THE ALCATRAZ INTERVIEWS
Raised on the Rock
Chuck Stucker grew up on Alcatraz Island because his father was a guard in the prison. He lived on the island from 1940–1943 and from 1948–1953. He is a well-respected Alcatraz historian and archivist.
1.
When did you live on the island?
From 1934 through 1939. Like Moose, in Al Capone Does My Homework, I lived on Officer’s Row. Our Alcatraz home was built in the late 1800’s. It had Victorian architecture and dust and mold from the same era. I loved living there. The bells, whistles and fog horns were just part of comforting normal life.
2.
What was the scariest part of living on Alcatraz?
My only fear was being caught in a place I shouldn’t have been. We heard that our fathers could be fired if we got in trouble.
3.
What was your favorite Alcatraz prank?
There were two of them. The first happened on the 4th of July. Bill Hart and I bought fireworks in Chinatown. This was back when the fireworks were really large, nothing like they have today. We put one on the parade ground with a really long fuse. We lit the fuse then skedaddled back to our apartments. I was lying in bed when it went off. They investigated, but didn’t find out who did it. Someone asked my father and he said: “It couldn’t have been Chuck. He was asleep in his bed.”
The second one is a bit like you have in Al Capone Shines My Shoes. We were climbing between the floors of 64 building. Bill told me don’t step off the 2×4 supports. My foot slipped. It didn’t go through the ceiling but people noticed. They yelled “Earthquake.” When we got back, everyone asked us if we’d felt the earthquake. The crack is still there.
4.
Did you ever break an Alcatraz rule?
I broke all sign rules. Anything that said: DO NOT ENTER. Any fence or sign was subject to a violation.
5.
Did you need to treat your father differently than you might have ordinarily?
I was told never to jump out and say: “BOO.” We couldn’t surprise them because they were always on alert.
6.
Did convicts ever seem like they knew you?
We used to help the convicts load the laundry and the trash on the truck. They just seemed like adults to us. My sister was older and she remembers the cons that had trade talents — plumbers and electricians — coming into our home to help us out. Once a convict asked her if we were the Stuckers from Leavenworth. That upset her.
7.
Did you ever meet a pass man? (a convict who works in the warden’s home)
Yes. I met Montgomery who was a pass man for Warden Swope. I used to fish with Warden Swope’s wife. I would knock on the Warden’s door and Montgomery would answer.
8.
Were you ever on the island during an escape attempt?
Yes, but I was a baby at the time. I do remember hearing rebellious behavior in the cell block. The prison population would rattle cups on the bars, yell and scream. My sister remembers hearing the escape siren going off. The protocol was to lock yourself in your apartment and wait. The fear was that a convict would grab a hostage.
9.
What do you miss the most?
The social group and the fishing. There was no limit to the amount of fish you could catch. No game warden. You didn’t need a license. I caught capazoni, eel, perch, sting ray, sand and leopard sharks up to four and five feet long.
10.
Any do-overs? What do you wish you’d done now that you didn’t do then?
Every kid wanted to go in the cellblock. You had to be twenty-one years old to get in there.
When I turned twenty-one, I came back to Alcatraz. Because the Warden’s daughter married my cousin, I was able to get a tour. I was in a boat with a group of about twenty-five other people. When I got off the boat, a convict who was working on the dock came up to me and grabbed my arm. He said: “Are you Ed Stucker’s son? Tell your father hello. I always liked the man.”
This was eight years after my father left Alcatraz. I wish I had asked that convict his name or his Alcatraz number. But I was so surprised, I didn’t. I don’t know how he picked me out of a group of twenty-five. The prisoners knew who everyone was.
11.
Can you describe your first look inside the cell house?
It was intimidating. It felt like I was in a zoo. I did not want to stare.
12.
There are a million myths about Alcatraz. How would you like to set the record straight?
The Alcatraz myths were created by the secrecy and Hollywood. In the thirties, media was not allowed on the island. The inmates who were released gave interviews, which only added to the mystery and the mystique. The press was never allowed to come and take a look.
To me the real events are more interesting than the fiction.
13.
Why do you think you are so fascinated by the island?
I guess I started collecting information about Alcatraz, because I saw the history was being lost. I wanted to make sure people’s stories were recorded. I wanted to be a keeper of information.
14.
What is the strangest true story you know about Alcatraz?
Prisoners on Alcatraz knew everything there was to know. Cons knew about Pearl Harbor before the guards did. They had their own sources of information.
Interviewed by Gennifer Choldenko in Roseville, CA, on February 20, 2013