Helen Buckler was born on October 1, 1894 in Buffalo, New York, to Edman V. and Rosa B. Buckler. She lived in New York, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. She also went by the names of Bobs and Bobby. In 1912, she graduated valedictorian from South Milwaukee High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Illinois in 1922 with a major in English and Journalism and a minor in History and Sociology. After graduation, Buckler moved to New York City where she lived, except for the period from 1924 to 1926, when she lived in Paris, France.
Ms. Buckler spent a lifelong career as a freelance journalist and authored two well-received books: a biography of Daniel Williams, an early African American physician and surgeon, and the history of the first 50 years of Camp Fire Girls. Her main areas of interest were issues relating to women, civil rights, social welfare, race relations, aviation, personalities, travel, and gastronomy. She was also involved in public relations for numerous nonprofit organizations including the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), Camp Fire Girls, and the National Council of Negro Women.
In the early 1960s Buckler was the co-leader in the first New York City Knickerbocker Democrats, which helped elect Fiorello La Guardia mayor. She later ran for state assembly on the Knickerbocker ticket but was defeated. She worked for a dozen years during the Cooperative Movement and conducted numerous lectures on co-ops. She was also involved in numerous committees including: Citizens Advisory Committee to Clinton Community Center, West Side Housing Committee—New York City, Board of Managers at Friends Journal, and was a delegate to the World Meeting of Quakers. Additionally, she was the founder and first president of the Boerum Hill Association, leading the brownstone revival in Brooklyn, 1963-1966.
Helen Buckler died in 1988.
