New Life for Children

The Detroit Free Press began the Fresh Air Camp in 1906 to give underprivileged Detroit children two weeks of recreation in the countryside. For many, it was a first trip away from home and a first ride on interurban trolleys, automobiles, or buses that carried them to a very different world only an hour away. Until 1962, the camp provided sunshine, fresh air, fun, and good food, while generations of village residents shared play and entertainment with the visiting children. Participants remembered it as a place where honesty, decency, cleanliness, and order were absorbed at an age when impressions went deepest.

Sylvan Lake, Michigan · United States