A police officer approaches the local police chief.
POLICE OFFICER
Fred Green is here.
POLICE CHIEF
The governor?
POLICE OFFICER
He wants to help dig.
POLICE CHIEF
He was just elected last year. Is this some kind of stunt?
POLICE OFFICER
I don’t think so. Here he comes.
FRED GREEN comes walking over, without any entourage.
FRED GREEN
Greetings, boys. I was wondering if I could pitch in.
POLICE CHIEF
Mr. Governor, sir… the site’s not safe.
FRED GREEN
(pointing to the rescue workers)
It’s safe enough for them…
POLICE CHIEF
Mr. Governor, I understand you want to help. But you’ll be a distraction from the relief effort.
FRED GREEN
Come on, boys. Don’t make me order you. I won’t stay long. But I need to do this. And those men could use a boost, to know that the governor’s here and that he cares.
POLICE CHIEF
Yes, sir.
FRED GREEN
Thanks, boys.
Fred Green walks over to the collapse.
POLICE OFFICER
I can’t believe I met the governor. I only wish it wasn’t for this. You think he’s for real? Or is he just getting votes?
POLICE CHIEF
You mean, is he moved or is he campaigning?
POLICE OFFICER
Yeah.
POLICE CHIEF
I don’t much care. He’s lifting rubble. If that’s the worst he does for votes, we’ve come a long way.
POLICE OFFICER
Democracy at work.
Fred Green is pulling bricks from the collapsed section – labor, though not too hard.
EXT. TOWNSHIP HALL – AFTERNOON
Makeshift ambulances are parked outside, as workers carry a 10-year-old girl’s body into the town hall.
INT. TOWNSHIP HALL – CONTINUOUS
The workers place the girl’s body in a row with several others, all bruised and mangled. The coroner attends them, along with a few volunteers.
CORONER
Oh, God. It’s Pauline Shirts. Mark her down.
A volunteer mortician approaches the coroner.
VOLUNTEER MORTICIAN
I’m sorry. I’ve got a woman over there.
Behind the volunteer mortician, we see MRS. SMITH, waiting anxiously.
CORONER
Well?
VOLUNTEER MORTICIAN
It’s Mrs. Smith, the wife of the postmaster. Her husband was killed in the car explosion.
CORONER
Well, tell her. I’ve got enough to handle.
VOLUNTEER MORTICIAN
She knows. That’s why she’s crying. It’s just… her father was Nelson McFarren, the retired farmer.
CORONER
Who was also killed in the car bombing. God.
VOLUNTEER MORTICIAN
I just… I don’t know how to tell her.
The coroner passes the volunteer mortician and goes up to Mrs. Smith. We don’t hear what he says, but we see Mrs. Smith’s reaction: gasping, holding her mouth, bracing herself.
EXT. BATH CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL – AFTERNOON
Governor Fred Green gets into his car and drives away. We see that he has some bricks from the collapse in his car, as if souvenirs.
INT. ST. LAWRENCE HOSPITAL – AFTERNOON
Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Hart sit waiting for news, along with many other couples and parents. A doctor, still with blood on his uniform, approaches the Harts.
DOCTOR
Mr. Hart? Eugene Hart?
EUGENE HART
Yes?
DOCTOR
I’m very sorry. Your son Percy died in surgery.
MRS. HART
Oh, God! Not all three of them.
EXT. CRUM’S DRUGSTORE – AFTERNOON
An ambulance is parked out front, being loaded with a child by volunteers. A few Red Cross vehicles pull up. Paramedics get out of them.
INT. CRUM’S DRUGSTORE – AFTERNOON
Dr. Crum and his wife are attending to a severely injured boy, who is crying. The room is chaotic, filled with the sound of injured children. A volunteer is answering phone calls.
VOLUNTEER ON PHONE
I don’t have her name on my list. I’m sorry…
The crew from the Red Cross approaches Dr. Crum. Some begin examining injured children immediately.
RED CROSS CHIEF
Dr. Crum. We’re from the Red Cross.
DR. CRUM
Thank God you’re here. I need all the hands I can get.
RED CROSS CHIEF
We’d like to take charge.
DR. CRUM
Yes, absolutely.
RED CROSS CHIEF
We’ve got cars out front. Who are the most critical?
As Dr. Crum points out the most severely injured children, the Red Cross crew dissolves into the room, attending to all injured children.
EXT. BATH CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL – AFTERNOON
Michigan state troopers continue adding unexploded explosives, recovered from the building, to what has become a massive pile.
Nearby, journalists take photos of the pile. Another interviews some local eyewitnesses.
JOURNALIST
And you saw the car bombing too?
EYEWITNESS
I did. Mr. Kehoe drove up, and no sooner had he parked than his car exploded.
The reporter notes this carefully, although it’s not true.
Unexploded explosives recovered from under the school. (From The Toledo Blade.)
Another view from the west, showing the northwest corner. (From Monty Ellsworth’s 1928 The Bath School Disaster.)
EXT. BATH CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL – EARLY EVENING
A truck pulls up from the Lawrence Baking Company. A Michigan state trooper, directing traffic, talks to the driver.
LANSING BAKER
We’re from a bakery in Lansing. I’ve got a truck filled with pies and sandwiches for the rescue workers.
MICHIGAN STATE TROOPER
I’ll ask. Hold on a minute.
The Michigan state trooper continues to the next vehicle, which is a fire truck. The Chief of the Lansing Fire Department leans over from the passenger’s side.
FIRE DEPARTMENT DRIVER
I got four more guys from the Lansing Fire Department for you. Including the chief.
MICHIGAN STATE TROOPER
You’ve been sending us men all day.
LANSING FIRE CHIEF
34 men besides myself.
MICHIGAN STATE TROOPER
You leave anyone in Lansing?
A close-up view, also from the east. (From Monty Ellsworth’s 1928 The Bath School Disaster.)
EXT. ELLSWORTH FARM – EARLY EVENING
Monty Ellsworth arrives in his car, gets out, and heads to his farmhouse. He is exhausted and covered in dust, from head to toe.
As he walks, we see the still somewhat smoldering ruins of the Kehoe farm stretching into the distance.
As he nears the farmhouse, Mrs. Ellsworth opens the door.
MRS. ELLSWORTH
Monty? We were so worried about you!
The Ellsworth children rush out and greet their father, who responds as if he’s nearly falling over from exhaustion.
AN ELLSWORTH CHILD
Daddy, you look like a ghost.
MRS. ELLSWORTH
Children, let your father get inside.
Monty Ellsworth heads inside.
MRS. ELLSWORTH
(continued)
You must be starving.
EXT. BATH TOWNSHIP COMMUNITY HALL – EARLY EVENING
Volunteers unload scores of pies and sandwiches from the Lawrence Baking Company truck, and take them inside.
INT.
BATH TOWNSHIP COMMUNITY HALL – EARLY EVENING
Sandwiches and pies are laid out on long tables. Rescue workers, covered in dust and some blood, straggle in like exhausted zombies and eat in eerie silence.
INT. BATH TOWNSHIP HALL – EARLY EVENING
Rooms are filled with bodies and grieving parents. The coroner and various volunteers attend to the mourning and coordinate with people on the telephone.
VOLUNTEER MORTICIAN ON TELEPHONE
Yes, Katherine Foote. Her mother identified her. Do you have the spelling?
INT. CRUM’S DRUGSTORE – EARLY EVENING
Injured children fill the room, attended by a score of Red Cross personnel and the Crums. Outside, more ambulances are being loaded.
A Red Cross worker is on the telephone.
RED CROSS WORKER ON TELEPHONE
And we sent her brother Henry to Sparrow Hospital with her. Right. Goodbye.
He hangs up the phone and it rings immediately.
RED CROSS WORKER ON TELEPHONE
Yes, ma’am. I have Emily on the list. She’s been sent to Sparrow Hospital. No, I don’t have a William.
INT. LANSING RED CROSS HEADQUARTERS – NIGHT
Several Red Cross workers are on the phones, which are constantly ringing.
LANSING RED CROSS WORKER #1
Yes, this is the Lansing Red Cross headquarters. Hold on, let me check for your son’s name.
LANSING RED CROSS WORKER #2
It was a bomb, and the school was partially collapsed. I believe it was the north wing that collapsed. Yes. Yes, several people were injured or killed in the car explosion.
LANSING RED CROSS WORKER #3
I have it here. Your daughter-in-law has been sent to St. Lawrence Hospital, here in Lansing. Yes, sir, she’s been listed as critical. No, sir, I don’t have any more information. The hospital should update us, however…
LANSING RED CROSS WORKER #4
Services are planned for him tomorrow, along with some others. Yes, I can give you that phone number. And if you’re driving in from out of state, I can give you directions, as well.
LANSING RED CROSS WORKER #5
We do have a way you can donate, both to the medical expenses of the survivors and to the burial costs of the deceased. Yes.
LANSING RED CROSS WORKER #6
It’s no trouble, ma’am. We’re staying open until 11:30 tonight, if you’d like to call back.
EXT. CRUM’S DRUGSTORE – NIGHT
J. A. Crum, exhausted and spattered in blood, sits down outside and puts his head in his hands. His wife, Mrs. Crum, similarly exhausted and blood-spattered, sits down and comforts him. He explodes into tears, his face tortured, but he makes no sound of crying, except for an occasional gasp.
EXT. SMITH HOME – NIGHT
Mrs. Smith, who lost her postmaster husband and her retired father, walks into an empty house.
INT. SMITH HOME – CONTINUOUS
Mrs. Smith sits down in the kitchen, alone in the dark.
INT. ELLSWORTH BEDROOM – NIGHT
Monty Ellsworth, now bathed, lies in bed with Mrs. Ellsworth, who is staring off into space.
MONTY ELLSWORTH
I love you. I love you and the children so much. I don’t say it, but…
MRS. ELLSWORTH
You show it. I know. We know.
INT. MACDONALD BEDROOM – NIGHT
Mr. and Mrs. MacDonald lie in bed. He holds her while she cries.
EXT. HART FARM – NIGHT
Mrs. Eugene Hart stands in front of the house, not far from where her three children used to get picked up by the bus. She looks like she has aged a decade. Her face is stained with tears, but she’s run out of them.
Behind her, Eugene Hart opens the door of their farmhouse and sees her standing outside, alone. He too looks older. He makes no sound, just stands there, staring, as if he has no energy left.
Mrs. Eugene Hart looks up at the heavens, at the moon and the bright stars, with a face of grief and horror.
CU: MRS. HART’S FACE
The camera tilts up from her broken, tear-stained face, until there is only the beautiful but indifferent stars.
Chapter 8: The Day After
FADE TO BLACK
ON-SCREEN TITLES
19 May 1927
The Day After
EXT. BATH CONOLIDATED SCHOOL – MORNING
From high above the wreckage, we see a line of cars approaching the school and the town. There are thousands.
EXT. BATH GENERAL STORE – MORNING
A car pulls up, in the midst of thick traffic. A young man gets out, carrying a bundle of newspapers. The store owner comes out to greet him.
DELIVERY MAN
Sorry I’m late. Traffic, you know.
STORE OWNER
What’s the charge?
DELIVERY MAN
Oh, nothing today. On account of the tragedy.
STORE OWNER
Thanks.
DELIVERY MAN
I brought extras too. To sell to all the visitors.
STORE OWNER
Right generous of you.
DELIVERY MAN
My condolences. I’m sorry… I don’t know if you lost anyone.
STORE OWNER
Wasn’t anyone who didn’t lose someone they knew.
The store owner goes inside.
INT. BATH GENERAL STORE – CONTINUOUS
The store owner places the new newspapers with all the other papers he sells. Every single one of them, including every national paper, has the tragedy on its front page.
EXT. KEHOE FARM – MORNING
Hundreds of people clog the wreckage of the farm, inspecting things and sifting through burned debris.
CU: CASH BOX SLIT
Along with ash and debris, we see the charred remains of a large sum of money.
Kehoe’s farmhouse, after the fire. (From Monty Ellsworth’s 1928 The Bath School Disaster.)
A view into the foundations of Kehoe’s farmhouse, after the fire. (From Monty Ellsworth’s 1928 The Bath School Disaster.)
EXT. REMAINS OF KEHOE CHICKEN COOP – MORNING
An older volunteer is staring through the slit in the cash box, while a younger colleague sits beside him. A few others dig through the rubble of the chicken coop, while many pass by. The debris-covered wheelbarrow that contains Ellen’s undiscovered corpse sits visible but undisturbed.
The camera remains in the same position through the entire scene, without cut, thereby emphasizing the obviousness of the wheelbarrow, which everyone is right beside and passing by.
YOUNGER KEHOE FARM VOLUNTEER
How much do you think is burned up in there?
OLDER KEHOE FARM VOLUNTEER
I don’t know, but I saw a hundred dollar bill.
YOUNGER KEHOE FARM VOLUNTEER
Let’s see what else is around here.
The younger volunteer immediately begins finding half-melted silverware, which he holds up.
YOUNGER KEHOE FARM VOLUNTEER
(continued)
Look at this. What do you think this is worth?
The older volunteer pulls up more half-melted silverware, then some half-melted jewelry.
OLDER KEHOE FARM VOLUNTEER
There’s jewelry here too. Kehoe must have tried to burn it all.
As they continue digging, more and more silverware and jewelry comes up through the debris.
YOUNGER KEHOE FARM VOLUNTEER
Some of this was really valuable.
Some passers-by are noting these melted treasures with interest and also start digging in the area. One begins digging in the wheelbarrow.
PASSER-BY
I think there’s a body in here.
Everyone reacts in horror, pulling away from the wheelbarrow.
CU: WHEELBARROW (CONTINUOUS)
Volunteers pull back debris to reveal the burned remains of Ellen Kehoe, utterly identifiable, melted into the wheelbarrow.
EXT. REMAINS OF KEHOE CHICKEN C
OOP – MORNING
Everyone has gathered around the wheelbarrow. Someone turns away from the sight and vomits.
YOUNGER KEHOE FARM VOLUNTEER
Who do you think that is?
OLDER KEHOE FARM VOLUNTEER
Must be Kehoe’s wife. Man didn’t have any other family.
YOUNGER KEHOE FARM VOLUNTEER
My God, how can you even tell it’s a woman?
PASSER-BY
Whoever it is, let’s cover him up.
Where Ellen Kehoe’s remains were found.
EXT. KEHOE FARM – MORNING
The local police chief is there, nominally in charge of operations. He stands with a police officer, staring at the tractor with two mowers attached, still sitting where Kehoe left it earlier.
POLICE CHIEF
Does it strike you as odd… How much farm equipment do you think is lying around this place?
POLICE OFFICER
There’s sure an awful lot. Most of it just abandoned in the fields.
POLICE CHIEF
Plus whatever got burned up.
POLICE OFFICER
What are you thinking?
POLICE CHIEF
Everyone says Kehoe did this because he was losing his farm. On account of how much he talked about his financial hardship. The property tax and whatnot. How much you figure all this farm equipment is worth?
POLICE OFFICER
Thousands. More than enough to pay off most mortgages.
A messenger comes walking over.
MESSENGER
We found something.
POLICE CHIEF
I’ve already seen the body.
MESSENGER
No, it’s a message from Kehoe. His final message.
POLICE CHIEF
We haven’t found any note.
MESSENGER
It’s not a note. It’s a fence.
EXT. FENCE ON KEHOE FARM – DAY – LATER
A few volunteers are standing in front of the wooden sign that Kehoe stenciled and left, entwined in a wire fence. As the police chief, the officer, and the messenger arrive, the volunteers part, revealing the sign.
The camera zooms in on the sign until it consumes almost the entire screen.
It reads, in small caps instead of lower-case letters: “Criminals are made, not born.”
Kehoe’s final message, stenciled on wood and left wrapped in one of his farm’s fences.
The sound of motors and car horns rises slowly until it reaches a fever pitch…