There is no clear indication of when Kehoe conceived the idea of massacring the schoolchildren and townspeople, but Ellsworth, who was a neighbor, thought that Kehoe conceived his plan after being defeated in the April 5, 1926, township clerk election.[17] The general consensus of the townspeople was that he had worked on his plan at least since the previous August.[14] Bath School Board member M. W. Keyes was quoted by The New York Times: