So is it still a Summer of Awesome activity if our kids aren’t with us?
Inspired by Lynn over at Turtlehead, for nearly every summer for the past five years I’ve created a list of “must do” activities for the boys. I shared a video about our plans for this summer over on Facebook.
Before school let out for the summer my husband I planned a day trip to Kingston to go on a tour of the Kingston Penitentiary, which has been closed since 2013. Because we weren’t sure whether the tour would be appropriate for our three kids, we opted to leave them behind knowing we could always go back again if we thought they would enjoy it. After having done the 90 minute tour, I would say it’s possible with little ones but that there is a lot of standing around and listening, so it will really depend on your child’s personality. My eldest son (who is 11) would definitely love the experience and none of the information shared by the tour guides was frightening or inappropriate. For privacy reasons they don’t talk about specific prisoners, even those that are well known to the public.
I was unfamiliar with a lot of the history related to the prison and how long it’s been in existence. Seeing all the different buildings and hearing about how the prison changed and grew over the years really gives you an appreciation of how much the corrections system has changed.
It was a striking look into a society that functioned inside the walls of the prison: a society with it’s own rules, expectations, and beliefs. Stepping inside a cell, particularly those in segregation, and realizing how secluded and small a person’s world becomes when they are in custody, is startling.
My summer reading list is now longer thanks to suggestions from the tour guide about books that have been written about the prison as well as stories based on the Kingston Pen and it’s prisoners, including Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace. A mini series, based on the book, was filmed at the prison and will be aired this Fall on CBC.
Hearing the guards stories about what is was like to work at the prison, especially those who were there during the 1971 riot, was fascinating. My only wish is that the stories of those incarcerated in the prison over the years were also shared.
