Close to 80 Years Later, the Worst School Bombing in US History Remembered in Wake of Virginia Tech Massacre

In the wake of the massacre at Virginia Tech and earlier school shootings such as those that occurred in Columbine, it is easy for people to think that such violent acts in our nation's schools are a new phenomenon. Unfortunately, that isn't the case. On May 18th, a somber anniversary will be remembered in the sleepy town of Bath, Michigan. May 18th, 1927 was the last day of school; however, the children and their teacher were unaware that they were literally sitting on dynamite. On that day, 38 children lost their lives, as well as eight adults. In the end, nearly every family in the town of 300 lost a child.

When asked what school incident resulted in the largest loss of life, many people would state the massacre at Virginia Tech. However, that auspicious title is still held by the Bath school bombing. Due to the fact that Charles Limburg made his historic trans-Atlantic flight a few days later, the incident was quickly forgotten on a national level. Ironically, it took the horror of the Columbine school shootings in 1999 to revive the memory of the Bath tragedy. As a result, family members of the victims of the Bath school bombing began an ambitious project to preserve the information online. Today, a page documenting the incident can be found on roots web. The page includes links to pictures, original newspaper articles, current survivors accounts, and a host of other information related to the tragedy.

While the incident was largely forgotten on a national level, the community of Bath has struggled to move on in the 80 years since the tragedy. "'The community never grew much after that,' said Don Huffman, 89, who survived the blast. 'It just kinda stood still.'" (Donnelly) Only in the last 15 years has Bath begun to grow. Yet, Bath still has an undeveloped downtown area, and as new people move in and survivors pass away, the memory of that horrible spring day are fading. However, thanks to the work of family members of the victims and their work to document the tragedy online, the tragedy will never be lost to history.

Unfortunately, for survivors of the Bath school bombing and members of the Bath community, each school tragedy, such as the massacre at Virginia Tech, brings up the old memories and deep wounds. Today, Bath still struggles with the incident. "Many people never talked about it. When a memorial park was built on the site of the old school, some residents opposed the idea." (Donnelly) In the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre and the Columbine shootings, it is important that the memory of what occurred in Bath, Michigan in May 1927 is not forgotten. All such incidents, including the Bath school bombing, have much to teach society.

Sources -

Donnelly, Francis X. The Detroit News. "80 years later, survivors in Bath still trying to forget school bombing." http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070428/METRO/704280398

The Bath School Disaster website, hosted by Rootsweb.com. http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~bauerle/disaster.htm