The Roanoker - May/June 2021 - 11

NELSON HARRIS is a former mayor of Roanoke and author of a dozen books on the region's history. He is the minister at Heights Community Church in Roanoke and a past
president of the Historical Society of Western Virginia.

in the crowd that his plan was to jump at
5,000 feet, drop about 3,000 feet and then
pull the rip cord. At 3:40 p.m., Ross put on
his heavy parachute pack and climbed into
the plane piloted by Lemon.
The crowd watched as Lemon circled
the field, and with each pass ascend higher
into the sky. Reynolds soon followed in his
own plane with passengers Harry Economy
and Luck Nininger who would watch the
jump from the air.
At 3,300 feet, Ross eased his way out
of the front cockpit and moved cat-like
to the wing. Lemon handed Ross the ring
on the end of his rip cord and asked, " All
set? " Ross replied, " O.K. " With that, Ross
paused, turned, and leapt just as the plane
passed over the east end of the field.
Quiet fell across the crowd. Some
stepped from their cars to get a better view.
Howard Broyles, 17, and Charles Camper,
16, were working near the Cook dairy barn
and paused to see Ross jump.
Within seconds some who had seen
Ross jump before sensed something had
gone wrong. Ross was falling with his back
to the ground, stiff and motionless. Finally,

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the chute flare opened, but Ross was less
than 1,000 feet from the ground and
plunging rapidly. The crowd gasped as his
figure moved to the earth behind a grove
of trees.
Broyles and Camper raced from the
barn, across a small knoll and were the
first to reach Ross' lifeless body near the
Virginian Railroad tracks. The parachute
pack had opened, but only two feet of cord

The crowd watched
as Lemon circled the
field, and with each
pass ascend higher into
the sky. Reynolds soon
followed in his own plane
with passengers Harry
Economy and Luck
Nininger who would watch
the jump from the air.

had come out. Hundreds sprinted across
the open field to join Broyles and Camper.
From the air, Reynolds and Lemon buzzed
their planes low over the body to direct
those on the ground in their search.
Dr. G.M. Maxwell, who lived nearby,
notified authorities in Salem and
soon Deputy Sheriff J.L. Richardson,
accompanied by Dr. A.L. Kolmer, arrived
to conduct an investigation. Many in the
crowd got in their cars and drove slowly
home, but hundreds remained at the
airfield until dusk when the body was
removed to Oakey's Funeral Home in
Salem.
In Ross' pocket was found a log of his
activities that noted the parachute was
packed the night before by Ross and a
friend, E.P. Duling. Ross had written that
the silk chute was in perfect condition.
Duling was at the field when Ross jumped
and reiterated to authorities exactly what
Ross had written in his log. Duling had no
explanation as to why the chute had failed
other than Ross pulled the rip cord too late
in his descent. Some in the crowd claimed
to have smelled liquor on Ross' breath prior
to the jump, but Kolmer ruled that out in
his autopsy.
" Accidental death from chute not
opening in time, was giving an exhibition
of jumping from plane...body crushed,
back broken, skull crushed...fall of 3,000
feet, " read the report.
Ross had lived in Roanoke for 16 years
and had been employed by the Norfolk
& Western Railway. Leaving the railroad
during a strike, Ross went to Florida where
he learned to parachute and for most of
1929 had been jumping regularly at local
airfields for whatever he could collect from
onlookers. Ross and his wife Mary had a
one-year-old son, and they lived with his
sister on Church Avenue.
Prior to the jump, Ross had spoken
with a local newspaper reporter. Handing
the reporter what had been collected from
passing the hat, Ross said, " Take this. If
I come back, I will get it. And, if I make
a good exhibition this afternoon, I will
expect to see something in the paper
Monday. "
The reporter made certain Ross' widow got
the proceeds. The hat contained $11.74.I
MAY/JUNE 2021 11

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