SeanPaulMurphyVille: My Family: The Public Suicide of Carl "Ernie" Stark

Possibly Ernie Stark with his mother Sophia on
the front porch of their home on Wheeler Avenue,
then called Third Street.

The last blog in my ongoing series about my family involved the public suicide of my maternal great-granduncle Frank Kostohryz. This entry deals with the public suicide of a grand-uncle on my father's side. The stories have a different endings. Frank survived. Ernie didn't. But, because of the stigma associated with suicide, their stories remained shrouded in silence. These are secrets grandmothers keep.

I really don't know how close my grandmother Rita Cecilia Rosenberger Protani Pollock was to her great-uncle Frank Kostohryz. She was twenty-years-old when he died, and the Bohemian side of her family seemed close. Therefore, I'm reasonably sure she had more than a passing acquaintance with him. Yet she never mentioned the most newsworthy episode of his life when we talked about him. She had to know.

My grandmother Margaret Angie Robertson Murphy, on the other hand, definitely knew her uncle Ernie very well. Her middle name came from Ernie's wife Angie Cromwell Stark. They lived near her. She was a frequent visitor to their home. She said they had the best radio in Dunmore, Penn., and she spent many an evening there listening to big bands. She was twenty-four when he died. She remained in contact with his two sons who survived to adulthood, Robert and Doug, until their deaths. That said, anytime she mentioned Douglas Stark, she always pointed out to me that my father wasn't named after him.

Now there was no denying how Ernie died. He jumped off the Nay Aug Park bridge in Scranton, Pennsylvania, impaling himself on an exposed pipe near the bottom of the ravine. It was big news, and it proved difficult to retrieve the body. I found the following story from the Scranton Times pressed between some pages in the large Stark family Bible.

Here's the text of the 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 Starkplunged 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.

Another newspaper story appeared on November 8, 1938. A photo of the firemen, policemen and spectators on the bridge accompany the story. The headline over the photo says: "Where Dunmore Gas Station Owner Leaped To His Death." The caption reads: "Police and firemen rushed to the Nay Aug Park bridge over the Roaring Brook yesterday after C. Ernest Stark, Dunmore, leaped to his death. They were unable to reach the body with an extension ladder. Lieut. Henry Weber of the fire department swam to the body and fastened a rope to it."

GAS PRICE WAR IS BLAMED FOR STARK'S SUICIDE

Family Says Owner Of Service Station Worried Over Losses

Despondent, city police believe, over losses incurred in the current gasoline price war, C. Ernest Stark, 45, of 1103 Wheeler Avenue, Dunmore, owner of a gas station at Ash Street and Wheeler Avenue, ended his life yesterday morning by leaping from the Roaring Brook Bridge, Nay Aug Park.
Stark's body was impaled on an iron pipe after a 250 feet plunge into the gorge. The pipe extended from an isle in midstream.

Efforts of the police and fire department to extricate the body by means of the extension ladder proved fruitless. Lieut. Henry "Bridgie" Weber, Truck 1, removed his uniform and swam through the brook and attached a rope to the victim's body. It was then pulled to the high bank. About 300 feet of rope were used.

Weber was taken to the Turkish Baths later to stave off any illness that might arise from exposure.

Douglas Stark, a son, told police that Stark had been brooding over the price war. Mrs. Stark, wife of the victim, also offered the opinion that worry over the price slashing may have caused mental derangement.

LEFT SERVICE STATION

Frank Delucy, Ash Street, was at the station when Stark said he intended to go to his home for an hour or so. Delucy declared he was suspicious of the victim's actions and requested Albert Jordan, John Avenue, and Jack Gerrity, Ridge Avenue, to follow him in an automobile. Jordan and Gerrity reach the bridge just before Stark vaulted the railing into space.

Captain George Davis, Sergeant William Warren, Sergeant Joseph Gscheidle and Patrolmen Walter Hoffman and William Conslato and Detectives Harry Scull, Reese Alexander and Marlin Knight investigated.

He is survived by his wife and two sons, Douglas and Robert; a brother, Jacob Stark, this city, and two sisters, Mrs. Frank Ellis, Pittston, and Mrs. Arch Robertson, Dunmore.

Funeral arrangements, by Howard J. Snowdon, will be announced later.

So what's the secret? It's all in the newspaper. Worried about financial ruin because of a price war, poor Uncle Ernie became deranged and threw himself off the bridge in despair. What could be more straightforward?

But I never bought it. Perhaps it was mere hindsight. I knew that his sons would successfully run the gas station until their own retirements. Neither of them married, and they left a sizable estate. My grandmother was one of their heirs. There had to be more to the story. I questioned my grandmother about it repeatedly, but she always feigned ignorance. In cases of suicide, families often latch onto to an acceptable narrative that makes it easier to deal the events. That's what happened here. But there was another layer to the story. One they preferred to forget.

I can't remember who told me the truth -- whether it was one of my uncles, or one of my Stark cousins in Scranton -- but they said Ernie's death had nothing to do with a gas price war. It was all about guilt. Years earlier, Ernie had killed a man in an automobile accident.

Here's the story I found about the incident. The story was from The Scranton Republican, Fri, June 17, 1927:

CYCLE-AUTO CRASH

CAUSES ONE FATALITY

------

Clarence Coolbaugh, 25, of

Falls, on His Way Home

When Fatally Injured

------

VICTIM BADLY CRUSHED;

DIES AT STATE HOSPITAL

------

Carl Stark, of 828 Third Street,

Dunmore, Driver of Automobile

Hurled from his motorcycle in a crash with an automobile on the Clark's Summit hill yesterday afternoon at 4:30 o'clock Clarence Coolbaugh, about 25, a garageman of Falls, was fatally injured.

Dies at Hospital.

Picked up in a dying condition following the crash, the young man was rushed to the State Hospital where he died at 6:25 o'clock.
Hospital attaches said that he suffered fractures of the lower jaw, nose, both legs and skull in addition to lacerations and other injuries.
Carl Stark, of 828 Third street, Dunmore, was the driver of the automobile which figured in the crash, the State Highway patrol reported. No arrest was made pending the completion of the investigation by the State officers.
The accident occurred about quarter way up the steep incline, which is one of the most dangerous sports on the entire Lackawanna Trail. Stark, the authorities say, was descending the hill while Coolbaugh was going up the incline on his way home.

Thrown From Motorcycle.

Both vehicles came together with a crash that could be heard for some distance. Coolbaugh, the report of the accident says, was thrown from his motorcycle to the ground with terrific force. Persons who came to the aid believed that the young man had been killed, but when he was found to be breathing, no time was lost in having him placed in an automobile and rushed to the hospital.
The body will be removed to the home of his parents at Falls this morning. He is also survived by his widow, a brother, Roy, of Falls, and a sister, Mrs. Willard Courtright, of Milwaukee. The victim conducted a garage at Falls.

Eleven years prior to his tragic leap from the Nay Aug Park bridge, Uncle Ernie killed a man in an automobile accident. It stayed with him. He remained wracked with guilt about it. From what I was later told, his guilt was compounded by the fact that he didn't pay any price for the accident. He was a well-liked and well-respected man. The powers-to-be left him completely off the hook. Everyone looked the other way.

Except Uncle Ernie. Leaving for work that last desperate morning, but returning home to give his wife Angie a second and final kiss. She was suspicious. She asked his friends to follow him, but he managed to give him the slip long enough to finally pay a bill he felt had been too long delayed.

I wonder how worried Ernie really was about the gas price war? How much of a factor was it in his decision? Was it just the final straw that broke the camel's back? It had to be a stressor to some degree. However, it's not difficult to understand why the family embraced that narrative. Ernie was a victim in the gas war. He was the little guy being crushed by an evil giant corporation. The death of Clarence Coolbaugh only complicated matters. No point talking about that. Better just forget about it.

That, apparently, is what they told him at the time of the accident, too.

I wonder if he would have ended up on that bridge if they would have dealt with the guilt he felt instead.

It's sad that he felt compelled to do what he did. He probably had no idea how his act would ripple through his friends and family for decades. For example, in the wake of her husband's death, Aunt Angie had her sons promise they would never marry and leave her. And they didn't. If Ernie could have foreseen that reaction, it would have probably compounded the guilt he already felt.

That's why it's best not to kill yourself. You think seems couldn't get worse. Well, maybe not for you, but they might for the people you love.

Fortunately, he has moved beyond guilt now.

Rest in peace, Uncle Ernie.

Click here for more of my genealogical blogs:

My Family: Christmas 1967

My Family: My Granddaughter Emma Renee Schwalm

My Family: The Diaries of Mary Elizabeth McLane, Part 1
My Family: The Back River Tragedy

My Family: My Three Nuns
My Family: The Murder of Adam G. Robertson
My Family: Uncle Buzzy and The Boys In Company B
My Family: 1st Lieutenant Charles Edward Farber, KIA
My Family: Cousin Tillie's Balcony
My Family: The Public Suicide of Carl "Ernie" Stark
My Family: The Public Suicide of Frank Kostohryz
My Family: Mary Marshall Mirfin, Hero
My Family: Rita Cecilia Rosenberger Protani Pollock
My Family: Vincent Klima and the Spanish Influenza
My Family: A Festival of Fathers
My Family: The Honorable George Farber
My Family: A Celebration of Mothers
My Family: The Mystery of Frank John Murphy
My Family: Kristina Bednar Kostohryz
My Family: Great-Grandmom Assunta's Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

Be sure to check out my memoir The Promise, or the Pros and Cons of Talking with God, published by TouchPoint Press. It is my true story of first faith and first love and how the two became almost fatally intertwined.

Here are some sample chapters of The Promise:

Chapter 1 - A Photograph

Chapter 2 - My Death

Chapter 3 - Childhood

Chapter 4 - Saved!

Chapter 5 - The Promise

Chapter 6 - The Mission

Chapter 7 - Mission Accomplished
Chapter 15 - Quarter To Midnight

Be sure to check out my novel Chapel Street. It tells the story of a young man straddling the line between sanity and madness while battling a demonic entity that has driven his family members to suicide for generations. It was inspired by an actual haunting my family experienced.

You can buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.

Learn more about the book, click Here.

Watch the book trailer: