How did the prison system affect daily life in Ionia?
Bobby: I wasn’t aware of the prison systems affecting my daily life. However, I do remember a few times when there was an escapee or a walk-away alert. Layla: My parents always told us not to worry about having inmates so close by, that if they were going to escape they wouldn’t come in town to hurt us – that they would try to get as far away as possible. My Dad, being a businessman, said the prisons gave a more stable work force than the factories – because the factories had lay-offs. I think my Mom’s Dad even worked at a prison for a while during the Depression when his clothing store suffered from a lack of business. Veronica:: It didn’t until the car was stolen. Then we suddenly took the keys out of our cars at night and locked our doors to the house. We had never really done that before. Archie: Not much except that it was a large employer for the city/county. Betty: Overall I think it had very little effect on daily life. A lot of local people were employed by the system. Except
