He was the son of Jacob Stark and Sophia Charlotte Farber. He married Angie Mary Cromwell.
Here is a story from a Scranton newspaper on November 7, 1938. The story made the front page. A photo on page seven showed his body impaled on a pipe below the bridge. The headline for the photo is: "Scene of Dead Man's Leap." The caption read: "While the body of C. Ernest Stark, proprietor of a gas station at Wheeler avenue and Ash street, was yet impaled on an iron pipe in Roaring Brook after a plunge of about 250 feet from Nay Aug Park bridge, the above picture was taken by The Times photographer. The path of the plunge from the north railing of the bridge is shown by markings and the cross marks the location of the body. A small island juts from the water near the bank and the body struck on an iron pipe rising from the bit of land, the pipe passing clear through the body. The use of 300 feet of rope to get the body to the bridge was necessary."
MAN, HIS MIND UPSET BY GAS PRICE WAR, LEAPS TO DEATH
C. Ernest Stark, Proprietor of Wheeler Avenue Station, Hurls Self From Park Bridge and Is Impaled On Pipe 250 Feet Below. Friends Too Late To Save Him.
C. Ernest Stark, forty-five, of 1103 Wheeler avenue, Dunmore, proprietor of a gas station at Wheeler avenue and Ash street for about ten years, and who, according to his family, had been driven insane by the gasoline price war which has been raging in Dunmore since Sept. 18, jumped to his death from the Nay Aug Park Bridge, which spans Roaring Brook, at 9 o'clock this morning. While two friends in an automobile, suspicious of his intentions, approached from him from the western approach to the bridge, Stark vaulted the railing and flung himself into space. The body struck on an iron pipe extending from a little island in the brook and was impaled. The crash of the body against the pipe was of such terrible force after the plunge of about 250 feet that the pipe went through the body from front to back. Death was instantaneous.
Police and firemen were unable to reach the body with a seventy-five foot ladder of the fire department, which they extended downward from the run of the sloping bank on the west. The body was not recovered until about 10:45 o'clock. Unable to launch a police boat in the rush of water, the police and firemen agreed on the plan of having a fireman swim to the body and hauling it up by rope. Lieutenant Henry Weber, of the fire department, stripped to his underclothes and swam out. He tied a rope around the body, then returned to the western bank with the rope end. Firemen and patrolmen aided in bringing the body to the bank.
Basing their estimate on the fact that 300 feet of rope were required to hoist the body from the brook to the bridge, police say Stark plunged at least 250 feet. One rope measuring 200 feet in length was not sufficient and a rope of about 100 feet in length was added, bringing a total measurement of 300 feet. Allowing for the footage used in tying the body and for handling by firemen and policemen on the bridge, the police say that at least 250 feet of rope were used to span the space between the bridge and body.
During the more than an hour and a half that the body was on the island, hundreds of people viewed it from the bridge. It had been terribly mangled by the impalement on the pipe.
Had Been Deranged
For some time, Mr. Stark had been mentally ill, said members of his family. "The gas price war is the cause of this terrible thing," said Douglas Stark, a son. Mrs. Stark and Robert, also a son, agreed that worry over the price war had caused mental derangement, and they said that they noted for the last several days that Mr. Stark seemed to be worrying more all the while as the war of prices continued.
Mr. Stark left his home for the gas station this morning and returned a short time later to kiss his wife good-bye for a second time. A bit worried by his return, members of the family made certain that he went back to the gas station. But he had been there but a short time when he asked Frank Delucy, of Ash street, to take care of the station as he was going back home about a block away. Delucy became suspicious of the actions of Stark and requested Albert Jordan, of John street, and Jack Gerrity, of Ridge avenue, to follow him in a car. Stark made short cuts to the park and reached the bridge ahead of Jordan and Gerrity. Before they reached the entrance of the bridge from the park proper, Maurice Richards, local automobile dealer, saw Stark standing by the bridge railing about fifty feet from the western entrance. He had driven away when Jordan and Gerrity arrived. Before they could do anything to prevent his leap except to shout "don't jump," Stark vaulted the railing and took the fatal plunge.
Was Well Known
Seth Jones, Jack Gallagher, Jack Davis and Gerald Jennings, park employees, were notified by two screaming boys that a man had just jumped from the bridge and they called the police. A squad of police and the hook and ladder company from fire headquarters rushed to the bridge. The longest ladder on the truck measures seventy-five feet and it did not reach within several feet of the brook when extended from the lowest ledge on the western bank.
A canoe was obtained, but could not be launched in the rush of water and two ropes were then used for the rescue. Sergt. William Warren, Capt. George Davis, Sergt. Joseph Gscheidle, Detectives Harry Scull, Reese Alexander and Martin Knight and Patrolmen William Consolato comprised the police squad which rushed to the scene.
Mr. Stark was one of the best known men in the Petersburg section. He was a member of the Petersburg Presbyterian Church since youth and also a member of the Jr. O.U.A.M. His gas station is located on the southwest corner of the Wheeler avenue and Ash street intersection. In front of the station this morning was a sign to the effect that gas was selling for 13 9-10 cents, tax included.
When the gasoline price war started in September, Mr. Stark, an independent, joined the group battling against the large company-owned or controlled stations and friends said this morning that the war had cost him a heavy loss. "But even with the losses at the station he had no real need to worry," said his widow this morning. In addition to his widow and two sons, Mr. Stark is survived by one brother, Jacob Stark, Scranton; and two sisters, Mrs. Frank Ellis, West Pittston, and Mrs. Arch Robertson, Dunmore.
Siblings:
Sophia Carolina Stark
Elanora Elisebeta Stark
Jacob Philip Stark
Frederick William Stark
Carolina Christina Stark
Howard Joseph Stark
Anna Margaret Luisa Stark
Children:
Robert Bruce Stark
Douglas Norman Stark
NOTE: My great-granduncle.
Here is a story from a Scranton newspaper on November 7, 1938. The story made the front page. A photo on page seven showed his body impaled on a pipe below the bridge. The headline for the photo is: "Scene of Dead Man's Leap." The caption read: "While the body of C. Ernest Stark, proprietor of a gas station at Wheeler avenue and Ash street, was yet impaled on an iron pipe in Roaring Brook after a plunge of about 250 feet from Nay Aug Park bridge, the above picture was taken by The Times photographer. The path of the plunge from the north railing of the bridge is shown by markings and the cross marks the location of the body. A small island juts from the water near the bank and the body struck on an iron pipe rising from the bit of land, the pipe passing clear through the body. The use of 300 feet of rope to get the body to the bridge was necessary."
MAN, HIS MIND UPSET BY GAS PRICE WAR, LEAPS TO DEATH
C. Ernest Stark, Proprietor of Wheeler Avenue Station, Hurls Self From Park Bridge and Is Impaled On Pipe 250 Feet Below. Friends Too Late To Save Him.
C. Ernest Stark, forty-five, of 1103 Wheeler avenue, Dunmore, proprietor of a gas station at Wheeler avenue and Ash street for about ten years, and who, according to his family, had been driven insane by the gasoline price war which has been raging in Dunmore since Sept. 18, jumped to his death from the Nay Aug Park Bridge, which spans Roaring Brook, at 9 o'clock this morning. While two friends in an automobile, suspicious of his intentions, approached from him from the western approach to the bridge, Stark vaulted the railing and flung himself into space. The body struck on an iron pipe extending from a little island in the brook and was impaled. The crash of the body against the pipe was of such terrible force after the plunge of about 250 feet that the pipe went through the body from front to back. Death was instantaneous.
Police and firemen were unable to reach the body with a seventy-five foot ladder of the fire department, which they extended downward from the run of the sloping bank on the west. The body was not recovered until about 10:45 o'clock. Unable to launch a police boat in the rush of water, the police and firemen agreed on the plan of having a fireman swim to the body and hauling it up by rope. Lieutenant Henry Weber, of the fire department, stripped to his underclothes and swam out. He tied a rope around the body, then returned to the western bank with the rope end. Firemen and patrolmen aided in bringing the body to the bank.
Basing their estimate on the fact that 300 feet of rope were required to hoist the body from the brook to the bridge, police say Stark plunged at least 250 feet. One rope measuring 200 feet in length was not sufficient and a rope of about 100 feet in length was added, bringing a total measurement of 300 feet. Allowing for the footage used in tying the body and for handling by firemen and policemen on the bridge, the police say that at least 250 feet of rope were used to span the space between the bridge and body.
During the more than an hour and a half that the body was on the island, hundreds of people viewed it from the bridge. It had been terribly mangled by the impalement on the pipe.
Had Been Deranged
For some time, Mr. Stark had been mentally ill, said members of his family. "The gas price war is the cause of this terrible thing," said Douglas Stark, a son. Mrs. Stark and Robert, also a son, agreed that worry over the price war had caused mental derangement, and they said that they noted for the last several days that Mr. Stark seemed to be worrying more all the while as the war of prices continued.
Mr. Stark left his home for the gas station this morning and returned a short time later to kiss his wife good-bye for a second time. A bit worried by his return, members of the family made certain that he went back to the gas station. But he had been there but a short time when he asked Frank Delucy, of Ash street, to take care of the station as he was going back home about a block away. Delucy became suspicious of the actions of Stark and requested Albert Jordan, of John street, and Jack Gerrity, of Ridge avenue, to follow him in a car. Stark made short cuts to the park and reached the bridge ahead of Jordan and Gerrity. Before they reached the entrance of the bridge from the park proper, Maurice Richards, local automobile dealer, saw Stark standing by the bridge railing about fifty feet from the western entrance. He had driven away when Jordan and Gerrity arrived. Before they could do anything to prevent his leap except to shout "don't jump," Stark vaulted the railing and took the fatal plunge.
Was Well Known
Seth Jones, Jack Gallagher, Jack Davis and Gerald Jennings, park employees, were notified by two screaming boys that a man had just jumped from the bridge and they called the police. A squad of police and the hook and ladder company from fire headquarters rushed to the bridge. The longest ladder on the truck measures seventy-five feet and it did not reach within several feet of the brook when extended from the lowest ledge on the western bank.
A canoe was obtained, but could not be launched in the rush of water and two ropes were then used for the rescue. Sergt. William Warren, Capt. George Davis, Sergt. Joseph Gscheidle, Detectives Harry Scull, Reese Alexander and Martin Knight and Patrolmen William Consolato comprised the police squad which rushed to the scene.
Mr. Stark was one of the best known men in the Petersburg section. He was a member of the Petersburg Presbyterian Church since youth and also a member of the Jr. O.U.A.M. His gas station is located on the southwest corner of the Wheeler avenue and Ash street intersection. In front of the station this morning was a sign to the effect that gas was selling for 13 9-10 cents, tax included.
When the gasoline price war started in September, Mr. Stark, an independent, joined the group battling against the large company-owned or controlled stations and friends said this morning that the war had cost him a heavy loss. "But even with the losses at the station he had no real need to worry," said his widow this morning. In addition to his widow and two sons, Mr. Stark is survived by one brother, Jacob Stark, Scranton; and two sisters, Mrs. Frank Ellis, West Pittston, and Mrs. Arch Robertson, Dunmore.
Siblings:
Sophia Carolina Stark
Elanora Elisebeta Stark
Jacob Philip Stark
Frederick William Stark
Carolina Christina Stark
Howard Joseph Stark
Anna Margaret Luisa Stark
Children:
Robert Bruce Stark
Douglas Norman Stark
NOTE: My great-granduncle.
He was the son of Jacob Stark and Sophia Charlotte Farber. He married Angie Mary Cromwell.
Here is a story from a Scranton newspaper on November 7, 1938. The story made the front page. A photo on page seven showed his body impaled on a pipe below the bridge. The headline for the photo is: "Scene of Dead Man's Leap." The caption read: "While the body of C. Ernest Stark, proprietor of a gas station at Wheeler avenue and Ash street, was yet impaled on an iron pipe in Roaring Brook after a plunge of about 250 feet from Nay Aug Park bridge, the above picture was taken by The Times photographer. The path of the plunge from the north railing of the bridge is shown by markings and the cross marks the location of the body. A small island juts from the water near the bank and the body struck on an iron pipe rising from the bit of land, the pipe passing clear through the body. The use of 300 feet of rope to get the body to the bridge was necessary."
MAN, HIS MIND UPSET BY GAS PRICE WAR, LEAPS TO DEATH
C. Ernest Stark, Proprietor of Wheeler Avenue Station, Hurls Self From Park Bridge and Is Impaled On Pipe 250 Feet Below. Friends Too Late To Save Him.
C. Ernest Stark, forty-five, of 1103 Wheeler avenue, Dunmore, proprietor of a gas station at Wheeler avenue and Ash street for about ten years, and who, according to his family, had been driven insane by the gasoline price war which has been raging in Dunmore since Sept. 18, jumped to his death from the Nay Aug Park Bridge, which spans Roaring Brook, at 9 o'clock this morning. While two friends in an automobile, suspicious of his intentions, approached from him from the western approach to the bridge, Stark vaulted the railing and flung himself into space. The body struck on an iron pipe extending from a little island in the brook and was impaled. The crash of the body against the pipe was of such terrible force after the plunge of about 250 feet that the pipe went through the body from front to back. Death was instantaneous.
Police and firemen were unable to reach the body with a seventy-five foot ladder of the fire department, which they extended downward from the run of the sloping bank on the west. The body was not recovered until about 10:45 o'clock. Unable to launch a police boat in the rush of water, the police and firemen agreed on the plan of having a fireman swim to the body and hauling it up by rope. Lieutenant Henry Weber, of the fire department, stripped to his underclothes and swam out. He tied a rope around the body, then returned to the western bank with the rope end. Firemen and patrolmen aided in bringing the body to the bank.
Basing their estimate on the fact that 300 feet of rope were required to hoist the body from the brook to the bridge, police say Stark plunged at least 250 feet. One rope measuring 200 feet in length was not sufficient and a rope of about 100 feet in length was added, bringing a total measurement of 300 feet. Allowing for the footage used in tying the body and for handling by firemen and policemen on the bridge, the police say that at least 250 feet of rope were used to span the space between the bridge and body.
During the more than an hour and a half that the body was on the island, hundreds of people viewed it from the bridge. It had been terribly mangled by the impalement on the pipe.
Had Been Deranged
For some time, Mr. Stark had been mentally ill, said members of his family. "The gas price war is the cause of this terrible thing," said Douglas Stark, a son. Mrs. Stark and Robert, also a son, agreed that worry over the price war had caused mental derangement, and they said that they noted for the last several days that Mr. Stark seemed to be worrying more all the while as the war of prices continued.
Mr. Stark left his home for the gas station this morning and returned a short time later to kiss his wife good-bye for a second time. A bit worried by his return, members of the family made certain that he went back to the gas station. But he had been there but a short time when he asked Frank Delucy, of Ash street, to take care of the station as he was going back home about a block away. Delucy became suspicious of the actions of Stark and requested Albert Jordan, of John street, and Jack Gerrity, of Ridge avenue, to follow him in a car. Stark made short cuts to the park and reached the bridge ahead of Jordan and Gerrity. Before they reached the entrance of the bridge from the park proper, Maurice Richards, local automobile dealer, saw Stark standing by the bridge railing about fifty feet from the western entrance. He had driven away when Jordan and Gerrity arrived. Before they could do anything to prevent his leap except to shout "don't jump," Stark vaulted the railing and took the fatal plunge.
Was Well Known
Seth Jones, Jack Gallagher, Jack Davis and Gerald Jennings, park employees, were notified by two screaming boys that a man had just jumped from the bridge and they called the police. A squad of police and the hook and ladder company from fire headquarters rushed to the bridge. The longest ladder on the truck measures seventy-five feet and it did not reach within several feet of the brook when extended from the lowest ledge on the western bank.
A canoe was obtained, but could not be launched in the rush of water and two ropes were then used for the rescue. Sergt. William Warren, Capt. George Davis, Sergt. Joseph Gscheidle, Detectives Harry Scull, Reese Alexander and Martin Knight and Patrolmen William Consolato comprised the police squad which rushed to the scene.
Mr. Stark was one of the best known men in the Petersburg section. He was a member of the Petersburg Presbyterian Church since youth and also a member of the Jr. O.U.A.M. His gas station is located on the southwest corner of the Wheeler avenue and Ash street intersection. In front of the station this morning was a sign to the effect that gas was selling for 13 9-10 cents, tax included.
When the gasoline price war started in September, Mr. Stark, an independent, joined the group battling against the large company-owned or controlled stations and friends said this morning that the war had cost him a heavy loss. "But even with the losses at the station he had no real need to worry," said his widow this morning. In addition to his widow and two sons, Mr. Stark is survived by one brother, Jacob Stark, Scranton; and two sisters, Mrs. Frank Ellis, West Pittston, and Mrs. Arch Robertson, Dunmore.
Siblings:
Sophia Carolina Stark
Elanora Elisebeta Stark
Jacob Philip Stark
Frederick William Stark
Carolina Christina Stark
Howard Joseph Stark
Anna Margaret Luisa Stark
Children:
Robert Bruce Stark
Douglas Norman Stark
NOTE: My great-granduncle.
Here is a story from a Scranton newspaper on November 7, 1938. The story made the front page. A photo on page seven showed his body impaled on a pipe below the bridge. The headline for the photo is: "Scene of Dead Man's Leap." The caption read: "While the body of C. Ernest Stark, proprietor of a gas station at Wheeler avenue and Ash street, was yet impaled on an iron pipe in Roaring Brook after a plunge of about 250 feet from Nay Aug Park bridge, the above picture was taken by The Times photographer. The path of the plunge from the north railing of the bridge is shown by markings and the cross marks the location of the body. A small island juts from the water near the bank and the body struck on an iron pipe rising from the bit of land, the pipe passing clear through the body. The use of 300 feet of rope to get the body to the bridge was necessary."
MAN, HIS MIND UPSET BY GAS PRICE WAR, LEAPS TO DEATH
C. Ernest Stark, Proprietor of Wheeler Avenue Station, Hurls Self From Park Bridge and Is Impaled On Pipe 250 Feet Below. Friends Too Late To Save Him.
C. Ernest Stark, forty-five, of 1103 Wheeler avenue, Dunmore, proprietor of a gas station at Wheeler avenue and Ash street for about ten years, and who, according to his family, had been driven insane by the gasoline price war which has been raging in Dunmore since Sept. 18, jumped to his death from the Nay Aug Park Bridge, which spans Roaring Brook, at 9 o'clock this morning. While two friends in an automobile, suspicious of his intentions, approached from him from the western approach to the bridge, Stark vaulted the railing and flung himself into space. The body struck on an iron pipe extending from a little island in the brook and was impaled. The crash of the body against the pipe was of such terrible force after the plunge of about 250 feet that the pipe went through the body from front to back. Death was instantaneous.
Police and firemen were unable to reach the body with a seventy-five foot ladder of the fire department, which they extended downward from the run of the sloping bank on the west. The body was not recovered until about 10:45 o'clock. Unable to launch a police boat in the rush of water, the police and firemen agreed on the plan of having a fireman swim to the body and hauling it up by rope. Lieutenant Henry Weber, of the fire department, stripped to his underclothes and swam out. He tied a rope around the body, then returned to the western bank with the rope end. Firemen and patrolmen aided in bringing the body to the bank.
Basing their estimate on the fact that 300 feet of rope were required to hoist the body from the brook to the bridge, police say Stark plunged at least 250 feet. One rope measuring 200 feet in length was not sufficient and a rope of about 100 feet in length was added, bringing a total measurement of 300 feet. Allowing for the footage used in tying the body and for handling by firemen and policemen on the bridge, the police say that at least 250 feet of rope were used to span the space between the bridge and body.
During the more than an hour and a half that the body was on the island, hundreds of people viewed it from the bridge. It had been terribly mangled by the impalement on the pipe.
Had Been Deranged
For some time, Mr. Stark had been mentally ill, said members of his family. "The gas price war is the cause of this terrible thing," said Douglas Stark, a son. Mrs. Stark and Robert, also a son, agreed that worry over the price war had caused mental derangement, and they said that they noted for the last several days that Mr. Stark seemed to be worrying more all the while as the war of prices continued.
Mr. Stark left his home for the gas station this morning and returned a short time later to kiss his wife good-bye for a second time. A bit worried by his return, members of the family made certain that he went back to the gas station. But he had been there but a short time when he asked Frank Delucy, of Ash street, to take care of the station as he was going back home about a block away. Delucy became suspicious of the actions of Stark and requested Albert Jordan, of John street, and Jack Gerrity, of Ridge avenue, to follow him in a car. Stark made short cuts to the park and reached the bridge ahead of Jordan and Gerrity. Before they reached the entrance of the bridge from the park proper, Maurice Richards, local automobile dealer, saw Stark standing by the bridge railing about fifty feet from the western entrance. He had driven away when Jordan and Gerrity arrived. Before they could do anything to prevent his leap except to shout "don't jump," Stark vaulted the railing and took the fatal plunge.
Was Well Known
Seth Jones, Jack Gallagher, Jack Davis and Gerald Jennings, park employees, were notified by two screaming boys that a man had just jumped from the bridge and they called the police. A squad of police and the hook and ladder company from fire headquarters rushed to the bridge. The longest ladder on the truck measures seventy-five feet and it did not reach within several feet of the brook when extended from the lowest ledge on the western bank.
A canoe was obtained, but could not be launched in the rush of water and two ropes were then used for the rescue. Sergt. William Warren, Capt. George Davis, Sergt. Joseph Gscheidle, Detectives Harry Scull, Reese Alexander and Martin Knight and Patrolmen William Consolato comprised the police squad which rushed to the scene.
Mr. Stark was one of the best known men in the Petersburg section. He was a member of the Petersburg Presbyterian Church since youth and also a member of the Jr. O.U.A.M. His gas station is located on the southwest corner of the Wheeler avenue and Ash street intersection. In front of the station this morning was a sign to the effect that gas was selling for 13 9-10 cents, tax included.
When the gasoline price war started in September, Mr. Stark, an independent, joined the group battling against the large company-owned or controlled stations and friends said this morning that the war had cost him a heavy loss. "But even with the losses at the station he had no real need to worry," said his widow this morning. In addition to his widow and two sons, Mr. Stark is survived by one brother, Jacob Stark, Scranton; and two sisters, Mrs. Frank Ellis, West Pittston, and Mrs. Arch Robertson, Dunmore.
Siblings:
Sophia Carolina Stark
Elanora Elisebeta Stark
Jacob Philip Stark
Frederick William Stark
Carolina Christina Stark
Howard Joseph Stark
Anna Margaret Luisa Stark
Children:
Robert Bruce Stark
Douglas Norman Stark
NOTE: My great-granduncle.
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