Aloha Wanderwell (Baker), with Car and Camera Around the World
June 9, 2016 7:26 PM Subscribe
In 1922, 16 year old Idris Galcia Hall read an advertisement in the Riviera edition of the Paris Herald caught her eye: “Brains, Beauty & Breeches – World Tour Offer For Lucky Young Woman… Wanted to join an expedition… Asia, Africa…” The pitch came from "Captain" Walter Wanderwell, a Polish national named Valerian Johannes Piecynski who chose a dashing name for an English speaking public. Idris joined him, becoming Aloha Wanderwell, and was soon the "World's Most Widely Traveled Girl," trekked through 43 countries and four continents. She served as a cinematographer, photographer, translator, driver, actress, and seamstress, filmed and wrote detailed descriptions of parts of the world that hadn't been documented yet. Her mode of choice: Model T Ford.
Piecynski was a colorful character, a sailor and world traveler who had been briefly imprisoned by the Americans on suspicion of being a German spy. But his name was hard for English speakers to pronounce, and he was on a mission or two: reunite the world after World War I in support of the newly formed League of Nations, in part through his Work Around the World Educational Club (WAWEC), in enlisting "fighters for peace" to work around the world. And then there was Wanderwell's collaboration with Ford to fund a race between himself and his wife, Nell, to see which of the two teams could visit more countries in their teams of Ford automobiles.
This lead to his next pitch, to hire a young lady to join his adventures, where Idris Hall joins the party, contributing her fluency in French, Spanish, Italian, and as wel as some Russian, Chinese, and Japanese. Her roles grew as the team's adventures continued, including behind and in front of the camera. When the expedition reached California in 1925, Aloha was a star. She continued to work with film from their adventures, cutting and re-cutting for individual audiences, where she would speak off the cuff, leaving no formal written record of her shows, which played in vaudeville theaters and town halls.
Cap Wanderwell's first marriage dissolved, and his relationship with Aloha turned from that of a sibling to a spouse, but a decade after she met him, he was shot and died aboard a ship docked in Long Beach (Google books preview), with enough melodrama and mystery to be a Hollywood film, especially with his murder unsolved.
But Aloha Wanderwell's fortunes did not die with her husband's. She continued to give captivating talks, and in 1933, married Walter Baker. As Aloha Wanderwell Baker, she continued to spread her fame as a seasoned adventure filmmaker with additional travels and subsequent lectures through the 1970s. In the 1980s, wearing the hat of archivist and caretaker, Aloha carefully selected film elements and manuscript material from her personal collection to donate to multiple archival institutions, including the Library of Congress, which included an embedded copy of a 28 minute cut of The River of Death in that prior link, plus a direct link to download the file. The Academy Film Archive in Hollywood has the bulk of her film footage, and is in the process of restoring it. That film and additional clips are available on YouTube from the Aloha Wanderwell account, and there's a Twitter Account for her legacy, too, operated by Richard Diamond, Wanderwell's grandson. She lived to be 89, passing away two decades ago.
Piecynski was a colorful character, a sailor and world traveler who had been briefly imprisoned by the Americans on suspicion of being a German spy. But his name was hard for English speakers to pronounce, and he was on a mission or two: reunite the world after World War I in support of the newly formed League of Nations, in part through his Work Around the World Educational Club (WAWEC), in enlisting "fighters for peace" to work around the world. And then there was Wanderwell's collaboration with Ford to fund a race between himself and his wife, Nell, to see which of the two teams could visit more countries in their teams of Ford automobiles.
This lead to his next pitch, to hire a young lady to join his adventures, where Idris Hall joins the party, contributing her fluency in French, Spanish, Italian, and as wel as some Russian, Chinese, and Japanese. Her roles grew as the team's adventures continued, including behind and in front of the camera. When the expedition reached California in 1925, Aloha was a star. She continued to work with film from their adventures, cutting and re-cutting for individual audiences, where she would speak off the cuff, leaving no formal written record of her shows, which played in vaudeville theaters and town halls.
Cap Wanderwell's first marriage dissolved, and his relationship with Aloha turned from that of a sibling to a spouse, but a decade after she met him, he was shot and died aboard a ship docked in Long Beach (Google books preview), with enough melodrama and mystery to be a Hollywood film, especially with his murder unsolved.
But Aloha Wanderwell's fortunes did not die with her husband's. She continued to give captivating talks, and in 1933, married Walter Baker. As Aloha Wanderwell Baker, she continued to spread her fame as a seasoned adventure filmmaker with additional travels and subsequent lectures through the 1970s. In the 1980s, wearing the hat of archivist and caretaker, Aloha carefully selected film elements and manuscript material from her personal collection to donate to multiple archival institutions, including the Library of Congress, which included an embedded copy of a 28 minute cut of The River of Death in that prior link, plus a direct link to download the file. The Academy Film Archive in Hollywood has the bulk of her film footage, and is in the process of restoring it. That film and additional clips are available on YouTube from the Aloha Wanderwell account, and there's a Twitter Account for her legacy, too, operated by Richard Diamond, Wanderwell's grandson. She lived to be 89, passing away two decades ago.
I'm happy to have come across Aloha, too. If you like her style, she's one of a few Notorious Women of the early car era, from the Jean Knows Cars blog (the end of the post has links to others.
And when looking for records of Aloha's claim to be the first woman to drive around the world, I came across Clara Eleonore Stinnes (known as Clärenore; 21 January 1901 – 7 September 1990) a German car racer; accompanied by the Swedish cinematographer Carl-Axel Söderström, she was the first woman to (fully) circumnavigate the world by automobile.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:49 PM on June 9, 2016 [2 favorites]
And when looking for records of Aloha's claim to be the first woman to drive around the world, I came across Clara Eleonore Stinnes (known as Clärenore; 21 January 1901 – 7 September 1990) a German car racer; accompanied by the Swedish cinematographer Carl-Axel Söderström, she was the first woman to (fully) circumnavigate the world by automobile.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:49 PM on June 9, 2016 [2 favorites]
This is stupendous, and I dearly hope it's slow at work tomorrow so I can read all the links in all the tabs I am opening.
posted by rtha at 8:30 PM on June 9, 2016
posted by rtha at 8:30 PM on June 9, 2016
Not only a great story of an outstanding life, but also you've introduced me to a new and very cool site, f.l.t., with about seventy-nine thousand interesting stories to chase down and read.
So thank you for both!
posted by dancestoblue at 4:02 AM on June 10, 2016
So thank you for both!
posted by dancestoblue at 4:02 AM on June 10, 2016
The photos and movies are really interesting. I'd never heard of her, or of Piecynski.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:23 AM on June 10, 2016
posted by Dip Flash at 5:23 AM on June 10, 2016
The whole business seems dodgy to me, a 14 year old girl runs off to be a 'secretary' to a grown man. They marry after he is able to divorce his wife. He is later murdered and no one is charged. I don't know how they got away with it back in the 1920s. Maybe they traveled sometimes for reasons other than adventure.
posted by Bee'sWing at 6:34 AM on June 10, 2016
posted by Bee'sWing at 6:34 AM on June 10, 2016
And after ell... you're my Wanderwell...
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:09 AM on June 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:09 AM on June 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
The whole business seems dodgy to me
Small corrections - she was 16 when she answered the report, and they married when she was 18 or 19. It seems the "Captain" did ruin his first marriage to make way for a second. And there were some suspects in his murder, but not enough evidence to convict anyone - lots of ways to get away with that, it seems.
Otherwise, yes - Mr. Piecynski / Wanderwell was a dodgy guy.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:39 AM on June 10, 2016
Small corrections - she was 16 when she answered the report, and they married when she was 18 or 19. It seems the "Captain" did ruin his first marriage to make way for a second. And there were some suspects in his murder, but not enough evidence to convict anyone - lots of ways to get away with that, it seems.
Otherwise, yes - Mr. Piecynski / Wanderwell was a dodgy guy.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:39 AM on June 10, 2016
Oh, I thought I read 14 in one of the links. But still.
posted by Bee'sWing at 8:32 AM on June 10, 2016
posted by Bee'sWing at 8:32 AM on June 10, 2016
On 25 May 1927 Stinnes started to journey around the world, together with Carl-Axel Söderström, Aloha Wanderwell "Idris Glacia Hall", joined Walter Wanderwell at 16 in 1922 in Paris, France. Walter gave her a Model T Ford #2 and she drove around the world... first. Completing by 1937 aprox. 500,000 miles, 75 countries, 6 continents in 3 models of Fords. A remarkable accomplishment from such a young woman. All of which was photographed and filmed, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Academy Film Archives), Lib. of Congress, and Smithsonian all have her films and are restoring them.
posted by AlohaWanderwell at 8:43 AM on June 29, 2016
posted by AlohaWanderwell at 8:43 AM on June 29, 2016
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posted by pjsky at 7:40 PM on June 9, 2016 [1 favorite]