There’s a long line out the door of one of the buildings at Noble Correctional Institute; it’s winter coat issuing day.

Men chat among one another in line and along the pathway that leads through the compound. It’s just a regular day inside the medium-security prison. A bit chilly, but just another day.

Inside a few of the buildings that line the pathway are products of craftsmanship that rival any artistry displayed in a gallery, the fine woodworking products of talented carpenters, crocheted animals that could be found in a toy store and spray painted items that look like the product shown at the end of a viral video.

Some of the men waiting in line, chatting among one another are some of the most talented people society has to offer; master horticulturists, artists, builders and so much more.

The talented inmates inside the fence at Noble Correctional Institute partake in community service initiatives that go far beyond the stereotypes. From building lockers to painting murals to growing plants, the talent inside the compound does not run thin.

Tim Buchanan has been the warden at Noble Correctional Institute for about six years. He chairs a coalition that was born in Muskingum County in 2012, the Muskingum County Reentry Coalition. A few years and a lot of community assistance later, the one county operation was renamed the Restored Citizens Network to encompass the surrounding counties it started to serve.

The network helps inmates re-acclimate into a society after spending time incarcerated. Many people and organizations come together for that network and community service projects completed by inmates and staff in Noble Correctional have been showcased at monthly meetings.

Through the showcasing and developed relationships, Muskingum County organizations have approached Buchanan about potential projects. The latest project being the I Spy trailer for Muskingum Behavioral Health.

“They came up with some really great ideas such as windows and some other compartments, and so this is where Mr. (Clarence) Hickenbottom really took the initiative, took the leadership and had the buy in from his offenders who are trying to help, you know, kids in the community … hopefully prevent people from coming here,” Buchanan said.

The trailer is one of many products that has been built out Hickenbottom’s workshop, and that workshop is one of many areas that community service is done throughout the facility.

Behind the bars

Community service is not a requirement for any offenders. There’s no written rule that mandates each inmate to participate in any community service project, but there are many men within the facility that have a desire to give back to the community that they were taken out of.

Not every inmates jumps at the chance to give back, nor does every person utilize their talents while incarcerated, but many do.

“Some you have to encourage, but there’s guys who recognize the opportunity to do good and want to do good and to give back, and they recognize the harm that they have caused,” Buchanan, a Zanesville native, said.

The institute has always had a heavy emphasis on community service. Buchanan said it’s extremely important to him and his staff to be a good partner within the community and to give back as much as possible.

Years ago, inmates would be transported to complete different community service projects. Unfortunately, due to budgetary cutbacks, transporting anyone out of the compound isn’t fiscally possible anymore. Thus, community service is confined to projects that can be done within the fence.

“We’ve always had community service. Tt’s just the need, basically, we try to put out to the community that, ‘if you come up with an idea, run it by us,’” David Poulton, the Community Service Director, said. “Then we see if we’re able to do something with it. Normally, we are able to come up with something for most of the projects that are presented to us.”

In addition to the I Spy trailer for Muskingum Behavioral Health, Noble Correctional has taken on projects for Caldwell High School, the city of Caldwell, the Ronald McDonald House, other local high schools, state parks and so many other organizations.

Homeless mats are made out of recycled plastic bags and weaved together to create a mat that’s then donated to organizations with ties to various homeless communities. Inmates have even taken some of the mats with them upon their release to people they know in need.

There are murals lining the walls of one of the recreation center rooms that are being painted for the side of a downtown Caldwell building, and others that are for the Noble County Fair.

A couple of buildings over from the rec center is the education building. Classrooms line the hallways and a large, gated area houses as much wood as a Lowe’s shopping center. Bob Blackstone, the Carpentry Instructor, has his classroom and shop inside.

Large, unstained lockers sit out in the middle of the open area. They’re the last of a batch of lockers for the Meadowbrook High School Football locker room. A similar batch was built for Philo High School about five years ago.

Blackstone said, depending on the projects, the workers in his shop get projects done and out of the facility pretty quickly.

Another area, which isn’t too popular once the winter months hit, is the growing center. The warmer months allow for much more outdoor growing, but the institute also has an indoor growing facility.

Thanks to ongoing donations of growing lights that are confiscated by the Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office, the men at Noble Correctional grow plants all year long. The plants are later donated to local school, organizations and to the Ronald McDonald House in Columbus.

“We have a lot of guys who are, in their past lives, master horticulture gardeners,” Buchanan said.

One of the largest community service projects of the year for Noble Correctional is the bike build.

Each year, about 20 maintenance workers create an assembly line of bike un-boxing and building to assist an organization that operates across the state to deliver bikes for Christmas to children in foster care.

Last year, workers built 113 bikes in about one hour. In order to give as many inmates a chance to help out with the project, many different jobs are created, even down to the job of carrying bikes from one building to another.

“I mean we probably have, out of 2,500 inmates on the compound, we probably have 1,000 of them that would love to help at that bike build,” Joel Burris said. So, they at least get to feel like they had a part in giving back to the community.”

Staffed with excellence

Buchanan said that if it wasn’t for the excellence of his staff that is so dedicated to giving back, none of the community service projects the inmates participate in would be possible.

The three men joked about Poulton’s role in the annual bike build event. After all of the bikes are built, three teams go out to deliver the bikes, but one crew gets its own Santa.

Poulton sleeps with hair curlers in his beard the night before the event, and dresses up in a Santa costume to deliver bikes assembled by the men he interacts with everyday.

He is just one of many staff members that goes above and beyond for their community.

As Blackstone gave a brief overview of his woodworking operations, Buchanan listed off a number of civic duty that Blackstone, a 20 year Noble Correctional employee, takes on in his free time. One of those duties is volunteer firefighting.

“There’s tremendous skill at our facility,” Buchanan said. “So, we spend a lot of time recruiting in the community saying, ‘Hey, let us help you.’ Then, a lot of times, the good-hearted nature of our staff takes over.”

While every project is important, there are some community service projects that are more near and dear to the hearts of the staff that head them up. The bike build being a fan favorite of many of the staff members involved in that operation.

“We try to jockey for those types of things, we want to do as much good as we can,” Buchanan said. “That’s the stuff that really means something to our staff and to our population. It genuinely means something to them.”