Growing Up on Alcatraz

Early on the morning of June 12, 1962, 15-year-old Jolene Babyak was deep asleep in her bed. Her house was on a small island in the middle of San Francisco Bay. The gentle sounds of lapping waves and squawking seagulls drifted through her window.

Suddenly, a loud siren blared through the darkness. 

Jolene was startled awake. She knew exactly what the siren meant: An inmate had escaped from Alcatraz, the prison less than 300 feet from her bed.

But Alcatraz wasn’t just any prison. It was the toughest penitentiary in the country, where violent killers, kidnappers, and robbers were locked up. So what was Jolene doing there? 

She wasn’t a prisoner. And she was several years too young to work as a guard. 

Jolene was one of dozens of kids who grew up on the island of Alcatraz. Alcatraz was her home.

Early one June morning in 1962, 15-year-old Jolene Babyak was asleep in her bed. Her house was on a small island in the middle of San Francisco Bay. The gentle sounds of waves and seagulls drifted through her window.

Suddenly, a loud siren sounded in the darkness. 

Jolene was startled awake. She knew exactly what the siren meant. An inmate had escaped from Alcatraz, the prison less than 300 feet from her bed.

But Alcatraz wasn’t just any prison. It was the toughest penitentiary in the country. Violent killers, kidnappers, and robbers were locked up there. So what was Jolene doing in this place? 

She wasn’t a prisoner. And she was several years too young to work as a guard. 

Jolene was one of dozens of kids who grew up on the island of Alcatraz. Alcatraz was her home.

“The Rock,” as Alcatraz is known, was not always a prison. For thousands of years, it was an uninhabited rocky island about a mile from shore. Indigenous peoples like the Ohlone and Miwok paddled canoes there to fish and collect bird eggs. 

After 1848, when gold was discovered in California, the small town of San Francisco ballooned into a busy city. In 1854, a lighthouse was built on Alcatraz to guide ships in and out of the bay. A few years later, the island became home to a fort that protected San Francisco and to a military prison. 

By the 1930s, crime in America was on the rise. Government officials wanted to reassure Americans that they were safe. So in 1934, officials turned Alcatraz into a maximum-security prison for the country’s most dangerous criminals—and did everything they could to make the Rock escape-proof. 

Armed guards kept watch 24/7 from tall metal towers surrounding the prison. Inmates had to follow strict rules and schedules, with many head counts every day. Except for headphones in each cell that played pre-approved radio stations, communication with the outside world was heavily restricted. 

Breaking even a small rule could lead to harsh punishment—like being locked in a tiny concrete room called “the Hole,” separated from everyone. 

“The Rock,” as Alcatraz is known, was not always a prison. For thousands of years, it was an uninhabited rocky island about a mile from shore. Native peoples paddled canoes there to fish and collect bird eggs. 

In 1848, gold was discovered in California. The small town of San Francisco quickly grew into a busy city. In 1854, a lighthouse was built on Alcatraz. It guided ships in and out of the bay. A few years later, a fort went up there to protect San Francisco. 

By the 1930s, crime in America was rising. The government wanted Americans to feel safe. So in 1934, officials turned Alcatraz into a tough prison for the country’s most dangerous criminals. And they did everything they could to make the Rock escape-proof. 

Armed guards kept watch 24/7. Inmates had to follow strict rules and schedules. Except for headphones in each cell that played certain radio stations, contact with the outside world was very limited. 

Breaking even a small rule could lead to harsh punishment—like being locked in a tiny concrete room away from everyone. 

Jolene’s family moved to Alcatraz in 1954, when her father got a job there as a prison administrator. Jolene was 7—and she fell in love with her new home right away. 

The small town in Indiana where Jolene used to live was flat, quiet, and hundreds of miles from any ocean. But Alcatraz was different. On clear days, the sun danced and sparkled on the ocean waves. All around were sweeping views of the bustling San Francisco Bay and the bright-red Golden Gate Bridge.

“It was like going from black and white to full color,” remembers Jolene, who’s now 77. 

The island even had a bowling alley and a large open playground. There, between flying kites and games of baseball, Jolene quickly made friends with the children of the guards and other staff required to keep the prison running. 

“The playground was like the village square,” Jolene says. “Kids would just meet up and play with whoever was there.”

Jolene’s family moved to Alcatraz in 1954. Her father had gotten a job there as a prison administrator. Jolene was 7. She fell in love with her new home right away. 

On clear days on Alcatraz, the sun danced and sparkled on the ocean waves. All around were wide-open views of the busy San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.

“It was like going from black and white to full color,” remembers Jolene, who’s now 77. 

The island even had a bowling alley and a large playground. There, Jolene quickly made friends with the children of the guards and other staff at the prison. They flew kites and played baseball together.

“The playground was like the village square,” Jolene says. “Kids would just meet up and play with whoever was there.”

In many ways, life on Alcatraz wasn’t much different from life in other towns across America. In the summer, kids would slurp melting ice cream purchased at the island’s one tiny store. They went trick-or-treating at each other’s houses on Halloween and sang Christmas carols together in the winter. On sunny days, Jolene loved catching crabs and fishing for striped bass off the jagged cliffs.

But living right next to the country’s most notorious prison had some downsides. Kids who lived on Alcatraz through the years had to follow strict rules. (Some kids even complained that they had more rules than the inmates!) 

Any playdates with friends who lived off the Rock had to be approved by prison officials. Kids weren’t allowed to play with toy weapons. (Instead, they battled using bananas and sticks.) In the morning, the kids would board a boat to San Francisco to attend school. When they got back, they had to go through a metal detector to make sure they weren’t sneaking in anything that a prisoner could use as a weapon. 

And of course, kids were strictly forbidden from talking to their prisoner neighbors. Still, interactions with inmates sometimes happened. And when they did, kids traded these stories like valuable baseball cards. 

Roy Chandler, who was 10 when he moved to Alcatraz for his father’s job as a guard, boasted about shaking the hand of one of America’s most feared gangsters: Al “Scarface” Capone. (The encounter took place in the prison’s medical clinic, where Roy was receiving some medicine.) 

But most of the time, kids like Jolene would forget that they lived shoulder to shoulder with the most infamous lawbreakers. “I rarely saw prisoners and paid little attention to them when I did,” Jolene says. Until that morning in June 1962, when the siren screamed across the island and woke her from her sleep.

In many ways, life on Alcatraz was the same as life in other towns across America. In the summer, kids would slurp ice cream purchased at the island’s one tiny store. They went trick-or-treating at each other’s houses on Halloween. They sang Christmas carols together in the winter. On sunny days, Jolene loved catching crabs and fishing off the rocky cliffs.

But living right next to the country’s most notorious prison had some downsides. Kids who lived on Alcatraz had to follow strict rules. (Some kids even complained that they had more rules than the inmates!) 

Any playdates with friends who lived off the Rock had to be approved. Kids weren’t allowed to play with toy weapons. (Instead, they battled using bananas and sticks.) In the morning, the kids would get on a boat to San Francisco to attend school. When they got back, they went through a metal detector. That was to make sure they weren’t sneaking in anything a prisoner could use as a weapon. 

And of course, kids were not allowed to talk to their prisoner neighbors. Still, contact with inmates sometimes happened. And when it did, kids traded these stories like valuable baseball cards. 

Roy Chandler, who was 10 when he moved to Alcatraz for his father’s job as a guard, bragged about shaking the hand of one of America’s most feared gangsters: Al “Scarface” Capone. (The handshake took place in the prison’s medical clinic, where Roy was receiving some medicine.) 

But most of the time, kids like Jolene would forget that they lived next to the most infamous lawbreakers. “I rarely saw prisoners and paid little attention to them when I did,” Jolene says. Until that morning in June 1962, when the siren screamed across the island and woke her from her sleep.

During her time on Alcatraz, Jolene had never experienced an escape before. Still, she had been told what to do. 

Heart thumping in her chest, Jolene quickly peeked under her bed and opened up closets to make sure no prisoners were hiding in her home. Her friends were doing the same in their own houses and apartments.

In the hours that followed, Jolene remembers the island feeling very tense. “No one knew if the three men were still on the island or if they were really gone,” she recalls. 

Guards searched the prison grounds, the cliffs, the bone-chilling waters around Alcatraz. But the three inmates who broke out that night—Frank Morris and John and Clarence Anglin—were never found. Jolene herself believes it’s most likely the men drowned trying to escape. But there’s never been any definite proof.

To this day, no one knows what happened to them.

During her time on Alcatraz, Jolene had never experienced an escape before. Still, she had been told what to do. 

Jolene quickly peeked under her bed and opened up closets to make sure no prisoners were hiding in her home. Her friends were doing the same in their own houses and apartments.

In the hours that followed, Jolene remembers the island feeling very nervous. “No one knew if the three men were still on the island or if they were really gone,” she recalls. 

Guards searched the prison grounds, the cliffs, the freezing waters around Alcatraz. But the three inmates who broke out that night were never found. Jolene herself believes it’s most likely the men drowned trying to escape. But there’s never been any sure proof.

To this day, no one knows what happened to them.

Just a few months after the breakout, Alcatraz closed. It had become too expensive to run. Its 250 inmates were sent to other prisons across America to serve the rest of their sentences. And eventually, the forbidding island was turned into a landmark, visited by more than a million tourists every year. 

So what about the children of Alcatraz? By November of 1963, they had all moved out. Jolene’s family went to Texas, where her father had found a job at another prison.

But she—and so many of the other kids who grew up on Alcatraz—never forgot her time there. For decades, Jolene and her friends met up once a year to talk about their childhood. She became an Alcatraz historian and wrote several books about the island. 

Jolene still remembers her time on the Rock fondly. “It was the most beautiful home I’ve ever had,” she says.

Just a few months after the breakout, Alcatraz closed. It had become too expensive to run. Its 250 inmates were sent to other prisons across America to serve the rest of their sentences. And over time, the island was turned into a place to visit. More than a million tourists go there every year. 

So what about the children of Alcatraz? By November of 1963, they had all moved out. Jolene’s family went to Texas. Her father had found a job at another prison there.

But Jolene—and so many of the other kids who grew up on Alcatraz—never forgot her time there. For a long time, she and her friends met up once a year to talk about their childhood. She became an Alcatraz expert and wrote several books about the island. 

Jolene still remembers her time on the Rock fondly. “It was the most beautiful home I’ve ever had,” she says. 

Although it was against the rules for prisoners and kids to interact, they sometimes did. 

Jolene Babyak was once given a handball like the one above (inset) by an inmate through a fence. Prisoners played games with these small bouncy balls during supervised recreation time.

It was against the rules for prisoners and kids to interact. But they sometimes did. Jolene Babyak was once given a handball like the one above (inset) by an inmate through a fence. Prisoners played games with these small bouncy balls during activity time.

The first families who moved to Alcatraz in 1934 brought pet cats with them. This 1935 letter from Alcatraz’s warden complains about the cats running loose on the island, making noise and getting into trash cans. Families were forbidden from having pet cats—or dogs—soon after this letter (above) was sent.

The first families who moved to Alcatraz in 1934 brought pet cats with them. This 1935 letter from Alcatraz’s warden complains about the cats running loose on the island. The animals made noise and got into trash cans. Families were banned from having pet cats—or dogs—soon after this letter (above) was sent.

The only way on and off Alcatraz was by boat. The island had a ferry that operated on a schedule like the one shown above from 1959. The kids took the ferry to travel to and from school in San Francisco. On stormy days, if the waves were too rough, the warden would declare a school holiday.

The only way on and off Alcatraz was by boat. The island had a ferry that operated on a schedule like the one shown above from 1959. The kids took the boat to travel to and from school in San Francisco. The warden would declare a school holiday if the waves were too rough.

Only about 60 families lived on Alcatraz at a time, forming a close-knit community. Families would celebrate holidays together and spend time at the island’s “social club,” which had a soda fountain and a bowling alley. Residents competed in bowling tournaments, where they could win trophies like the ones shown above.

Only about 60 families lived on Alcatraz at a time. They formed a close-knit group. Families would celebrate holidays together. They spent time at the island’s “social club,” which had a soda fountain and a bowling alley. They even competed in bowling matches, where they could win trophies like the ones shown above.

The American public was fascinated by Alcatraz and loved to read about the prison in newspapers and magazines. Reporters would wait for kids living on the island to come off the ferry to ask them questions about life on the Rock.

The American public was fascinated by Alcatraz. People loved to read about the prison in newspapers and magazines. Reporters would wait for kids living on the island to come off the boat to ask them questions about life on the Rock.