So I looked it up to find out more. I found this article, but it's not allowed to be posted on FR so I'll just include the link here for anyone interested in reading.
The Children Who Once Called Alcatraz Home: ‘For Us, It Was a Big Playground’
Pics of the children of Alcatraz via the internet:
His answer: "during the summer on quiet nights we could hear the sounds of the city, including music from some of the bars and clubs near the water. That was the worst, it reminded us of what we were missing."
bkmrk
I have an book titled “Al Capone did My Laundry” from
a woman who as a small girl lived on the rock with her family.
Some intresting stories.
Mr. Mercat and I knew a young woman back in the 70s who lived there as a child. She narrates a video there if you ever go visit. She had good memories.
Last September, I swam from Alcatraz to San Francisco with 680 other swimmers. It’s an annual event. I did it in 44 minutes. Not even one shark bite. ;O)
My Mom visited a cousin there who was a guard. She spoke about it often in tones of “wow”!
Thank you for summarizing the points of this “click bait” article.
Thanks for posting,
Needed a break.
A Fascinating piece of
History having grownup in
SoCal.
Trinkets brought back from
Frisco always had something
from “The Rock!”
If one is ever visiting SF the Alcatraz tour is well worth the time and money
I had a Jr High School teacher who was a guard at Alcatraz in the mid 1950’s. O’Laughlin, He knew the bird man, said he was not as portrayed, tho I don’t remember anything else.
Teach was a marine in Korea. There is a famous picture of marines in Seoul, after the Inchon landings, crouched, with one of them shooting at a sniper. He is the one crouched beside Marine With Cigarette.
San Francisco, California, Alcatraz Island, USA.
Johnny Jones, you’re here to stay.
Home on Alcatraz, in the Frisco Bay.
Home on Alcatraz, right there in jail.
Sharks in the water, can’t get away.
Had a little girl, liked the best of everything,
Had a little girl, liked the best of everything,
Twenty dollar bill got her floating down the bay.
The law caught me, and now I've got to stay
The law caught me, and now I've got to stay
On Alcatraz Island in the Frisco Bay.
I see the lights in Oakland and the big Bay Bridge.
I see the lights in Oakland and the big Bay Bridge.
Think about my baby and all the things we did.
Every day I see the mighty Golden Gate.
Every day I see the mighty Golden Gate
I’m pulling 99 years in the Frisco Bay.
The story of Robert Stroud, the ‘Birdman of Alcatraz’ - actually the birdman of Leavenworth - is (darkly) fascinating.
He became very respected among people scientifically interested in birds as a highly knowledgeable ornithologist, contributing a lot in his time to the understanding of bird diseases.
I have a copy of his ‘Digest of Diseases of Birds’.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Stroud
In the interests of fairness, we need 25 surprising things only the prisoners knew.
They say when the wind was right, prisoners could hear sounds and music from S.F.
Former Alcatraz residents recall its wild parties and dark secrets - with one revealing how the notorious lock-up known for housing criminals like Al Capone was ‘a really wonderful place to live’