The Pender County Academy (also known as the county home) sits on 25 rolling acres. It was built at the turn of the century, and at that time, was a state of the art facility. I had never even heard of the PCA until that fateful February in 1952 when my parents were both killed in an auto/train accident. From newspaper articles I have read on the accident, it seems my father was a bit drunk, and was racing a train to the crossing. I only know that I was visiting with a friend when it all happened. Everything after that is a blur in my memory until the day I was driven in a shiny new dark blue 1952 Chevrolet by a very nice lady. Our journey ended at the PCA, and there, my story begins.

The PCA was originally set up as an orphanage for children such as myself. Later, it evolved into a combination orphanage, and home for delinquent children. While it was not a prison, children sentenced there by the court were well aware that if they attempted to leave, they would be sent to a state prison for children. The PCA was run, of necessity, by a strict set of rules. Violations of the rules meant strict, and usually immediate punishment. Punishment at PCA meant that someone would have a sore bottom!

I was taken into the main office, welcomed by a nice lady, and taken to a medical office where I was told to remove my clothes, and was given a brief physical exam by a nurse, which included having my testicles felt! I can still remember the trauma to my little 9 year old mind when that happened! Then, I was given my new PCA uniform. I was given one pair of black shoes, one pair of black tennis shoes, 7 pair of white socks, 7 pair of fruit-of-the-loom briefs, 7 matching tee shirts, 7 white long sleeve shirts, 2 pair of black long pants, 2 pair of black shorts, a black sweater, black winter coat, black gloves, a pair of white gym shorts, and a jock strap (which I had never seen before, and couldn't figure out what it was). I was then taken to a dorm room, and met my dorm "counselor", who would serve as a parent to me for the next 5 years, until I reached 14 and would be transferred to the "big boys" building. There were two dorm bedrooms, with 10 beds each. The beds had metal headboards, and rounded metal footboards. There was a metal locker next to each bed which was used to hold clothing, and any personal items, including school books. Between the two bedrooms was a large lounge which had several chairs and couches, a radio, and magazines. Off of this room was the counselor's office and living area. I learned that my counselor's name was Ray, he was a balding man, probably about 40, short, and skinny as a rail. He welcomed me to the dorm, gave me a bed assignment, and told me to put my things away.

It appeared to me that all of the beds were taken, except one. I threw my new clothes in the closet, took off the robe that they had given me for my physical, and dressed. I then made my way shyly into the lounge, saw Ray, and asked him what I was supposed to do. He explained that the rest of the boys were at school, and as soon as they returned, he would introduce me. Until then, I was told to just read a magazine, or whatever. Ray seemed busy. He came out of his office, and sat down next to me. He said that he had read my file, and was sorry about my parents. He said that of the 19 boys in my dorm room, only 4 others were orphans, the rest were "serving time". He told me that my roomates aged from 5 years old to 10 years. The other room housed boys from 11 to 14 years of age. He then told me that the dorm ran on very specific rules, and I needed to know what they were, so that I did not get into trouble, either with him, with the academy or with the school. He gave me a handbook with some rules and regulations, and told me to read it and see him if I had any questions. I was amazed at all of the rules! After reading several pages of rules, I skipped back to a chapter entitled "consequences of misbehaviour". It stated, in black and white, that violations of the rules would not be tolerated, and that every violation would result in punishmnt. (Later, I realized that the rules were so strict due to the fact that so many of the children were in fact sentenced there, and were not orphans.)

The door flew open, and 35 noisy boys entered the room. Ray came out, and asked if anyone had any notes from the school for him. Two boys stepped forward, and handed him notes. Ray just shook his head, and motioned them into his office. One boy looked like he was about 6, and the other looked like he was a teenager. Ray left his door open, and as I was the first one sitting there, I had a direct line of sight into his office. He said something to the little boy, in a soft voice, and the little fellow walked to his desk, undid his belt, and pulled down his pants and underpants in one motion, exposing his pink little butt. I was shocked! He then leaned way over the desk, actually pulling himself over so much that his feet did not touch the floor. He was bare from the top of his butt to his shoetops, where his pants and underpants had bunched up. Ray walked around his desk, carrying a leather strap which seemed to be cut in two at the end. Without saying anything, he hauled back and cracked the little boy with the strap. The boy jerked, and cried out, but he did not move. The strap visited his butt 5 more times, which caused him to cry and sob, but he never let go of the desk. Ray said something to him, and he slowly let go, and stood up. He turned toward us, and I could see the tears rolling down his face, as he reached around and hugged his butt with both hands. His little penis hardly showed above his little bag. He did not seem to care that he was on display for everyone. Finally, he bent over, and pulled up his pants, and walked out into the room. Then the other boy, (who I learned was a 13 year old), dropped his pants, and assumed the same position. His bottom showed evidence that this was not his first punishment, as you could see small bruises on the side of his right hip. Ray laid 13 strokes on his butt, starting at the top, and working down. The boy's butt was much fuller than the little boy's, and he had a much deeper cleft. It was interesting to note that he moved his butt back and forth so much that you could actually catch sight of his butt hole as he seemed to heave his whole bottom in and out. After the 5th stroke, he began to sob, and finally cry out. When his punishment was finished, his butt was an angry red color. He too stood up and faced us without so much as a speck of embarassment. you could see some light blonde hair at the top of his penis, and I was amazed how big his balls were, when compared to the young fellow, and even to my own.

I was shaking with fright, and went to my bed, when several of the boys came in and introduced themselves. I asked them if spankings happened often, and they just laughed. I was told to just make sure I didn't break any of the rules, and I should be OK. I spent several minutes learning the stories of the boys who were nearest to me in the room, when the little boy who had just been spanked came in. I stared at him, as he sniffled and finally sat gingerly on his bed, which was just across the room from mine. I went over to him, and told him my name. I learned that he too was an orphan (so much for my "they won't spank me because I am an orphan" theory). He was 6 years old, and told me that he had been talking in class, so his teacher gave him a note to take "home". I was told that if you got a note, you knew you would be spanked. I asked what would happen if you did not mention the note. The boy said you had to take it back in to school signed by Ray. If you didn't take it back the next day, you would get sent to the principal's office, you would be paddled, and they would call Ray who would come and get you, and take you to the director's office where you would get the cane, and then you would be brought back here and get the strap from Ray! He said he could only remember one boy who had done that, although he had heard that a girl had been stupid enough to do it too. I asked him about girls, and learned that they had a similar building on the campus. We would see them outside, but we were not allowed near their building.

A bell rang, and we were sent to the cafeteria to eat. After supper, we listened to the radio, and were sent in to bed. I had not been given pajamas, and that caused a bit of a ruckus, until Ray found a nightshirt for me. I had never seen such a thing, and found that all of the boys wore one. I thought it stupid until the next evening when the dorm was noisy and wouldn't shut up. Then Ray came in with his strap, and had everybody bend over the end of their beds and lift up their nightshirts....(continued)