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Leisure Time

Interview with Harry and Arnold

JM: What types of facilities were available to help pass the time?
Harry: There were not many ways to pass the time in jail. I would read. I would write letters. I would watch TV when we were allowed to. I would make phone call when we were allowed to. I would play card games at times. And sometimes I would walk around or exercise in my cell.
Arnold: Well the facilities were basically not much. They had a library you could visit occasionally. They had a gym that they very rarely let us use. They had an urban yard which was a small area you could walk around. And we could play cards at certain times that we were allowed.

JM: Did you have regular access to the entertainment or was competition fierce? Give details.
Harry: Basically the real only entertainment the jail provided was TV. And basically everyone had access to it. Really the only problem encountered would have to be the choice of tv program the inmates wanted to watch. There were also uno cards which were never really hard to obtain. Other than that there was not much else.
Arnold: We did have regular access to entertainment but at times it could be frustrating on what TV program we were all content with watching. But for the most part the inmates would compromise or the guard on duty would just make the choice of which TV show and/or movie we would watch.

JM: Did you have a hard time staying in shape while in jail?
Harry: I would have to say yes in a way. You were basically confined to your cell 22 hours out of the day. And even when you were out, you could basically only walk around.
Arnold: I would have to say yes. Because they did not have weights. They had a basketball court but we rarely got to use it.

JM: How often did you get to go outside? What did you do outside if you were allowed to? If you were not allowed to go outside what could you do for exercise?
Harry: In Lancaster County Prison we were not allowed outside. For exercise we could walk around the block or do push-ups or sit- ups in our own cell.
Arnold: We were never allowed to go outside which stunk. But we could walk around the cellblock and in the urban yard and do push ups and sit ups in our cell.

JM: Did the jail offer church services? If so, what were they like and when were they held?
Harry: Yes they did offer church services and I did attend. They were held in the gym or a classroom type setting. They were normally held every Sunday. But we were offered bible study courses which I also attended.
Arnold: Yes they did offer church services. They had three Bible studies and a church service basically every Sunday when a Pastor came.

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