Helen Foster Snow: the rose once bloomed

As the warm, slanting afternoon sun cast its golden gauze on every fallen leaf, people from China and the United States gathered in the street-facing corner of a small public park in Cedar City, Utah, where a bronze statue of a beautiful and aspirational-looking young lady has stood for a decade.

Few people in the US city have heard about Helen Foster Snow, born here on Sept 21, 112 years ago, and even fewer truly understand the significance of her eventful 1937 trip to Yan'an, the mysterious "red capital" for Chinese Communists, following in the footsteps of her much more famous husband, Edgar Snow, journalist and author of Red Star Over China.

But of those present at the statue's rededication on Tuesday, a few had personal stories to tell about this intrepid soul, whose thirst for truth as a self-taught journalist, coupled with her compassion for the human race, led her to overcome tremendous travails during her nine-year stay in China between 1931 and 1940.

Tim Considine was part of a three-person film crew who flew with Helen Snow when she went back to China for about six weeks in 1978. "She came alive once in China," he said.

The highlight was Yan'an and its surrounding areas, where she interviewed top Communist leaders and took thousands of photos of men, women and children. It was there that Helen Snow met An Wei, her assigned escort-interpreter who had the good fortune of having read both Helen and Edgar Snow's books based on their interviews in 1936 and 1937.

On Tuesday, An was joined by Considine and Sharon Crain, the latter being Helen Snow's de facto assistant for the last 18 years of her life. At the small meeting in historic Gilbert Great Hall at Southern Utah University (SUU), they tried to drive home the point that Helen Snow, having long remained in the deep shadow cast by the blinding success of her husband, deserves a chapter of her own.

"It was she who constantly encouraged and even goaded Edgar into action; and it was she who insisted that Edgar give a fuller and more authentic account of Mao and his fellow Communists in his hit book, one that's not subject to much literary change that Edgar had originally planned," said Considine.

They were lending their knowledge and understanding of Helen Snow and her life's work to Adam Foster, Helen Snow's grand nephew, who recently founded the Helen Foster Snow Foundation in the hopes of raising her profile and continuing her legacy.

"We are trying to set up a memorial museum here in Utah and make a feature film about her. We also looking into possibilities of building a college course on the Sino-US relationship that uses Helen as an entry point," said Adam. "My wife also suggested having an illustrated book made for children."

Grace Conley, student volunteer at the event, called Helen Snow "my inspiration" after watching the documentary film Helen Foster Snow: Witness to Revolution on Tuesday.

"Imagine 80 years ago, a young lady in her 20s from the landlocked state of Utah embarked on the journey to explore a faraway land that was all but familiar to the Americans; she was unbelievably cool!" Conley said.

Meanwhile, at the Southern Utah University library, beside a small showing of photos and memorabilia from Helen Snow's early years in China, an unveiling ceremony was held for the newly installed Helen Foster Snow bust sculpture.

Expounding on his creative ideas, artist Jacob Dean said he had chosen steel instead of bronze to reflect his heroine's character. "She's the unique, irreplaceable, steel-willed Helen Foster Snow," he said.

Red Star Over China and Inside Red China, books penned by Edgar and Helen Snow respectively (the latter using her pen name Nym Wales) were donated to the SUU library by Considine, who received the books as a gift from Helen Snow in the 1970s.

Two people were honored with the "Bridging Award", a concept itinerated by Helen Snow, for their contribution to enhancing the bilateral relationship between China and the US.

One was Craig Jones, a retired SUU professor widely respected for his work in helping newcomers from China become part of the Cedar City community. The other was Shauna Mendini, dancer and theatrical artist who collaborated with Chinese artists on stage, notably for the 2011 production Dream of Helen, based on the adventures of the journalist.

The event ended with a visit to the full-size statue made by a Chinese artist and erected in 2009, where each member of the group placed a yellow rose.

One year before Snow's passing on Jan 11, 1997, An Wei flew from China to her Connecticut home. "Fragile as she was, she insisted that we went to visit this place, with Sharon driving the car. It was a cemetery, nice and quiet.

"If I were to come here to see you one day, what do you like me to bring?" An recalled himself asking. "With no hesitation, she answered, 'A yellow rose and a piece of good news from China.'"

Contact the writers at zhaoxu@chinadailyusa.com