Mansfield Reformatory's Resident Family

Continued...

The connecting bedroom from Art Jr.’s was used as a guest room by the Glattke Family, where visitors like the Governor of Ohio stayed. The bathroom near the Guest Room was shared by the guests as well as Art Jr.

At the end of the second story hallway was a sun porch that I have never noticed after all of the years I have been to the Reformatory. This porch is actually the roof over the main entrance to the residence. Ted directed our attention to the end of the hallway where French doors once opened onto the second-story porch where the Glattke Family sunbathed.

Floor Three

On the West side of the hallway were three rooms. The first was a bathroom but was not used, per Ted. The middle room was used as the playroom for the Glattke children, and Ted said he used to call it the Radio Room. The third room was known as the Glattke children’s train room. Each child had a toy train setup on tables. The children played with the trains for so many months a year, and then the tables were covered before Christmas. As a gift, the children each received a new piece for their train sets and were then able to regain train set authority.

At the end of the hallway of the third floor is a small stage. Ted was not aware of any use by his family during the time they lived at the Reformatory. The first and second rooms on the East side of the hallway were not used by the Glattkes. We assumed the two rooms were used for storage. The last room closest to the stairwell is known as the taxidermy room. Superintendent Glattke, Arthur Sr., had a large collection “stuffed” animal heads that were stored on the floor, which most likely either frightened or intrigued the children and their friends. Between the taxidermy room and the third-floor hallway connecting the residence to the Chapel area, is a low-ceilinged room that was used as in indoor basketball “court”.

The Basement

In the basement below the Living Quarters dining room was a storage room where Mrs. Helen Glattke stored her home-canned food, including pickles and fruit. It is a large room and per the MRPS staff, a dumbwaiter (small elevator used to move small objects between floors) was once in use from this room to the kitchen area above.

Across from the “food storage room” was a day lounge, so to speak, for the two inmates that assisted the Glattke Family. At night they returned to their cells, but during the day they lived what other inmates would consider a rather luxurious life style, taking their meals in the residence, having the same food as the Glattke family, and having relatively private quarters with shower and toilet facilities, reading area, etc.. One of the “trustees” managed the kitchen and the other looked after the house. The inmates never spent more than a working day in the residence, therefore the stories of how the Glattke Family “kept” a “prisoner” in the residence area at all times are not true.

The Passing of Mr. Arthur Glattke, Superintendent

On February 10, 1959, Mr. Arthur Glattke Sr. fatally suffered a heart attack. When the episode occurred, Ted was returning from school and was advised to go to his father’s office and rushed to find his father and older brother, Art. Jr. The ambulance was called, and while Art Jr. accompanied Superintendent Glattke, Ted followed behind in a car bringing some personal items he thought his father would need. Shortly after arriving at the Mansfield General Hospital, Mr. Arthur Glattke Sr. passed to join his wife, Helen.

Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Glattke passed away in the Mansfield Reformatory, which is unfortunately not reported accurately in many of the stories that are told on the Internet. Corrections need to be made about the history of the Glattke Family and their time spent at the Mansfield Reformatory, and I intend to keep my promise to Ted and pass on as much of the truth told as possible. Regarding the stories told of his parents and his opinion of other ghosts allegedly haunting the prison, Mr. Theodore Glattke said this,

"I find it hard to think of a spirit staying in a place, rather than staying with the people that are important to that spirit. I think that "haunting" a house or the Ohio State Reformatory is a concept left over from a time when people didn't move very far from their birthplaces and did not outlive the buildings. What if the OSR were completely destroyed? I have little respect for the stories that I've seen because of all the inaccurate pieces, such as the places where my parents died, the sensationalism regarding their lives, etc."

Click the names to read the original newspaper articles of Supervisor Glattke and Mrs. Glattke's deaths. COMING SOON

Families in Residence

Four families actually lived in the residence areas in the front of the large facility on the upper floors of the Administrative Wing and through the center wing. Mr. and Mrs. Allen, and Mr. and Mrs. Allarding were two of the families that shared the residency. Mr. Allarding and Mr. Allen were the associate superintendents. They lived on the second and third floors, respectively, above the West wing offices. Reverend Wapner and his family occupied the second floor rooms between the East and West wings, around the corner from the stairwell on the second floor from where the Glattke Family lived. Reverend Wapner’s son, David, was raised in the Reformatory and went on to become a physician through Case Western Reserve University.

The Wapner’s Living Room is the room in the Reformatory that was used as the Probation Hearing Room in the Shawshank Redemption. Ted commented about how David would play the piano, much to everyone’s enjoyment. Unfortunately, around 1961-1962, Reverend Wapner was fatally injured in an automobile accident.

Three other families lived in regular houses on the Mansfield Reformatory property. The Reformatory's physician was Dr. John Horst. He and Mr. John Neibel, the Farm Manager, lived in homes on Route 13. In 1948, Mr. Neibel, his wife and daughter were murdered by two paroled ex-prisoners who were later recaptured and tried for the murders. Ted remembered that two Irish setter sogs were cared for by the Neibel family and that he did not see the dogs again after the family members were killed. The third family lived on Olivesburg Road.

Life at the Reformatory

Ted stated that living at the Mansfield Reformatory from 1941 through 1959 was a “rich” experience. He and his brother were able to move freely anywhere they wished outside of the main facility to explore the farm buildings, orchard, greenhouse and other locations that were not actual inmate quarters such as the dormitory on the farm. Draft horses were used to pull wagons and equipment well into the 1940’s, and there were productive dairy, hog, egg and produce operations. A cannery considered to be very modern for the 1950’s operated to process the food for consumption at the Reformatory and other State institutions. Inmates provided the labor for all the operations, and Ted stated that he has wonderful memories of visiting with those inmates, riding on wagons and visiting the farm animals. An inmate that “managed” the front garage where the official State and private vehicles of the families that lived at the main building were garaged helped the Glattke children build model airplanes and fly them, help fix things that were broken and work on the Glattke Family’s car.

Before his death, Superintendent Glattke gained responsibility that took him to Columbus every day from 1949 through 1953. After Mrs. Glattke’s death in 1950, the inmates who staffed the residence got Ted up for school and helped Ted with his homework, practice his music lessons, etc., after school until Mr. Glattke returned from the his offices in the Department of Correction in Columbus. The “trustee” who managed the garage took Ted to and from school daily. Ted stated that one inmate actually taught him how to play the guitar, and another gave him cooking lessons. Another pleasant childhood memory was that Ted was allowed one party a year where schoolmates were invited. Most of the time this took place in the winter and skating parties were had on the pond located on the front grounds of the Reformatory.

The inmates who staffed the residence made treats, including hot cocoa, for the kids and families who attended the childhood parties. The Reformatory was a much safter place than the majority of teh public assumed, and still assumes. The Glattke Family also had access to the officer's barber shop and the "radio room" where radio receivers adn amplifiers were set up to provide regular radio service for the inmates within the cellblocks. They also used the infirmary, which was a building located behind the main facility, where Ted remembers receiving doses of antibiotics when he suffered from illnesses such as severe colds. It was a new experience just after World War II, and the syringes used were all "re-used" after sterilization in autoclaves.

Only twice did the Glattke Family have some concern about safety. The first was in regards to the inmates who murdered the Neibel Family. The other was during a disturbance and lockdown in the late 1950’s. Ted told us of how the Glattke Family, friends and relatives all referred to the Mansfield Reformatory as “the Farm” because it was looked at as a positive place and Superintendent Glattke was respected and liked by some of the inmates. He befriended many of them, and they looked up to him as truly reformed young men.

Mansfield Reformatory Mission

The actual mission of the Mansfield Reformatory was to house 16 to 30-year-old first offenders. A common offense that sent people to the Reformatory was armed robbery. One example is of a 16-year-old that had a gun when the crime was committed, or be in a car with others who had a gun, receiving a sentence of seven to ten years with parole possible after the third year. Ted remembers some inmates returning to the Reformatory and one even regained his position back in the garage!

Administrative Wing

We did not tour the “West Wing” with Ted Glattke, but he told us that the southwest office was occupied by Pat Cramer, his father’s secretary. Next to his secretary’s office was the Superintendent’s office location. It has the curved outer wall, and is the “twin” room to the library in the Living Quarters. Ted remembers their last family dog, an English setter named Westfield’s Tipperary Jack, used to walk over to Superintendent Glattke’s office and sleep at his feet while he worked.

On the southeast side of the hallway was an office that was managed by Ben Owen. Just north of that facing the garden area was another office in use. Between the Residence Wing and the Administrative Wing is a long corridor with large administrative spaces where inmates possessing office skills were provided with office jobs. Those are some of the young men that taught Ted how to read Hebrew letters, play guitar, run the calculators of the day (Monroe office machines) and touch typing.

Parting Ways...