, Arizona).

The Rest of the Story-- appears in another Society Column by Carolyn Bell

That lush, lush blonde, (you guessed it, Fay Emerson Roosevelt) had the Mayflower Lounge ga-ga yesterday while she lunched with Mrs. Jack Frye and Baroness Stackelberg. F. D.'s new daughter-in-law is even prettier than her pictures, boasting of an apple blossom complexion and heavy golden hair, caught in a fat chignon in the back. With her pale blue wool frock, she wore a taupe felt hat -- and, of course, a mink coat!

The lounge usually takes celebrities very much in its stride, but Col. Elliott Roosevelt's bride had them all craning their necks for a better peek. A succession of people stopped by to meet her-- including Senator "Happy" Chandler, who gave her a hearty handshake!

The Jet-Setting Fryes- and guests!

To the left- Mrs. Jack Frye on a West Virginia flight to see her family. 1943-1944 time frame.

Special Executive Flight with Friends
Society Column-- Los Angeles, May 19, 1946

Garnett Gardiner Stackelberg, who lived in Los Angeles, for a year, following her return home from China on the Grispholm, has been in Washington, D.C., for the past two years. She recently flew into town with Jack and Helen Frye on their private plane, to spend three days. Lovely as ever, Garnett recently was voted, "The Most Beautiful Woman of the Week," in the national capitol. Please click on photo of the Lodestar.

Golden Years, Washington Royalty!

The Baron was instrumental in helping secure the oversea routes for TWA with his diplomatic and family connections. One invaluable relative was his cousin, Lord Louis Mountbatten, the last Viceroy (Governor) to India. The Baron was raised in the court of the last Czar of Russia (Nicholas II) where his father served as the Master of Ceremonies. Another connection, is the royal family of Great Britain, and a cousin H.R.H. Prince Charles. The TWA routes were eventually secured and TWA became the reining airline of the world, much to the chagrin of Juan Tripp, president of Pan American Airways. At this point, Jack, weary of the mismanagement, the largest TWA stockholder Howard Hughes exerted on the company, decided to resign. Jack always felt at that time, Howard was no longer mentally capable of rational decisions. This stemmed from the recent near fatal accident Howard had in Beverly Hills (1946). The injuries he sustained led him to become addicted to powerful painkillers for the rest of his life. Concerned about his two friends, Steno, and Aubrey, Jack Frye discreetly advised them of his plans and encouraged them to resign from TWA as well. They both complied, and all men went on to other careers. Throughout the years, the women like sisters, all married to men like brothers, kept in touch until death tore them apart. First Jack in 1959, Helen in 1979, Steno in 1989, Aubrey Sr. in 2000, and now Garnett in 2005. For further reading please see this newspaper article! By visiting this next link you can view a lovely memorial site for Garnett Stackelberg.

The Baron Stackelberg, and his wife, the Baroness Stackelberg,
in front of a portrait of Garnett. Courtesy Sandy von Stackelberg

Sad News Stuns Evangeline and Garnett

When Helen Varner Vanderbilt Frye died in 1979 a call was put through to Evangeline in Washington D.C. The news so overwhelmed Mrs. Brown, that her son Aubrey Jr., was put upon, to make the dreaded call to the Stackelberg residence. Garnett came to the phone, "she took the news unusually well and seemed rather stoic," said Aubrey Jr., in a recent interview, "it concerned me as it was unlike the Baroness." Later, worriedly, he called the Stackelberg residence to make sure the Baroness was really O.K. This time, Garnett's husband Steno answered the phone, gravely he conveyed to Aubrey Jr., that Garnett was not receiving calls or guests. He continued, stating the Baroness was so overwhelmed with grief in hearing of Helen's death that she had retired in seclusion to her bedroom. As Aubrey Jr. had suspected, the Baroness was too much of a lady to show her emotions, bravely coping with her dear friend's death, she succumbed to the emptiness in silence and privacy. She would always take comfort in the fact that she and Helen had been like sisters for over 40 years and shared some very exciting Washington history.

At the End of Garnett's Life-- Mysterious Intimations are Made

I have heard that Jack was involved with several secret operations, before, and during World War II. Either way, the story has been related by Jack's last wife, Nevada Smith Frye, Jack's daughter, Nev Frye, and Evangeline, and Aubrey Brown, (all knew the Stackelbergs intimately.) Garnet's comments on the matter were evasive. Because the Baroness is now gone, I am unable to follow up and derive any more information. However, the biggest mystery is that Garnett's son Sandy says he has never heard the story. He is totally puzzled. So alas we will never know what really happened or what it all means. If anyone reading this has any clue please E-Mail me.

Now we explore an interesting story as related by various sources in interviews. However, I have had absolutely no luck documenting the information. The last time I spoke to the late Baroness Stackelberg she related how Jack Frye had liberated her husband from overseas in the war years. In her words, "Jack flew him out as the Communists were killing off all the free-thinking wealthy families. They didn't want free thought." She said the Stackelberg family would forever be grateful to Jack Frye, and TWA. In closing she stated, "Jack Frye had a plane named after him in some fashion which went behind enemy lines." As to the latter, the Baroness was unable to recall the details. Garnett told me the last time she visited Helen, was when she flew out to Sedona on a private plane belonging to a lady friend. She clearly remembered the Wings of the Wind and the magnificent views. Members of Jack's family say he had a plnae named after him during the war called the "Frye Interceptor." This perhaps was the Northrop Pioneer or Raider in which Jack helped design. Also interesting to note, that later, in the 1950's Jack started his own airplane manufacturing company and named his planes the F1 Safari and the Pioneer.

Information for this article came from a variety of sources: Garnett Stackelberg and her son, Sandy, Evangeline and Aubrey Brown, Marlys Chartel, Carol Kender, and Nevajac Frye. Many thanks to all for your generous help! Painstaking efforts have been made to assure this article is as accurate as possible.

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The historical work on this page is respectfully dedicated
to the late Helen Vanderbilt Frye, Baroness Garnett Stackelberg,
and Evangeline Brown, three beautiful and gracious women!

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Sedona Legend Helen Frye