The Walls of Red Wing

Kernan recalled a counselor named Harold Heglund. "Harold was just a classic gentleman," he said. "He used to read Shakespeare to the kids to put them to sleep at night. I honestly don't think I ever saw the man get ruffled."

"You talk about transmitting feelings," Olson said. "Harold had that ability to somehow transmit his goodness, and the kids just wrapped themselves in that, in particular those who had been severely neglected. We were always so lucky that we had people like that who were so anxious to come to work, and were so happy to be here." Olson spent time as a cell hall director at the adult prison in Stillwater in between his two stints as superintendent at Red Wing, and he says, "When you've been around joints for a while you get to where you can walk into a place and get an immediate feel for what's going on inside. Here it always felt good, pretty relaxed. For the most part I think it's fair to say that this was a happy place."

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Kernan concurs. "During our centennial celebration we had guys come back from all over the country that had been here over the years," he says. "It was amazing how many of them said this place was the best thing that ever happened to them. They got three meals a day, an education, and there were people who cared about them. This was home. This was where they grew up."