It
didn't go very fast and after unloading the two Germans would try to
get it going again. Several hundred of us would watch them and give
advice. The boiler was on one side of the truck and they had to keep
throwing wood in it to get a good fire going. When they finally got
it started we would all cheer add clap our hands as the truck slowly
chugged its way out of camp.
We had many styles of haircuts and some shaved their heads or wore a
Mohawk. A lot of the men grew mustaches and we even had a contest for
the longest one measured tip to tip, with a prize for the winner.
When the mustache got long enough they would melt the wax off waxed
paper from the Red Cross parcel and make the hair pointed or curled.
A man named Irons won the contest with a mustache nearly a foot wide.
There was an in ground cement swimming pool in the center of camp but
we couldn't swim in it as it was to save water in case of a fire.
Several guys built boats out of the metal cans using only a knife and
fork for tools. We were told that someone in the English camp had
built a grandfather's clock that way and it really worked. These
boats were as much as a foot long and waterproofed. A boiler was made
out of a tin can with a metal tube to throw the steam against a
paddlewheel. The can was filled with water and the rancid butter that
came in the Canadian parcels burned in a tray under the can of water
to make steam. Everything we received was used for something.
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