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A carnival worker's sordid fling became a blood-soaked tragedy

In Room 7 at the West Hotel, a doorway exchange between Jay Sharar and Archer C. Poole turned deadly; Poole fired first, killing himself and wounding Sharar in the legs on June 24, 1922.
Tensions escalated after Archer C. Poole, carnival worker, and Mrs. L.G. Middleton, the married Sprague sister, checked into Room 7 at West Hotel amid reports her husband sought Poole and Poole carried a pistol fearing threats.
A coroner's inquest on June 27, 1922 cleared Minot Police officer Jay Sharar; he underwent surgery, left hospital on crutches, and Mrs. L.G. Middleton, Nellie Sprague, and Jesse Gibson pleaded guilty to immorality.
The Fargo Forum and Grand Forks Herald covered the shooting, which dominated front pages, and townspeople packed Van Fleet's undertaking parlors to view Poole's body before it was shipped to his mother in Delaware, Ohio, as reported on July 5, 1922.
Johnny J. Jones Exposition workers were at the center of the clash, undercutting the carnival's family-friendly promotion and exposing a contrast with the exposition's $20,000 carousel and other attractions.

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A carnival worker's sordid fling became a blood-soaked tragedy

MINOT, N.D. — The call from the West Hotel meant trouble. Jay Sharer, a Minot Police officer, responded, along with two colleagues. It was so late it was early — about 4 a.m. on Saturday, June 24, 1922. Sharer knew where he was going. Upstairs, to Room 7. He was looking for a man's wife. Sharar rapped on the door, then heard a sound. Was that a gun being loaded? He reached for his service weapon, a .32-caliber Browning pistol. Then a man's voice…

12 days ago·Fargo, United States

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