Trench and camp. [volume] (Augusta, Ga.) 1917-1919, 1918-01-16
DECEMBER DOINGS
New Buildings, Christmas,
Watch Night, Government In
struction, Church Co-opera-
ton.
No. Is.


progress has been made in Y. M. c. A.
work at Camp Hancock For a long
while two new buildings had been great
| y needed, one between General Logan's
! Brigade and the Machine Gun BattaliOns,
ard another near the Ammunition Train.
! Base Hospital. and i09th Field Artillery.
| At the conclusion of the fifty million dol
! lar campaign these buildings were au-
thorized, and erection has been begun. IN
addition to these tents have been erect
! ed at the remount station for five hun
dred men stationed there, one on the rifle
range ard one for the Field Bakery
and QuartermaSter Corps
! In the buildings which have been in
/ operation the results have been as sat
the inclemencies Of the weather. Such
! severe weather was not anticipated The
fuel supply was not always quite sur
often crowded to their capacity One
hundred and ninety-fiVe thousand attend
ances are reported, and more writing pa
per was used during December than any
other previous month. This was due to
! Christmas and New Years letter writing
| One building displayed a sign. Write
that Christmas Letter to Mother"
Popular Gatherings.
! Of all the entertainments, the movies
are the most popular. Forty thousand
men attended these shows in the build
ings, and in and out more than sixty five
treel programs We're shown During holi-
day week. a special Christmas program
was given. There were frequent en-
| tertainments of general character,
| number Of sing-SOngs band concerts, and.
special holiday exercises. On the night
before Christmas, groups sang carols in
our buildings and i'll company streets.
! There were Christmas day services, some
out of doors. Watch might services We're
! held for the dying year. One, especial
lily varied, had boxing match to begin
with, followed by an entertainment, later
tNl1o fiTlf1l
| impressive religious service.
Gambling in the division has decreased
in part due to Liberty loan bond sales,
allotments, insurance, etc, but also IN
part to association influences. Twenty
thousand dollars was sent home from the
buildings.
Soccer ball in the early part of the
month was the most popular game but
| has given place to basketball and yolley
ball. Boxing bouts inside of the build
ngs are attended by crowds.
Some seven thousand five hundred
books were taken by the boys from our
/ libraries and many more were read in
! the hdts. current topic club has been
! successfully organized. Numerous lee
/ lures have been heard-some military
men and some civilians.
| Schools.
The government has used our buildings
for instruction purposes. The majority of
! the men in this division have seen the
government moving pictures IN addition
! TO our own This visual instruction has
! helped the soldier very much in eXecut-
! ting the commands properly. Brigade Of
| ficers' school. reglmental officers school,
and in some cases schools for the soldiers
! have been held in our buildings.
| About one thousand men are in French
classes, and since we have secured the
services Of 4 promoter of French. We
! are expecting much larger results.
/ Men and 9elicion
! Religious work has not Jagged at all
| behind the other departments. In one
| of our huts teachers training class has
! been in successful operation during the
month, There were larger attendanceS
at Bible classes than ever. Testamenrs
were distributed to 1,647 soldiers Sew
eral of these classes were led by sol
/ diers' who are leaders of men" The
religious meetings during the week on
! Sundays, at Christmas time and on New
! Years eve all evidenced q growing re-
! ligiOus development among the soldiers
Roman Catholic mass Episcopal COM
munion, and Jewish synagogue services
! have all been held in the Y M. C. A.
! nuts. In the midst of difficulties, many
soldiers practice their religion; some are
anxious to be Of service.
| Heipfulnesa.
| Addresses of many soldiers were discOv-
/ 4 tr.y1ft In fN DO