10/30/2006

Prisoners carve out a holiday tradition

Pugsley inmates donate pumpkins to Kingsley school

By VICTOR SKINNER

vskinner@record-eagle.com

Record-Eagle/Tyler Sipe
A Kingsley Middle School sixth-grader fluffs the hair on a pumpkin she created.

KINGSLEY — Kingsley sixth-graders recently carved pumpkins into ghosts and goblins as part of a Halloween tradition. The pumpkins' source is becoming a bit of a tradition, too.

State corrections officers Chris Baynton and Mike Clem this month passed 158 freshly picked pumpkins through a human chain of Kingsley Middle School students — a donation from nearby Pugsley Correctional Facility's horticulture program.

The students spend a day each year carving the pumpkins for the school's annual contest. School administrative and support staff judge carved pumpkins based on creativity, best use of materials, prettiest, scariest and other criteria. But students take home more than just a jack-o'-lantern at the end of the day.

"We base lessons around the pumpkins for the day," said Justine Rinehart, sixth-grade math and science teacher at Kingsley. "We estimate the circumference and do creative writing stories about the pumpkins."

About 20 Pugsley prisoners spent the summer growing the gourds, along with other fruits, flowers and vegetables, to donate throughout the community. The prison has sent hundreds of pumpkins to Kingsley schools over the last three years.

"In this line of work you rarely see something positive ... it's kind of nice to see something good come out of it," said Baynton, who has run the prison program for the last two years.

Inmates work six-hour shifts on their own garden plots in one of five sections on a two-acre parcel located at the facility(*). They also produce their own compost from kitchen waste to fertilize the gardens, Baynton said. In 2005, the prisoners grew about 20,000 pounds of produce that was used either for prison meals or donated to various nonprofit community groups.

Herman Howard, 34, has been an inmate at Pugsley for three years and worked his own garden for the last two.

"It's gratifying knowing that what we are doing in here is able to help others out in the community who need help. It is kind of a way to give back to the community," Howard said. "It gave me a sense of pride in myself."

Prisoners not only get a sense of satisfaction from their gardens, they also enjoy receiving feedback from the donations, Baynton said.

"There are a lot of prisoners on the crew that their garden is all they have," Baynton said. "If it wasn't for this program they would have nothing to look forward to but dying in prison."

Howard said he enjoyed gardening and plans on starting his own when he is released Dec. 14.

"I like working with the plants and I found it a relaxing escape from the everyday norm of being in Pugsley," Howard said. "It was kind of alone time instead of being around 1,400 people."

The sixth-graders sent thank-you cards to the prison after the contest last year and Baynton passed the letters on to the prisoners.

Kingsley's pumpkin-carving contest has been a long-running school tradition, but the Pugsley pumpkins help keep the project alive, Rinehart said. Students used to be required to bring their own pumpkins before the prison began donating them, and teachers would solicit donations for kids who could not afford them.

"In years past we have gone around and tried to get pumpkins donated from smaller farm markets and you can usually only get one or two at a time," Rinehart said.

Rinehart said that with about 125 students and 158 donated pumpkins, the school now has plenty.