A letter penned by a man serving time at San Quentin (SQ) in 1915 describes how the institution observed Fourth of July.
Gus Arrivey’s letter to a Stockton attorney describes the activities, food, and entertainment offered to the incarcerated population. His letter was published in the Stockton Record, July 15, 1915.
“Once again the Fourth of July has come and gone. Everybody is the happier for it. Only a few are bemoaning their fate, owing to an overindulgence in pork and other little luxuries that go to make a holiday successful in San Quentin,” he wrote. “Most assuredly it was a safe, sane Fourth for us in our little walled city by the sea. No undue noise, no accidents, fights or fire.
“It was about 10:30 in the morning (when) some 1,500 men in gray assembled on a large stretch of ground adjacent to the new prison to witness what was to be one of the best ball games of the season. For many weeks it was planned, talked of, and argued over. The fans worked themselves to a fever pitch and no little rivalry and personal grudge existed between the teams.”
Baseball game, movies for Fourth of July
For those not interested in baseball, a movie was shown, transporting the viewers to a world far beyond the prison walls.
“Down in the show room another assembly of men sat for two hours or more, (forgetting about) iron bars, stone walls, prison rules, and discipline. At intervals, little sketches were sandwiched in to fill the (gaps when changing) moving picture reels. In this space, a few actors who had fallen from grace on the outside would give performances. Marie Dressler and Charles Chaplin and ‘Officer 666’ were two of the six reels shown.
“In the evening, (the public was) allowed to come inside the walls and witness the performance. First, the condemned men accompanied by two guards marched into the show room. Then, the female prisoners with much giggling and many shy glances occupied the seats laid aside for them, well to the front of the house.
“The center of the house was occupied by the public, who came in droves. (Finally), the (prisoners) who had work during the day and a few others (like me), occupied the seats in the back of the house, mingling our laughter and applause with that of the free people.
“Such was the Fourth of July in the city of walls,” he concluded.
Along with his letter, he included “a novel Fourth of July program, in the shape of a firecracker.”
The 1915 prison menu included roast pork, mashed potatoes, mince pie, oranges, bananas, nuts and raisins.
Who was Gus Arrivey?
While on a drunken binge in December 1911, Arrivey killed his mother with a hatchet in San Joaquin County. He was sentenced to life at San Quentin in 1912 but was paroled July 13, 1921, after demonstrating model behavior. In 1927, he violated terms of his parole and was sent to Folsom State Prison.
By Don Chaddock, Inside CDCR editor
Learn more about California prison history.
Follow CDCR on YouTube, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter). Listen to the CDCR Unlocked podcast.