Billy jumped to his feet, casting a worried glance at the sky. “You’re right,” encouragingly. Then, after a pause spent in puttering about, “By heck, Polly, we’re out of gas! The tank’s sprung a leak! This car’s the limit,” he continued, as he came back to her. “There’s nothing she can’t do, but this is the worst yet!”
“How about us?” Polly was troubled.
“We might walk to the town.” A crash emphasized the delights of his suggestion.
“I’m afraid of storms,” Polly whispered miserably. “We’ll just have to stick here.” She trembled, and Billy patted her on the back, man fashion."
ex Helen Van Valkenburgh, “The Little Grey Car,” in The Black Cat : 21:3 (December 1915) : 32-37 (34)
via archive.org : link
light story; by breaking down, the car is “an accessory to an elopement.”
Helen Van Valkenburgh (1886-1974)
little information at her findagrave page : link
husband Walter Donaldson Williams (1884-1961), Princeton ’04; New York Telephone Co., Traffic Dept...;
Promising Writer Marries
Miss Van Valkenburgh, Milwaukee, With Enviable Literary Reputation To Wed New Yorker.
Mrs. Frank Pratt Van Valkenburgh of Milwaukee has issued invitations for the marriage of her daughter, Helen, to Walter Donaldson Williams of New York, which is to take place at 4 p. m. July 10 in Immanuel Presbyterian church.
Miss Van Valkenburgh has been popular in the exclusive social circles to which the family name of Van Valkenburgh is an open sesame in Milwaukee.
She has always been inclined to write prose and poetry since her early school days, and for three or four years was a regular contributor of specials to the Sunday Free Press. Later she had poetry and stories accepted by Harper’s Magazine, Lippincott’s and other high class publications.
The Telegraph-Courier (Kenosha, Wisconsin; June 22, 1916) : 5
via LoC's Chronicling America : link
rather more about her family (prominent figures in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania) at the wikipedia page for her brother Franklin Van Valkenburgh (1888-1941), who died as Commanding Officer of the USS Arizona, 7 December 1941.
link
book titles listed at LoC :
- The Suffragette (1911), 42pp
LoC : permalink - Myself and I; illustrated by Maginel Wright Enright (P. V. Volland Co., 1918); 36pp
LoC : permalink
via archive.org : linkMaginel Wright Enright (1877-1966), illlustrator (63 children’s books), magazine work; younger sister of Frank Lloyd Wright
wikipedia : linklater, distinguished herself with needlework, embroidered jackets and slippers, shoes...
see Mary Jane Hamilton, “Nantucket in the Art of Maginel Wright”
Nantucket Historical Association : link - The Turnpike (1932); 237pp
LoC : permalink
McBlain Books description : “A romance between an actor and a dancer.”Wisconsin
Helen Van Valkenburgh (Mrs. Walter Williams of New York) grew up in Milwaukee and has used some Wisconsin background for her novel, “The Turnpike.” Her publishers, Pegasus, New York, seem to be delaying its publication.
The Saturday Review of Literature (November 5, 1932) : 231 : link
other writing (stories, verse)
- “The Woman of Public Deeds” Harper’s Bazar 42:11 (11 November 1908) : 1069
via archive.org : linkShe has hurried through life, great good having wrought,
But now, worn and weary, with sorrow ’tis fraught,
While she pauses to rest by the way.
While flinging her arms — oh, the ache and the pain
Of their wild, empty longing for Motherhood’s reign
As she watches “their” children at play. - “The Gift,” in The Living Church 44:4 (11 November 1910) : 131-132
via archive.org : linkshort story
- “The Miracle,” in The Living Church 44:5 (3 December 1910) : 131-132
via archive.org : linkSorrow, unbidden guest, unwelcomed,
Grim specter, blotting out the light of day,
Hope from thy presence swift has flown away
And at thy coming, heart and soul seem dead.
Now mirth and laughter from the world are fled,
Naught for a moment greets thee but decay;
And mind, a weary wanton, begs delay,
Seeking to hide from thee her saddened head.
But, sorrow, with thee comes life’s wonder gift,
Its birth an agony which leaves us spent
And bleeding, blinded long with bitter tears:
Till, lo, the sunshine through the storm cloud’s rift
Touching its surface, in astonishment
We find a pearl grown in the dreary years! - “The Odd Trick,” in The Catholic Telegraph 80:37 (14 September 1911) : 3
via jstor : link
aside —
an author who has gained fame and wealth for a single piece of insincere writing, confesses to having burned what I felt worthwhile. more sophisticated, in its thinking, than is evident in other of the pieces listed here (at least those I have delved into).transcription : 619_vanvalkenburgh_the-odd-trick.htm
- “The Sword-Maker : A Tale of Old Japan” in Lippincott’s Magazine (April 1915) : 72-80
U Chicago copy/scan (via hathitrust) : link
another copy (via archive.org) : link - “The God Out of the Machine,” Smith’s Magazine (“A publication for the home”) 21:6 (September 1915) : 986-994
via archive.org : link - “Three Women.” The Mirror and Farmer (Manchester, N.H.; March 9, 1916) : 7
via LoC's Chronicling America : link“Three Women.”
Beside the highroad of life they sat,
Three women there in the bright of day;
And one was young, and one was old, and one the middle way.
Each studied the road with watchful eyes
That greeted each passer with swift surmise;
“And whom are ye waiting,” the wind would cry,
“Many, so many, have crossed ye by?”
And the maiden waited for love, she said.
And the old one waited to greet her dead;
But the other dreamed of a child who’d run,
Down the broad highroad, ere the day was done.
For love, for life, and for death, those three
Were waiting, waiting so patiently.
“Ah, a woman’s life is a waiting life,”
And the old one bowed her head;
“I have waited love, I have waited child, and now I await my dead;
For a woman’s life is a waiting life, and a life made all of dreams,
And but for the dreaming who may tell
But waiting would bear the stamp of hell;
For they tarry long it seems!”
Beside the highroad of life they sat,
Three women there in the bright of day,
And one was young, and one was old, and one the middle way! - “In the Market-Place.” The New York Times (Tuesday, October 4, 1921) : 4
via archive.org : linkA questor in the crowded market-place,
Where each who passes me may drop a dole
Of stern experience from his full soul —
Such would I be! For I would see the face
Of all strong passions with their wanton grace;
Know those brave moments that Life takes as toll
For gladness. I would look upon the whole
Till its elusive meaning grew apace!
Such would I be! Then for me there would rise
High piles of gold, and tarnished copper, too,
And silver stamped by hands across the seas.
And from the strangest and the least of these
Knowledge would come. Ah, I would learn the true —
The sense that somewhere in the puzzle lies!
copyright filings (plays, etc.)
- “Suffragette.”
vocal score and libretto, by Helen Van Valkenburgh (Milwaukee, Wis.); January 24, 1911
Catalog of Copyright Entries, 1911, Musical Compositions : link - “The Goat; play in three acts.”
By H Van Valkenburgh and R. W. Schoyer (Milwaukee, Wisconsin). Typewritten. [2] 56p.
(March 23, 1911)
Catalog of Copyright Entries, Pamphets, Dramatic Compositions, Maps for the year 1911 : link - “A Typewriter Tragedy; farce.”
By H Van Valkenburgh (Milwaukee). Typewritten. 30p.
(October 14, 1911)
Catalog of Copyright Entries, Pamphets, Dramatic Compositions, Maps for the year 1911 : link - “Sympathy Snatchers; a comedy in 1 act.”
By Helen Van Valkenburgh [i. e. H. V. Williams] (January 16, 1926)
Catalog of Copyright Entries. Pamphlets, etc. : link - “Hope Springs Eternal. A comedy.”
By Helen Van Valkenburgh (i.e., H. V. Williams). Mrs. W. D. Williams, 39 Monroe Ave, Larchmont, New York. Unpubished, application received January 31, 1935
Copyright Registration Cards; Periodicals and Renewals Claimant : link - “Square Time.”
By Helen Van Valkenburgh & Marie Higginson. (April 12, May 5, 1941); Mimi Press, New York.
Catalog of Copyright Entries. Pamphlets, etc. : link
31 May 2026