sedona legend helen frye

Their Story:

"Jack and Helen Frye"

Sedona Legend Profile Series

January 18, 1941

The president and founder of Transcontinental and Western Air, Jack Frye, and his new bride, the stunning Helen Varner Vanderbilt, former wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr., descend from a TWA Airliner at New York's famous La Guardia Air Terminal. The Frye's were married in Scottsdale AZ. January 1st, 1941 in a secret ceremony.

Notations on the photo:
Helen dressed to perfection as usual exits the plane wearing a fur collared coat, gloves and hat. A silk scarf around her neck, daytime planner and purse in arm, she descends the TWA stairs like a graceful queen. Jack follows always sharply dressed, today with wool herringbone overcoat, suit and tie, in his arms is Helen's mink stole. There is an unmistakable look of admiration on his face as he watches Helen face the World Associated Press. Amid the glare of blinding flashbulbs, "Mr and Mrs TWA" arrive in New York City. You may notice the face of a pilot looking out of the plane behind Jack, apprehensively observing the throng of press (click on the photo for a larger file). The plane is thought to be a TWA DC-3. You can be assured that the best of TWA's fleet and personnel were used on this special V.I.P. flight!

SOCIALITE HELEN VARNER VANDERBILT JR., IS TO BE RE-MARRIED IN PRIVATE CEREMONY

Scottsdale, Ariz.,
December 30, 1941

Reporters have been scrambling for news about the supposed upcoming marital union of Mr. Jack Frye, president of Transcontinental and Western Air, and the recently divorced wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr., Mrs Helen Varner Vanderbilt. Scottsdale is a buzz, over this very high profile wedding, and this reporter was able to detain Mr. Frye long enough, for the following comment. "She has accepted my proposal and we will probably be married here in Phoenix", said Mr. Frye. The blissful couple have been in the valley for over a week, but have managed to avoid querries about any upcoming marriage.

Both these publicity photos were taken at Camelback Inn December 1940.

TWA PRESIDENT AND AVIATION RECORD
SETTER JACK FRYE, MARRIES
Former Wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr., Helen Varner to Become Frye Bride

Janauary 4, 1941
The marriage Jack Frye, president of Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc., and Helen Varner Vanderbilt New Year's Day was disclosed today by the Justice of Peace Paul V. McCaw.

Mr. McCaw performed the wedding ceremony in Echo Canyon. Ten persons were in attendance. The bridal couple and guests rode to the scene on horseback.

The affidavit of a marriage license, signed by Mr. McCaw as deputy court clerk, came to light yesterday in the records of the Superior Court clerk at Phoenix yesterday. The affadavit gave Mr. Frye's age as 36 and his residence as Merriam Kan., and Mrs. Vanderbilt's as 32 and her home as Clarksburg, W. Va. Each had been married twice previously. Mrs. Vanderbilt was divorced from Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr. in Carson City, Nev., recently. The newlyweds left New Year's Day for Los Angeles and Palm Springs, Calif.

PRIVATE CELEBRITY WEDDING ON NEW YEAR'S DAY, SOCIALITE MRS. HELEN VANDERBILT JR. WED TO T.W.A. HEAD, JACK FRYE
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ., January 5, 1941
Secret ceremonies New Year's Day, with the red cliffs of Echo Canyon northeast of Phoenix forming the background, united in marriage Jack Frye, president of Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc., and Mrs. Helen Varner Vanderbilt, it was disclosed yesterday.

Although rumors of their intention to wed had been current for some time, the couple succeeded in keeping the fact of the wedding secret until yesterday, except from a small group of close friends.

The marriage rites were revealed as performed by a valley justice of the peace who previously had insisted he knew nothing about the matter.

The bridal couple and the wedding party, all wearing western costume, rode horseback from the resort hotel, The Camelback Inn where they were staying, to the wedding scene in the rock-walled canyon.

Mrs. Frye was attended by Mrs. Anita L. Smith of Tucson. Ralph Euler of Sewicklye, Pa., a director of Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc., was best man for Frye.

Also in the party were Mrs. Euler and Mrs. Paul L. Hibbard of Westwood, Calif.
Hibbard also is a director of the air line. The newlyweds left on the day of the ceremony for the coast.

Frye's age was given on the marriage license affidavit as 36 and that of Mrs. Frye as 32. It is the third marital venture for both.

TWA PRESIDENT AND WIFE
NEW OAK CREEK LAND OWNERS

August of 1941
Jack Frye, president of Transcontinental and Western Air Inc., recently purchased the 80 acres of patented land on lower Oak Creek known as the Armijo or Blackmoore, originally settled by Fred Hart. He and Mrs. Frye, the former Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr., plan to make it a summer home, and already have spent some time there preparing to repair and improve the place. The ranch is about a mile south of Wagon Wheel Ranch on the east side of Oak Creek.

Jack and Helens Frye's Sedona-

William John Jack Frye and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr. (Helen Varner) were guests at the same cocktail party in Washington D.C. sometime around 1938. At this party Helen taunted Jack for the dullness of TWA's advertising. This captured Jack's attention as he was always looking for ways to improve his airline. Helen conveyed to Jack that his ads were stuffy and unappealing. Later that evening after returning home she proceeded to write Jack Frye a letter about consumer appeal in air travel. This letter made such an impression on Jack that it remained for many years TWA's informal advertising manual! Later they were married. (You see, sometimes you CAN win a man's heart by telling him how to run his business)! Helen served as Jack Frye's "Rock of Gibraltar" in those tumultuous years, as well as a sounding board for the many TWA corporate decisions that were made. Mrs. Frye's influence was discernable in her efforts to help improve TWA's dining service. Her idea was to cook food as appetizing as possible and deep freeze it. Later it was re-heated and served in flight. Helen Frye was a marvelous cook and enjoyed this talent her entire life! For years after, perfecting this method, the airline served some of the best in-flight-meals in the industry. It has been said that Helen also designed uniforms utilized by TWA Hostesses. This came about in regard of the desire by TWA to provide it's Hostesses with Day and Night-time attire. These were the days of the TWA Skysleepers and luxurious trans-world-airliners. The uniforms could also be altered to reflect dinner or non-dinner flights. In the infancy of airline stewardess attire Helen used her fashion sense to come up with a unique dual design uniform. A TWA Hostess would wear the smart outfit that had a lapel-design that would fold up or down in front. Helen's intent was to provide TWA Hostess representative with a multi-purpose uniform. The top was worn one way during the day, and another way at night. The embossed "logos" on the lapels could be displayed in different ways. The smartly styled TWA uniforms, and the constant upgrading of TWA's dining services, were just one of the efforts by Jack and Helen, as a team to maintain a sterling visual image for TWA. See photo examples, following this article. Jack and Helen's marriage truly can be summed up as The TWA Years, as this was one of the most exciting and captivating periods of TWA's rocky climb to the top of worldwide airline service! Their union certainly was an asset and it greatly benefited Jack Frye at the helm of this remarkable company with Helen Vanderbilt Frye beside him.

These years were some of the most productive and glamorous in TWA's history. This liaison is evident when one sees the nearly life size portrait of Helen hanging over Jack's Washington D.C. desk. This display was most unusual in the corporate world Jack operated in. Jack both loved Arizona and spent time here as much as they could. As a matter of fact, Jack was responsible for the tourism in Arizona during this period. He heavily promoted the state through TWA and its many Arizona stops, as a "winter haven". Without this TWA publicity Arizona would never have become the get-a-way for sun seeking "snowbirds" that it was before and after World War II. After their wedding Jack and Helen started searching for a "home" of their own. Previously Jack lived in Kansas City, see this page, and Helen Beverly Hills, South Pasadena, and Lake Arrowhead, CA. They searched for months in Jack's personal Lockheed, over the regions of southern California, New Mexico and Arizona. They were looking for a unique tract of land with plenty of water for cattle. Of course, it was on one of these trips that they discovered the property that would become the Frye Smoke Trail Ranch, near what is now Sedona, Arizona. So as not to repeat the entire story twice on this Web Site, here is the page: "A Legacy Born" On this property there was an old Indian Trail that followed Oak Creek. It is thought that this is the very trail at Red Rock State Park now calls Smoke Trail. Helen and Jack discovered that this trail had been used for hundreds of years by Indians and found evidence of campfires which left heavy deposits of smoke on the adjoining cliffs and rocks. Also numerous Indian artifacts were found. So intrigued and touched were Helen and Jack with this part of their property that they named the parcel Smoke Trail Ranch! Although Jack and Helen owned two other ranches in Arizona, to include the Sunshine Ranch, Smoke Trail Ranch in Sedona was their most favorite. At one point in 1948, Jack and Helen Frye owned over 50,000 acres of property in the state of Arizona alone, per a Fortune 500 Magazine profile! The Smoke Trail property was cultivated slowly as Helen and Jack were not only celebrities whom entertained constantly but Jack was one of the busiest men in the United States. Eventually the ranch grew to approximately 700 acres. During the first 8 years or so there were few comfortable accommodations on the ranch, but Jack and Helen were just too busy to even think about building a home in Sedona.

However this was their desire from the very beginning. Helen and Jack first lived at the old Ambrosio Armijo Homestead, (part of the portion of Smoke Trail Ranch called Deer Lick Ranch), while on property. These accommodations consisted of two lovely old ranch houses made of red rock that still exist to this day. Helen and Jack lived in the ranch building that was the second one from the creek. This sale of 120 acres was the motivation to finally start construction of the Apache Fires house! There was another accommodation that was utilized on Smoke Trail Ranch too, which is still part of Red Rock State Park at the present. This is a small cottage called the "Willow House". See photo here. This historic dwelling built before Helen and Jack's ownership in (August of 1930, per local Sedona resident Jane Schuerman), was used a majority of the time before the House of Apache Fires was initiated. It is thought Jack and Helen moved in by (December of 1941, per Roy Kurtz). This cottage was considered Jack and Helen's personal residence when they were at the ranch. It is local Sedona lore and absolutely true, that Jack and Helen Frye had the very first Sedona telephone. This historic telephone line was installed at the "Willow House" (about 1942) and later the "House of Apache Fires", in about 1947. The line in essence was a TWA-Hotline from Sedona to Kansas City, Washington D.C, Los Angeles, New York City, Howard Hughes and the outside world. This communication link came in handy when President Roosevelt's son Elliott utilized the line to call the White House during his honeymoon at the ranch in 1945. Helen devised a rather unique method to get the uncooperative local phone company to install the phone line. She sent them copies of Jack's TWA phone bills! After seeing how large they were, the short sighted phone company broke all records installing the new line! Jack and Helen kept hired help at the ranch at all times through the years, usually a ranch foreman, his family, and various other employees as they did with all their properties. (I have been told that Jack and Helen flew in with their butler often, a man named White, and they always had a housekeeper and full time cook at the ranch. There was housing for the "help" in out buildings near the Willow House, until 1947 at Deer Lick Ranch, and after 1947 at the House of Apache Fires. As you surely know if you have been following this site, Jack and Helen flew in Jack's 1937 Lockheed Electra 12A, NC-18137 to and from the ranch. After 1944 they used Jack's 1942 Lockheed Lodestar 18, NC-33604. These planes were beautiful, very sophisticated twin engine executive airliners that Jack and Helen utilized for a majority of their traveling. Please see this page dedicated to these two planes.

Powerful twin engine planes like these could not be landed just anywhere. Especially the larger Lockheed Lodestar. Although Jack contemplated trying to develop a landing strip at Smoke Trail Ranch there was just not enough time to do so in his busy life. It is doubtful as well, that the red rock cliffs and mountains surrounding the valley could have been navigated by either plane. Thus, Jack and Helen flew into Prescott, Cottonwood, or Winslow, Arizona. Upon arrival their ranch hands would pick up the Frye's whereever they landed. Winslow Arizona was a full-service TWA terminal where the Frye's traveled in and out on TWA Airliners. While in Winslow the Fryes would book a suite at the now historic La Posada Hotel, a former Fred Harvey House. Sedona had no airport at this early date. Jack and Helen searched Sedona by air for a suitable airport site however, and located Table Top Mountain, now known as Airport Mesa, the current location of the Sedona Airport. Jack and Helen walked the mesa off together and Jack determined that it would be a suitable airfield for the Sedona region. However, Jack's personal time was so limited that he was not able to follow through on any development. Later in life Helen related that Joe Moser carried the project through by 1953. Jack was instrumental in formation of a simpler landing field near Cottonwood though, and the people of that community were very grateful to him for that! See article to below. This was not the present airport in Cottonwood, but another location. A Sedona resident that knew the Frye's related to me, "that on the corner of Cornville Road and Highway 89A, on the west side, Jack had an area bladed and they often landed their plane there. Someone from the ranch would then drive over and pick them up". I have discovered through research that Jack and Helen either owned or leased the property at this location. It is assured that each time Jack and Helen were in town, all who drove down Highway 89A between Cottonwood and Sedona would see their shiny gleaming TWA Electra or Lodestar parked in the desert next to the highway. Word spread throughout the region, "that Jack and Helen Frye were back in town"! Sedona's first celebrities! Further by the same witness: "when Jack and Helen came to town they were always accompanied by an entourage of people". As he put it, "a bevy of beautiful women, secretaries to secretaries....etc." This was understandable as Jack was never far removed from the daily operations of TWA. Helen, as well, utilized a secretary of her own to handle social correspondence and engagements. It is well documented locally that each time Jack and Helen would fly in, their gleaming Lockheed would fly in low over the ranch and circle it. This would signal the ranch hands to drive out to the strip and pick up Jack, Helen and their guests.

Please keep in mind that on each of Jack and Helen's planes a TWA hostess was assigned to tend to the needs of the passengers. There was always a co-pilot on the Electra, and a crew of three for the Lodestar. One of Jack and Helen's pilots on the Lockheed Electra 12A was Captain Walt Gunn. On the Lockheed Lodestar the pilot was Glen Knudsen. I am trying to locate more information on Glen of whom I have been told also had a twin brother that was also a TWA pilot. Another one of Jack and Helen's personal pilots was a man named Al. Because of the impending war Jack and Helen had to spend more and more time in Washington D.C. Jack maintained an office there during the war and Transcontinental and Western Air was heavily involved with the White House in the war effort. President Harry Truman and Jack Frye were very good friends and poker buddies. Jack Frye and Helen Varner Vanderbilt Frye were frequent guests of the FDR and Truman White House during this time period. To see a photo of Jack's TWA office with Helen's famous portrait hanging on the wall, please click here. During this time Helen and Jack lived in hotel suites and apartments in Washington D.C. It became apparent to both of them, what with the entertaining and lobbying they had to do for Transcontinental and Western Air, that they needed to buy a home in the D.C. area. In January 1944, Helen found an estate that she felt was suitable. You can read about Jack and Helen's life at the Double Day Mansion in Arlington VA. in Helen's own words described in personal letters. One letter talks about the Frye's entertaining the League of Nations for a week! When Jack and Helen could take the time to be in Sedona they made the best of it. Because TWA was the airline of the movie stars, Jack as president, and Helen as his wife, became friends with many celebrities. Helen even served as a TWA Hostess on some celebrity flights. Many of these celebrities, as well as many world notables were invited to Smoke Trail Ranch to experience the Wild Wild West of Sedona, Arizona. Because the accommodations on the ranch were limited, some of the guests stayed in town or in the canyon, at Mayhew Lodge.

Jack and Helen entertained their many guests with mini-rodeos, square dances, trail-rides and cookouts! The ranch was even made to look like a Hollywood movie set for one party. Jack and Helen's friends were treated to royal western adventures! If one imagines one can see the fiddles, guitars, square dancing, singing, and smell the aromatic fires of Mesquite and Juniper cook fires! One story goes like this from a local Sedona person whom was actually there and worked for Helen and Jack as a guide: Quote by Carmen Reyes- "The ranch used to be pretty big before Armijo sold some of it to Jack Frye, he was president of TWA. I remember when Jack Frye came, he used to hire me to be his 'Little Indian Guide,' him and Helen used to tell me, and don't speak English. They had all kinds of important people come; Marlene Dietrich, I would get all thrilled to death when she came, I was about 12 or 14 at the time". Reyes continued, "Where the creek goes around, there was a little farm that was experimenting with soy beans during the war. It was pretty nice then. We cleared a lot of rocks down by the creek for the Fryes, they wanted a place to swim. I liked working for them! I was one of the best paid guys around. I made $60.00 a month, it was paid to me under the table. I would work all day with the tours, and then have to hoe or do anything else that needed to be done. That was fun working with all those movie stars! Helen Frye had two Great Danes- first two I ever saw in my life. When she would go out on horseback I would have to follow along, kind of like a puppy dog. She carried a .22 and I had to carry boxes of ammunition. She would shoot at anything that moved- grasshoppers- anything! One day a pack of coyotes came out and took after her dogs. She got so excited she couldn't hit the coyotes and wouldn't give me the rifle. So I finally got off my horse and had to get sticks to chase the coyotes off her dogs"! Please note: the longer Helen lived on the ranch, the more respect she gained for the wildlife. At the end of her life she did not allow anything to be killed or harmed in anyway on the ranch. Rattlesnakes, tarantulas, coyotes: all wildlife lived in harmony and peace on Smoke Trail Ranch. Please see Rattler Tales.

Jack Frye was the genius behind Transcontinental and Western Air's advertising. From the very beginning with Standard Airlines, he knew the value of marketing to promote his aviation business. It is said that Jack checked all TWA copy word for word before it was released for publication for 17 years. The letters below illustrate how Jack operated, a practice which did not go unnoticed by people associated with his airline. When Jack and Helen bought their Sedona property in 1941, they both coveted it for the rest of their lives. Jack proudly included the photo above in the 1942 Transcontinental and Western Air calendar with a caption that read simply: "Scene Near The Frye Ranch, Oak Creek Canyon, Arizona". Eventually he used the photo on the TWA postcard shown above, sold worldwide. Please see Jack's earliest aviation endeavors here.

December
1941

The Frye Ranch

As mentioned above, Helen Frye was instrumental in the design of a unique TWA uniform of the 1940's. Our TWA Hostess model to the right, is the lovely Lilah May Wolfensperger. If you look closely at the uniform you will see on the left shoulder area a lapel that is buttoned in the "up" position. The uniform was ingeniously designed to serve a dual purpose: day and night attire. This eliminated the need for an Airline Hostess to retain a second uniform. As well, it lowered the uniform costs for TWA. The lapel in the photo when unbuttoned in the "down" position would show a different embossed display of different level of TWA service. These photos, cast off after many years, had no home but to strangers. Sadly, Lilah's wonderful career is all but forgotten. However, now in association with Jack Frye, this forgotten member of the TWA family has been adopted and preserved with the Jack Frye TWA legacy indefinitely!
Please see another example of this uniform at the bottom of this page.

Please Click
for larger files

Private Airport for the Frye Smoke Trail Ranch

and Jack Frye's Lockheed Electra NC-18137

NEW AIRPORT OPENING CEREMONIES

Bridgeport, Arizona
October 28, 1941

Verde Valley residents, led by the Irwin D. Major post of the American Legion and other civic organizations, are seeking government assistance in development of the Verde Valley Airport, which was dedicated Saturday. Jack Frye, of Kansas City, Mo., president of Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc., was the principal speaker at the program, which was attended by several hundred Verde Valley residents. Holder of pilot license No. 1 for the state of Arizona, Mr. Frye flew to the field in his private Lockheed plane.
Improvements Needed
"The Verde Valley Airport is in a good position to be of inestimable value to this section of the country as either an army base or a commercial field," Mr. Frye said. "Of course, additional improvements would have to be made, since the field as it stands today is valuable only as a day field. If government aid were obtained in improving the field, it would be an easy matter to effect the installation of lights and good paved runways. The Verde Valley has long been known to TWA pilots as having excellent flying weather at practically all times of the year. A negligible expenditure would complete the runway setup to provide an outstanding day field."
Flying Conditions Ideal
Flying conditions in the Verde Valley are comparable to those experienced at Phoenix and Tucson, speakers said. Conditions for gliding also are ideal, they added. Several members of the local airport committee were taken by Mr. Frye on a flight over the field--George Thiel and son Roger, John Burke, Frank Eden and Karl Norton, all of Cottonwood. To climax the ceremonies, Dave Roos, local instructor of the Hispano Flying Club, flew directly over the landing field and dropped a large American flag which drifted slowly to the ground while "The Star-Spangled Banner" was played.

As was Jack's style, he moved fast on a landing strip. He and Helen bought their Sedona property in June of 1941, and by the end of October of that year, Jack had already secured the land, and improved it enought to land his TWA executive planes! Amazing! But no surprise when one looks at his remarkable career!

At left, is the (now unused) site that Jack and Helen purchased, some say leased. It was developed by Jack and Helen so they could land their Lockheed Electra 12A NC-18137, and Lockheed Lodestar NC-33604 mini-airliners, closer to their Smoke Trail Ranch. It still exists and can be seen from the air and on National Forest Service maps on the corner of Highway 89A and Cornville Road on the north side of Cottonwood toward Sedona. There is currently a new road being built SW of the airfield area. This is NOT the present site of the Cottonwood airport. Please see: "The Famous Lockheeds flown by Jack and Helen Frye!" It is not the first airport that Jack owned in his life either. See "His Story"

Verde Airport Being Constructed By U.S. Army

Flagstaff newspaper November 7, 1941

Many interested people of the Verde Valley and Oak Creek districts held a meeting this week conferring with Dr. T.J. Tormey president of Flagstaff State College and also chairman of the Flagstaff Housing Authority, in reference to housing 100-200 men in Flagstaff if the U.S. Army approves an airport now under consideration at a site about 15 miles south of Sedona and six miles this side of Cottonwood.

Army officials have made two surveys of the proposed site and according to W.C. Steele, have seemed favorable. The land is leased by Jack Frye, president of Transcontinental and Western Airlines, Inc., and he has offered it to the Army. At the present there is an airport on the site with two runways. The land is extremely flat and the runaways can be extended as long as three miles. Weather conditions and low altitudes have also been highly in favor of the airport.

However, according to Steele, the Army will not consider the site until facilities have been found to house the men. If the project goes through it would be a considerable benefit to Flagstaff, as well as the Verde district.

Interview with Jack and Helen Frye
at a New York City Nightclub

Celebrity Column of C.B. Driscoll
Jack Frye of Transcontinental and Western Air U.S. Aerial Service
Manhattan, N.Y. June 2, 1942
Written by Charles B. Driscoll

Jack Frye, head of Transcontinental and Western Air and his beautiful West Virginia wife, Helen Varner Vanderbilt Frye, were in town for a few days, and I managed to snare them for an evening's conversation. Naturally, Jack had nothing to say about the government's orders, nationalizing the properties, and cutting down the services. Except that every airline is trying to do its utmost to co-operate with the government for the victory that lies ahead. He wanted to talk about two things: the superb ferry and freight service which is taking to foreign lands across the oceans a trememdous stream of gifts from America to her associates and allies in the war, and Arizona.

Jack has bought a large ranch in Arizona, 4,000 feet up, close to Flagstaff.
He and Mrs. Frye have staked out the site for their new home, have hired an architect, and hope to have a roof over their heads by the time snow falls in less favored lands. The wide verandas will overhang a real river, which runs sparkling cold water the year around.

About the service to our friends across the water, much, of course, is secret. But when the story is told, the world will know that hard working young airmen, trained by efficient airlines of the United States, have played a noble part in bringing about the victory.

These boys work long hours, under tremendous strain. Operating efficiency on this side of the ocean is such that the mountains of material, produced in this country, move war-ward with no more confusion or heroics than you can detect in the day-and-night operation of the subway shuttle service between Times Square and Grand Central.

May I remove my hat, right out loud in public, to the boys who fly the stuff to the ends of the earth, and to the brains and skill that make this amazing freight service possible?

Jack and Helen Frye were seen at some of the most famous clubs in America in the 1940's. This would include the hottest clubs in Hollywood, and New York. Helen Varner Vanderbilt was not a stranger to one such establishment, the fabulous and famous Stork Club. Helen had been a frequent patron for many years, first with her socialite husband Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr., and later with her husband Jack Frye, president of TWA.

The Stork Club was THE place for celebrites to socialize from the 1930's to the 1960's. The most famous people in the world were seen there on a regular basis.

To see a picture of Helen and Jack's good friends Elliot Roosevelt and Faye Emerson, please click on the following link: Corbis.com Web Site. In the "search box" at the top of the page, type in "faye emerson elliot roosevelt". This will bring up a picture of them at the famous Stork Club, and El Morocco.
To read more about the night life of New York City in Jack and Helen's day, and other night clubs they frequented when in New York City:
Please click on the picture at the right.

If you have any photos of Jack and Helen at any New York or Hollywood nightclub please notify me. I have found out another familar haunt for Jack and Helen was the 21 Club. I would be most grateful to publish any such photo on this page, crediting you as the source.

Jack Frye made sure that Transcontinental and Western Air was well represented in associations with business partners. Please see evidence of this below.

One of the most famous restaurants in Hollywood, and regularly frequented by Jack and Helen Frye was Chasen's @ 9031 Beverly Boulevard. Appearing prominently on the Chasen menu from July 31, 1940, was the following information:

Chasen's Menu
Caterer to:
Transcontinental and Western Air Inc.
"The Airline Run By Flyers."

Jack and Helen ready to fly back to Kansas City,
(Shawnee Mission home in Kansas,) from Deer Lick Ranch in the TWA Lockheed Electra 12A NC-18137. See this page all about the Frye private planes. Helen is dressed in her cowgirl boots, and holding her flight luggage. Her pants rolled up to protect them from the dusty ranch and airfield. A stylish silk scarf wrapped around her neck. Jack dressed with tie and jacket in anticipation for his return back to his TWA office. Pen in pocket and flight-glasses on. He is holding his trademark cigar. Very rare and precious photo of these two taken by Roy Kurtz. See this new page. There is only one other known photograph taken of Helen and Jack at their ranch in Sedona, now Red Rock State Park!

Circumstances of above Mystery-Photo revealed

With a long and arduous search I have finally tracked down the history of the above photograph. It is rare as there are only two known photographs of Helen and Jack, together at the ranch. A copy of the photo was given to me by Edith Denton, curator of the Sedona Historic Society. Although I was aware of the photo previously, it was not known the date or circumstances of the photo. Edith was able to point me in the direction of the man who actually took the picture, Roy Kurtz! The gentleman is elderly now, but still very much alive. This image is one of the most treasured in regard to Jack and Helen's story. Date of the photo was the early 1940's- spring of 1942 or 43, at Deer Lick Ranch, now (Cross Creek Ranch Estates.) Roy was Jack and Helen's first Sedona ranch forman. They posed for the picture before they were driven to the landing strip north of Cottonwood, mentioned above. There Jack's Lockheed Electra 12A was fueled up and waiting for them. Their destination was TWA headquarters and their Merriam, (Shawnee Mission) Kansas home. The photo was captured on the west side of the now new bridge crossing Oak Creek into Cross Creek Ranch, right off of Red Rock Loop Road.

Roy worked for Jack and Helen, before he eventually joined the armed services. He said that he thought they were both wonderful, kind people. He said Helen was very lady-like in everything she did, and he admired that. He conveyed that she was not only a beautiful person physically, but beautiful inside as well. One time Jack and Helen asked him to fly to Phoenix with them. He was very excited telling about the trip. "They drove me over to the landing strip on 89A and Cornville Road that Jack owned. There we boarded Jack's plane and took off. The plane was polished silver, loud and powerful. Jack let me sit in the co-pilot's seat for a while while we were in flight. Then he asked me to take the yoke, which I did, it was a thrill to feel like I was actually flying that big plane, even though Jack Frye was right beside me in total control. Jack showed me how to bank and climb." He then laughed and said, "I was so nervous with all that responsibility.......I shortly gave the controls back to Jack. We landed at the Phoenix airport, and I went with them to the Tovrea Stockyards where Jack looked at some cattle he was interested in. Later that day we flew back to Sedona, it was very exciting!" I had the impression this was not the only time he flew with Jack and Helen. Jack was always flying people around in his gleeming Lockheed Electra and Lodestar. Another time Roy said he drove Helen up to Winslow, Arizona to catch a plane. "It was one of the times she was at the ranch by herself," he conveyed. "She boarded a TWA airliner and flew out from there, then I drove back to the ranch. I had to get up real early to make the trip." He lived in one of the Armijo Ranch buildings for a while when working for Jack and Helen as their ranch foreman-caretaker. In the red rock house that was nearest the creek. This was part of Jack and Helen's Deerlick Ranch, which was a subsidiary of Smoke Trail Ranch. He also said that Jack and Helen used the Willow House a majority of the time they were at the ranch, as it was the newest building, just a little over 10 years old.

Please see new profile page on Roy Kurtz, and information about Deer Lick Ranch here.

Jack and Helen's Lockheed Electra 12A Junior, Registration Number: NC-18137, S/N 1229, TWA Fleet #240. This is the actual plane Jack and Helen flew with Roy that day in the early 40's. The picture is the only one I have found of the plane from that time period. Please see story by Walt Gunn who was one of Jack and Helen Frye's personal pilots.
Also see the new stellar webpage,
The Famous Lockheeds that Jack and Helen flew.

During the early 1940's Helen Frye saw her husband involved in a project that would soon change the world of aviation. Whether they were in Washington D.C. or at their beloved Smoke Trail Ranch, Jack was often distracted by this new vision, an idea that he knew would turn the globe upside down, soon to be manifested as the marvelous new airplane called the "Constellation." Helen also at this time begin to see a new person included in their social engagements and parties, Howard Hughes. Now a major stockholder in TWA, Howard and Jack worked closely on developing the Constellation into a vehicle that would revolutionize the aircraft industry. Jack had met Howard years before when Hughes was producing the film "Hells Angels" which utilized many flyers and planes from Jack's stunt flying school. They shared an impressive aviation background, a love of flying, success and great vision. The Constellation was TWA's ticket to dominate the skys of the world. See the "TWA Constellation Story."

Smoke Trail Ranch- Riding Day

When Helen and Jack were at Smoke Trail Ranch, one of their favorite activities consisted of riding the trails of the ranch. Here Helen Frye (left) and good friend Harriet Appelwick (right) a TWA hostess, are ready to ride the many trails of the ranch. Note: I think in this photo Helen looks a lot like Ann Southern, only with dark hair. You will notice Helen wearing her signature stylish silk scarf and a western fringe jacket.

To the right is another image captured the same day, Harriet is ready to take on perhaps: "Smoke Trail." Interesting note-- Harriet was such a good friend of Helen and Jack that they named the acreage across from the "Willow House" after Harriet. Appelwick Field was used for alfalfa and a small orchard.

It has recently come to my attention from TWA Captain Walt Gunn, (see my page "An Imprint") just who Harriet Appelwick really was. She served as the private TWA Hostess (Stewardess) that was assigned to staff Jack and Helen's private planes. After Harriet started flying with the Fryes, Harriet and Helen became fast friends. This is why when the Fryes flew out to Smoke Trail Ranch, Harriet was invited to stay at the ranch, riding and enjoying Helen and Jack's private utopia. Normally the "flight crew" of Jack and Helen's private planes were boarded at a nearby hotel. From there they would await word from Jack and Helen as to when the Lockheeds would be needed for outbound flights. Of course they were always included at the ranch whenever possible for dinners and hoe downs. As Jack and Helen Frye's personal TWA Hostess, Harriet was considered an intimate member of the Frye family. Harriet served as Hostess to many celebrity passengers on the Frye planes to include billionaire Howard Hughes. See this page.

The house in the background of the above photos is the "Willow House." It is survives today at
Red Rock State Park as the park manager's cottage. The dwelling was built in August of 1930. In this house on the nights of December 7 and 8 1944- the son of a sitting United States President, and his movie star bride spent their honeymoon as the VIP guests of Jack and Helen Frye. Please refer to: The President's Son and The Movie Star.

Jack and Helen Frye
purchase the Sedona "Willow House".

In the fall of 1941, the Fryes purchased a large section of the Oak Creek Valley and added it to their Deer Lick Ranch holdings. This purchase soon called Smoke Trail Ranch, increased the Frye Sedona acreage considerably, to well over 500 acres.

With this purchase came the nearly new house called the Willow House, thus named for the Willow tree in front which made it look like a doll house. his house soon became known as the Frye headquarters and personal residence, rarely was it used by any other guests for the next 6 years. Please see further information about the Willow House and Deer Lick Ranch here.

TWA President Honored In Evening Gala
Kansas City, Missouri August 15, 1945

Last night in Kansas City, Missouri, an evening gala was presented in honor of the illustrious president of Transcontinental and Western Air: Mr. William John "Jack" Frye. The event honored Mr. Frye and TWA for their monumental contributions to the world of aviation. Mr. Jack Frye is not only one of the world's youngest airline presidents, but as well, one of the United States' most accomplished pilots, who has broken many a transcontinental record. The sponsors of this dinner were the who's who of the Kansas City business establishment and some of America's most prestigeous corporate leaders. No less than over 400 people attended, to include of course Jack's charming wife,
Mrs. Helen Varner Vanderbilt Frye.

In an after dinner speech this TWA president mesmerized the attendees with his million dollar smile and captivating presence. "Long range transport planes with 425 mph speeds will shrink the world to the point where travelers can circle the globe in 54 flying hours," prophesised Mr. Frye. Ambitious plans were unveiled that would make Transcontinental and Western Air the leading international airline of the world serving 392 TWA airports worldwide. How could this be accomplished? But with the implementation of the futuristic new Lockheed Constellation airship of course! This most modern and advanced of airliners will soon provide a majority of service for TWA's passengers. The Constellation was created and designed for the most part by none other than millionaire aviator Howard Robart Hughes and Jack Frye himself. Mr. Hughes is now one of the principle stockholders of Transcontinental and Western Air. The Constellation will enable such phenomenal service as from Kansas City to Chicago, Illinois in one hour and 30 minutes, Kansas City to Washington D.C., in three hours and 30 minutes, and lastly Kansas City to New York City in less than 4 hours, explained Frye. Even more advanced planes will someday soon make their appearance in the aviation world that will shave off even those flying times, conveyed Mr Frye. "In these planes of the foreseeable future, we will reduce the 'round the world' flying time of the Constellation from 76 hours to a mere 54," declared the TWA president! Jack Frye's vision in the world of airplanes is legendary and inspiring making him one of the most respected leaders of the airline world.

Mr. Frye was presented with a special plaque that commended and recognized his unsurpassed contributions to the world through his aviation accomplishments with the Boeing Stratoliner, Douglas Commercial plane: DC-1, and the Lockheed Constellation. All revolutionary firsts in airplane designs that have proceeded to conquer the globe. To be sure not one of these planes would exist without the vision and tenacity of Mr. Jack Frye!

At the closing of the event, the mayor of Kansas City, Mr. John B. Gage, presented the TWA president with a model of the Douglas C-54: DC-4 on behalf of the president of the Douglas Airplane Company, Donald Douglas whom was unable to attend. A telegram commending Mr. Frye was received from Mr Douglas, that stated in part: "Jack Frye is one of America's pioneers of progress in the development of commercial air transport". A special wire was received from The Institute of Aeronautical Sciences that said, "We respect and honor you for your far-sighted coverage in advancing air transport by engineer daring. The contribution by Transcontinental and Western Air to the war effort under your leadership has been notable. Combined they hold great promise for vast post-war developement."

It was evident that this bigger than life aviator Mr. Jack Frye, is very revered and respected by his many admirers. Certainly one of which was his beautiful and this night, misty-eyed wife, whom looked about as proud as an airline president's wife could possibly be!

February 5th, 1946....Mrs. Jack Frye christens the "Star of Paris," Lockheed Constellation L-049. With the appearance of a movie-star, she is dressed beautifully in a leopard skin fur coat, veil and hat. (the coat, incidently Jack was said to have won at a poker party.) A monumental occassion for Transcontinental and Western Air. This Constellation aircraft was the initiation of the very first regular trans-world passenger (transatlantic) air service for TWA, and the United States-Europe. The airliner departed for Paris shortly after this picture was taken. Click on the photo for more photos. Plane said to be NC-86511, but not verified.

NEW YORK CITY TO RECEIVE
TRANSCONTINENTAL AIR SERVICE,
PARIS FRANCE

NEW YORK, N.Y.
Feburary 6, 1946
A four-engine Lockheed Constellation of Transcontinental and Western Air left La Guardia Field yesterday on the first regularly scheduled flight from New York to Paris.
The big plane, smilar to the one that established a new commercial transport speed record for a coast-to-coast flight last Sunday, carried carried 37 passengers and a crew of 7 under the command of Captain Harold F. Blackburn. It had started on it's flight from Washington.
Two stops were scheduled en route to Paris, the first Gander, Nfld., and the second at Shannon Iire. The entire trip to Paris is expected to take about 17 hours.
Before taking off, the sleek, triple-tailed plane was named Star of Paris by Mrs. Jack Frye, wife of the President of TWA. Breif addresses were made by Guerin de Beaumont, French Consul General in New York, Lee McCauley, Irish Consul General. Please see this page for additional information and photos.

The Star of Paris sits on the tarmac in New York surrounded by a crowd,
time period was either shortly before of after the christening 2/5/46, see this page.

For more information on a Frye-record breaking Trans-continental Constellation Flight, see this page.

Please click here for an indepth article on Jack Frye and TWA. TWA Constellation Story here.

In May of 1950, Transcontinental and Western Air also known as TWA, officially changed their name to Trans World Airlines. This move was to reflect their new overseas routes. This was all made possible by the Constellation aircraft which changed the way the world traveled!

Please Click Here For: "The Constellation Story"
The Revolutionary New Airliner That Changed The World Of Aviation!

Jack signs the TWA Constellation contracts
with Lockheed President: Robert E. Gross on August 20, 1945.
Certainly one of the best photos of Jack I have ever seen.
Jack was a good friend of Robert, and a foremost promoter
and loyal customer of Lockheed manufactured aircraft.

Another Mystery-

A very intriquing and exciting story from the ranch manager Jack and Helen employed back in the 1940's. His name was Al Nuanez. He knew the ranch well, and Jack and Helen too. Unfortunately because he has passed away I am unable to verify his story. I am working on contacting people that knew him for further follow up on some of the documented stories he has told about his time with Helen and Jack at the ranch.

The mystery is as follows, and I quote Mr. Nuanez:

"They (Jack and Helen) were mostly traveling though, she (Helen) was between here and New York most of the time. He (Jack) used to land in Cottonwood, but most of the time I had to pick him up in Winslow. He had a jet, converted jet, a Lockheed Lonestar Twin Jet. I enjoyed riding with him, I went twice!"

Interesting, a jet in the 40's when they were only being developed for the military and NOT the private sector! This story is proving hard to track down. Perhaps another aviation-buff out there in "internet-land" will contact me to let me know if they have ever heard of such a thing?

Meanwhile, I have read and re-read the story. I am inclined to think Mr Nuanez knew the difference between a jet and a prop plane. He said he went up twice, he said Jack used it at the Winslow Airport not Jack's Cottonwood airstrip. This makes sense as Jack's landing field would not have been able to accommodate a jet. He said it was "converted." This is the key! A person would not say a prop plane had been "converted" as that was all there was back then.

Jack Frye as President of TWA had access to nearly everything in the United States. He was personal friends with most of the airplane manufacturers in the country. Lockheed was developing the "Shooting Star" twin jet for the military by 1945. I wouldn't think it would make much of a domestic conversion, but who knows what Lockheed would come up with for one of their most coveted business partners, Jack Frye. The name doesn't add up either, (Lockheed didn't produce a Lonestar)...........but an old man's memory....... There was a Lockheed Lodestar, but it was not a jet. Could Lockheed had put jets on a couple of them and loaned them out to "friends"? I find it hard to believe that Lockheed would put jet engines on a plane other than a new design. The other clue to this story is, Al used the name: "Star" when he described the Lockheed, this is the part of the name Lockheed used for most their models. It is unlikely he was describing Jack and Helen's coveted Lockheed Electra 12A Junior Electra. Jack nearly always landed this plane at his own landing field near the ranch. He would not land it at Winslow and drive all the way to the ranch, a difference of about 3 hours compared to 30 minutes. So if he landed in Winslow it was something unique. Jack and Helen also regularly flew TWA's scheduled fleet in and out of Winslow too. Jack wasn't always able to fly his executive plane out here, and thus caught a TWA airliner to and from Winslow.

My conclusion is, it was a jet, and it was a Lockheed conversion. This in turn makes it a significant historic bombshell. Jets were just not used in the private sector back then. If Jack Frye ever flew one casually to and from his ranch, it is BIG aviation news! I hope to track this one down, as it is a very big coup' for this site and an amazing piece of trivia for the Jack Frye Aviation Legacy!

Mystery Solved?

After talking to one of Jack and Helen's personal pilots of their executive airliner, (Lockheed Electra 12A,) retired senior Transcontinental and Western Air Captain, Walt Gunn, I think we can solve this mystery. Jack and Helen started traveling in a new Lockheed Lodestar in January of 1945. Please see this new indepth page. This was a conversion, military to civilian use airliner. I don't think I will ever solve the "twin jet" aspect of Al's story. But I do feel that the Lodestar is probably what he was describing, which Jack landed in Winslow on occasion. I also think that he was not necessarily saying that Jack only landed the Lodestar in Winslow. I think what he meant was that Jack and Helen flew out of Winslow a lot on TWA airliners, and the Lodestar! Jack owned a 22 thousand acre ranch between Winslow and Flagstaff, the Sunshine Ranch, now as the Red Gap Ranch. As a general rule, Jack did not fly his private planes into Winslow or Flagstaff, but rather instead into Prescott and the Cottonwood airports. If there had been a place to land in Sedona back then, Jack would have landed closer to his ranch. When Jack established his private, later, public airstrip between Cottonwood and Sedona, by 1941, he always landed there. This was the closest location he was able to secure that needed minimal development as an airfield. Please keep in mind that Jack and Helen flew in the infancy of executive transports, wherever they landed, people took notice. The Valle Airport is another location they were seen flying into often as they owned another large ranch up above Williams Arizona.

Jack and Helen's Overland Park-Merriam Estate

Information on Jack and Helen's home in Overland Park-Merriam Kansas.
(a close-in suburb of Kansas City). From a retired TWA Captain Walt Gunn, (Jack and Helen's Frye former personal pilot), has conveyed to me he has been to the house. He said it was a very large imposing structure set back from the road on the side of a hill in the style of English Colonial. The home sat on about 2 to 3 acres. The location he conveyed was only 15 minutes of so from the Kansas City Airport, which was very convenient for Jack and Helen.

His story goes like this: "Jack needed a ride downtown, I drove out to his Merriam estate to pick him up. However, another TWA associate beat me over there, and Jack had already been picked up by the time I got there. I did get to see Jack and Helen's home though for the first time, but did not go in." New information has been added to a new page. I have found a photo of the house, and verified it sits on
5 acres, in Merriam, Johnson County, Kansas.

Jack is made Chairman of the Board
and President of two new companies

April 15, 1947
JACK FRYE FORMER HEAD OF TWA,
TO HEAD NEW COMPANY SET UP BY US GOVERNMENT;
GENERAL ANILINE

Jack Frye, former president of Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc., was elected yesterday chairman of the board of the General Aniline and Film Corporation and its sales agent, the General Dyestuff Corporation (Ansco).

The announcement was made by Attorney General Tom C. Clark as representative of the Government which seized General Aniline at the outbreak of the war. Through the office of Alien Property of the Department of Justice, the Government owns 97 percent of the stock of the parent company and all the stock of General Dyestuff.

Mr. Frye was elected to the board of directors at the stockholders meeting last Wednesday, when it was charged by interests seeking to aquire the properties, that the Government's seizure of the company in 1942 was "improper." He recently disassociated himself from TWA after a disagreement with Howard Hughes, who controls the air transport system.

George W. Burpee was re-elected president of General Aniline, together with other officers and members of the executive committee.The company employs 9,500 persons in its dyestuff and textile auxillary, its film and camera and Ozalid facsimile plants, in various centers of the country.

Both Mr. Clark and Donald C. Cook, director of the Office of Alien Property, joined in hailing the selection of Mr. Frye.

"As president of Trans World Airlines," Mr Clark said, "Mr Frye built an international system of air transportation that is of great commercial and military importance to the nation. Both of these companies will greatly benefit from the immense knowledge and capacity which Mr. Frye will bring to them."

Mr. Cook held that the responsibilities of the Alien Property Office carried none more serious to the people of the country, than the selection of competent leadership for the properties controlled by the Government, and that "a finer choice could not have been made than the selection of Mr. Frye as the chairman" of the two companies. Please see Jack's association with Aniline Film Corporation here.

July 8, 1948
Pioneer Aviation Executive Cites
Limitless Possibilities for the State
By Frank S. Crehan

In the not too distant future, Californians will be irrigating their lands with the limitless waters of the Pacific Ocean and won't care a whoop what Arizona does with the Colorado River.
   Coming from the average person, this painless and apparently fantastic solution for the state's serious water problem would seem merely a poor gag, but it's something else again when Jack Frye tells it.
   This Pioneer pilot and aviation executive, who has called Arizona home since 1941, says there is "no reason in the world" why American know-how cannot devise a means for converting sea water into a state suitable for domestic, agricultural and industrial purposes. He envisions the use of atomic energy in the change-over process.
   And with the coming of adequate water supplies, Frye can see no limit to the state's agricultural, tourist and industrial future. He believes Phoenix will some day rank with the nations's biggest cities, while Oak Creek canyon--"already the most beautiful spot in the United States"--will develop into a huge year-around resort center.
   Frye arrived in the city yesterday from his Sedona home where he is taking a brief respite from his duties as head of the General Aniline and Film Corporation of New York. Better known to the public as one of the aviation industry's biggest wheels, he took over the present job last August after a 13-year stint as president of Trans World Airline, Inc.
   Many long-time Arizonians will remember this 44-year-old executive as the man who inaugurated the state's first commerical air service. As president of the early-day Standard Airlines, based in Los Angeles, he set up in 1927 a route linking that city with Phoenix and Tucson, and later extended operations to include El Paso and Dallas, Texas.

Holder of the state's first transport pilot's license, Frye not only directed Standard's activities but also skippered the line's one airplane.
   "We made three round trips a week between here and the coast," he said, "and on Sundays got the airplane back into shape."
   In 1930 the small air line merged into the Western Air Express Corporation, with Frye assuming the post of vice-president. Later that year, the new firm joined with Transcontinental Air Transport to form the present Trans World Airline. Prior to taking over the top job with the latter company in 1934, he served for four years as vice-president in charge of operations.
   Frye's liking for Arizona, which took root during his early flying days, culminated seven years ago in the purchase of his Oak Creek canyon home and of his ranch in Spring Valley northwest of Flagstaff. But this descendent of Texas cattlemen didn't choose his permanent homesite in a hit-or-miss fashion. He gave to the search the same shrewd insight which has characterized his business operations.
As he tells it:
   "My wife and I decided we wanted to settle in the Southwest, preferably alongside some water. First we flew over all of New Mexico, hitting every stream. Then we started on Arizona. As soon as we got over the Oak Creek area, my wife pointed down and said, 'There's our spot.'"
   "I didn't think there was enough water in the canyon for our purposes, but to please her I set the ship down at Prescott, contacted a real estate man, and within 24 hours had purchased our present spot."

This week Frye is winding up purchase of another sizeable ranch in the northern part of the state which will give him total holdings of more than 50,000 acres. He plans to start large scale cattle ranching operation, thus bringing to life a long standing dream.
   "Owning a paying cattle ranch is my idea of the way to live," he noted, explaining that one day during the depression, "when businessmen were jumping out of windows," he was caught in rough weather over the Texas panhandle and landed on a ranch owned by an uncle.
    "Those folks were doing all right while the rest of the nation was going crazy," he said. "So that night in 1931 I told myself 'This is for me.'"
   Frye's life is tied up with the state in more ways than aviation and ranching He and his wife, the former Helen Varner Vanderbilt, were married at Camelback Inn in 1941.
One of the most interesting anecdotes of this Arizonian's life deals with the way he entered the flying business. At the age of 19 he found himself "kicking around" California with no plans for his future. One day he went up in an airplane with a barnstorming flier and was permitted to handle the controls.
   "From then on, I knew what I wanted," he declared. "I took the $250 I'd saved up on a soda jerking job and bought a half-interest in the ship. In no time at all, I too was flying passengers and giving lessons.
   Although Frye's present job is a far cry from aviation, he entered it with one good qualification--a sound understanding of the basic principles of photography. Two of General Aniline's major products are Ansco photographic equipment and Ozalid reproduction machines.

Jack Frye at his Washington D.C. TWA wartime office

Jack and Helen's Washington D.C. home during the war, the Doubleday mansion in Arlington Virginia.

Why Jack Frye resigned from TWA, in his own words

To read more about the House of Apache Fires, the home that Jack and Helen built at Old Smoke Trail Ranch, now Red Rock State Park, please click here: "The House Of Apache Fires"

Jack Frye Biography, Smoke Trail Ranch, Sedona Arizona 1947

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