I hesitated to research this event and then I pondered whether to post it. But American History teachers can not ignore the bad moments in our history. Not that I would pass this one on to your students. It is important that it is not forgotten, which it was even back then, partly being overshadowed by Lindbergh’s Atlantic flight.
May 18, 1927 was the last day of school for over 300 students in Bath, Michigan. Many of them would not live to enjoy summer vacation. At 8:45 A.M. a huge explosion collapsed the north wing of the three-story building. The K-12 school served the small farm community and the surrounding area. It seemed an unlikely target for terrorism. Andrew Keohe was no terrorist. He was just evil. Keohe, 55-years-old, was a farmer and treasurer of the school board. For several weeks he had been smuggling pyrotol dynamite into the basement of the building. He purchased the WWI surplus explosives in small amounts. He used some of it to help neighboring farmers blow up tree stumps, so the explosives did not appear suspicious. Before the school bombing, he murdered his wife and at 8:45 of the fateful day, he blew up his farm and barn. The explosives in the basement were timed to go off at the same time. Fortunately, 500 pounds of dynamite in the basement of the south wing failed to explode or it could have been much worse. It was bad enough and still ranks as the worst school disaster in American History. 38 students and 6 adults were killed. 58 were wounded. How evil was Keogh? He showed up a half hour later in his truck as rescue efforts were underway. Exiting from the truck with a rifle, two men wrestled with him. He set off the dynamite and pieces of metal in his truck. The explosion killed Keohe, the school superintendent, two bystanders, and Cleo Clayton. Cleo was an 8-year-old second grader who had survived the first explosion. Did I mention Keohe is burning in Hell? Why did Keohe do it? We will never know for sure. Although treasurer for the school board, he had a beef with having to pay taxes to support the school system. He owed $198 for 1926. He remarked once that the upcoming foreclosure of his farm was due to the tax bill. Some Bathians focused on his loss in the election for town clerk as his motivation. He left a note on a fence that read: “Criminals are made, not born.” Poor excuse, a-hole.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_School_disaster
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