This collection documents the widespread effort over a two year period (1978-1979) to raise public awareness of and
build opposition to the post-Olympic use of the athletes’ housing as a federal prison. It consists primarily of photocopies of hundreds of newspaper and magazine stories, newsletters, editorials and other material documenting
the opposition to the prison effort. Also included is internal and external correspondence among and between North
Country clergy active in Stop The Olympic Prison (STOP), the New York Moratorium on Prison Construction, and
state and federal politicians, as well as posters, brochures and fliers, and a transcript of a civil lawsuit filed by the
USOC against STOP. The collection is organized chronologically by type of material.
A STOP the Olympic Prison bumper sticker.
Collection Overview
The first known meeting to discuss the idea of a federal prison in the Lake Placid area occurred in May, 1976. In January, 1977 the Office of Management and Budget (part of the Executive branch of the federal government) approved plans for the Bureau of Prisons to build the prison. On March 22, 1977 at a meeting of the NYMPC (New York Moratorium on Prison Construction) the NMPC (National Moratorium on Prison Construction) agreed to formally establish and co-sponsor S.T.O.P. (Stop the Olympic Prison). This collection was donated to St. Lawrence University in 1981 by Graham Hodges, a minister at the Emmanuel Congregational Church in Watertown, New York, who headed the movement against using the athlete's housing as a youth prison after the Olympics. The collection consists of fliers, posters, numerous clippings, a transcript of a civil action by the Olympic Commission against S.T.O.P. for using the Olympic logo, and the correspondence of Rev. Hodges.