sedona legend helen frye

Helen Vanderbilt

(Helen Varner Vanderbilt Frye)

Sedona Legend Profile Series

This page is one of a three part series. The first section is called- "The Vanderbilt Years- Her Story," the second is called- "The Vanderbilts in the Press." The third appears below as- "Cornelius Vanderbilt's Beautiful Bride!"

Informative and rare historical article about Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr., from January 1935, appears below!

Cornelius Vanderbilt's Beautiful Bride
Is True Daughter of State's Traditions

Written by Margaret Tucker

Arduous Wooing Followed
By His Marriage To Clarksburg Girl

Hubby Neil in Accord-
Wedding Vows Proves

Veteran Doctor Describes Former Helen Varner as a girl, "Pretty as a Doll!"

"Pretty as a Doll," declared a veteran Clarksburg doctor recently, when he gazed upon a photograph of Helen Varner, whom Cornelius Vanderbilt took as his bride last Friday. The old mountaineer doctor, who knew Helen's late father, Dr. H. V. Varner, when the latter was a young physician beginning his practice in Clarksburg, came upon the comely young woman's photograph recently in the Clarksburg studio where Mrs. Vanderbilt served as receptionist and applied her artist talent.

Pursuit Was Arduous

That Neil, as Helen refers to Mr. Vanderbilt, shares this old mountaineer's judgment of beauty there is little doubt. Neil has been arduously following her over this American continent since he came upon her sketching out in California three years ago. Most Clarksburg folks were denied knowledge that the city entertained, at intervals during this three year period, the scion of one of America's first families and a highly colorful individual himself.

Vanderbilt Visits Clarksburg

A few close friends shared Helen's secret, however. There was no display of these visits.
The young man slipped into town and out unobtrusively without even making the personal columns of either of the two Clarksburg newspapers. Once, when he had a mishap with a short distance from the city, he not only narrowly escaped injury but that equally painful thing- newspaper publicity. It had ceased to be news before the local news hawks got "wind" of it and Mr. Vanderbilt was safely back at his Arizona ranch.

Zest For Sports

Her zest for sports, inherited from her father, who loved the West Virginia outdoors, expressed itself early in childhood and was given every opportunity for development by this same dad who would take her younger twin sisters hiking over the hills. Even as a small child she proved an in defatigable walker. She learned to swim in the streams about Clarksburg when she "knee high to a duck" one old lady informs us.

Bride Loves Dogs and Horses

She has come naturally by her love for dogs and horses too. Her dad imparted his love for animals to his little girls. In his last few years, Mrs. Vanderbilt and her great red Irish Setter (Lassie) had become familiar figures upon the streets and in the stores of Clarksburg. And yet, accustomed though they were to the sight, people never ceases to pause and look after them. Particularly when the dog's mistress was in her riding togs. This almost constant companion is said to be one of the first presents Mr. Vanderbilt sent to his future wife.

Mrs. Vanderbilt Accomplished
Horsewoman and Swimmer

Mrs. Vanderbilt is an accomplished horsewoman who not only knows her horses, but knows how to "ride to the hounds." When this sport was revived in this section a year or two ago and the Lucas Academy was established near Shinnston, she was engaged as instructor. Last winter, this young woman who holds her swimming credentials from the American Red Cross, volunteered to serve as a swimming instructor for the Young Women's Christian Swimming Association when the organization sent out an SOS for some one to teach the members without pay. This interlude in her career has given not a few Clarksburg women and girls opportunity to boast the past few days, "Mrs. Vanderbilt taught me to swim!"

Helen Went To Sunday School

What kind of Sunday school pupil would this type of child be? You bet she went to Sunday school. Her dad served on the official board of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Clarksburg for many years would see to this little detail in her "up-bringing." One has the word of one of her early Sunday school teachers, that she was a quiet little thing, who sat erect in her seat, silent, but giving the impression of being alert to what was going on about her. But her own thoughts were another matter. And even at this early period in her life, she displayed a self reliance and ability to keep her own counsels beyond her years. These traits developed in a marked degree later on. Today, she has the reputation among her friends of "knowing what she wants and being able to cut a straight course to it." Sometimes she had this same Sunday school teacher guessing as to whether she was approving or disagreeing with the fundamental lessons of Christianity she was trying to impart, but never for a moment did she believe Helen was missing her point.

Leans To Exotic

Friends of high school years find Helen Varner little changed since school days. They admit a certain sophistication and a more pronounced tendency toward the exotic, which was revealed in her dress and taste even during school days. Today's semi-long bob, worn straight back and curled at the ends, is but a slight variation from the fashion she followed during the winter of the "Big Snow" during her high school days when she could be counted among the gang any icy night, riding a big bobsled from the top of the Wilson street hill. For sled riding she wore a big cowboy hat and her riding habit. It was a far different and feminine little piece of headgear that she bought in a local store two days before she left to meet her Romeo in New Mexico for their wedding. This time she selected a advance spring off-the-face model of vivid red. Beside achieving athletic honors among the girls in high school, one year the student body voted her the prettiest girl in the school. The marriage with its unusual elements had revived many school day memories among the W.I. graduates of 1927. Some are relating how Helen's fine strokes, high diving and speed in the school pool was the envy of every contemporary and the great pride of Miss Edith Todd, their physical instructor.

Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt at the Mirador Hotel at Palm Springs, CA. 1935

Sparkles as Conversationalist

Mr. Vanderbilt doubtless learned long before he took Helen Varner for his bride that there are times when a subject interests her, that she can drop the sphinx-like manner that she always assumed when she went to Sunday school, and can become not only an intelligent but a sparkling conversationalist. One of the genuine delights of being her friend, so her friends say, is having her tell them about interesting people and things she has seen, when she comes back to Clarksburg after some jaunt to some interesting place. Her photographic mind can reproduce vivid pictures for them and if there is any time when one could describe her as sparkling, it is when she is re-living some of her travels for her friends.

Simplicity is Valued

She prizes gifts for their unusualness rather than for the money they cost. She has been known to go into raptures over a postcard depicting a bit of landscape of some place off the beaten path. If it happens to be a piece that strikes her fancy, out comes the easel. The urge to reproduce it drives her on, but she goes to a book that will give her a background of the place and people to work against. Not long ago Mr. Vanderbilt sent her a copper bowl he had picked up on some Indian reservation in the west. She prized it more highly than gifts which he had sent her that cost many times its price but were more commonplace and lacking something of the artistry of the bowl's workmanship. If Helen Varner Vanderbilt ever loses her head, no one has learned about it but herself. A good many run of mill people wonder if she was "set-up" over Cornelius Vanderbilt's attentions. "Not so anyone could notice it."

Answers "Will Marriage Last?"

On the more or less rare occasions when she talked of Neil with friends, it was done in the most natural vein, the same way in which she might have referred to him had he been the common variety of Tom, Dick, or Harry courtiers. These two of such widely different backgrounds with a decade separating their ages do have some common interests in addition to their love. Both revel in "camp life" although either can be perfectly at home in the most formal setting, but their tastes tend to be unconventional. The bride confided to a close friend just before she left her home that she could imagine no setting more ideal for a honeymoon than Neil's ranch in Arizona. One writes the other sketches and both like to travel to out of the way places. Will the interesting romance, which could happen in no country but Democratic America endure? This is the question many of the folks in the bride's home city are asking. A Clarksburg girl friend answers it by saying "Helen is the kind of young lady that will make anything last she has a mind to!"

Post Script

The article gives some great insights into the girl that married Cornelius Vanderbilt the IV. However, in reading the profile it is apparent the author never talked to Helen Varner personally and was grasping for interesting fodder to print about her. Obvious is the fact that the now, Mrs. Vanderbilt, was not forthcoming to her hometown villagers in regard to this high-profile and international romance. No mention is made about the couple's interaction with his parents, Mrs. Cornelius (Grace) Vanderbilt, and her husband the Brigadier General, let alone other Vanderbilt social connections in New York where Helen and Neil spend considerable time before their marriage, or their social life in Los Angeles from 1932 to 1935. Several geographic errors which need clarification are as follows, history notates that this couple did not meet in California the first time, but rather in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Also I have never seen reference to Neil having a ranch in Arizona and think the ranch mentioned several times in the above articel was his long-time Nevada dude ranch near Reno. This is where the couple spent part of their honeymoon. The black and white photos seen above were part of the original article, the others were added for enhancement. Unfortunately, I have yet to locate the originals of the newspaper images, some of which are quite nice..

Stunningly beautiful Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt modeled for Pond's Cold Cream, resulting in this ad which was published in several famous magazines. This version was from December 1935. Helen continued to represent Pond's until the late 1940's. For more background information please see Eternal Girlfriends.

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This page is one of a three part series. The first section is called- "The Vanderbilt Years- Her Story," the second is called- "The Vanderbilts in the Press." The third appears above as- "Cornelius Vanderbilt's Beautiful Bride!"

Associated Press Image of the Vanderbilts- 1935.

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Sedona Legend Helen Frye