Mr. Theodore (Ted) Glattke is the youngest son of the “infamous” Superintendent Glattke, and his wife Helen who lived in the Mansfield Reformatory during the period from the late 1930s to the 1950’s. In December of 2003, I opened my E-mail with a message in my in-box from a “Theodore Glattke”. The message read as follows;
"I have recently found pictures attributed to Becky Shott on the Creepy Cleveland web site. If you are the person who submitted them and would like to receive some accurate information about the residence area of the Mansfield Reformatory, please let me know."
I replied immediately expressing my apologies for posting the information (incorrect) that I learned, and accepted Ted Glattke’s offer to work together and shed a more accurate light of the Glattke Family and the Mansfield Reformatory. It is important that the truth is told. For the past two years, Ted and I have exchanged numerous E-mails. He has been kind enough to answer all of my questions and share as many stories as possible about the Glattke Family and his life as a child. Some stories are personal and I cannot appreciate Ted giving me as much time as he has as well as the respect, trust and friendship that has grown between us.
Currently Ted is a professor at the University of Arizona in the Speech, Language and Hearing Departments. In the fall of 2005, he will also be team teaching Biology of Sensation and Anatomy & Physiology of the Auditory and Vestibular Systems.
Ted invited me to personally meet him at the Mansfield Reformatory on September 17th, and I was told by Ted to bring a tape recorder and note everything we discuss as we have a VIP tour of the facility. Meeting “Ted” at the Mansfield Reformatory for a personal interview and a four-hour long private VIP tour of the Living Quarters and other locations throughout the facility is one of my highlights of 2005.
With all due respect, I give you a personal look into the life of Mr. Theodore Glattke, the Glattke Family and the Mansfield Reformatory!
History of Arthur and Helen Glattke:
Before taking the stairs to the second level Ted conveyed some history on his parents to us. Arthur Sr. and Helen met in 1930 while working on an editorial campaign for the Governor of Ohio, Martin Davey. Governor Davey appointed Arthur Sr. as Superintendent. The title “Superintendent” was used rather than Warden, because at the time the Glattkes lived at the Mansfield Reformatory it was an all young boys’ detention-like center with a mission to reform those who have done wrong. It was not considered a prison until after the Glattke Family was no longer in residence. (*Note: Ted cannot verify that the nature of the place changed after the Glattkes departed. He thought it always was a “reformatory” for 16-30 year-old first offenders, even though it always has been a rather forbidding structure.)
Ted’s Mother, Helen, was Catholic, and Superintendent Glattke was Jewish when they married in the 1930s. Few guests attended due to the differences in religion. The Glattke children were raised Catholic. Arthur and Helen Glattke are buried in a small Catholic cemetery in Toledo, Ohio. Arthur’s parents, two of his brothers and other family members are buried in a Jewish cemetery across the Maumee river east of Toledo, Ohio.
Tour of the Living Quarters
The general design of the living quarters followed Victorian style, in that the ceilings and windows were tallest on the ground floor, smaller (lower ceiling) on the second floor and smallest (lowest) on the third floor.
Main Entrance
When entering the Living Quarters there are two sets of doors. The large wooden doors were left wide open except in the worst weather and in the little porch area between the sets of doors is where the Glattke children (Arthur Jr. and Ted) kept their toys. The second set of doors with large glass windows were what the Glattkes used as their main entrance. Walking into the newly renovated main hallway, Ted told a story of how the neighborhood children would gather to play, perform plays and have dance recitals.
In the duration of the Glattkes’ stay at the Mansfield Reformatory, Ted was only aware of one elevator that was located was not in use in the Living Quarters. He thought that the elevator did not work and cannot remember if it were ever used. Next to the elevator door sat their telephone, a 1940’s style phone, which was unique for the time period. The Glattkes also had operating short-wave radios in the 1940’s, which they listened to often, another trait that put the family ahead of the times.
Floor One
The first room inside the hallway, where the Gift Shop is currently located, was the Glattke’s living room. Ted spoke of how they had such a huge Christmas tree in the northwest corner of the room which fell over one year! A piano, some pieces of furniture and a lovely fire place made the room a comfortable Living area.
Past the living room is the dining room. Attached to the dining room are two small “closets” used for storage by the MRPS today, but the larger of the two was the kitchen. Ted pointed out where the appliances once stood. The smaller room was the pantry, which is connected to the kitchen by a door that the MRPS staff keeps locked. Ted told stories of how the trustee inmates who worked in the residence stored the dinnerware, dishes and served the food from the pantry. He also laughed as he spoke about coming down to “raid the kitchen” as any other child when he became hungry during the night.
Mrs. Helen Glattke did cook many dinners and the family enjoyed eating them seated around the large dining room table. Mrs. Glattke loved to preserve food. Because of the amount of pickling and canning she did, an entire room was reserved for her in the basement. I was told that for years after she passed away, there was enough of her pickled and stored food to provide treats for Arthur Sr., Arthur Jr. and Ted.
The room directly to the right when walking through the main entrance was the Glattke’s television room. On the south end of the room, where the two high windows face out to the grand front porch, the television set sat between them. After the “tree falling incident” in the living room, the Glattke Family decided on two smaller trees in each of the front windows on both sides of the TV. There was a “Mansfield Reformatory” sign outside of the front door that can now be seen in this particular room of the museum.
Through the TV room, which is now part of the museum where many artifacts, photos and autographed pictures of movie stars that visited the prison hang, was the library. Now, part of the museum, a replica of “Old Sparky” sits enclosed in a glass box, as do many other artifacts, weapons and utensils made and used by the inmates and guards at the Mansfield Reformatory. Ted remembers this room as having green wallpaper. Chuckling, he told us a story of when he was playing baseball at a young age out in the parking lot and broke one of the windows (curved glass) in the bay area facing the parking lot.
Ted was surprised when he noticed there was no longer a fireplace in the “library”. Keeping in mind that many renovations have taken place since the original structure was built, Ted described where the fireplace should have been and where it has been covered up to make a smooth wall in a renovation years ago. A couple of MRPS staff members joined us on the tour with Ted and no one was aware of the fact that there used to be a fireplace where there used to be, so that renovation took place at least 15 years or so ago.
The last room newly renovated past the library and “Old Sparky” was what the Glattkes considered their utility room. Ted showed us where pipes extracted from the floor and explained how a big utility bathtub was once in along the south wall of the room. Here, he explained, is where their large family dogs were bathed. The Glattkes often had at two large dogs at a time. The turrets in the room were used for nothing but storage. Later in years, he heard that this particular room was then used for a Superintendent’s office. I believe Mr. Ben Cooper was his name.
Floor Two
From the stairs on the second floor is an elevator on the right. As far as we know, this was the only working elevator that Ted was aware of during his time at the Reformatory.
Immediately to the left is Arthur Sr. and Helen's bathroom. All of the fixtures have been removed. Ted specifically remembered a shower stall because a MRPS member with us asked if the shower stall was in the turret. Instead of a shower stall, Helen Glattke stored beer, what she called "Buckeye Beer". Looking out the bathroom window is a plain view of the East Cell Block and one of the parking areas. Along the exterior of the Living Quarters and the East Cell Block, where there is an open parking area close to the buildings, you can see the remnants of where the original parking garage once stood.
The first bedroom on the East side of the hallway after Superintendent and Helen’s bathroom is Ted’s room. Where the small kitchen is located currently is where the bathroom used to be when the bedroom belonged to Ted. He described the bathroom as the tub being where the sink is, the toilet was by the window and the sink was straight across from the bathtub.
His bed was planted right next to the bathroom door. The walls of the bedroom were painted blue. The windows allow a nice view and a lot of natural sunlight to pour into the room. Where the fireplace is located now, Ted had a religious shrine set up and prayed often as expected with his Catholic upbringing.
The next bedroom, located at the “front” of the Living Quarters on the southeast corner of the hallway is Superintendent Arthur and Helen Glattke’s bedroom. The Glattkes preferred separate beds; Arthur Glattke Sr.’s bed stood next to the closet door where Mrs. Glattke’s was near the front of the bedroom coming out from the side wall.
It is in this bedroom where the infamous stories of Mrs. Helen Glattke’s unfortunate death began. As told by Ted himself, the family was preparing for Sunday morning mass at approximately 7:00am on November 5, 1950 when Helen reached up in her closet knocking a loaded gun off of the top shelf. When the gun hit the floor, Helen was accidentally shot. She called for Art Jr., whose bedroom was directly across from Arthur Sr. and Helen’s bedroom, who then ran to find his Father. Helen was taken away by ambulance and spent two days at the Mansfield General Hospital. Two days later on November 7th Helen passed. Internal bleeding and loss of blood which would be a simple problems to mend today, were responsible for the loss of Helen’s life.
Directly across the south end of the hallway from the “master bedroom” was Art Jr.’s bedroom. It was and still is indeed a large size. It is not hard to imagine all of the adventures that were created with the amount of room and windows that could have been used for all sorts of imagery. Ted commented about how his brother had “cowboy” wallpaper on the walls of his bedroom. The group of us examined closely and found a very small, less than a cubic-foot of cowboy paper that had somehow been salvaged after the many coats of paints on top of it. One of the MRPS members decided to take the wallpaper and save it to display at the MRPS museum on the first floor of the Living Quarters.
One last note regarding Art Jr.’s bedroom, the door that connects his room with the next room is not original. The height is noticeably shorter than the original height of the doorways and it is not a doorway that Ted remembered from his time lived at the Mansfield Reformatory.
The connecting bedroom from Art Jr.’s was used as a guest room by the Glattke Family, where visitors like the Governor of Ohio stayed. The bathroom near the Guest Room was shared by the guests as well as Art Jr.
At the end of the second story hallway was a sun porch that I have never noticed after all of the years I have been to the Reformatory. This porch is actually the roof over the main entrance to the residence. Ted directed our attention to the end of the hallway where French doors once opened onto the second-story porch where the Glattke Family sunbathed.
Floor Three
On the West side of the hallway were three rooms. The first was a bathroom but was not used, per Ted. The middle room was used as the playroom for the Glattke children, and Ted said he used to call it the Radio Room. The third room was known as the Glattke children’s train room. Each child had a toy train setup on tables. The children played with the trains for so many months a year, and then the tables were covered before Christmas. As a gift, the children each received a new piece for their train sets and were then able to regain train set authority.
At the end of the hallway of the third floor is a small stage. Ted was not aware of any use by his family during the time they lived at the Reformatory. The first and second rooms on the East side of the hallway were not used by the Glattkes. We assumed the two rooms were used for storage. The last room closest to the stairwell is known as the taxidermy room. Superintendent Glattke, Arthur Sr., had a large collection “stuffed” animal heads that were stored on the floor, which most likely either frightened or intrigued the children and their friends. Between the taxidermy room and the third-floor hallway connecting the residence to the Chapel area, is a low-ceilinged room that was used as in indoor basketball “court”.
The Basement
In the basement below the Living Quarters dining room was a storage room where Mrs. Helen Glattke stored her home-canned food, including pickles and fruit. It is a large room and per the MRPS staff, a dumbwaiter (small elevator used to move small objects between floors) was once in use from this room to the kitchen area above.
Across from the “food storage room” was a day lounge, so to speak, for the two inmates that assisted the Glattke Family. At night they returned to their cells, but during the day they lived what other inmates would consider a rather luxurious life style, taking their meals in the residence, having the same food as the Glattke family, and having relatively private quarters with shower and toilet facilities, reading area, etc.. One of the “trustees” managed the kitchen and the other looked after the house. The inmates never spent more than a working day in the residence, therefore the stories of how the Glattke Family “kept” a “prisoner” in the residence area at all times are not true.
The Passing of Mr. Arthur Glattke, Superintendent
On February 10, 1959, Mr. Arthur Glattke Sr. fatally suffered a heart attack. When the episode occurred, Ted was returning from school and was advised to go to his father’s office and rushed to find his father and older brother, Art. Jr. The ambulance was called, and while Art Jr. accompanied Superintendent Glattke, Ted followed behind in a car bringing some personal items he thought his father would need. Shortly after arriving at the Mansfield General Hospital, Mr. Arthur Glattke Sr. passed to join his wife, Helen.
Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Glattke passed away in the Mansfield Reformatory, which is unfortunately not reported accurately in many of the stories that are told on the Internet. Corrections need to be made about the history of the Glattke Family and their time spent at the Mansfield Reformatory, and I intend to keep my promise to Ted and pass on as much of the truth told as possible. Regarding the stories told of his parents and his opinion of other ghosts allegedly haunting the prison, Mr. Theodore Glattke said this,
"I find it hard to think of a spirit staying in a place, rather than staying with the people that are important to that spirit. I think that "haunting" a house or the Ohio State Reformatory is a concept left over from a time when people didn't move very far from their birthplaces and did not outlive the buildings. What if the OSR were completely destroyed? I have little respect for the stories that I've seen because of all the inaccurate pieces, such as the places where my parents died, the sensationalism regarding their lives, etc."
Families in Residence
Four families actually lived in the residence areas in the front of the large facility on the upper floors of the Administrative Wing and through the center wing. Mr. and Mrs. Allen, and Mr. and Mrs. Allarding were two of the families that shared the residency. Mr. Allarding and Mr. Allen were the associate superintendents. They lived on the second and third floors, respectively, above the West wing offices. Reverend Wapner and his family occupied the second floor rooms between the East and West wings, around the corner from the stairwell on the second floor from where the Glattke Family lived. Reverend Wapner’s son, David, was raised in the Reformatory and went on to become a physician through Case Western Reserve University.
The Wapner’s Living Room is the room in the Reformatory that was used as the Probation Hearing Room in the Shawshank Redemption. Ted commented about how David would play the piano, much to everyone’s enjoyment. Unfortunately, around 1961-1962, Reverend Wapner was fatally injured in an automobile accident.
Three other families lived in regular houses on the Mansfield Reformatory property. The Reformatory's physician was Dr. John Horst. He and Mr. John Neibel, the Farm Manager, lived in homes on Route 13. In 1948, Mr. Neibel, his wife and daughter were murdered by two paroled ex-prisoners who were later recaptured and tried for the murders. Ted remembered that two Irish setter sogs were cared for by the Neibel family and that he did not see the dogs again after the family members were killed. The third family lived on Olivesburg Road.
Life at the Reformatory
Ted stated that living at the Mansfield Reformatory from 1941 through 1959 was a “rich” experience. He and his brother were able to move freely anywhere they wished outside of the main facility to explore the farm buildings, orchard, greenhouse and other locations that were not actual inmate quarters such as the dormitory on the farm. Draft horses were used to pull wagons and equipment well into the 1940’s, and there were productive dairy, hog, egg and produce operations. A cannery considered to be very modern for the 1950’s operated to process the food for consumption at the Reformatory and other State institutions. Inmates provided the labor for all the operations, and Ted stated that he has wonderful memories of visiting with those inmates, riding on wagons and visiting the farm animals. An inmate that “managed” the front garage where the official State and private vehicles of the families that lived at the main building were garaged helped the Glattke children build model airplanes and fly them, help fix things that were broken and work on the Glattke Family’s car.
Before his death, Superintendent Glattke gained responsibility that took him to Columbus every day from 1949 through 1953. After Mrs. Glattke’s death in 1950, the inmates who staffed the residence got Ted up for school and helped Ted with his homework, practice his music lessons, etc., after school until Mr. Glattke returned from the his offices in the Department of Correction in Columbus. The “trustee” who managed the garage took Ted to and from school daily. Ted stated that one inmate actually taught him how to play the guitar, and another gave him cooking lessons. Another pleasant childhood memory was that Ted was allowed one party a year where schoolmates were invited. Most of the time this took place in the winter and skating parties were had on the pond located on the front grounds of the Reformatory.
The inmates who staffed the residence made treats, including hot cocoa, for the kids and families who attended the childhood parties. The Reformatory was a much safter place than the majority of teh public assumed, and still assumes. The Glattke Family also had access to the officer's barber shop and the "radio room" where radio receivers adn amplifiers were set up to provide regular radio service for the inmates within the cellblocks. They also used the infirmary, which was a building located behind the main facility, where Ted remembers receiving doses of antibiotics when he suffered from illnesses such as severe colds. It was a new experience just after World War II, and the syringes used were all "re-used" after sterilization in autoclaves.
Only twice did the Glattke Family have some concern about safety. The first was in regards to the inmates who murdered the Neibel Family. The other was during a disturbance and lockdown in the late 1950’s. Ted told us of how the Glattke Family, friends and relatives all referred to the Mansfield Reformatory as “the Farm” because it was looked at as a positive place and Superintendent Glattke was respected and liked by some of the inmates. He befriended many of them, and they looked up to him as truly reformed young men.
Mansfield Reformatory Mission
The actual mission of the Mansfield Reformatory was to house 16 to 30-year-old first offenders. A common offense that sent people to the Reformatory was armed robbery. One example is of a 16-year-old that had a gun when the crime was committed, or be in a car with others who had a gun, receiving a sentence of seven to ten years with parole possible after the third year. Ted remembers some inmates returning to the Reformatory and one even regained his position back in the garage!
Administrative Wing
We did not tour the “West Wing” with Ted Glattke, but he told us that the southwest office was occupied by Pat Cramer, his father’s secretary. Next to his secretary’s office was the Superintendent’s office location. It has the curved outer wall, and is the “twin” room to the library in the Living Quarters. Ted remembers their last family dog, an English setter named Westfield’s Tipperary Jack, used to walk over to Superintendent Glattke’s office and sleep at his feet while he worked.
On the southeast side of the hallway was an office that was managed by Ben Owen. Just north of that facing the garden area was another office in use. Between the Residence Wing and the Administrative Wing is a long corridor with large administrative spaces where inmates possessing office skills were provided with office jobs. Those are some of the young men that taught Ted how to read Hebrew letters, play guitar, run the calculators of the day (Monroe office machines) and touch typing.
Parting Ways
While standing on the porch of the Mansfield Reformatory before parting our ways, Ted told the group of us one last story. There is a pine tree that is up near the road on the other side of the pond. He showed us that the tree has missing branches all along the top few feet of it. The story goes that Ted and his brother, Art Jr., used to climb that tree when it was smaller and hang from the top branches. I took a look at the tree on the way out and smiled to myself as I pictured the two young Glattke children playing as young children do without a worry in the world, enjoying life as they would have it down on “the Farm”.
It was an incredible opportunity for me to not only communicate with Mr. Theodore Glattke over the past couple of years, but to be invited on an informal VIP tour of where the Glattke Family lived, worked and played, and to hear personal stories from Ted Glattke himself was phenomenal. I cannot thank Mr. Glattke enough for all of the time he has spent with me and I appreciate him more daily as I work together with him to tell his family story from my point of view.
Thank you, Ted. It was a pleasure to meet you.
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