All prisoners at the 150-year-old Charlestown State Prison were to be transferred to Walpole, but first, Department of Correction officials decided that several of Charlestown's correction officers needed to be "educated" on how to run the new prison.

In conjunction with the Department of Public Safety, correction officers were sent to the State Police Academy in three staggered groups, of about 27 each, for two-weeks of intensive training.

"The training was more like that of a boot camp," recalled Red Porter, an ex-Marine from Lawrence. "The drill instructors were the same no-nonsense DI's that ran the school for state police recruits. In a physical sense, that was great. We were mostly World War II or Korean War veterans, and it helped us to get back in shape. But as later events at Walpole proved, the schooling end at the Academy was of little use. It was mostly so-called penal experts brought in to lecture us on new theories."

"We were going to open a new prison with new concepts," said Vic Anchukaitis of Walpole. "The new commissioner of correction and the Walpole warden were being brought in from other states which were 'more advanced' on new concepts of penology. Massachusetts was considered to be backwards in that regard. The State Police Academy was to be the first step in re-educating us as correction officers. We did a lot of running, and the firing range was a worthwhile refresher, but otherwise the best thing about the two weeks was living in barracks and pulling the usual pranks on each other."

"The State Police DI's treated us pretty rough at first," said Hank Tremblay of Methuen. "But then they backed off a little when they got to know us and understood the politics of the situation... new prison - new look and all that stuff. The DOC (Dept. of Correction) was heavily publicizing this new modern training of COs. But all-in-all it was fun ragging on each other, especially the guys who were puking after our first hard run. We also had a laugh at some of the lecturers who themselves had never worked in a prison. We left the Academy with some great memories."

The transition of inmates from Charlestown took place from August 1955 to February 1956. But the new penology concept attempted at that time soon became a failure at Walpole.

After being locked in their cells except during work hours at Charlestown, the convicts took full advantage of Walpole's campus-like freedom. Murders, assaults, escapes and drugs plagued the new institution.

"Walpole was supposed to be maximum security, but within the walls there was too much freedom and lack of accountability. It became a battle for control between the inmates and the officers," said Porter. "Every day it was like going to work in a combat zone, especially the 3:00 to 11:00 PM shift."

Over the years, backed by the support of the Legislature, stringent rules were put in place, a new commissioner and superintendent were named, and Walpole truly became a maximum security institution. Although later legally named MCI Cedar Junction, it is still commonly known as Walpole Prison.

Shortly after 1955, the Department of Correction created its own training facility, where new correction officers of the Commonwealth's 14 prisons and correction facilities must complete a comprehensive nine-week training program before being assigned to a facility.

Of 71 officers who trained at the State Police Academy in 1955, 17 are now deceased and the remainder are now retired and members of our Association. Several later became parole officers and a few left to work as firefighters or police officers in their home towns, but all retain the common bond of the "Summer of '55."