Alcatraz

Jerry has always wanted to visit Alcatraz so this would be his chance. He began his career as a social worker at two different Ohio prisons, one for men and one for women. In those days, it was a badge of courage for an inmate to brag that he had done time at Alcatraz. It was the pentitentary for the most hardened inmates who had broken federal statues. Men like Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly and Robert Stroud, the "Birdman," were legends.

We caught the ferry in sunny, brisk, windy weather, and the ride was a short one. We would meet one of the few living ex-Alcatraz inmates, a man named Coons. He was there hawking his book and providing autographs. Time has not make him a friendly man.

The prison was originally constructed as a military barracks, but was turned over to the Bureau of Prisons in 1933 toward the end of the prohibition era. Due to rundown conditions and the expense of maintaining such a hard-to-reach facility, the prison closed for good in 1963. During the Vietnam era, the Indians illegally took over the deserted island and claimed it for their own. Many buildings were destroyed or severely damaged. The residence that had served all four wardens was burned beyond repair in 1970, but the photo will show that it was quite the exclusive mansion. Eventually the government took the facility over again, and it is now a National Park.

Only three men ever got off the Alcatraz Island (1946) when they dug through the walls of their three cells with spoons stolen from the mess hall. They were never heard from again. Probably they died in the cold choppy waters between the prison and the city.