Box 1

Scope and Contents

This set of 3 letters is the first record from Stephen written at the Deuel Vocational Institution near Tracy in San Joaquin County, CA. In these letters, Stephen writes about the various books he has been studying about language and sciences. He lets his parents know that he has officially been assigned to stay at Deuel for the duration of his sentence. Stephen has also been assigned to be the Physical Training Coach of the guidance center.

Scope and Contents This set of 6 letters are all from Stephen to his parents. One of Stephen's priorities is getting his parents to contact one of his old friends, Carla Larson from Tustin, CA, who has his belongings from El Toro. Carla is willing to mail them wherever Stephen wants them. In prison, Stephen has become a baker's apprentice and has spent 105 hours over 3 weeks in that practice. On August 25th, Stephen inquires about people from his past: Lee Ann, Charlie, Tommi, and [Jean]. He also seems...

Scope and Contents

In this letter to his parents, Stephen seems to be reaching his breaking point. He begins by saying that it is not bad in there if you have no family, but quickly turns to expressing his true emotions. He has given up faith and all he does now is worry because he believes that having hope doesn't change your situation. He goes into a description of how prison eventually breaks people down. Presumably, Betty has recently been to visit him.

Scope and Contents There are 8 letters from Stephen to his parents dated in the month of September 1967.He reminisces about all the good things he's had going for him in life. Stephen knows he'll have a board meeting soon but does not want to get his hopes up and instead expects to recieve another year before being able to re-apply for parole. Stephen finds out that one of his parents needs a hearing aid and have been tight on money, leading him to feel bad for all the money his parents have sent him while in...

Scope and Contents This set of 9 letters was written between October 12 and November 29 of 1967. Stephen finally recieved word from the Marine Corps as a Captain Golden has informed Stephen that he is getting an "Undesirable Discharge". In late October, Stephen also recieved the guitar he ordered and expresses that playing it has helped improve his "oppressive moods of anxiety" he sometimes has. Stephen knows he has a board meeting in late November and wants to have a career plan ready for the meeting, but is...

Scope and Contents

The letter was typed on November 1, 1967 but mailed weeks later as the envelope is stamped on November 20. It is a general letter meant for prisoners to send to their mail recipients regarding the upcoming Christmas gift policy. It goes into detail on the types of gifts prisoners are allowed to recieve, and the exact amounts they can recieve. Also provided are details on how to send the gifts.

Scope and Contents This letter from Stephen to his parents has a different tone than the previous letters. It does not seem that he is updating his parents with information as much as it seems that he is speaking to himself and reflecting on the growth he's made as a person. Stephen emphasizes maturity, trust, and the connection between these two things being the reason for him being in prison now. Stephen expresses that being immature made him trust the wrong people, but now with maturity he shouldn't trust...

Scope and Contents This collection has 4 letters dated in December 1967, from Stephen to his parents. Stephen is primarily updating his parents with his expectations for the next board meeting in March. He is introspective about his past experiences and how meeting different people has changed him over time. In the last letter of this set, Stephen thanks his parents for sending the Christmas package earlier in the month and asks them to find out about Charlie, Lee Ann, and most importantly his "darling"...

Scope and Contents This set of 8 letters ranges in dates from early January to late February of 1968. In these letters to his parents, a recurring topic is his board meeting scheduled to be in early February. He transitions from having lots of faith in God and being ready for the meeting, to admitting that it is very hard to keep faith in religion when facing reality. In mid February he gets a concerning letter from a finance manager in Kansas City, MO to which Stephen owes money. The finance manager isn't...

Scope and Contents Stephen writes that he had lost hope of meeting the board with a clean record, as he spent 24 hours "in the hole". He does not give detail as to what happened, but tells his parents that maybe one day he will tell them. Luckily for Stephen, he was not found guilty of the incident and his record remains clean. Other than the board meeting, Stephen notes that he has gotten into a coffee drinking habit. He drinks so much that any deviation from his daily routine can cause anger or...