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Bath Massacre: America's First School Bombing

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April 20th marks the tenth anniversary of the Columbine High School killings in Colorado. Most of us tend to think of this horrific event as a product of life in our modern world, which is filled with violence and rage. But Columbine was far from the first school disaster.

Writer Arnie Bernstein chronicles the first United States' mass murder in "Bath Massacre: America's First School Bombing," which is rich with detailed interviews, newspaper snippets, public documents, and psychological discussions. The story takes place in 1927 in the small town of Bath, Michigan, where a farming community built their first consolidated school after a history of one-room schoolhouses. On the school board was a man named Andrew Kehoe. As the book goes on, we get to know Kehoe quite well.

The book sets up the psychopath Kehoe quite well with descriptions of his bizarre upbringing, then neighbors' commentary on his odd methods of farming (leaving most of the crop to rot in the fields), and some pretty nasty stories about his relationships with animals. It always seems to me that if a person is cruel to animals, it says volumes about what kind of character he has. Kehoe, it seems, had very little character at all.
But he managed to fool a lot of people. To some he was just the neighbor down the way--who had a fondness for dynamite and blowing things up in the middle of the night.

As the school board treasurer, Kehoe would balance books to the penny. But he wouldn't always get his way in policy decisions. He also had an unexplainable, long-running hatred for superintendent Emory Huyck. No one knew what gripes were festering in Kehoe's brain, but something made him spend long hours in the basement under Bath Consolidated School. When discovered by the janitor, he'd explain it away as "fixing the wiring." Meanwhile, he kept ordering more dynamite from various sources.

There are a few side tales. Kehoe's wife Nellie was chronically sick with breathing problems and was often in the hospital, giving Kehoe plenty of time alone. He also had at least two severe brain injuries, for which he never got proper treatment.

The day before the school year ended, Kehoe finally cracked. At 8:25 a.m. a clock triggered an electrical system that set off an enormous amount of dynamite hidden in the school's basement. The school heaved up and then its roof came crashing down. Children were trapped--alive and dead. Teachers tried to save them, if they weren't seriously injured themselves. Huyck helped the high school students jump from the roof to safety. Meanwhile, the Kehoe home burst into flames and dynamite roared there too.

Bernstein does a remarkable job of portraying what the confusion might have felt like by slowing down the time and writing small vignettes. One child wonders about his siblings as he is trapped in the rubble. A teacher instinctively reaches out and hugs two children to her chest. A child watches an inkwell shoot to the ceiling. Later, that's all he can remember. A woman plants melons, looks up after hearing a boom, and hears faint screams coming from down the road.

Amid all the chaos and confusion, the little stories like these are what we remember. The rest of the story ends in predictable horror. Kehoe drives up to the school, his car full of explosives, calls Huyck to his vehicle and blows the both of them sky high. The farm continues to burn. Only later do authorities find the charred remains of Nellie. Thirty-eight children and six adults die. The funerals go on for days.

Bernstein's book is instructive because it shows that psychosis can happen in any era. Kehoe was a 1920s monster, just as Columbine's Dylan Klebold was one for the modern era. There is no reason for the madness that the psychopath creates. Kehoe had no gripe against children; something just went off in his head. He left behind a sign that said, "Criminals are made, not born." Typical of psychopaths, he took the blame off of himself.

Today, you will find a memorial in Bath, Mich., on the grounds of the old school. It's a peaceful park now. The violence that marked its past seems to have been erased. But Bernstein makes sure that the significance of Bath never is forgotten.

As a resident of Bath, Michigan in the 1990's I can attest to the fact that the bombing of 1927 is still a topic that is spoken of in whispered yet respectful tones.

Unfortunately, most people of today have forgotten what transpired 80+ years ago. This is partially due to the fact that many of the survivors are now gone. Of those unrelated to Bath, Michigan or the people involved, the events of that spring day so many years ago have been replaced over the years by other events, other tragedies.

In the aftermath of such events as the Columbine High School shooting and Virginia Tech, today's media rushes to report previous or related incidents, but nearly always forget to print the very first...the event that shook a State, a Nation, and the World. An event caused by one man that changed the lives of so many.

In this book, Arnie Bernstein delicately writes of the events leading up to the bombing of Bath Consolidated School. Through meticulous research and eye-witness reports, he manages to transport the reader back through time to a day when the sun was bright, the flowers were perfect for picking, and like those of today, the children were itching for summer break, that is until...their world changed in the blink of an eye.

Think "In Cold Blood" meets "To Sleep with the Angels." A riveting, devastating journalistic history of a forgotten but sickeningly modern school bombing massacre from 1927. True crime is not a genre that usually moves me, but this book kept me turning the pages. Well-researched, stunning, and sensitively written.

Arnie Bernstein's "Bath Massacre" is, simply stated, a powerhouse; a staggering work of intense emotional impact. Bernstein employs flawless prose and pacing to tell the story of Andrew Kehoe and the devastation this madman wrought on the small community of Bath, Michigan, more than 80 years ago. The author expertly builds the foundation for the story, adeptly juggling an enormous cast of characters, and then proceeds to turn the screws.

By the time Bernstein chronicles the terrible events of the morning of May 18, 1927, intercutting shorter and shorter vignettes one on top of the other, we can feel the horror and chaos in our bones, can smell the smoke, can hear the screams of children and parents alike. It is an unnerving experience but Bernstein walks a delicate tightrope perfectly, describing the horrors of the bombing without being at all sensationalistic, all the while showing considerable respect for those who suffered and perished in the blast. As this sleepy village tries to make sense of what has happened, Bernstein beautifully encapsulates the ensuing acts of heroism and humanity displayed by those whose lives were changed forever that day.

It is an amazing literary achievement and it puts Bernstein in the rarefied company of a select few non-fiction writers able bring their stories to life as vividly as any novelist.

"Bath Massacre" is an astonishing, heartbreaking masterpiece, written with the eye of an historian and the heart of a poet.

Arnie Bernstein's Bath Massacre is a compelling account of a school tragedy which occured in the early part of the 20th century. The details of the massacre are amazingly vivid and the background of the time and people makes this an easy read. I read it on one snowy morning.

I was curious to see how the author would treat this terrible part of Bath's History. Since there have been other books written about it I wondered if he could really add to it and I must say that I found it to be very good. He touched on areas that were never explored in the previous books and it is obvious that he did extensive research.

I lived in Park Lake, MI and attended Bath Schools all of my school life starting in 1958 and graduating in 1971. I shared the halls with relatives of survivors and knew the story well. From 5th grade to 8th grade I was in the same building that was partially destroyed from the blasts and because I had a vivid imagination it was not hard for me to make up stories in my head about that terrible day.

I am glad that someone took the time to write this book. The world should know that evil is not anything new...that evil has been around for a very, very long time...

Why did I not learn of this in High School history, let alone from my parents? I grew up in lower Michigan and had no clue! A very interesting book and a must read about our local history. Well written and sensitively so. Once into it, I could not put it down. The poor people of Bath! What a horrifying time we should not forget!

I was aware of the event the book is about, but this version is by far the best written. It is easy to read and very interesting.

I had bought this book soon after it came out. Growing up a few miles north of Bath, I grew up hearing of this event all of my life. It took some time to get myself to actually read it. One - I had to be in the right mood to read it, the death of children is hard to swallow. Two - I knew the stories over the years, and wasn't sure if it would be accurate or maudlin titillation.

Last summer I got up the gumption to read this book. It was well written, thoughtful, and riveting. I think one of the things that stayed with me was how this tiny community was dealing with callus large scale media frenzy in the midst of their horror. It is very easy to see the bomber's ideas and message ties into today. Families live their lives with the same thoughts and feelings as they have for many years. The only difference today is the technology.

Bath Massacre is the compelling account of the tragic events of May 18, 1927 in the tiny town of Bath, Michigan where Andrew Kehoe dynamites the local consolidated school killing 45; 38 of them children.

Bernstein takes the reader back to the bustling and growing town of Bath and lays the foundation of the town and its people leading up to that fateful day when a disgruntled farmer and school board member sets out on a path of destruction: mudering his wife, setting his farm on fire, blowing up the school, and eventually killing himself and others in a final devastating explosion. He delves into the mind of this madman trying to make sense of a senseless act.

Thorough, detailed, and gripping.Bath Massacre: America's First School Bombing