 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||
The Home, which was located opposite the Court House, became an official Canadian Army Hut on June 21, 1941. The first floor was renovated to offer a poolroom, card room, reading and writing rooms, and a large recreation hall, all with fireplaces. The games that could be enjoyed besides pool and cards, included ping-pong, darts, checkers, and mechanical hockey games. A piano, radio, and "nicholedeon" were also available and during the fall of 1941 regular dances were held. According to an article in the Journal in December 1941, "The committee in charge of the activities at the C.A.H. have nothing but the highest praise for the fine spirit and manly conduct of all service men who are availing themselves of the privileges of the Hut."
As the number of Air Force men from Summerside and Mount Pleasant increased, more people were using the facilities. Three pool tables were available and darts, table tennis, and hockey boards continued to be popular. In 1944 the Knights of Columbus began to sponsor dances in other halls because of the lack of space in their own premises. 
The recreation centre remained open until December 31, 1945. It had hosted 50,150 military personnel since opening in 1941. Statistics kept by the K of C indicated that 5900 people took part in indoor recreational activities and 14,000 books, magazines and newspapers were distributed. The organization in Summerside also gave out 59,000 pages of free stationery. Letter writing was encouraged and every Canadian Hut displayed a blue and white sign that stated, "Write a Letter Home."