Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 18 December 1949 — Page 33

5. 18, 1040

an. Five dolls tted by feel by rl in_the Bronx, with fur coats brooklyn, bunny n. One is dressed . Francis, by a from York, Pa. is a spastic,” . “She is telling te. She n-ver would bring her

reeper

i-lo brush,

Features—Sports

“Section Three

The Indianapolis Times

Editorials - BRL Politics Ee : Features ....:vovsv indie

ha so [i

Andrew Niedenthall

and Mrs

Niedenthall te

he has made his wa . »

By VICTOR PETERSON . ANDREW NIEDENTHALL watched a weak winter

sun bring opty thesgloss i inthe. blackcoatsof hisAberdeena

“Angus cattle as they crossed the road to pasture. Steam curled from their noses as heads dropped to

graze.

Andy closed the gate, slipped the bar lock in place

and rubbed his hands for warmth as he headed for the

comfortable frame farm house.

The-cattle he turned out

were his, the ground he walked on was his, the house he entered was his. The past 10 years have been good to Andy and Martha Niedenthall. Not that they haven't - worked long, hard hqurs for what they have, but as Andy puts it: “We got going just at right time.

the Any one could

Gone is the old laundry

make money the war.” . - - ANDY NIEDENTHALL knows how tough farming can

be. In 1940 he and Martha didn't have a cent to their names. They had been renting

land to work. He had the tools

of his trade, nothing else. On his big, white barn today the numbers 1940 are lettered in black under his name. That was ‘when he got his feet on

o!d prison in the

THE JUDGE'S voice sounded doom. Two years in

the Indiana Women's Prison.

The young woman's shoul-

‘ders sagged as she turned and with faltering step left the

courtroom.

Her mind spawned visions of bars,

a high wall,

guards, barren cells, uniforms, unending rigidity of routine. fron fence bordering the walk, From over the state only and swung through an open 129 women are confined in 81% the prison at 401 N. Randolph The buildings and «the St About half have been sen- grounds looked like a college tenced for short terms on mis campus. Women criss-crossed

demeanors, the rest for longer periods on felonies At best, prison is none too good, the young woman thought as authorities sped her out E. New. York St. Then the car turned on. Randolph, a neat

fhe grounds singly, in pairs, in groups, talking freely, laughing Some wore handkerchiefs about their heads to hide the curlers. Their clothing blazed color, many wore bobby sox and saddle shoes,

figures show CID

farming during

WEIL

A streamlined version is in operation

since 1940.

In the comfort

| [eTsl

the ground, ‘through a 100 per cent loan from the Federal Farm Security Administration, CORRE bnecothen Maseesli-Coun-ty farmer qualified for a farm that year out of 150 applicants. Born and reared in the country, the stocky 43-year-old farmer felt he couldn't make his living from the earth when he was old enough to be on his own. “I went to barbering for 10 years in Greenfield, but 1 always hankered to get back on the farm. The depression decided things,” he said. “It got so all you did was sit around tié shop by yourself. The men just let their hair grow.” - LJ r SO, 16 YEARS ago he rented 100 acres and barbered two days a week for food money.

on the hoof . . .

Indiana Women's Prison

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1949

farm home, Mrs.

Three years later he married the farmer's daughter.” From

IP Py A

bey

Fred TALE drives }

fe} Jane

hie FR ae, Angus

loan, . One year alone they paid back $4600.

1937 to. 1940 the couple. rentsd. <.. sw

AWGTOtREr Serene chndy help to fill the bilifold by barbering on the side. Hancock Countians looked dubiously on his choice of land when the government lent him $11,896 for 130 acres and buildings. The property was run down, barn doors sagg. . the porch was rotted through. About $1500 ‘went for repairs. But Martha and Andy went to work with a will. They skimped, pouring everything into the farm. The first year they paid only the interest on the loan, Four years later they became the second family in Hancock County to amortize an FSA ’

cottages Ire]

Superintendent Mrs. Ethel Krueger

THIS was the Indiana Women's Prison, an institution where, as one-inmate-told-me-as I toured: “People think this 1s like a jail. 9t’s more like a vocational school, except we probably have more freedom than in most.”

“Our aim is rehabilitation.” Superintendent Mrs Ethel Krueger said settling back ih her office chair. “We try to maké the prison as much le the outside world as possible

to minimize institutional damage to the individual, The less to undo on discharge, the faster the person adapts to a useful life as a citizen.’ LE A a ON ADMISSION, each Inmate receives. ‘pamphlet, The

rehabilitation the aim

opening words express the institution’s creed: “The ¢itizéens Who make determine

up a community its character and its happiness. It reflects their personalities as a

mirror flashes back the sun or

is darkened by the clouds.” “The girls are more or less oft their honor,” Mrs. Krueger sald, “We are not 100 per

cent perfect thev of trying to better themselves

but fundamenta'ly

remain loyal to the idedl "

No bars, typical of prisons, grille the windows, no high wall surrounds the 16 land-

scaped, gcres, no guards patrol or watch the open gate. In fact, no firearms are on the Sounds,

{

ma SRW WANTED rake 600

ours as soon as possible,” Martha said. “There were lots of things we could get along without for awhile. But now we have apout everythifig a person could want.” Even the youngsters, James, 3. and Jane, 2, didn’t arrive until the debt was cleared. “It wasn't planned that way although some of our friends remind us we made a statement to the effect when we got the loan,” Andy laughed.

» » ” THE FIRST YEAR gross totaled a mere $2800. Year after year saw the income rise until it hit a gross of $10,000 in 1947. Today the Neidenthalls have enough saved to buy an-

al Idan T:

{

‘ay turns

Inmate (9a; Even so, less than one prisoner per year has fled for freedom inthe past decade. At but two have been recaptured. ~ ” . MUCH of the smooth functioning of the inMrs,

lifers

credit for

stitution and Its ideals Krueger gives to the that group sentenced for mur-

der

In many respects, they are our best inmate she said They know they will be here for a long, long time and form a steady nucleus on which we build life for the others. “For the most part, they were criminals at only one point of thein lives, . Chances

are the conditions which thrust

fo §

h the Ir rooms to taste

Mrs

James

Seas FN

other farm. They fear, howsyed, they would be buying © high bata a Iilag aside en they came on the farm, they rc a 1936 Chevrolet They kept "it until they could afford a '46 Chevrolet, Last year they traded for a Buick. Over the years Andy ‘nas amassed machinery until. the farm is entirely mechanized. He estimates it would cost $8000 to replace such equipment

a8 tractor, corn planter, corn picker, wheat drill, combine, rotary hoe, power mower,

truck and the like. Martha has an airy kitchen with built-in caoinets, refrigerator, electric range. There is an electric hot water tank, washing machine, sewing machine. In the basement they installed a furnace, pumped insulation into the walis to to hold

np | { bl

them into violence never would occur again. They became criminate ——in——that —sptt—second where emotion ruled during a great personal crisis.”

After necessary record ma-

terial has been taken from a new Inmate, she is given a complete physical examination and placed In quarantine for two weeks to determine whether she has infectious or contagious diseases, /

” » n

IN AN INTERVIEW. with the classification board, her case is reviewed, her hackground searched, what. training she wants decided, her future aims determined. Then she is assigned to quarters, placed on ys

Weaving is one of the many vocational EIT TILT

Sports LEE EI 48

VI el aida

| R 1 Niedentha trims K y 1rowt

eT a .Y . the heat. This past summer

now values out at $300 an acre, sey remodeled for an inside PAR oe

Instead of barbering and bor i, ge a NCE

men to determine loans

FSA. % “It's harder to get a loan now : because land i= way up In price,” Andy sald. e can grant a 100 per cent $15,000 loan to a veteran or one 10 per cent down to a non-veteran. . But try to find a family-sup-porting farm at that price. ‘ “Yup, we were mighty lucky, But it's going to take smart

CERRENTL Y ANDY plans a cement barnlot and automatie feeding system for his hogs. The hogs played a major role in getting the Niedenthalls started. Careful breeding and diet for an average of 300 purebred Hampshires a year resulted in top prices, Then the Angus cattle began to pay off, First attempts to build a herd from three head almost proved

disastrous when 10 of the first farming from here on rn" he 12 calves were bulls. Today said. ; the 25 head are fat and sleek, “Last m; were prize-winning stock in county off about 5 cent. I figure fairs. they'll be off about 20 per cent Today the cycle to success is this year. What . we complete for Andy and Martha, YING, Just Jom 't com- ;, Thetr one-time $80-an-acre farm ing in"

Lis sb

work details and given courses

ing, sewing, weaving and bugle of study.

ness. ' “They come to us “as problems. In searching why they got into trouble we have found

most didn't have the, ade. vantages of the average youth,”

Punishment for infraction of rules is loss of privileges or confinement to her room like solitary,

It is unhowever, where a prisoner is shut away from all

human contact Mrs. Krueger wrote, np As one inmate wrote in the That more often harms a i woman prisoner than helps,” prison publication: Mrs, Krueger sald. “Women are “Within this fence we have creatures of emotion. Solitary built a ‘world. Our world. We could create. trouble far worse gid not want to come hers,

than that which brought about the discipline.” Besides routine prison work, the women attend such vocational and educational courses as music and art appreciation, home: nursing, pre-natal care, domestic relations, homemak-

Some day we will go out into the world from whence We came, and there we want to be able to make a success of or business, personal and social fife. We can, if we will, for, we are what we make our selves.”