In the late 1940’s my Dad thought it would be a good idea to take a walking tour of the old Missouri State prison. The whole family went, Dad and Mom and 2 little girls. We walked through the general population and the guard leading the tour tapped a metal cane on the ground the whole way. When they heard us coming the convicts would either go into their cells, or retreat a safe distance from our path and remain there until we passed. The prison was old, but fairly clean and orderly. Some convicts had painted their cells bright colors and had radios, etc. We were allowed to choose something from the prison handicraft shop, so my sister and I bought some small wooden dogs that the prisoners had whittled and painted. Now I look back on that time and wonder how they maintained that much control in that facility.
People were much different back then....................
People WERE different back then - even the criminals! Although I wonder if back then folks found themselves in prison for lesser crimes than today?
But yes - times have changed. A thread awhile back talked about how unsafe Minneapolis is. My mom as a 3rd grader would ride the trolley alone into downtown for piano lessons, and afterwards would then walk by herself the several blocks to her dad’s shop at night. (Late 1920’s)
Although she and her sisters, around that same time period, also identified a “flasher” that flashed them on their way home from school. The cops caught the guy, and turned out he was a serial rapist/killer!