school Archives - Lost In Michigan

Bath School Disaster – Michigan Historical Marker

Posted on May 17, 2015 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Michigan Historical Markers, Schools .

the cupola from the Bath School that was bombed rests in a park in Bath Michigan

On May 18, 1927, a dynamite blast rocked the Bath Consolidated School, shattering one wing of the building and resulting in the death of thirty-nine children and teachers; dozens more were injured. An inquest concluded that dynamite had been planted in the basement of the school by Andrew Kehoe, an embittered school board member. Resentful of higher taxes imposed for the school construction and the impending foreclosure on his farm, he took revenge on Bath’s citizens by targeting their children. Soon after the explosion, as parents and rescue workers searched through the rubble for children, Kehoe took his life and the lives of four bystanders including the superintendent, one student and two townspeople, by detonating dynamite in his pick-up truck as he sat parked in front of the school.

The destruction of the Bath Consolidated School shared the front page of national newspapers with Charles Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight. “Maniac Blows Up School …Had Protested High Taxes” screamed the headlines of the May 19, 1927, New York Times. Michigan Governor Fred Green created the Bath Relief Fund, and people from across the country expressed their sympathies and offered financial support. Michigan U.S. Senator James Couzens gave generously to the fund and donated money to rebuild the school. On August 18, 1928, Bath looked to the future and dedicated the James Couzens Agricultural School to its “living youth.” A statue entitled, Girl with a Cat, sculpted by University of Michigan artist Carleton W. Angell and purchased with pennies donated by the children of Michigan was also dedicated that day.

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Burton Memorial Bell Tower at the University of Michigan

Posted on August 19, 2014 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Schools .

I enjoyed walking around the U of M campus, although I will say it’s a large campus in the city of Ann Arbor and it must be a lot of walking for the students. There are some magnificent buildings on the campus and since it was summer time and few students around I got a “good” pic of the Burton Tower designed by Alber Kahn, I seem to take a lot of photos of his buildings without even being aware that he designed them.

Thanks to Wikipidia I found out some info on the tower and posted it here. I left the part out about the suicide of Sarah Goddard Power and her battle with depression since I thought that seemed to sad to post.

Housing a grand carillon, the tower was built in 1936 as a memorial for University President Marion Leroy Burton (presidency: 1920–1925). The grand carillon, one of only 23 in the world,is the world’s fourth heaviest, containing 55 bells and weighing a total of 43 tons (a grand carillon has a bourdon bell — the name given to the heaviest bell in a carillon and the one that sounds the hour — that weighs at least six tons, and can sound a low ‘G’).

The monument was constructed in 1935 and finished in 1936. It stands at 120 feet, and was designed by Albert Kahn, who also designed the William L. Clements Library, Angell Hall, and Hill Auditorium for the University of Michigan. Its carillon was donated by Michigan alumnus Charles A. Baird, a lawyer and the first U-M athletic director, and has been christened the “Charles Baird Carillon”. Baird had the bells cast in England and gave them to the university. He also commissioned “Sunday Morning in Deep Waters”, the fountain on Ingalls Mall between Burton Tower and the Michigan League.

Clifford Branch of the Lapeer District Library

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Library, Schools .

Continuing with Library week, this is the Clifford Branch of the Lapeer District Library in Clifford Michigan. It used to be the local school but was converted into a Library in the 70’s

“I must say I find television very educational. The minute somebody turns it on, I go to the library and read a good book.” Groucho Marx

North Grove School

Posted on April 7, 2014 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Schools .

North Grove School looks so lonely watching cars pass by on M24 south of Caro. I am sure at one time kids were learning the alphabet and math, then during recess, playing in the field next to the school, now overgrown with weeds. Times were different back then, and a long ways away from the internet and Ipads.