Former Assistant Superintendent Mr. Leslie Petten
Gave 33 years to SCI
When Communist forces from North Korea (in 1950) invaded South Korea Louis Stephen St. Laurent was Prime Minister of Canada and Former Assistant Superintendent of the Salmonier Correctional Institution, Mr. Leslie Petten, was a seventeen-year-old boy. He would join the Korean Conflict as a young soldier assigned to the artillery division.
It has often been said that war turns boys into men and Mr. Petten would return home in 1953 a man in many respects. As a young soldier he had served his country well and had fought for democracy in a country three oceans away from a tiny inlet called Conception Bay.
Upon his return Mr. Petten went back to helping his father run the family farm. Being a farmer was a job he truly enjoyed and not only was he good at it, he was excellent at it. He had a green thumb and grew a variety of vegetables in abundance.
Mr. Petten’s career as a private farmer would be short lived, however. He had received an offer to go to work at the Salmonier Correctional Institution as a warder, an offer he couldn't refuse. As a warder at Salmonier, he would be able to continue farming and growing vegetables in even larger quantities than what he was used to. At Salmonier there would also be cows, hens, hones and pigs: a farm in every respect
Unlike most new warden Mr. Petten would not have to start his career as a warder at Her Majesty's Penitentiary in St John's before being considered for SCI. Because of his years as a soldier, he even bypassed the usual basic training requirements for new warden. Mr. Petten joined the staff at SCI in 1955.
After 12 years as a warder (1955-67) Mr. Petten became an acting Sargent, a position he held for two years before becoming a Sargent and serving in that capacity for five years. Additionally, he became the Head Warder for five more years before becoming Chief Warder (of camp operations). For seven years, until his retirement, Mr. Petten served as
|
2