In the town of Marianna, Fla., conversations about the school are difficult. Calvin Creamer, 62, knew the school cobbler who made boots with markings in the heels so they could track the boys down if they ran away -- and the leather straps for the floggings. "They were mean people to start with," he said of the men who dispensed the discipline. "Back then, it was torture for those boys. And the police didn't care either. They would strip them down and strap them to 50-gallon drums bear naked, and then they'd beat them."