Dumb and Dumber, 1950s Style
Given this history, and given that a madman was planting real bombs in New York City until the mid-1950s, there were excellent reasons to take any bomb threat seriously, not matter how preposterous it might seem - which is precisely what post-war adolescent pranksters counted on.
Before the Call Display era, schools sometimes were victims of telephoned-in "bomb threats." The callers might be anyone: terrorists (unlikely), cranks, mentally unstable adults, even students hoping to postpone exams - but the questionable character of the callers did not mean that there were no IEDs. Although the public took to calling the threats "bomb scares" and dismissed them, authorities could never risk taking the threats lightly. In the event of such threats, schools would be evacuated, and local police and fire departments called in to inspect the vacated premises thoroughly.
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Early in 1954, a spate of such events occurred in Nassau County. Schools in Port Washington, Amityville, Hicksville, and Roslyn all were threatened, and in some cases, explosive devices were discovered. In consequence, sixty-five Long Island school superintendents met as a body with police to establish more open communications. Three Port Washington students were arrested in one case; one Hicksville student was arrested in another.
"I thought it was a good idea," he told the Judge.
Long-Island Star-Journal, March 26, 1954
The situation in Roslyn, however, proved more worrisome. A homemade bomb exploded in a hall locker, and the following day, another one was discovered before it could explode. More bomb scares hit Hicksville High during the winter of 1954-1955. There was no option but to continue to evacuate and inspect.
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