Chapter Four --- Kehoe on the School Board

T

HE Bath school tax in 1922 was twelve dollars and twenty-six cents on a thousand dollars valuation. Mr. Kehoe began to complain about his taxes being so high. In 1923 the school board had to buy five acres of land for an athletic field and it also had to buy and install a lighting plant of their own, which made the taxes for 1923 eighteen dollars and eighty cents. This enraged Kehoe. In fact, I didn't hear anyone say they were very pleased about it. He felt that he was hurt the worst. His valuation was ten thousand dollars on eighty acres of land, but the township was not to blame for that as it would take thirty thousand dollars to replace the buildings on the Kehoe farm. During 1923 and 1924, Mr. Kehoe insinuated to some of his neighbors that if he was on the school board he would cut down the expenses.

picture of the Kehoe home before it was destroyed by him.
     At an annual school meeting that was held July 14, 1924, A. P. Kehoe was nominated and elected to fill the expired term of Enos Peacock. He was sworn in by Alonzo Webster, notary public, to act as a trustee for a term of three years. Mr. Kehoe was appointed treasurer of the school by the school board for a period of one year. He was reappointed the following two years as treasurer. By a motion made by Mr. M. W. Keyes, he was placed under a ten thousand dollar bond. His books were always posted up to date and found in good condition. He had considerable trouble with the school board from time to time because he would not give and take on any subject. He wanted his own way and if he didn't get it, he would make a motion to adjourn.

picture of the remains of the Kehoe home after its destruction
     He seemed to have no use for the superintendent, Mr. E. E. Huyck. As soon as he was on the board, he started to get rid of him. On one occasion, he told Mr. Huyck that he would have to leave the board meetings because he had no business to sit with the board. He was shown that if they wanted state aid they would have to let the superintendent sit with them. The superintendent had no voice in any of the meetings. On another occasion, Mr. Huyck wanted a summer vacation. Kehoe fought not to let him have any but when he saw that the rest of the board was in favor of giving him a vacation, he at once made a motion to let him have one week. Even little things like this made him angry and he would make a motion to adjourn. The only fair treatment that he ever showed Mr. Huyck was when he made a motion which carried, giving him jurisdiction over the timing of the bus drivers.

     In the spring of 1925, Mrs. Bert Detluff died after she was elected as township clerk. The township board appointed Mr. Kehoe to act as township clerk until the next spring election. At that election Mr. Kehoe ran for the office but he was defeated because the people had heard of the trouble he had on the school board.

     Three swarms of bees got in the partition of the school building in some way; during the winter when the schoolhouse got warm, the bees would crawl out and drop down. This caused much annoyance among the children. The school board authorized Mr. Huyck, the superintendent, and Mr. Hugget, principal, to experiment in killing the bees. At the next meeting of the school board, Mr. Huyck reported that he was unsuccessful in killing the bees. Mr. Kehoe said that he could kill those bees, so the job was immediately turned over to him. That was the last of the bees.

     During the summer vacation months in 1926, Kehoe did some repairing and rewiring which gave him free access to the schoolhouse. This is probably when he planned and did a lot of his fiendish work.

     The last board meeting that Kehoe attended was on May 5, 1927. The only thing that he did during this meeting besides smiling his approval of what the rest did was to make a motion to advance Mr. Detluff, a member of the board and also purchasing agent, twenty-five dollars to meet small bills. This was just thirteen days before the tragedy.

     On Monday evening of May 16, 1927, two days before the tragedy, Mrs. Blanche Harte, fifth grade teacher, called Mr. Kehoe over the telephone and asked him if she could bring her class to his woods on Thursday for a picnic. He told her that would be all right and after asking her a few questions about some school records they hung up. A short time afterwards Kehoe called her over the telephone and asked her if she couldn't just as well have her picnic on Tuesday, as it might rain Thursday. I suppose he wanted the children to have a little fun before he killed them.


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