These five small photographs were published in "The Custerdale Comment," July 25, 1943 under the caption "Kids Really Relax at Custerdale." They show children engaged in a variety of playground activities including archery, volleyball, softball, and "sand box work." In the background of most of the pictures are rows of Custerdale housing units. Custerdale was a housing development built by the U.S. government in 1941 on an 80 acre site near the west city limits of Manitowoc to provide temporary homes for families of workers who had come to the Manitowoc area to work at the shipyards and other defense plants. Additional prefabricated apartment buildings were constructed at Custerdale in 1943, bringing the total number of housing units to 650. With many children residing there, the Manitowoc City Recreation Program extended services to playgrounds at Custerdale, and there were many organized activities for children and teens as well as adults. James G. Magill, Director of Playgrounds, wrote in "The Custerdale Comment": "The young people here at Custerdale are very fine to work with, enthusiastic and friendly. They enjoy games and competition and play hard to win. At the same time they enjoy quieter games like chess or checkers. They make the most of the opportunities given them to lead fully normal lives even under abnormal war housing conditions."