The Folsom Prisoner Who Built Functional Miniature Carnivals Out of Toothpicks
It was the best way for William Jennings-Bryan Burke to kill time during his 23 years in prison.
By Lauren Young
Sometime around 1940, the convicted burglar turned a basement near the warden’s office into his artistic domain. Relying on his memories and imagination, he constructed three expansive carnivals containing scaled iterations of Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, airplane rides, merry-go-rounds, and penny arcades—all made out of toothpicks.
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| Former convict Billy Burke had a unique hobby during his time at Folsom Prison. [All photos: John Burke/The Toothpick Carnival] |
“For a time toothpicks had been designated contraband in prison, precisely because I was using so many of them and the guards weren’t sure of what I had in mind,” Burke told Nan Nichols Sharrer, author of Escape From Folsom Prison: The True Story of William Jennings Bryan Burke. “But soon the warden would bring me toothpicks in his pockets.”
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-folsom-prisoner-who-built-functional-miniature-carnivals-out-of-toothpicks
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