Cornelius Vander Starr, His Life and Work

Becoming a Business Man

Fort Bragg Soda Fountain

C.V. Starr and his dog Bob in front of his first business

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After dropping out of college at the University of California, Berkeley, C.V. Starr returned to his hometown of Ft. Bragg, CA, where he opened an ice cream parlor and soda fountain in 1911.  He later sold the business for $1,000.

 

Starr next went to work for the James Nelson Realty Company, where he first developed an interest in the insurance business.  He also tried his hand at journalism by writing for a new local weekly.

 

 

C.V. Starr started many businesses in the course of his life.  This ice cream parlor and soda fountain in Ft. Bragg was the first of them.  He was only 19 years old at the time.

 

C.V. Starr East Asian Library / 300 Kent Hall, M.C. 3901 / 1140 Amsterdam Avenue / New York, NY 10027 / (212) 854-4318 / starr@libraries.cul.columbia.edu