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Roosevelt Wedding at the Grand Canyon Hosted by Jack & Helen Frye
Image of the Roosevelt Wedding at the Grand Canyon hosted by Jack and Helen Frye. This image was given to Frye architect John Gaw Meem at Santa Fe by Helen Frye showing him the style of rock work she desired for the House of Apache Fires at Sedona Arizona
Jack & Helen hosted the wedding of President Roosevelt's son Elliott and movie star Faye Emerson at the Grand Canyon (event detailed in my book), interestingly, Jack Frye introduced the couple in 1943. Frye flew over to Hollywood and picked the wedding party up in his executive plane, TWA Lockheed Electra 12A, and transported them to the Grand Canyon. Helen flew on a separate plane which was forced down at Williams Arizona, passengers continued on in a blizzard until a Secret Service detail rescued them
Seen (left to right) Mrs. Jack Frye, TWA’s Jack Frye, Miss Janet Thomas, Col. Elliott Roosevelt, Faye Emerson, Johnny Meyer, and Mrs. Joseph B. Livengood (Yavapai Observation Station) 1944
After the wedding, Jack and Helen flew down to the TWA ranch at Sedona and readied it for the wedding party. Then they drove up to the Flagstaff Monte Vista Hotel for a private dinner with the Roosevelt's. Late night, they all drove down Oak Creek Canyon to Mayhew Lodge for the night. Next morning, the wedding party and United States Secret Service were off to the Smoke Trail Ranch at Sedona. After a few days of honeymoon, Jack & Helen flew Faye back to Hollywood. Needless to say, this was a huge event for early Sedona, mostly forgotten by locals
After the wedding, Helen and Faye Emerson met for a girl's luncheon at the landmark Mayflower Hotel in Washington D.C., however, privacy was fleeting, as many celebrities and politicians dropped by their table to say hello. Society writer Garnett Butler (later the Baroness Stackelberg) was also at the table, but stepped aside so photographers could get this photo. Helen and Garnett were longtime friends clear back to when they were both in Shanghai together. Faye, meanwhile, was spending all her time at the White House with President Roosevelt and the First Lady, Helen and Jack, too, were guests at the White House at least once during this timeframe. The adjoining color image is of the actual Navajo Concho belt Helen is wearing in the press photo with Faye. I was able to photograph it as owned by a close Helen Frye friend at Albuquerque. Helen was very connected to Native American culture and jewelry (December 22, 1944)
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