xt7kkw57hh9h https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7kkw57hh9h/data/mets.xml Kentucky 1962 newsletters English Eddyville, Ky.: Kentucky State Penitentiary This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed. Permission must be received for subsequent distribution in print or electronically. Physical rights are retained by the owning repository. Copyright is retained in accordance with U. S. copyright laws. Please go to https://exploreuk.uky.edu for more information. Castle on the Cumberland Kentucky State Penitentiary -- Periodicals Journalism, Prison -- Kentucky Castle on the Cumberland, July 1962 text Kentucky State Penitentiary v.: ill. 28 cm. Call Numbers HV8301 .C37 and 17-C817 20:C279 Castle on the Cumberland, July 1962 1962 1962 2021 true xt7kkw57hh9h section xt7kkw57hh9h

a?» *1
l.
11; e -
" A Penal Press Publication
N) [1. i
{ ﬁf} July 15, 1962
"This, too, shall pass"
I
g l
E IN THIS MONTH'S CASTLE
g Deputy'warden's Page
‘ Castle News '
The Editorial Side
Sports Report
The Baseball Game
. _ ,_ I'll Never Forget
:;;£5* :;5: 1 ::§:::1 3:
. I // /’ Part One of a’§eriesz
I
r] .
I "Dear Mr. Sherers'
f . \\ \

7“-

lllllllll

\»\‘\;'

\
v v
\
v

|‘.
l

............

a
l
l

ll'll' (111’)!'lllllllfllllllllllf’llllﬂll llll‘llll ll;ll
.

g .

‘5 \-

. » \\\4\

l
"3/

7A?” (":1 ‘
bier/£5? .2! '

Exchange Page
Meet the Priseners
Tall Tales

DepartmentiReperts

Poetry
Nightkeeper's
Report, 1885

Stolen Wit and Humor
Iete News

Gfesswurd Puzzle
étgtistics & Movies.

The Last Word

farm ON summation}

The Honorable Bert To Combs, Governor

Wilson W. Wyatt, Lt. Governor We C. Oakley, Welfare Commissioner
Marshall Swain, Deputy Welfare Commie sioner
Dr.» Harold Black, Direotor of Sorrectiom

Prison Adminis tration

Luther Thomas, Warden Lloyd T. Armstrong, Deputy Warden

Kathlyn Ordway, Business Manager W.» T. Baxter, Guard Captain
Reverend Paul Jaggers, Chaplain

Henry E. Cowan, Ed. Super. William Egbert, Vocational Inst.

Board of Pardons 86 Paroles

Dre Fred Moffatt, Executive Director
Walter Ferguson, Chairman

Simeon Willis, Member Ernest Thompson, Menber
Castle Staff”
lawrence Snow, Editor Leonard Rule, Associate Editor

Stanley Brawner, Lithographer Billy Howell, Sports Editor

The CASTLE ON THE: CUMBmLAND is published monthly by the inmates of the Kentucky
State Penitentiary at Eddyville. Subscriptions, one dollar a year, payable by
money order at: CASTLE ON THE CUMBERLAND, Subscriptions Dept., Kentucky State
Penitentiary, Eddyville, Kentucky, and by inmates at the Chief Clerk's Office. .
Articles are solicited, but the CASTLEreeerves the right to reject, edit, or
revise any material submitted. Opinions expressed in this magazine do not nece
essarily reflect those of the administration. Permission is hereby granted. to
reproduce any part or this magazine, provided proper credit is given. Where
possible, a marked cepy of the quoting publication is requested.

f}. ‘

II!

stems/v
~ Um sat
zines

We regret that we will not have a Deputy Warden's Page for you
this month, Mr. Armstrong has just returned from a vacation and -
a ”trip to the Wardens" Convention in Nebraskao Since a deputy
warden's work is never done; Mr. Armstrong’s work has piled up in
his absence.

We have received many comments on Mrs Armstrong's column in the
last months. We wish to assure our readers that his column will
reappear as usual in next month 's CASTLE.

LATE MDTE:

I wish to apologize for not having time to write my section for
the magazine this month, but I have been away from the prison
quite a bit on vacation and on business in other states. My work
has piled up considerably and I am busy trying to find the top of
my desk again. However a I will make every effort to continue
with my page in the next issue, and I do appreciate the Editor's
making my apology for me. I think he did a very fine job. I
also think that all the writers of this magazine have done a good
job in the past and will do a better job in the future.

Before closing, I would like to say that I have had two teen-age
nieces visiting me from Arizonao They toured the prison late one
afternoon and they made some very nice cements on our flowers
and the upkeep of the yard and buildings compared with the
Arizona State Penitentiary.

One other thing I discovered is that when a man gets to be 149
years old, it is almost impossible for him to keep up with two
teen-agers. I am Still recuperating from a trip I took to the
mkey Mountains with my nieeesﬁ

Page 1 CASTLE ON THE CUMBERLAND

m I‘NMATES QADUATE FROM
8TH GRADEs PLAN TO GIVE EQUIVA-s
IBNCY HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMAS TOLD

Ceremonies were held at the prison‘s
gymnasiumpsohool last month for eleven
inmates who had oompleted Bthmgrade
training during the Past semestero Two
guest Speakers, both wellmknewn Kentuoky
educatorsg were on hando

,The rites were opened by warden Luther
Thomas and Assistantiﬁdusation Dineotoo
William Egberto warden Thomas took oom
oasion to oongratulate the teaohers on
their works sayingg mI‘l‘ou are working to
help otherss the most important thing
that can be aooomplished at this insti—
tution.”

J. Matt Sparkmans a tsaoher for almost
two deoades and presently dean of
students at Murray State ﬂollegeg spoke
next on the program. so urged the
graduating olass to go on with their
education, through formal twaining if
possibles but on their own if neoessaryo
It was then that he announoed that a
Iplan'was underway' whioh would allow dew
serving inmates to earn a highwsohool
diploma.through equitalsnoy tastings

We as Garters. Disaster of Eduoation for
the Department of Correotions, sorroha
orated Mme Sparkmanvs statement when his
turn same to 3p6&ke

”Ninety-mine peroent of you,” he said,
"are someday going bask to sooietyt Sou
ciety may not he too friendly'toward you
am- they sent you here. But we want you
to go bask as men sooiety oan aooeptowr

He then'went into further detail somen
earning the equivalency progromo . HE
said the tests would he toughg a long
hard examination. He said that he would
hays to be satisfied the inmate stood a
chanoe of passing the test before he
let him take it. But anyone who suoa
oeeded- in completing' the examination
. satisfactorily'would be awarded a higha
school diplomas

Following Mr». Carter‘s speech, Warden
Thomas handed out the diplomas and chap-
lain Jaggers gave the benedictiono

Graduates this semester were Dennis
Burgess» John Clark, Jro, Vernon Callo=
way; John Cook» Leroy'Eﬂlis, Bobby Ebpe,

James Marthall, 'Will Martin, Charles
Renfrowa Janos Tinsleya and Donald
Viokers.

CORRECTIONAL WORKER URGES PAROLE CLINICS

According to Maurice Flesh, clinical
psyohologist at the Detroit House of
Corrections mental health olinios for
parolees would help them to effect a
satisfaotory adjustment to community
life, says FEDERAL ROBATION.

Mosh3 a veteran of 16 years in penal
works says he believes mental hygiene is
rarely'possible in the highly restrioa
ti‘ve environment of a prisons and that
the effioaoy of treatment cannot be
oheoked and tested until the inmate
leaves for parole; Eb is-eonyinoed that

many offenders suffer from emotional
problems and conflicts that cry for
treatment.

Establishing such a slinio, says Flesh,
”0.0 would tend not only to reduce the
number of parole violators, but would
insure a more successful adjustment to
oommunity life than has been possible.“

DEPUTY WSTRONG ATTENIB PSNAL MEI

Lloyd 1. Armstrong, Deputy'warden of the
Kentuoky State Penitentiary and a penal
worker of 16 years' experienee, left his
desk briefly last month to fly to a war»
denVs oonyention in Linooln, Nebraska.

The meeting was scheduled to last for
the greater part of a week.

Reformer“s Mottos ND thyself:

(reprint)

0mm ON THE mansions

Castle News

NEW IEATHER SALESROOM OPENED:
LEATHERMEN HAPPY WITH PRICES

Leather craftsmen may now buy their supw
plies directly from the canteen instead
of ordering it from outside firms,
according to commissary officials, and
a new leather salesroom has been opened
in the building that formerly housed the
clothing room.

Two benefits will be realized by the
leatherworkers under the new policyo
First, prices will be lower“ The can~
teen buys in volume and adds a slight
markup, absorbing the freight charges
and other expenses rather than adding it
to the cost of the leather. Also,
prices paid the leatherworkers for the
portion of their product sold through
the state leatherstand have been raised
for most items.

"It's as fair a deal as we7ve had since
I've been here,“ commented one crafts=
man. "And you can quote me on that."

The leather salesroom 'will be open on
Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays for the
convenience of inmates who wish to pure
chase leather and supplies. The canteen
will be open seven days a week as usualo

Profits from the canteen, from leather
sales, and from the state sale of fine
ished goods go into the inmate welfare
fund, and it is said that warden Thomas
plans to use the fund to buy'more dena
tures, glasses, and recreation equip«
ment. New gloves for the baseball team
have already been ordered, and it is
said that new musical instruments are
being ordered for the band.

In the canteen itself, say CanteenﬁMana-
ger Joseph Ruppell and Assistant'Manager
Guy Lowery, several regular items have
been reduced in price, and an effort is
being made to bring prices down genem
ra llyo

Inmates James Lewis and Frank Brown are
also employed in the canteeno

nBOX SCORE" OEIEYE PLEDGES‘

Pledges to the Lions Eye Bank were
raised to a total of 51 during the month
of June when ,five more men signed
pledge cards.

Men who pledge eyes simply agree to
leave their eyes at death to the eye
bank to be used for research or for the
replacenent of defective corneas in
blind persons. The campaign. to ucol--
lect" pledges was begun here when cone
demned prisoner John Brown, Jr. left his
own eyes to the bank.

Men who pledged last month were:

Richard Doutrick
Lawrence Haney
William wallace Owens
Charles A. Peak

Bill Burton

Inmates are again reminded that pledge
cards are available at . the CASTLE
office, below the cookshack.

CONS ADDRESS SALEIFOUNDATION ENVELORE§

KSP inmate volunteers - addresSedo: some
25,000 envelopes last month for the Salk
Foundation.

The envelopes, containing appeals for cons
tributions to the Foundation, were sent
to Paduoah area residents.¢

More than 20 inmates took part in the work.

R&R GROUP ENTERTAINS KSP IEMATES

The Thunderbirds, a rock and roll music
group from Hopkinsville, donated an
afternoon of their tine and talent to
the inmates of the Kentucky State Peni-
tentiary last month. ' ’

The Thunderbirds play at night clubs and
other public gathering places in this
end of the state.

A large crowd turned out for the show.

Page 5

CASTLE ON THE cwsmumn

Castle News

LEATHERSHOP ACTIVITY PICKS UP

walk through the doors of KSP's small
leathershop and you find yourself in an
atmosphere of intense activity. Here
mallets pound and swivel knives fly over

pieces of freshlybcut leather as be
highly skilled inmates turn out the
beautifully tooled leathergoods for

which convicts have loxg been famous.
Sturdy' wooden benches” oluttered.with
tools and hides.9 crowd the floor, and
the aroma of dyes and new leather hangs
over the shop. The scene contrasts viva
idly" with the slow tempo of life
throughout the rest of the prison.

One of the reasons for the immense
amount of industry is that the leather—

workers are selfuemployed. They 'buy
'their own leather and tools, and their
profits are their own. Yet the work
they do benefits the entire institution

directly or indirectly.

Almost no one in the shop does a startm
to—finish job on a leather product. One
man may cut the leather, taking pains to
get the maximum possible number of purse
or billfold pieces from each hide.
Another may carve in the designs and do
the background stamping. Still another
will dye and paint the leather, and a
fourth man may lose it. Since the lee»
ing and carving operations can be care
ried on in the cells, almost all of this
work is done by men not assigned to the
shop. not a few inmates earn tobacoo
money in this way, men who would other»
odes have to do without.

The finished products are among the
world's finest examples of leather
craftsmanship. Each man takes pride in
his skill, and makes sure that only the
best materials and work go into the prom
duct under his none. Often, leathera
workers specialize to a great degree.
not only in the kind of work they do,
but in the product they turn out. One
man, for example, turns out nothing but
holsters_and belts. Another makes henna
carved bowling bags, and still another

CASTLE ON THE CUMBERLAND

produces briefcases and purses of the
finest quality. Billfolds, belts, key-
casess watchwchains, and pocket~
protesters are among other pepular items

produced by the shop.

Once the product is completed, it may be
sold directly to the consumer by mail,or
through the stateeowned leatherstand
across the road from the prison. Still
a third market is the inmates who do not
thanselves work leather, but who have
friends or relatives in the state to
whom they may send leather to be sold.
These men often buy leather goods at
quantity prices“g ship them home, and
realise a tidy profit on their transaon
tion. Thus a number of men are able to
save money for their release date or
send money home to their dependents. At
least one inmate "broker“ has put hun-
dreds of dollars into charity in this
manner.

we talked for a while with iMr. Bridges,
the leathershop officer. A genial man
whose appearance belies his 60 years,
Mr. Bridges has been in the shop only
sinoe May. During the four years he has
worked here. however, he has been em-
ployed in virtually'every department of
the prison except the sohool. A native
of Ceding Kentucky» he owns several
acres of woodland theres and just re=
oently he and his wife completed a new
home on the property.

Mr. Bridges” we discovered, is an ex=
carpenter and cabinetamaker, forty years
married and the father of a daughter who
has given him two grandsons. For a year
he operated the cabinet shop inside the
walls here. Enring our talk he said
that he had always found the inmates
surprisingly easy to get along ‘with, “a
nice bunch of follows,“ in his words.
He is a veteran of both the navy (World
wag I) and the army (following world war
III.

Mr. Bridges told us about Herb

Brnbakerls new goldestamping machine, an
innovation in the leathershOp, and we

Page h

Gastle News

walked over to Herb's stand to see it.
Herb; an old timer here and an exu-
restauranteer on the streets 9 told us

about the machine over a sup of soffee.

With the machine, any combination of
letters and emblems can be stamped onto
any leather product in 23=oarat gold.
At the moment9 Herb has some 15 servicem
club and fraternal emblems and a some-
plete set of type, with several more
emblans and typeufonts on the way. The
stamping machine should add quite a bit
to the appearance of the goods that
leave the institution. Herb” by the
way, plans to speoialize in bowling bags.

Business seems to be on the upsodng for
the leathermen. vPeak season, of courses
is Christmas. From 'beforo December to
late in January, the leather craftsmen
are kept jumping to turn out a deluge of
orders from inmates wishing to send
gifts home and from regular customers on
the outside, as well as those who buy
from the state leatherstand. After
that, business slows down to a crawl una
til the summer season opens. Tourists
and weekenders seeking the coolness of
the nearby river and lakes account for
much of the trade received at the prim
son stand then. Profits from the state
stand, of course, are put into the in»
mate welfare fund after sales taxes have
been deducted. Craftsmen mailing orders
to personal customers also pay state
taxes. Thus even the state treasury is
swelled by inmate crafts.

"DINNER MUSIC" PROVIDED FOR INMATw

Inmates were surprised last month by the
appearance of the prison band on the
hill above the messhall during the noon
chow 00.110

The band plays into a public address
system while the imtes file into the
mosshall. It also plays during the meal
and mu. the men leave the dining hall.

GASTIB SUBmRIPTION-E‘. m» 31.00 a years

UK, sruosmss woman, OFFICIALS,
CONTRIBUTE MORE Boom T0 HERARY

Last month another large shipment of
books contributed to the prison library
arrived at the castle.

Many of the books were left at the
University of Kentucky’s Campus Book»
store in a special box provided by store
manager James Morris. Others Were con-=-
tributed by the bookstore itself, while
Mr. Harvey Sharer and others of the
University contributed from their own
libraries.

The books are all of wide general inw-
terest. Many of them are textbooks on
the college and highwsohool 103791.
Others are anthologies and books of fic-
tion. All are worth having in any li-
brary.

Our thanks to all of these fine people
at the University. Their books will be
widely read and enjoyed here.

Domted books may be sent in care of the
GMplain.

0P INMATES REWARDED BY KISS

Inmates assigned to the chapel at the
Ohio Penitentiary can count themselves
the luckiest men in prisondom since the
visit to the prison of starlet Sign.
Basso. .

According to the OP m, innate publi-
cation of the prison, Miss Hasso was
visiting the prison when ochapel clerk
Matt Ryoombol presented her with a song
written by him and Nasir Hafiz, another
innate of the prison. Ryoombel has al-
roady had one song published.

Miss Eosso was so overwhelmed at the
gift that she gave each member of the
chapel staff a hug and a kiss. Bach.
that is , except for? Father 0. Valerian
Lucisr, the Catholic Ghaplain. 'Eis oi-
gar was too formidable,” explained 'll'iss
Hﬂﬂﬂﬁo

79.39 5

6mm ON THE CUMBERLAND

27mg {EMﬂﬁl/ﬂﬂa é’ﬂlg

I don't know how it got started, but there seems to be an idea going around
that prisons exist to rehabilitate criminal offenders. Even judges and
legislators, who should know better, seem to have been influenced by the
rumor.

Well, all of this reninds me of the time I worked on what Californians call
an apple "ranch." The apples that grew there were mostly big and ripe and
juicy, but occasionally there were bad apples, too. The bad apples, of
course, were segregated in a barrel of their own.

Now, the owner of the ranch was a practical man. He watched his costs
carefully, and he couldn‘t afford to throw apples away, even ‘bad apples.
But he certainly didn‘t expect that segregation of bad apples would reclaim
them for him. On the contrary, he knew that the apples would just get more
rotten in the segregation barrel. So as soon as each barrel was full, he
rushed it off to the cider mill where the apples were processed, changing
than from worthless rotten apples into valuable apple nectar.

People“ aren't apples, of course, but it is a fact that you can't expect
human bad applesn to become a bit better when you put than in the prison
"barrel" with other rotten fruit... Like literal apples, they just get
worse. And worse. And worse. Something further is needed if human apples
are to be reclaimed. They need to be got out of the barrel as quickly as
possible, to be “put through the mill,“ to have the rotting process stopped
and the process of reclamation begun.

Now, prisons don't do this. In fact, prisons cannot do this because it is
not their job. Legally, prisons exist for the sole purpose of segregating
and punishing offenders, which is just emaotly what they do.

If prisons were allowed to turn prisoners over to an adequate parole system
as soon as they were ready for it, regardless of their sentence or crime,
and if some process of reformation were available in prison and on parole,
then'i't could be said that a prison sentence at least brings the offender
into contact with a reformation process. But imprisonment in itself never
reformed anyone.

Now, anyone who sets out to revise human personalities is faced with a dif-
ficult job m- one that can't be handled by half=measures and compromises.
And the idea of long inflexible sentences and the idea of reformation of
criminals simply cannot be mixed. There is no workable compromise between
them. Yet so many people seem to be saying, "Sure, go ahead am reform the
crooks -- but keep them locked up out of harm's way, too 3" John Q. Public,
an inconsistent fellow at best, wants his revenge and reformation too. And
maybe that's why the United States leads the world in the nunber of persom
imprisoned in proportion to population. And in crime. And in crime costst

6mm ON THE CUMBERLAND Page 6

This year the league went kapurtg

ee We have no baseball games with. outside teams,

T here have b een several intramural games 9 however 9 and here are the standings
to dates
TEAM STANDINGS Meri'wether 28 12 11:29 At Bat 11 Times or Lesss
Burt en 22.; 10 M7
Bradford 10 )4 711;, Davis 9 EO 22 9 L09 Page 5 )4 800
Evam 7 6 559 Serugge 51 12 587 Ridley 8 5 625
Lynn 7 6 559 Hall 22 e 56);; Wats on 7 h 571
Lamar 7 6 539 Merrie 56 15 561. Bynum 10 5 I500
Davis . LL 7 5624 Lamar 50 31,0 555 Burk 8 L]. 500
Hayden 5 8 275 Rebinsen, H. 15 5 555 Mitchell 2 l 500
a Retains ens G. 18 6 353 Lynch ll 5 L155
PITCHERS” RECORDS Dennis 12 1; 353 Allen 6 2 333
' ' Hellewell 51 10 525 Cook 6 2 555
Buchanan 2 0 31000 Lewis , J o 22 7 518 Addie on 5 l 555
Baldwin 2 0 1000 Newt on 22 7’ 5 18 Sande re 10 5 500
Shepard l 0 1000 Hayden 31.9 (2» 5 16 Mac lur e l O 5 500
Meredith 5 1 750 John-sen 55 11 51b, Dixon ll 5 275
‘ Tipton 5 2 71b, rmuman 355' 11 51):; Shepard L; 1 250
Dennis 2 1 667 Manning 16 5 3:13 Grill 11 1 250
Lynn 5 2 600 Graften 5? ll 297 Hebe on 9 ' 2 222
Hall 5 2 600 Shepard 1.8 5} 278 Willis 9 2 222
Crockett LL 5 57 Meoney 22 6 275 Watkins 5 l 200
Hicks .1 l 500 Baal 15 21.; 26? Whi ta 5 l 200
Herring . l l 500 Tayler 25 6 261 Price 10 2 200
Wadsworth 1 l 500 Bailey 51 8 261 Leachman 5 l 200
Davis, E. )4 5 23141.9, Green 16 11 259 O ‘7 Hara 6 1 167
Evans 2 3 3400 T ipton 330 7 235
Bailey 2 5 Leo Meredith 1:5 10 222 WNW, r» E o N W ‘ V __
Greer 0 l 0 Brent 2:, 9 220 2 - 1 P» M. 09 WW sro Ry :. _—2
Page 0 l 0 Greer .15 5 200 ___ M; can we ,‘5 ,__. 2:. _;,,_.
Harr is 0 1 0 Baldwin 5 l 6 1911 '
Hayden 0 )4 0 Harris 57 ”/7 3.89 .2.”
Hobson O l ' 0 Clap 31.6 5' 188
Maitland 28 5 179
Burma? RECORDS Hampton 5t, 6 1:76
- Hiclanan 23» L; 1.73.;
At Bat 12 Times or Mares Evans 314, 1; 171;
. Stea 1 3h .5 167
AB H PCT Hicks 25 b, 160
McGuteheon 22 I2 5 £5 Viere 25f Lg, 160
Buchanan 20 ll- 52).; Martin. 25 )4 160
Lewis , Lips 5).; 16 2471. Marthal 1 l7 2 l 1 8
Wadsworth 22 10 A5 Croelmtt 3'51 5 097
Lynn 27 12 bid-l- $001.63? 1h 1 071 the IDUISVILLE TIMES o o o o
Stiles 59 17 156 Ford '53 2 061
Page 7

0mm ON THE CUMBEHAND 5 '

F is tion and Art is l as

THE BASEBALL GAME IVLL NEVERHFOBGEE

" e ., .-..,.___, A ........l..
nasal-“Wrr-z-WW ,W _ V ., 7‘ . 4. :1 . ,--_._. 4 V

There's no game in the world that can
match baseball for sheer suspense, tone
sion, and drama Proof of this was drau-
matieally illustrated one day in the
spring of 9142, in a game 1‘11 never for:
get.

It was a sandlot game. Not a player was
over seventeen, but a scrappier lot of
young Wildcats would have been hard to

find. I seriously doubt if the local
authorities would have wanted to firﬁ
any.

The game. developed into a pitcheer duel
between our teams lefty Sanders anl our
opponents Red MoAi’eeo Both pitchers
hurled scoreless ball for eight inningso
The game was interrupted briefly in the
sixth, when Bob Martin, our center fiel==
der, was called out on a close play at
second. Bob didnlt like it. Umpire
Willie Evans called time, and they slugs
god it out. Willie “justified“ his new
cision and the game continued.

Our opponents scored three times in the
ninth before lefty retired the side» It
was our last chance. Manny Gleason was
up first, and singled out on a Texas
Leaguer ooo tamng second on a long fly
to left fields Ray Parker struck onto
Two outso Thm Red Mcnfee walked two in
a row and Manny advanced to third we
bases loaded. Qur hopes soared, only to
crash to the ground as Fratﬂcie Bolton
stepped up to the platen Frankie was
the weakest batter on the teamo

" he Was weaned.
. effort at playing ballo

IVd known Frankie Bolton since the day
I remember our first
The bat was a
the ball was made of thread
unraveled from dis cared socks, and 'thhe
bases were piles of cow chips in a cow-4
pasture diamond. Every day after school
little Frankie would be tagging along at
my heels. ”Glmon, let“s play ball. Aw,
clmonln’ And off we“d go to the cow
pasture.

brooms t ick ,

Frankie was our shortstop, and the balls
that got ny him were rare indeed. But
he just coulngt seem to get his eye on
the ball. We had no pinohmhitter. Just
a ninewman team.

Frankie dug in. The first pitch was
high and inside around his shoulders for
ball one. The next pitch was a called
strike. Manny Gleason took a dangerous
lead oﬂf third in an effort to distract
the pitcher. If he could cause Red to
walk Frankie, that would end Red9s shuta
out and bring up our leadoff man, Glaude
Hagen, who ‘was a batter to reckon with
every time he stepped to the plate.

Red whirled and Manny made
dive for third. It was close. Manny
took another lead, almost, but not
quite, as far as before. The next pitch
was ball two. Again Manny forced a
throw to thirds The next pitch Was 9.
called strike. We put up an argument
about that one, but , as usual, argument
(Please turn to next page?

a running

CASTLE ON THE GUMBERIAND

Page 8

, third-has e line.

Fiction and Articles

failed to shake the umpire’s decision.
Two and two was the count on Frankie.
Another throw to third. Manny had Red
timed to the Split second. Ball three
~- three and two.

Three and two in the last of the ninth,
with two out and the tying runs on base.
And a weak hitter at bat. The next
pitch could be a shutout for Red McAfee,
or it could put us back in the ballgame.
A home run would win for us, but that
was too much to hope for, with Frankie
Bolton at bat. I was praying he9d get a
walk. Claude Hagen on deck.

“Look ”em over good, Frankie.3in I
shouted. There was no doubt in anyoneVs
mind what Claude Hagen would do if he
ever got up to bat. Claude was due ...

The next pitch! A foul tip on the
screen behind the catcher. Red got a
newball. He went into the stretch.
This is it: A hard-whit foul along the
Manny crossed home
plate before he knew it was afoul.
Another long foul, this one over the
left-field fence. The youthful specta-
tors were suddenly transformed into
howling maniacs. Another long foulﬁ
I've never seen anything like it before
or since. I said to myself, ”maybe,”
following each pitch with the eyes of a
hawk.

"Come on, Frankie! Don’t let those East
End tramps shut the Timber Wolves out?”

“Shutoutl Shutoutt Shutsut!"
"Home run, Franhe, home runl”
Another foul down the third=base lineg

Suddenly, I got a feeling. Frankie dug
in. The windup. The pitch ...

CRACK!

It Was a high fly to center. The center
fielder moved back. The ball continued

to rise. It was going ... going ...

A HOME RUNX A grand slam! Our team
went wild as Frankie rounded the bases.
My girl ran up and gave him a kiss on
his grimy cheek as he crossed home
plate. I didn't even get mad. The
final score was he}, our favor.

’From that day on, Frankie was not only

our best infielder, he was our best hit-
ter am even better than Claude Hagen.
It just took him a little longer than
the rest of us to get his eye on the
ball and a little confidence in himself.
I°ve often wondered whatever became of
Frankie Bolton. I suppose, like most of
us grownoup juvenile delinquents, he's
probably doing time somewhere.

But tlntVS one game 1’11 never forget}

DID HISTOM REHEAT 0N JULY FOURTH?
(AWRLD mOK Release?

American colonists were simply taking a
page out of English history when they
declared their independence on July )4,
1776.

Many of the ideas contained in the De-
claration of Independence had been used
by the English to justify their own re-
volut ion of 1688, explains World Book

'Bncyc 1 oped ia o

m’The Glorious Rev0lut::v".on,‘8 as the Eng-
lish called it, sent James II fleeing to
France and brought to the throne William
and Mary. It also resulted in a bill of
rights that reads suspiciously like the
forerunner of the American Declaration. ,

The “SelfaEvident Truths" and "unaliena-
his rights” noted in the Declaration,
for example, recall the "true, ancient,
and indubitable rights“ of the English
document. Both complained about taXes,
although for different reasons, and com,
damned the maintenance of a standing
army.

Page 9

CASTLE ON THE CID/[ERRED

\
L

Fiction and Articles

‘ Dem 533., omens-s»

Many of our readers have wondered what prison life is really like. In order to
give these persons a someWhat clearer idea of what one man finds the prison
existence to be, these articles in letter form will be a regular feature of the
CASTLE from now on. Readers are invited to comment on the series. - THE EDIfﬂR

Eddyville Prison
July 15, 1962

Dear Mr. Sharer,

In a recent letter you asked about the cells, we live in here, and from the tone
of your letter I assume that you already have a picture of a prison cell in
mind. Let's see if I can describe that cell for you.

It has, first of all, thick stone or concrete walls, a high ceiling, and a
barred front. Two steel bunks are suspended from. one wall by chains. In the
rear of the cell, set very high in the ceiling, is a small barred window. Tm
burly inmates share the cell. They wear stripes, and they pass their time
marking off the days on a calendar or digging tunnels under the lower bunk.

Is that the picture you had in mind? It probably is n9t, but it's at least the
picture most professional cartoonists draw when they want to do a convict car-
toon. And like most stereotypes, it contains an elenent of truth. My own cell
is a fairly highaceilinged rectangle with concrete walls, and it does have a
barred front. There is a single steel bunk, bolted, not chained, to the wall.
But there is also a rough wooden table and a stool, and a metal shelf high on
the wall for books, and the necessary plumbing fixtures. A scarf covers the
table. An ash tray, some pipes, tobacco, toiletries, and an empty tobacco can
filled with pencils, pens, needles, and other miscellaneous items cover the
scarf. Another scarf hangs across the front of the table, concealing a low
shelf on which my clothes as- two spare blue-denim unifoms, handkerchieves,
socks, and underwear ==- are stacked. From the light fixture at the front to the
shelf at the rear, a leather cord is strung to hold my towels and, on washdays,
my socks. A broom stands in one corner.

And that's it. Except for the window, which is reasonably large and at waist
level. It overlooks the compound, which is actually the crest of the hill on
which the prison sits, and the Vi®W isnvt quite as bleak as you might think.
There are flowers here and there, and grass, and a few trees, and the chapel, in
addition to the stone cellblocks and the aSphalt drives of the prison. At
night, lights flood the compound, and occasionally a spotlight from one of the
gun towers sweeps the yard and casts a pattern of bars on the wall.

Now if you can imagine the cell I have described, imagine 28 of these cells in a
row, each opening onto a corridor about 6 feet wide, and each facing, across the
corridor, another cell exactly like it, and you will have some idea of one
"walk" or "range“ or division of the cellblock I happen to live in. And that is
the physical side of prison m”home" life.

me Please turn to next page -

casns on THE CUMBERLAND ' Page 10

—¥—ﬁl

Fiction and Artie lee

Because each cell is about 6 feet wide by 10 feet deep, about the size of a
bathroom in an average home; and because for some two thirds of each day it
serves as living room, study, and bedroom, life in a prison cell must sound a
little cramped. Well, it is am at first.

But only at first. Because after they get used to it, many convicts fird that
the cell takes on some of the aspeots of a refuge. And to understand that, you
must understand another aspect of prison life, the fact that a prisoner must
learn to live with the sane faces day in and day out, under rather crowded
conditions. There is no suoh thing as change or privacy in a prison, but the
cell at least permits a degree of ph