Yes, it’s true, nestled in the idyllic woods on Carroll’s Middle School campus sits a bomb shelter. Depending on when you were at Carroll, as alums you’ll have varying degrees of bomb shelter access and stories. Let’s test your bomb shelter knowledge. Did you know:

Bomb Shelter Facts 

→The bomb shelter was built in 1940 when Mrs. Storrow heard that Germany was building rockets that could bomb England. She figured if Germany could bomb England, then they could certainly bomb Lincoln, MA.

→The shelter was commissioned to be built from the design of Winston Churchill’s bomb shelter. The ceiling and walls are 8 feet thick and reinforced with railroad ties.

→The shelter has a main entrance with a blast wall that would protect the shelter from a blast. In the event of main entrance damage, there is an emergency exit (the spiral staircase in the back).

→The shelter is wired for electricity, has a kitchen, a fireplace, and is set up for water, a bathroom and a shower.

Carroll Lore

→Michael Stratton, a beloved Bounders teacher back in the early 1970’s, worked with a group of students who painted ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics on the walls. Ned Schuler kept that tradition alive. Painting the walls seems downright tame in comparison to some more active bomb shelter activity. Bounders kids would repel down the ceiling, and there were groups that spent an entire weekend in the bomb - not knowing if it was day or night! Fun? Yes! That’s what we’ve heard.

→Mike Kmetz is the last person who has slept in the bomb shelter - in 1986 with a group of summer camp kids. He lives to tell the tale. 

→The bomb shelter has been a popular feature in Fall Festivals in the past. The haunted bomb shelter and tour was a favorite activity. 

Rumor, Myth, or Truth

It is said that there is a secret entrance from Storrow to the bomb shelter which to date, has never been located. Mike Kmetz has searched, but has not given up on discovering if this is in fact truth or fiction.

Do you have a bomb shelter memory? We want to hear it. Email Mary McNulty with your story!