Monday, December 15, 1986
Daily Nebraskan
Page 15
Convicts observe Christmas
with all the usual trimmings
By Kathy Shults
Staff Reporter
It's just around the corner the big two
five of December. It's the time for giving
thanks and spreading cheer. Even inmates at
Nebraska's State Penitentiary will be able to
share the holiday spirit this season.
It's a tradition at the penitentiary to hold
some type of Christmas festivities, according
to Dr. John Shaw, associate warden.
"It's a pretty hard season to ignore," he
said. "It's an especially difficult time for
those confined and sometimes there's a ten
dency for depression, so the staff stays
alerted for mood changes."
Most Americans, in one way or another,
celebrate Christmas, said Shaw. So the peni
tentiary provides services for the welfare and
benefit of the inmates, he said.
Several activities have been scheduled
throughout December. Last weekend, stu
dents from Union College performed a Christ
mas concert, which was open to the general
population inside the penitentiary. A Spanish
Mass was held Dec. 14.
On Christmas eve. Catholic and Protestant
services will be held for the general popula
tion inside, said Shaw.
Thirty-eight percent of the inmates belong
to clubs within the penitentiary, including
the stamp club, native American club, Toast
masters, an art guild and more. Shaw said the
clubs meet weekly, and it's up to the members
whether to turn one of their meetings into a
Christmas party. Each club is allowed one
banquet and one symposium per year.
The visiting room has a Christmas tree,
candy canes and Santa Claus, played by one
of the inmates. Some of the Christmas decor
is funded through the "inmate amusement
fund." This fund gets most of its money from
the Canteen, or "inmate store." There are
three stores within the penitentiary that sell
grooming aids, some food products, laundry
supplies and games.
The penitentiary can only make an 8 per
cent profit off the stores, so the rest goes to
the "inmate amusement fund." The Canteen
directly inside the penitentiary made $28,000
in November alone, Shaw said.
On Christmas, inmates will be treated to a
holiday feast of roast turkey, dressing, pota
toes and gravy, sweet potatoes, peas and car
rots, salads, and pumpkin pie for dessert.
Shaw said the dinner is for everyone, includ
ing those inmates in the hospital and housing
unit 5, the "jail within a jail." As of Dec. 10,
there were 661 inmates at the penitentiary,
he said, 515 of them inside the maximum
security area and 146 in the trustee dormitory.
Whether the inmates appreciate the at
tempts to recognize the holiday season remains
unknown.
Shaw, who has been in social service some
30 years, said, "If you're waiting for someone
to appreciate what you do you're in the
wrong business."
77
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