Here goes Jb..and to those who replied about the POW camps on highy 18
in Iowa.
thought perhaps he could lend a bit of history etc. Interesting what
I learned from it too.
Shirley
Shirley,
This is a little of what I remember of the POWs.
There was a POW camp at Algona during WWII. I don't remember why, but
some of the prisoners were
transported to work projects in the North Iowa area from time to time.
Quite frequently the buses with prisoners would stop in Garner at Ron
Yohn's Shell station for gas and
maybe a rest room stop. As you remember Dad could speak German, so he
could communicate with the
prisoners. Whenever he saw the buses in Garner, he'd stop and visit
with them. Because their were so
few people who spoke German or didn't take the time to visit with the
prisoners , they really appreciated
Dad's visits. They said they looked forward to their visits. He
became a very good friend of theirs.
Dad stated most of the prisoners were nice young men and said they
enjoyed it here in the States.
They said they were well fed, well treated and didn't have to fight in
the War.
The POWs created a very large and beautiful Nativity Scene. When the
War was over and the POWs
returned to their native Germany, they presented the Nativity Scene to
the community of Algona in
appreciation for the kind treatment they received.
Each Christmas Season the Nativity Scene the POWs made continues to be
erected and continues
to attract thousands from Northern Iowa and Southern Minnesota.
If the Algona area had a problem with the POWs, I never heard about
it.
Don't know if this is any help to you or not.
Don
