Bumpy debut for Fox Hill bumps

Nowadays, the speed bumps along Fox Hill Road barely warrant a tap on the brakes. They’re speed lumps, not bumps.

But when they first appeared, 50 years ago this month, they were way too bumpy. Cars lost mufflers. School children bounced out of their bus seats. Some motorists steered around them — onto people’s lawns. Drivers shouted insults at onlooking town officials.

In short, Burlington botched its speed bump debut due to a lack of experience and inadequate testing.

The inaugural bumps lasted only a few hours. Highway crews spent all night removing them with jackhammers, surely adding to the displeasure of Fox Hill residents.

Yet this was the neighborhood’s idea. A few Fox Hill activists had successfully petitioned Town Meeting to install the bumps as a speed control measure, to protect students attending the brand new Fox Hill Elementary School. Although the initial execution obviously faltered, the concept proved worthy. The town settled for gentler approach and departure angles, so the bumps live on to this day.

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Also 50 years ago, Pine Glen suffered the worst vandalism attack in the town’s history. Four teenage boys, caught in the act by police,  broke multiple windows, ransacked desks, destroyed wheelchairs, smeared paint all over the art room and destroyed musical instruments.

What else? A group of high school students charged the town with “food poisoning” when a student became sick to his stomach after eating in the cafeteria. Student Carol Tyler,  speaking for a group of disgruntled students, also said the school menu was too heavy on starch, let one food mingle with another (stray rice could be found in baloney sandwiches) and served pizza with peanut butter sandwiches as a weird combination entree. School cafeteria supervisor John Puzine admitted combining those two foods to satisfy the state-mandated ratio of carbs (pizza) and protein (peanut butter).

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