aynsley andras staff writer
Prisoners of war engaged in a variety of recreational and creative activities during their time in captivity. From playing soccer and card games to painting and woodworking, these activities offered the prisoners both physical and mental respite.
For most of the day, the prisoners of war worked in fields and were occasionally allowed to enjoy recreational activities.
Everet Hallback, whose father worked as a mechanic while the POW camps were in South Louisiana, says the prisoners enjoyed playing with the stray dogs while waiting for transportation back to the camps. And some liked to play various card games once they got back to the camps.
Glenn Falgoust, a journalist who researched the Donaldsonville POW camps, says, “They played soccer, had a little sports field, and a dance hall.”
“They played soccer, had a little sports field, and a dance hall.”
In addition, some prisoners painted. Linda Theriot, an executive at The Houma Regional Military Museum, says a Houma camp prisoner, Otto Webber, painted multiple paintings, including a self portrait with his son.
Some prisoners were interested in woodworking and masonry.
“Sometimes there were training walls, like along a ditch or steps up to a house or up a hill,” says Brian Davis, executive director for the Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation, about the Ruston camp. “Some of them were laid out by prisoners who would do work details out in the community at the time as well.”
However, not all activities were physical like playing sports. Some of the activities were there to help the prisoners spiritually or mentally.
A few camps allowed Catholic Mass for prisoners. In addition, Theriot says some prisoners may have been taught by teachers employed by their employer’s families — like the Matherne family who employed POWs from one of the Houma camps.
