Log Cabin in the wilderness

[doublejj]

Thanks bro

Thanks bro

Yeah, I thought my 19m22d in Vietnam was gonna be the worst I'd see in my life. As it turned out it was only prep school for 25 years in Folsom.

There are 2 strikingly different worlds on either side of the gate at Folsom.

You wouldn't believe the 'Groundhog day','reoccuring bad dream' experience it is, each day when you walk thru the gate. You can physically feel the shock to your senses when you enter. They're such different worlds to spend 1/2 of each day in. It's like quickly jumping from a hot tub into a swimming pool, it can almost take your breath away. Easing into one or the other isn't so bad, you get acclimated. It's the jumping back & forth that takes it's toll. When your fighting in a war zone like Vietnam, your there for awhile, you get acclimated to it. You don't come home and turn all that off each night, & act like life's normal. My wife had to remind me often "Hey your not in prison any more today, leave that at the gate!"
But you'ed sure feel it in your chest each morning, when you walk back thru that gate

You earned your first courage points at Folsom, by reporting for work your second day!

That's life inside Folsom prison
doublejj

 

[doublejj]

Folsom cell

Folsom cell

Just so you know, here's a Folsom 2 man cell.

doublejj

 

[doublejj]

Rick James sang here

Rick James sang here

I believe this is where Rick James sang his songs.

doublejj

 

[doublejj]

Factory door

Factory door

This is where I stood & greeted inmates for work each morning for 25 years.
Morning Ralph!

doublejj

 

[doublejj]

Office view

Office view

This is the view of the factory from the Superintendents office.

doublejj

 

[doublejj]

Hanging room

Hanging room

What many people don't know is that for many years prior to 1938 & the invention of the 'gas chamber' at San Quentin. All executions were performed at Folsom by hanging. There have been many more executions by hanging at Folsom than they have ever put in the gas chamber at San Quentin.
They always used a new piece of rope. They would tie it around the big beam above the upper landing. You can see the trap door in this picture, just above the chairs leaning against the wall. Once they walked you up those stairs, it was over!
It still looks like this today

doublejj

 

[SneekyFarmer]

Great stories Doublejj! Looks like the trips to baha were a much needed escape from the daily routine... You deserve a ton of respect bro! I would'nt have wanted your job at folsom. I hope you got a great retirement for having to work in that atmosphere! Thank's again for sharing with all of us...

 

[doublejj]

Folsom cemetary

Folsom cemetary

Back in the old days most condemed men were shunned by society & even their families. No one was there to claim the bodies after execution, so they were burried at Folsom.
Since the prison was built on a granite quarry, each death row inmate was given a piece of granite & a chisel. Many carved their own headstones!
That's Folsom Dam & Folsom Lake in the background

Prison records show that most condemed men were executed within 30days of reaching Folsom. They didn't have a lot of time to file appeals, & I wouldn't delay on starting that headstone. If you go up and look you can see that many of the headstones weren't even finished!

doublejj

 

[Hash Zeppelin]

^how can that place not be haunted?

also those baja trips looked amazing!

 

[944s2]

hiya,jj,, in your time at fulsom,you came across many damaged people,in your opinion ,how many times did you come across a person or persons who were or are totally evil?, i mean with no redeeming qualities whatsoever, no feeling for other people, i am not just talking pyschopaths but just plain evil, i worked in the probation services many years ago and although i saw many violent and damaged people over the years i worked in the field,i must say only a very few times did i come across what i would [imho] describe as evil, peace and safe growing s2

 

[doublejj]

Folsom ghosts!

Folsom ghosts!

^how can that place not be haunted?

I sure thought so early one morning.

It's so very dark at 5:30am while you make your way from the entrance gate across the prison to the factory.
Early one morning I was quietly walking along the stone wall leading up to the prison factory area, & I was startled out of my wits by one of the "Folsom Ghosts"!
As it turns out there is a large population of white Barn Owls with a 4ft wing spans, that live on prison grounds and one flew silently 3ft overhead. I saw movenent and barely had time to look up at a HUGE white object swooping over me in the dark! You talk about almost soiling your shorts!OMG!

doublejj

Here's a little info about the Folsom ghosts, be sure to read the last line:

[SIZE=+1]Barn owls[/SIZE], or "barnies", have white coloration when viewed from below, with buff-colored shoulders and head. They range from about 18 to 20 inches tall with a wingspread of 41 to 47 inches. Tiny barbs on the first feather of their wings help to make their flight incredibly silent. Often one glides past in utter silence, passing like a white ghost in the reflected light of a street lamp.

Another point of recognition is the barnie's heart-shaped face and total lack of "ears". With long legs and a skinny body, it looks as if it's wearing baggy shorts while perched. As is typical of owls, their enormous eyes endow them with superb night vision. These eyes are so large that they barely fit into the bird's head, leaving no space where other birds would have muscels to move their eyes. Owls compensate by moving their heads instead of their eyes to shift their gaze.
However, they don't depend only on vision. Researchers have found that barnies' hearing is so acute that they can accurately hunt and kill a mouse

in a totally darkened room. Through both sight and sound available they are magnificent hunters of nocturnal rodents; experiments show that it takes about 10 cats to match one barn owl.
Barnies are found world-wide, preferring to live in meadows and at the edges of wooded areas. Even city parks will do, but the blend of grassland and oak woodland makes El Dorado Hills a natural home for them. They like to nest in hollow trees, but even a hole in the ground or a building -- including a barn -- is a fine nesting spot. In an extreme case an estimated 100 barnies adopted an abandoned powerhouse on the grounds of Folsom Prison.


2 Photos courtesy of Douglas E. Trapp, whose Barn Owl Information Page is an excellent source of additional information and photos.

 

[doublejj]

The Mayor of Jesus Maria!

The Mayor of Jesus Maria!

^

also those baja trips looked amazing!

We had so many great trips down Baja, some of the most fun I've ever had. The stress relief was very noticable. I couldn't wait to go again every time we returned.
We tried to be good visitors to Mexico and supported the local economy. We usually crossed the border going south, empty of everything but clean water. We purchased all our food & supplies down there. They were very glad to see our money. We would just bring clothies & fishing poles.
There are many small villages up & down Baja, most are along MEX1, the main hwy. The dirt road to one of our favorite camping beaches left Mex1 from a small village called Jesus Maria and went about 10mi to the ocean. Just a gas station & a store & small school. The whole town was only a few blocks of small houses along dirt streets.
The people of Jesus Maria were so nice to us & went out of their way to make us feel welcome. A group of boys from town befrended the teens in our group and would spend all day in camp. They showed us the best fishing & lobster holes. Very nice folks.
So on our way thru town after our first time camping there, we stopped at the little school and I put 5 $100 bills in the collection box, with the mexican boys names written on them.

The next year when we returned, one of the boys spoted us as we passed thru town & the whole town turned out to greet us at the beach. We were just setting up camp on the beach and here they all came. They had figured out who left the money soon after we left and were eagerly awaiting our return.
As it turns out that's more money than they receive from the gov each year for school supplies. They told me this with tears in their eyes.
I was declared "Mayor of Jesus Maria" whenever I'm in town! (so I always got that going for me!)lol!

Some of the greatest times I've had, & they weren't the most expensive.

doublejj

Small Mexico school:

 

[odogyouknow]

Thnaks for sharing JJ!!!, great life stories! Mayor JJ that is!

 

[doublejj]

The Prison Industry Authority

The Prison Industry Authority

Thanks guy's!

PIA
I would like to take a moment to better explain the agency I worked for. The 'PIA' California Prison Industry Authority, it's a sub-division of the California Dept of Corrections & Rehabilitation.

PIA was created to do several things; Be a work program for convicts, because inmate idleness is a huge problem inside the prisons. Also, help reduce the costs of operating the prison system, by using convict labor as much as possible. And provide goods & services to the people of California at a reduced cost. Also, provide inmates with new skills to assist in release back into society. PIA operates all the factories in prison.

Oh yeah, and do it for FREE!
PIA is not state funded. It is entirely self funded. When the Governor signs the budget each year, PIA gets "0".

PIA must survive on what it can produce for itself. PIA earns it's own way & is self supporting. And since it's only customers are other gov agencies, it's not allowed to make a profit. Nothing is sold to the general public. And everything is provided to the tax payers at cost.

Many PIA items are for use within the prison system & people never hear about it.
Just think about the cost of feeding 160,000 convicts each day. PIA operates 2 large Dairy farms that provide milk & other dairy products to the prisons & state hospitals.
PIA operates, shoe factories, & makes clothing & state hospital linens. They make eye glasses, dentures, & expensive fire suits for fire crews, road signs, ect. at cost.
All of these things (& many others) would have to be purchased otherwise & the inmates would just be sitting around.
The convicts pay restitution with a portion of their wages & also pay into an inmate fund that buy's their own exercise equipment & basket balls & such.
With PIA the convicts help pay their own way.

doublejj
P.S. There's truth in the saying "The Devil finds work for idle hands" & That really applies in prison!

 

[Hash Zeppelin]

^I'd rather get stuck making license plates all day long than have to sit in gen pop and wait to get my ass kicked over a bag of chips and a soda.

 

[The Boys]

Double JJ : thanks for updating so often this is the only thread that i look forward to checking every day. each day there is a little somthing interesting to read.

 

[944s2]

hiya, yes a big thanks from me also,,really look forward to your posts jj, peace and safe growing s2

 

[doublejj]

Psychology of PIA

Psychology of PIA

How does this work?.......How is PIA able to function in a such a hostile environment?.........Why do the convicts go along?......Why do they work so hard?.............????

We explain to them this is THEIR factory!....Nothing here purchased with state money. Everything aquired thru convicts labors. We tell them the only reason for these factories is for them. If they fuck this off,the state will just buy the stuff elsewhere and they will be back in Gen Pop waiting to get their ass kicked over a bag of chips & a soda.
With PIA, they have a good job that pays real $$$ into their book each month, that THEY earned themselves, in their own factory. Kinda an employee owned idea.

You wouldn't believe the 'buy-in' we get with this approach. They help us cut costs & work safer every day. They see a broken machine as a real loss to them! They meticulously maintain everything better than I could ever force them too.

Oh yeah and they get an additional day off their sentence for each day worked in PIA! Every day is worth 2!
Working 5 years in PIA is like 10. The 5 years, you got to get out of the cell and work each day & the 5 they knock off your sentence at the end!

They stamp each item with "Proudly made buy the PIA"

doublejj

 

[doublejj]

Yes

Yes

hiya,jj,, in your time at fulsom,you came across many damaged people,in your opinion ,how many times did you come across a person or persons who were or are totally evil?, i mean with no redeeming qualities whatsoever, no feeling for other people, i am not just talking pyschopaths but just plain evil, i worked in the probation services many years ago and although i saw many violent and damaged people over the years i worked in the field,i must say only a very few times did i come across what i would [imho] describe as evil, peace and safe growing s2

There are a couple that come to mind bro. I'll try to jog my memory and see what I can recall of them. And a few the other way too, just got caught at the wrong place at the wrong time for a few seconds & next thing you know, they're in Folsom prison!

Or the prisoners that were telling me for years they didn't do it, and only receintly DNA evidence has proved they were right, & have been released!

doublejj

 

[amber666]

sounds like an incredible few years of your life. you're very fortunate to have experienced that kind of living.