"Christmas can be a particularly difficult time of year for inmates at the Noble County Correctional Institution, but some have found a way to make a meaningful connection with life outside the prison walls and razor wire.
On Wednesday inmate Mike Wolak, 53, who’s serving five to 25 years for involuntary manslaughter, proudly displayed a bright red hat, one of 91 he’s crocheted this year, including many for the Coats for Kids program in Washington County.
“It takes three to four hours to do one, depending on the size of the hat,” he said.
Since November, 15 inmates have crocheted 109 hats as well as a few scarves donated to Coats for Kids this year.
“Never in my life did I think I would be crocheting,” said Mark Doll, 44, serving four years and six months for aggravated vehicular homicide.
“But after I completed a two-year college program I had a lot of time on my hands, so I learned to crochet from some of these guys,” he said.
Inmate Roger Migliaccio, 38, learned to crochet from his sisters when he was 10 or 12 years old. He said crocheting hats and scarves also has a therapeutic effect, especially during the holidays spent away from family and friends.
“I find that I don’t have the stress I sometimes feel during family times like Christmas,” said Migliaccio who’s serving a five-year term for robbery.
Chuck Smith, 40, said making hats for people in need is a way he can make a positive contribution to society.
“I’ve been a taker all my life, now I’m giving something back,” he said.
Smith is serving a five-year term for felonious assault and robbery.
The inmates became involved in the Coats for Kids program through a chance meeting between NCI business administrator Craig Rich and Judy Grize with the Retired Seniors Volunteer Program (RSVP) in Marietta.
“We were visiting the O’Neill Senior Center, basically letting people know that we could provide community services, when I met Mrs. Grize, Rich said.
She told him about Coats for Kids and said there was a need for knitted hats that could be distributed along with the coats.
Rich said several inmates were skilled in crochet, so manpower was no problem.
“Our biggest issue was getting the material to work with,” he said.
Skeins of yarn were donated by RSVP and others, including RSVP member Ruth Reeves, who knitted 23 hats for the program on her own.
Reeves accompanied Grize on a visit to NCI on Wednesday to meet the inmates and pick up the final bags of hats and scarves that will be distributed through the Coats for Kids program this year.
“This is a way for the inmates to look back at the negative of being in prison and see a positive experience,” said Joel Burris, public information officer with NCI.
“The inmates volunteer for the program and they learn a skill,” he said. “Most have never even seen a crochet hook before.
“It’s also a great way for them to give back to the community.”
Burris noted that the inmates have also crocheted blankets and toys for various schools and non-profit agencies during the six years that the crochet program has been in effect at NCI.
He said the blankets are sometimes auctioned off by schools and non-profits as a fundraising activity.
“It doesn’t cost a lot of money for the inmates to crochet blankets or hats, and the requesting agencies provide the yarn,” Burris said. “But one boosters group made $200 by auctioning off one of the blankets.”
Rich said more than 250 inmates have participated in the crochet program over the last six years.
“We hope to continue our partnership with RSVP and Coats for Kids next year,” Rich added. “If we get enough yarn, we can keep them in hats and scarves.”"
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