Bath Massacre: America's First School Bombing

Four - New Man in Town

Chapter 4 NEW MAN IN TOWN They seemed like good neighbors. A few old-timers remembered Nellie when she was a little girl living on her uncle’s property, and later as a loving surrogate mom to her siblings after their mother died. Although years had passed, Nellie was a welcome face in familiar climes. Her husband was, to say the least, an interesting character who had a touch of class about him coupled with more than a few eccentricities. The man could be a real dichotomy at times. While Nellie stayed in Lansing with her sisters, Kehoe moved their belongings to the three-story house. A rented truck brought furniture, shipped via the Michigan Central Railroad, from the depot downtown. Kehoe had three horses and what one person remembered as “some very ‹ne thoroughbred hogs.”1 More impressive was his two loads of farm equipment. Unlike many farmers in the region, Kehoe’s machinery was modern and well beyond the means of the average person in Bath. Clearly Nellie had married a man of some measure. David Harte, whose farm lay across the road from Kehoe’s, helped his new neighbor unload his furniture and move it into the house. Although 20 Kehoe tried to contact Nellie by telephone, he could not get in touch with his wife. Where was Mrs. Kehoe, asked Harte. Kehoe wouldn’t give a direct answer. She was, he implied, at church.2 Harte gave it no thought. It seemed a reasonable enough answer. Despite the modern farm equipment, which Kehoe clearly relished, the couple lacked automotive transportation of their own. Other than his tractor, Kehoe owned no machine, neither truck nor car. When it was time to shop for groceries or farm supplies, the Kehoes relied on the kindness of their neighbors. Lulu Harte regularly drove Nellie Kehoe into Lansing for shopping.3 As the new man in town Kehoe exhibited a polite, friendly demeanor. In fact, he always was ready and willing to lend his hand to any proceedings . When later asked if Kehoe had ever caused trouble or problems, one man replied, “not a particle.”4 Job Sleight, like many farmers in the region, still worked his land using old-fashioned methods: the ox and the plow. He was fascinated by his new neighbor’s gas-powered tractor. At times Sleight stood alongside of the road watching Kehoe work. Eventually he introduced himself, explaining his interest in modern techniques. Kehoe extended his hand to Sleight, exchanged a few jovial words, then invited his neighbor to try the tractor himself.5 Beyond his modern equipment, Kehoe clearly was not a standard issue farmer. Almost immediately he set himself apart from his neighbors in both person and practice. Farming is dirty work. It requires digging deep into the soil and getting dirt under ‹ngernails and into ears, streaking the face, sticking to clothing, and clodding deep into the soles of work boots. Equipment maintenance adds to the mess. Gasoline and grease combine for a smell unlike anything else, a cluster of aromas tangy with oily fumes. Petroleum has a way of permeating skin, hair, and clothing. A good farmer literally wears his work proudly. Coveralls, a standard for any farmer, were not in Kehoe’s wardrobe. He approached his work like a businessman suiting up for the of‹ce. He always wore clean suits, a vest, and shiny shoes. There was never a hair out of place as he worked the land, riding his tractor like an emperor parading through his domain. It was a marvel to watch this clean-cut, well-dressed man plowing and planting under the hot sun, rarely breaking a sweat. Should he stain his shirt with perspiration or soil, Kehoe New Man in Town 21 went inside the house for a replacement. Tools were always stacked neatly in his shed, never a hoe or rake out of place. Anyone who visited the farm marveled that the Kehoe farm was a model of order and his barn was cleaner than many houses in Bath.6 His land was neat as well. Stumps and boulders inevitably pockmark farm ‹elds like raisins in a cinnamon roll, sticking out halfway in odd places or buried haphazardly just beneath the surface. As he had demonstrated in Tecumseh, Kehoe was a master at removing the protrusions using dynamite and pyrotol. Explosions were often heard on the property, although the sound was certainly...