By Rebecca McKinnell Archivist/Historian
As part of an effort to present the Reformatory as a positive presence in the Mansfield area, its grounds became something like an additional community park. But the person who truly made those grounds memorable was an inmate named Emil “Frenchy” Balanescu. Frenchy arrived at the Ohio State Reformatory in 1927 after being convicted of murdering his girlfriend, Dorothy, though his story was far more complicated than the charge alone suggests. Deeply in love with her, he had given Dorothy flowers, candies, and “love pills” with natural but questionable ingredients. Frenchy took Dorothy to the hospital, then left. He was later arrested and sentenced to 20 years. For the rest of his life, he maintained that he had not murdered her, and he even kept a small shrine to her in his cell.
It is unclear whether Frenchy or the administration first imagined a rock garden around the pond, but as a model inmate, Frenchy was placed in charge of the project. Though he had no formal training in landscaping, he transformed the area into an impressive garden, complete with “observatories finished with rustic rails ,built-up walks along the water’s edge, round bed in the water, steps to imaginary bridge and a cleverly designed cascade” and a miniature mill. Work began on Sept. 20, 1930, and by June 1932, the garden had become a genuine attraction. Filled with flowers from the Reformatory greenhouses, it offered continual blooms of delphiniums, Shasta daisies, phlox, coreopsis, and other annuals. Frenchy, dressed in white duck pants, a white shirt, and a cap, often walked the grounds explaining the flowers to visitors who came not only from Mansfield, but from across the country. His gardens even appeared on postcards.
When Frenchy became eligible for parole, he refused it, believing that accepting parole would amount to admitting guilt. He was later permitted to visit his gravely ill mother in the hospital, but afterward, the Reformatory would not allow him to return. Frenchy remained in the Mansfield area and built a career as a landscaper for some of the city’s wealthiest residents. Bill McCarrick, one of the Reformatory’s first trustees, even worked for Frenchy while in high school, earning 30 cents an hour.
Whether Frenchy created the garden for himself, for the institution, or as a tribute to the woman he said he loved is still unknown. What remains clear is that parts of his work can still be seen around the pond today. Perhaps one day, MRPS can bring Frenchy’s garden back to life beside the prison.
