Jean Balgeman Shey
Jean Balgeman Shey was only
12 when Camp Algona was built nearby. Her first memory of the camp was
of the 'eerie glow' in the night of the camp's many lights. No one in
the country had electricity at the time, so the camp's search lights could
be seen skating through the sky for miles.
Jean's father used PW labor on the family farm, and five
prisoners worked there during the summer. They arrived for the
morning's work, ate lunch with the family, and were returned to the Camp by
late afternoon each day, overseen by only one guard.
The Balgeman Family's ties to the PWs did not end with the
end of the war. Jean's father sent many care packages to Wilhelm
Schittges, one of the PWs who worked on the farm. These gifts helped
the Schittges family survive the hard times which followed the war in
Germany.