Manzanar Activities:

Recreational Activities:

     Internees made Manzanar more livable by participating in recreational activites. Ten departments - hobby garden, music, arts and crafts, amateur profession, librarian, children's activities, men's and boy's athletics, women's athletics, adult social activities, and scout activities were established. They also created schools for the children to attend. Below are some of the few activites they did to make life a little better at Manzanar:

Men and Women's Sports and Athletics:

     Internees participated in sports such as basketball, baseball, football, and martial arts. There were also boys and girls' softball leagues and weekend softball contests drew from 3,000 to 4,000 spectators. Some 180 girls and women were involved in 14 volleyball teams in two leagues, and 100 participated on seven basketball teams. Soft ball was the most popular sport in Manzanar.
     Internees also formed a golf club and built a 9-hole course. There were also tennis courts and football fields. Boxers used the recreation room to practice at night.  Wrestling was a very popular sport for the police force.

Below is a picture of the Manzanar basketball team.
     The basketball team included 12 players.

Arts and Crafts:

     Manzanar also had arts and crafts. Painting, woodwork, and needlework, and other crafts were offered in one recreational hall. The internees who attended this activity spent most of their time crafting. There were more than 1,100 people attending the sewing and needlework classes. Arts and Crafts was the "most appreciated."

Other activities:

     Other activites in Manzanar included music classes, glee clubs, dance, and scouting. For music class, students had to provide their own instruments or use whatever instruments the department was able to obtain. Glee clubs were very popular. Manzanar had many good singers. Dance was a social activity offered to both men and women, and was held once or twice a week in the recreation halls. Four Boy Scouts troops were organized in Manzanar.