GROWING UP ON "THE ROCK"

Jeanne was born in Tonopah, Nevada (a mining town known as "Queen of the Silver Camps"). Once a boomtown, as the silver was depleted, so were the jobs. Her dad needed to change careers… well he made a BIG change. He went to work for the Federal Correction System and in or about 1934 they came to Alcatraz. Initially, there were not provisions for them on the island so Jean, her sister and parents lived in San Francisco's Mission District while her dad took the boat to work each day as a guard. He would catch the boat at the foot of Van Ness. Within a few months Jeanne went to 3 different schools in San Francisco. After several months,  they finally made the move over to the island and found housing in an apartment building opposite the dock where the boat now drops tourists.

They lived in a building with other families and some single guards. There was a small yard out back and the grand “Parade Ground” before you came to the cellblock buildings. Because there were no stores or schools on the island, Jeanne, her sister and mother commuted to the city for school and shopping. Each day had to be carefully planned in order to to get to school on time and to meet the afternoon boat back --  or face waiting for one late boat at eight thirty at night.  During WWII, there were numerous emergency drills at school, but while all of the other students were sent home to their city neighborhoods, Jean and her sister inevitably ended up stranded at school because the boats to Alcatraz were not running.

On Alcatraz, exposure to the inmates was almost nonexistent. Jeanne said they rarely even saw the inmates. They occupied their non-school time playing jump rope and “crack the whip”. There was even bowling in a simple sort of way. But there was one escape where  4 inmates were found in caves on the Gate side of the island. One was brought back near dead and the others conscious. She will never forget seeing them getting off the boat from their apartment window. They were black from grease they rubbed on themselves to try to protect them from the fridged water. It was the scariest thing she had ever seen.

In 1948, pay phones were introduced to Alcatraz. Now they could connect with the City -- an important development as Jeanne moved into her teens.  After 7 ½ years on the island her father took a job with the State Correctional Department and the family moved to the Mojave Desert, a place as different from Alcatraz as you could imagine. Part of the reason for closing the federal prison in the 60’s was that everything, including water, had to be brought in by boat . The fire after the Indian occupation during the 1970's caused much damage and many of the original buildings were demolished. Jeanne is active with an Alcatraz Alumni group meeting once a year for a dinner. She describes it like a “last mans club”. Jeanne told a delightful story which gave us a true feel for life on “The Rock”.