From my college internship paper...

Pine Hills School was established in March of 1893 with the signing of House Bill #184 by the Governor of Montana, the Honorable J.E. Rickards. At the time, the school was some two miles east of Miles City. Now Miles City has grown to include the school as part of it's eastern edge. The school began as the Montana State Reform School, so named because it was beleived that the duty of the school was to "reform" the juveniles sent there. The Superintendent's report to the Governor for the year 1900 notes that "We realize that this institution is not maintained for punishment, restraint, or limitation of privileges; but for reformation and the cultivation and development of the good lying dormant in the boys' and girls' natures."

The State Reform School was the first building and institution built under the newly formed State of Montana. A man from Lewis and Clark county had introduced the bill providing for the State Reform School; but he was so careless in writing it that he forgot to mention a place for it's existence. There were very few sites proposed for the Reform School because most towns were more interested in institutions such as the agricultural college. Miles City representitives put up quite a fight for the agricultural college too, but the other representatives felt that the Miles City area was not suitable for growing anything. This theory was to be disputed not only by farmers of the area, but also by the school itself.

The Yellowstone Journal noted in it's March 15, 1894 issue that the Miles City representatives wanted a state institution so badly, that "...a spasm of generosity swept over the house, and its members, counseling among themselves, said 'Let us throw this Reform School bone to the Miles City dog, who is growling at our heels, and so shut his mouth." Upon passing of the bill giving the Reform School to Miles City, a $25,000 appropriation was passed to allow for the start of the school.

On March 1, 1893, the Governor signed Senate Bill No. 4, commonly known as the Reform School Law, and in four weeks appointed Miles citizens J.W. Strevell, C.R. Middleton, and H.B. Wiley as the first set of trustees of the school. On April 1, the trustees took their offices, and filed a bond of $10,000 each for performance of their duties. Quite a hefty sum for those days.

Over the next year, the board of tustees had spent $24,000 for a building, complete with three floors, wiring and lights, an artesian well with enough pressure to serve the school, a 20X24 foot barn with 14 foot walls, and a contract with the ditch company had been signed for water for irrigating purposes. These expenditures left the board woth only $1,000 to run the school. According to the Yellowstone Journal, loans totaling $12,000 were taken out to support the school until another appropriation could be made by the House of Representatives. The First National Bank of Miles City loaned the state one quarter of the money, and the banks from the Helena area loaned the rest. On January 22, 1894, A.J. Hylton, Assistant Superintendent of the boys' reformatory at Plainfield, Indiana was name Director of the Reform School, and reported for duty some ten days later.

Over the course of the next few months, finishing touches were added to the building, and plans began for the dedication ceremonies that were to take place in March. According to the Yellowstone Journal, the building was drawing attention from passers by, and "People began to point with pride to Montana's first state building..." noting "It (was) not fancy in design, but (was) built for durability, comfort, and convenience."

The governor signed his proclamation formally declaring the Montana Reform School open for inmates on March 14, 1894. And on March 15, the State Reform School was dedicated to the people of the state in grand fashion. The Miles City Chamber of Commerce planned the event, which included such important speakers as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Mr. J.W. Strevell, and the Governor himself. Even though the day was anything but nice; having the typical Eastern Montana winter of rain, snow, and mud, about 260 people arrived to take in such talents as the Fort Keogh fourteen piece band and the Billings male quartet. The dedication was well received, and the Journal noted that "Prof. Reichardt's orchestra amused them with dancing until the roosters began to crow - a fitting end to the greatest of Miles City's events."

On April 15, 1894, the first student arrived at the school. It was expected, according to the 1900 Superintendent's report, that the school have no unactive boys and girls because it was felt "The old adage was never more true than now, 'Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do.'" It was also noted in the report that the school supplied "for the boys' and girls' tireless energy, a proper channel for it's development and use." To accomplish this goal, the students were employed in various duties to help with the management of the farm, caring for the buildings and grounds, and the "domestic labor" of the school. A large portion of the boys were kept busy during the spring and summer months planting, hoeing, and caring for the crops; also handling and caring for livestock. The boys also got practical work in laundry, boiler house, and kitchen.

The girls were kept busy with the task of making all their own and the boys' clothing and keeping them in repair. The girls did all the cooking for the Director and Matron, lady officers and themselves. The girls' work was changed each month to allow them to learn a wide variety of tasks designed to help them in society after they were released. In March of 1920, a vocational school for girls was started outside Helena. Now named Mountain View School, the school only housed girls, and the last girl was transferred from the Reform School on Fegruary 11, 1921.

In 1900, the school had 100 acres of land, and in the Superintendent's report, the school was asking for the purchase of 40 more acres. The land was put to good use to raise vegetables, fruit, and cattle for meat. The school usually raised enough food for their own consumption during the year. The land also contained an orchard, which the report stated was "In a healthy condition, gooseberry, currant and raspberry bushes enough to furnish goodly supply of fruit."

To keep up with academics, the boys would go to school in the morning hours, and the girls in the afternoon. When not in school during the day, the students would work at their assigned jobs on campus. In 1945, the school joined the Montana High School Association, and membership obtained in the District 4 Class "C" competition. Troop #46 of the Boy Scouts was also started at this time. In the mid 1970's the scholl quit competing in 4-"C" copetition due to problems of having a full team the whole season with boys being released all the time.

Over the years, the school has had many name changes also. Starting out as the Reform School, in 1935 the name was changed to the State Industrial School to reflect the training received there. In the 1950's the name was changed to Pine Hills School.

Good stuff Cory - thanks for posting it.

thanks for the history on the school. I talked to Mike Mohler, who grew up there. the old philosophy was indeed to reform them. the school was self sufficient and what they didnt make or grow, they traded with other institutions (ie) they took food to Warm Springs and brought back furniture. Too bad it doesn't work that way anymore.

I am interested in finding information about Martin E. Shoffner who was at Montana State Industrial School in the 1930's. Do you have any knowledge of where I might find these records? I would appreciate any help that you might offer.

The Montana Historical Society is the repository for archival records of all state institutions.
http://mhs.mt.gov
For access to individual personal records of a deceased person it may be necessary to provide proof of direct family relationship and proof of individual's death.

My father was both at the school as a young man and worked there as an adult. He told me that he once witnessed a hanging of a young black man, they hung him in the courthouse on Main St. dont know if that was true or not. Something about the young man killing a guard. Does anyone know anything about that.

There were only two legal hangings in Miles City and both occurred in 1935, which leads to the confusion. Henry Zorn was executed for killing an employee of Pine Hills. George Criner, who was African American, was executed six months later for killing a Miles City policeman.

My father would have been 23 at that time, seems a little young for a witness but possible.

Sorry for my lack of manners, Thank you very much for letting me know that.

Thanks Cory! I also have wanted to find more information about the little cemetery that rests behind the school in the state section. There are 7 "boys" and one Alice Bell buried. The dates range from 1896 to 1934. I'm remembering a Star article, so Amorette any help?

The Custer County Cemetery Index for the Pine Hills Cemetery lists the following burials:

Alice Bell, Date of Admission 3-31-1896; Date of Death 11-26-1896.

George Buchanen, Date of Admission 10-3-1896, Death 11-6-1896.

Steve Fredmanski, Date of Admission 8-9-1931, Death 7-24-1934.

James Murphy, Date of Admission 5-30-1921; Death 9-3-1921.

William Wall, Date of Admission 9-11-1924 to 6-1-1926, Previously released and returned 7-1-1927. Date of Death 5-13-1929.

Henry D. Welsh, Date of Admission 9-12-1896. Death 11-6-1896.

Davy John Williams, Date of Admission 6-30-1897, Death 9-4-1904.

A note on this page states that the information is provided by the Reverend Lester Payne and Don Pering. Also, although the cemetery is located behind the present school, the markers no longer exist.

There is a marker that was added a few years with all the names on it.

Thnaks TDF. I have a photo of the current headstone. I think of them as Alice Bell and the lost boys.

I 'attended' Pine Hills School for Boys from 1993 to 1995. In those three years I was in and out of the school and stayed there for a grand total of 24 months. There were four 'lodges' during that time, Russel, Custer, Sundance, and Range Riders. Russell and Custer lodge were older and each had an open dormitory room with beds. Sundance and Range Riders were newer lodges and boasted private rooms. There were a few other lodges that were condemned shortly before my initial arrival. During my time there was no barbed wire or statues in front of the main complex, just an open lawn with a baseball diamond and basketball court. Before I left Pine Hills for the last time in 1995 there was talk of the agency responsible for the facility to be changed from Department of Family Services to Department of Corrections. The minimum stay went up from 90 days and there was a heavy reinforcement of security.

I find it interesting that when the facility was initially founded there was an emphasis on field work and technical training. While I was there we had the school building and the gym, but little else was offered. There were two tall guys in charge of us during our recreation time when we were outside of the buildings. This time involved the actual walking across the grounds, usually in a large group of twenty or so from our respective lodges to school or the gym and back. There was also a playing field behind the school, a small out building with video games for those who behaved, the baseball diamond, and the gym. One of the 'rec' guys names was 'Abby'. He was tall, lanky, and could run anyone of us down. There was also a welding shop that was shut down shortly after I arrived. While I was there we truly had idle hands. Most days were spent fighting, playing cards, trading insults, and trying to procur tobacco from visitors.

The place was really a revolving door for the 'students.' I returned four times for a total of 5 commits. I spent the early part of my teenage years at the facility and was forever changed by it. I came in a 14 year old weakling and left a scrappy 17 year old ready to fight the world. A large percentage of my peers were Native American. There were a few African Americans, and the rest white. I consider myself lucky to have moved out of state shortly after my leaving the facility to live with my mother. I look at the montana conweb database from time to time and see many familiar faces.

The story I was told while attending Pine Hills was the name of the facility came from the actuall pine hills you can see from the grounds. If you look east from the grounds you can see some high land with a visible unique separation between distinct outcroppings of pine trees. I do not know if they are still there. The school building itself had a small library, a few very patient teachers, expired textbooks, and bathrooms used for secret mid-day barenuckle boxing.

While I was there the longest stays were 18 months and they were reserved for the sex offenders or 'jsop' kids. The shortest stay could be 90 days depending on your behaviour. You were either a 'jsop' kid or grouped with everybody else. That is to say it did not matter your offense if you were not a sex offender, you could still be out in 90 days if you behaved. The state did put you on probation until you were 19 years old which gave cause for many subsequent return visits by most. My offenses varied but my offenses and stay interval can be described as common. My stays consisted of 3, 4, 6, 7, and 4 months respectively. My offenses varied from joy riding to fighting to just being sent back for being labeled 'uncompliant' by my probation officer. Looking back on the system with adult eyes I can see the financial motivations of the state of montana to revoke probation based on little to no reasonable cause. Many kids were let out and returned within days because they skipped school or missed a phone call while on house arrest. We were truly the bread and butter of the institution.

Pine Hills School did offer an education if you were willing to study and behave. They academic program allowed you to earn 'quarter credits' instead of semester credits. This allowed the students to receive credit for schoolwork even when committed or released during the middle of the semester. Not all outside schools accepted these 'quarter' credits, but in alot of cases they meant the diffence between graduation. I managed to graduate high school even having been at pine hills from age 14 to 17.

Between 1993 and 1995 the population of Pine Hills was aproximately 80 kids. This number changed by only a few, give or take, during these 3 years. Population control was achieved by the institution via two main methods. The first, let kids out if the population gets too high due to serious reoffenders returning, the second method, violate released offenders with little to no cause should the population decrease below acceptable levels. The population of the facility was previously 120 beds before my time. This changed when two of the lodges were condemned. I do not remember the names of the condemned lodges but they were still standing while I was there, just unoccupied.

Kids were not allowed to use tobacco products while I was there. This policy was put into affect shortly before my initial arrival during the night of May 20, 1993. Previously, minors were allowed to smoke and chew tobacco in common areas. Use of tobacco in sleeping areas was always prohibited though often ignored. Use of a personal lighter or matches was always prohibited. A member of the staff would always provide you with your means of ignition. After tobacco products were considered contraband there was still methods to obtain tobacco. The methods used to light said tobacco became more imaginative after prohibition. This is where I learned to light a cigerette off of a rechargeable batter, a staple, and pocket lint. Another method although more intrusive involved 'poping a socket'. This involved biting all the wood off of a number 2 pencil and trying not to break the pencil lead. The object was to get three nearly equal lenghts of lead and insert two into each side of a light socket. The third was tied to a small piece of tissue paper. The third piece was then dangled by the tissue paper above the two pieces sticking out of the light socket. When the third piece made contact with the first two pieces a direct short was caused and the third piece would 'pop' into a little fireball lighting the tissue paper. This was a very loud smoky affair and could not be attempted all the time.

As with all institutions there was cafeteria style eating. The food was prepared in a central kitchen and distributed to each lodge via its own 'food cart' that was pushed back and forth 3 times a day by whosever 'detail' it was to push food kart for that week for that lodge. This was a fairly compact stainless steel wheeled cumbersome contraption that could be barely managed by a strong boy with large calves. Four food karts went out from the main kitchen before every meal, four food karts went back to the main kitchen after every meal. Reusable Serving trays and reuseable plastic utensils were maintained in each lodge's satellite kitchen.

Behaviour was monitored and graded on a daily basis. Each student was graded on everything from the quality of making his bed, to the quality of finishing his assigned daily 'detail', e.g. cleaning bathroom, cleaning kitchen, vacuuming day room, etc., to about five different aspects of behaviour,e.g. assertiveness, follows directions, etc. Positive behaviour was rewarded should you make good grades for a whole month. Should you make good grades for 3 consecutive months you were probably going to be getting out. This was a hard thing to do should you be surrounded by a few who do not care to behave, nor do they wish you too succeed at behaving. I found myself on both sides of this fence and can say I do not envy either side.

Pine Hills School or whatever it is called now has become big business for Miles City. I passed by a few years ago and saw the new buildings and the new barbed wire and the new statues. They must have more beds....

Very interesting and well written. Thanks for posting this.

FH

5commits1run, Thanks for your insight. I found the information fascinating, since I'm a Pine Hills neighbor.

Do the alarms still go off when there is an ESCAPEE? KATL would send out emergency bulletins to LOCK your cars and doors.

Good question, "Nancy". It seems like I never read/hear about Pine Hills School escapes anymore when they used to be a common story. Perhaps the fence is keeping the kids in.

I know there is more people buried there, I have a death certificate that states my great uncle William Mckinley Busby was buried there in 5/29/1915. He was attending that school. He died on the grounds. My question is can a person retrieve a file of a relative that attended that school and is the cementary still there?


Also after doing reseach and reading old documents, the school was a tuff place for boys from 1905 thru 1920. One of the most famous kids to attend was one of the most famous serial killers in the 20th century, Carl Panzram, here is a section out of the book about him:

Shortly after he left Minnesota, Carl Panzram rode a freight train heading west out of Montana. He came upon four men who were camping in a lumber car. They said they could buy him nice clothes and give him a warm place to sleep. "But first they wanted me to do a little something for them," Panzram wrote years later. He was gang-raped by all four men. "I cried, begged and pleaded for mercy, pity and sympathy, but nothing I could say or do could sway them from their purpose!"

He escaped with his life but the incident may have destroyed whatever feelings of compassion he had left. A short time later, Panzram got locked up in Butte, Montana, for burglary and received a sentence of one year in the Montana State Reform School at Miles City.

In the spring of 1906 Carl Panzram, age 14, arrived at the reform institution. He had the body of a man and weighed nearly 180 pounds. In a few weeks, he developed a reputation as a born criminal and the prison staff paid special attention to the defiant teenager. One guard made it his business to make life miserable for Panzram. "He kept on nagging at me until finally I decided to murder him," he later wrote. He found a heavy wood plank outside one of the workshops and, one night when the guard turned his back, Panzram bludgeoned the man over the top of his head.

"For this I got several beatings and was locked up and watched closer than before," he said years later. He had enough with prison life and decided to break out, even if it meant his own death.

In 1907, Panzram and another inmate, Jimmie Benson, escaped from the Montana State Reform School. They managed to steal several handguns in a nearby town and headed toward the town of Terry. "I stayed with him for about a month, hoboing our way east, stealing and burning everything we could," Panzram wrote. "I taught him how to set fire to a church after we robbed it. We got very busy on that, robbing and burning a church regular every chance we got." Throughout his life, everywhere he went, Panzram burglarized and burned churches, one of his favorite crimes.

That was so fascinating that I couldn't help but do a little more research. Wow, that guy was badass. I wonder how many other Pine Hills tenants made history.

The Montana Historical Society in Helena is the repository for records of state institutions. The research staff is excellent. If there are records they should have them. You may not need to fill out a form showing your relationship to person of interest since it has been more than 75 years. Otherwise access to personal information might be limited due to privacy concerns.

.CARL PANZRAM: A JOHN BOROWSKI FILM
www.panzram.com/ - Similarto CARL PANZRAM: A JOHN BOROWSKI FILM

The film has a locked final cut and post production has begun. World premiere screening in Chicago in July 2012 and DVD/Netflix release fall 2012. CLIP ...

My great great uncle, Frank J. Cass was a teacher at The Reform School from 1900- about 1905. How do I get information about his tenure there?

I have a book, "To Speak Of Love Was Not Enough" A Biography of Daniel and Panayiota McCorkle. Reverand McCorkle was a Presbyterian Minister at the Presbyterian Church in Conrad, MT. He also served as General Secretary of the Montana Welfare Assoc. and member of the Governor Bonner's Interim Committee for Mental Health.

In March of 1951 he visited the Montana State Industrial School at Miles City for six days. His report is pretty tough to read..one teacher likened the place to being as bad as "any Nazi concentration camp". Control by terror. Really quite an expose' which did lead to many changes.

I've been working on the Montana State Reform School history a little on my wiki. The first director was A. J. Hylton, who for some time eluded my attempts to find out much about him. Turns out, there is some interesting info after all. For example,...

He was orphaned as an infant and grew up on the farm of a wealthy neighbor (obviously learning how farm, from his activities at both reform schools that we worked for). He worked for a reform school near his home (just west of Indinapolis, IN) for 9 years, as a officer and for the last few years as the assistant superintendent (where he learned how to write glowing reports and ask for more funding). While there he met and fell in love with a secretary Helen Rankin (almost 10 yrs older than him) from south Indiana (across the river from Louisville, KY). In 1893, he was hired to come out west and start a new reform school in Miles City. After a couple of months there, he married Helen in Minneapolis. It is probable that he was anxious to install her as matron of his new gig, and to have her as his wife ASAP. It was typical that these institutions were run by married couples.

Skipping over his tenure, we come to 1897, where he resigns, following charges at the end of the previous year of mistreatment of the children at the school.

Following this, I've only found two references to Helen, both using her married name of Hylton. She was the superintendent of an orphanage near her home town in Indiana at least from 1909-1912. And she died a widow in Cincinnati, OH in 1925 at the Methodist Home for Aged.

Except she wasn't really a widow. A. J. (Allen Jackson) Hylton was very much still alive.

After Miles City, he went to doctorin' school and started practicing same near his home town, with a brief stint running a hospital in Colorado. He was a doctor in Mooresville til he died in 1946. Having tried a relationship with an older woman, he married a local (Mabel Mills) 22 years younger and they had a son (William) together. Mabel died in 1927 (two years after Helen). In the 1930 census, he and their 21 yr old son shared a household with his mother-in-law Eliza Mills.

Before the next census rolled around, Allen had remarried, to Frances Ringo Clark who had two children from her previous marriage. Francis, by the way, was 33 years younger than Allen. Six years after this census, A. J. dies (age ). Francis lives another 27 years, dying in 1973. Allen shares a tombstone with last wife.

Here are some links to my wiki pages, most material is still in the rough draft stage:
http://www.birchy.com/history/index.php?title=State_Reform_School
http://www.birchy.com/history/index.php?title=A.J._Hylton
http://www.birchy.com/history/index.php?title=Helen_R._Hylton
http://www.birchy.com/history/index.php?title=State_Reform_School,_1894_Report
http://www.birchy.com/history/index.php?title=State_Reform_School,_1895_Report
The first one contains every image that I've found so far.

Does anyone have anything to add to the Hyltons' info?

How about his successor B. C. White and wife? I know he was a cattleman, but haven't dug anything else up on him yet.

I found a good deal on Hoopes book, hope to receive a copy in about 2 weeks. For those with a copy already, are there any entries for these four directors/matrons?

Jim, I did not see the names you mentioned in the Hoopes book.

Really? Thanks for the info, though!

I think I've exhausted this line of research, except I'm hoping to find out more about the charges that led to his resignation. I have an inquiry into the MHS for those records.

Hello i was at pine hills school from 1980 to 1984 until i was 18 years old!I was 14 when i did a stay for 45 days for truancy wow what a shock it was! it completly changed my life forever!I could tell stories of haveing to be in pine hills school of what went on in there!I was one of the kids that helped cut down a friend that tried to hang himself cause he couldnt take the pressure of being there!I'm glad he is still alive today!

I ran across this website pretty much by accident! This is very interesting to me because, (in my wayward youth), I was at the then "State Industrial Scool" in1966-67-68. cottages were A thru F. I was in B, D and F (with a little time spent in A, the Punishment area).
Great times out on the farm, when I was not in school, I worked for Mr Compton in the Meat Shop. He was a great guy to work for and a role model and mentor to a lot of boys.
Had an older teacher that used to tell us stories about 1951and the reverand's upheavil in the brutal system then in place. Some boy's stole one of the leather paddles/whips they used in those days and gave it to her. She then hid it until the investigation was well on it's way, then she turned it over as evidence.
Remember Ernie Potter and his wife as rotating "Cottage Parents". A professional boxer in the 20's thru the 40's. Used to paw thru his scrapbook and see letters from Joe Louis and other greats.
Went with Mel Moler to the new Swan Lake camp as one of the first. It was brand new at that time.
I am going to add to this later.

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

Photo postcard from 1909 of Reform School, Miles City, for sale on ebay:



http://www.ebay.com/itm/V...3cdb80cd7e

Difficult to read all the writing on the back...

Can you read the message on the post card?

My best guess:

4/26/09
We(?) are on a field trip and waiting for a train. In the heart of the cattle country. Great Stuff. Ned

To: Mrs. C E Clifford
Hoodfords(?)
Maine(?)
(address most likely not correct, but my best guess, studying his hand-writing)

I was at the State Industrial school from May of 1950 to April or May 1951. not a good place to be or a good time to be there. Everyone spent the first 1 to 3 months in building "A". Some stayed there permently depending on their behavior. "A" was a real firetrap, probably 50 or 60 years old. It was 3 story, coat room, leather repair shop, a kitchen on the first floor, a large dayroom/classroom, sewing room and m/m Sherman Lund's living quarters on the 2nd floor. The 3rd flood had a large locked dormitory for maybe 50 or 60 boys, and the cells and punishment
area. The other cottages (b,c, and d) were somewhat newer. I ended up in "d" after about 2 months, run by a guy by the name of Johnson. Most of the "beating" were given by Lund and Johnson (a mean s.o.b.) and Carl Horn. They were brutal and painful given with what they called "the beavertail", it was about 2-3 feet long, 45 or 5 inches wide and 2 or 3 layers thick may 1 inch. It was worse listening to it be used on others .
I worked in the dairy barn for a man named "Rosenor" He was a good .man
In about early April the state police and others busted the place. They gathered 5 or 6 boys at random of which I was one, took us downtown and fed us and interveiwd us. We ofcourse told all. The poop really hit the fan. The cells were gone in 2 or 3 weeks. Those of us that had family were released as soon after.
Some of the teachers were good people who had heard from boys what wasgoing on. I am 78 years now and can't remember any of their names. If you can, please remind me. There was a man that was the coach and a teacher who was also a good man.
I am very fortuente, and went on to have a good life and family

test

No one answered Charles Skroch and now it's too late:

https://www.gillettenewsr...fd11d.html

<sigh>
FH

I remember the institution well, I was an inmate of the Montana State Industrial School, now the Pine Hills School for Boys. I was first sent to the State School in March 1958, at the age of 17, and released in January 1959. I went back for my post graduate course in March of 1959 and was released in January 1960. In my original commitment I was charged with being and then designated “incorrigible.” This was prior to the United States Supreme Court case of In re Gault in 1964. The Gault case granted constitutional rights to juveniles (then under the age of 21).

The Sheriff of Custer County, Newt Perkins, prepared and filed the petition against me and hours later, without an involvement by any lawyer other than Judge McKinnon, the longest serving judge in Montana's history (1921-1965). McKinnon committed me to the age of 21. The petition alleged that I was and had been roaming the streets of Miles City late at night, consuming alcohol and otherwise being delinquent. In the years before the Gault case a juvenile did not have to commit a crime to be locked up.

In the 1950s the population at the Industrial School was considerably over 200 inmates, actually closer to 300, and probably half of which were between 18 and 21. The institution had a dairy, carpentry, farm and butcher shop. It had a full laundry, manned by those with a history of escape or running, and who were probably residents of Company A, where the solitary confinement cells were located. The high school had a football and basketball team. We also had a competitive boxing club.

As a lawyer I have gone to the school to talk to groups of inmates. I don’t think anything I ever said to them had any effect other than my admonishment that if they really didn’t want to get anywhere in their lives to make sure to get their necks tattooed. Ironically, I have appeared, as a lawyer, before every district judge of the 16th Judicial District Court over the past 100 years. How? I appeared before judge Mckinnon, of necessity, per se. I represented myself.

Ha ha, Terry, my folks lived next door to Judge McKinnon back in the day. I think after he died they bought his formal dining room furniture. After my mom died I wound up with Judge McKinnon's furniture. I'll be sure to tell his ghost hello from you.