New-York tribune. [volume], September 19, 1920, Page 12, Image 76

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The Tribune's Fresh Air Excursions Give
Children a Glimpse of Real American Life
DING AROUND ROSY on I
?**? a breezy bit of coast \
meadow with never a
thought of a thundering !
motor truck i o spoil the ?
game or make Hum afraid \
rpHE TRIBUNE'S fresh air
?*? given without reference to ".
color"
outings arc
ice, erred or
/? PENNSYLVANIA preacher's sermon from the text, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto
* the least of these" was'the inspiration for the fresh air excursions that have now been
carried on forty-four years
TJ/HEN fellers need friends. A Briggs cartoon calling at
^* ten'ion to the need for vacations for poor children of
N, w York
AND never a. sign to worn them to keep off the grass and]
*~* not to pick the flowers
- <
By Hannah Mitchell
TITE children have come back
from the country. The Trib- ;
une Fresh Air Fund In this
its forty-fourth year, has I
provided outings for more than ;
nine thousand little people.
Besides the benefit? of fresh conn
try air and the joys of playing un?
der big trees and beside running
h rook .i, the children of the city re?
ceive another benefit which is of as |
much value as those which are
more obvious. It is a new concep?
tion 07' this country, the glimpse
that they ret of our plain, every?
day wholesome home life a? it is
lived in small towns and country
plnoo;-.
A dimple of America
Many of these children of tho
tenements have never been outside
(,f New York. Indeed, most of those
who have '."en away from home be?
fore :..?' simply been out on Trib?
une Fr" ?!? Air trips of ether years.
They know iittlo except the life in
their own poor neighborhoods In
New York City, and that is all too
seldom American, Tho families who
tal.o them to their homes, and often
to their hearts ns well, gdv? them a'
new view of life and inspire them
to something of what this country
rcaiiy is.
Sometii ;es the after effect of this
glimpse into American life is shown
in discontent, but it is the discontent
which results In Improving condi?
tions in their homes and in inspir?
ing the child to better things as ho
grows older.
The st >ry is told of one little boy
whose mother took him to the feule?
ment house shortly after his return
frorn a Tribune Fresh Air trip. She
toil the settlement workers that he
was very bad?that he had been a
good boy before he went away, but
that now ho was bad. The worker
questioned the lit?l? chap herself,
11 is coinp.'fiiiit \v;i;:
Missed His rVicf: Bed
"Tu tlio country 1 had a room to
myself, with a bed with nice smelling
white sheets. In the morning when
l carne downstairs my lady told mo
to go back and wash my face and
comb my hair. ? did, and then a
bell rang, and we all went in and
'.-:.', down together and ate break?
fast, i wer.', out arid played in the
; aril f( r a while. Th >n at noon tha
bell rat :r a!7:ii:i und wc all went in
and had dinner. I went out In the
yard and played nome more. Then
at night a bell rang again and w<3
nil wont ;n and ate sunner.
"Now i don't like it at my home. ?
My mother doesn't have my father'*
dinner rea ?y when he comes home.
She is eitting on tho steps talking
to Mrs.?.-. We don't sit down to
the table and I don't have a nice
bed."
The one great impression on this
boy was the fact that all of the fam?
ily In tho country sat down to a
t: cal ti gather. The settlement
worker ?in i the mother of the boy
have improved conditions in his city
homo. His mother was net pleased
wit!; criticism from her young son,
i il! s! e has brushed up her home
. : ?den h!y to meet his demands.
The Girl Miser
'} here is the ease of h girl who wac
one et ''e eider children taken oui
by t; o I resh Air Fund. Upon get
... ... ?.I-.- J .A ? i.'..., W ? ??!?,, \>i.r\n.'t ??HI
made n prettv good salary, as ni?i;v
,i:i;t ua lv vi cue city sne liad to go tt
yourtgsu'rd do :;i these days. Hit
11,.;' er was s -uuewhat mysi ifiod al
,o rei ' - her j ay f he did not bio
, ,:i out ": new clothes. I'nlik.
many mctliers whose children work
this one did not take the daughter':
71!- ney away from lier. Still th<
rhi! I did not buv new clothes.
Sever;'! weeks passed. Finally
cno day tho girl came in with a big
b\i\ <:"" under her prm. She u: -
\\ ;?:: ? ? ! .? a".d rove tied a r ?: ?
y : 77 ' : '. ta! lo c) : h ami oiiuU'th
f.. m ly. Si e iia i s. en tho way tab!
wrre set in tho home where sho bad
?pent her s a mm er outing and hail j
nared her money to buy those things j
for her own horn?.
Until that tim? there had aerar j
been a table cloth in the house, and
there were not enough knives and
forks for all the family to use at
one time. The Americanization this
girl started with the table cloth has
continued until the family lias moved
completely out of the need for settle?
ment workers, r.'.A is independent in
its wci Ibeing.
Beginning of tli^ Work
The Tribune Fresh Air Fund is
'perhaps the oldest ins.l'itution of tho
kind in the world. It was started in
1ST? by the Rev. Vullard Parsons,
of Sherman, l'a. On June :; of that
year Mr. Paivon.s, who had been at
one time a mi nonary on the East
Side in New York, preached a ser?
mon to the members of his church
\r, 1.71.,..., ..,.,o>v,Vn,'. ,,. ?.v.M. nit
and comfortablo homes. His text
.?i Kji.viu.au, a Mil.in town with au
the summe- advantsio-oo ^r f.'?^.B.t,
was: "inasmuch as ye have done it
unto cme oP tho least of these, my
brethren, ye have ?one it un'o me."
About this text be wove the story
tho trying sumtm r naming. He
know his i ubji :t and ho f. it his text,
at'al ?:e ! Id tiioso comfortable, more
or less smug sma.il town people of
his that it was tho:r duty to take:
some of these unhappy little ones
into the r homes for the summer.
Tho m ".. 'i win! i. >me, ami before
t i et had ra; -?? i a '.ttn of :y-?:? -y arid
commissioned t !u> mini: ' ?:? him ei :'
lo go to Now York and bring them
back children for summer outings.
This the Rov. Mr. Parsons did.
He took out eleven children on that
first trip, and altogether that Bum
? mer sixty-two children were taken
care of.
In 1878 The New York Evening
Post solicited tho funds for these
fresh air outings and continued to
do so until 1S80. In that year Th ?
Post gave up the work', and it \vn
turned over to The Tribune.
Planning the Year's Work
Since that timo it has grown 1 y
leaps and hounds. The children wh-j
are taken on trips to the country ?tro
recommended by varios- established
welfare organizations in the city.
Every spring, near the end of May,
tiie Tribune Fresh Air Fund holds
a workers' conference. The work? rs
from welfare organizations fde their
applications, indicate the number of
the work over.
children they wish, to send and talk
There aro two kinds of country
places to which tho children are
sent, the regular homes maintained
by the fund its? if nr. ! pa'.v.v - f; . .
lies who take in one or two ch idrou
for the two weeks allotted. Trier?
arc eleven vacation home?. Son*
of thi in nre maintained by th?
fund, and to others the fund simplj
pays the railroad fares. These va?
cation homes aro Ashford Hill
Ardsley, N. Y. ; Devereaux Memo?
rial, Deposit, N. Y.; Elm G -ave
Fail-field. Conn.; Eunice lb m ?
Chapel Hiil, X. ,I? CuiM Farm
New City, N. Y.; liv.; i a ;.
Fresh Air Farm, (7a i, one, X. J.
Happy Land, Tonally, N. J. ; New
Windsor Fresh Air Home, New
Windsor, N. Y. ; North Shore Holi
day House, Cold Spring Harbor, N
Y. ; Shepherd Knapp Far??, hitch
field, Conn., and St. Helen's Honv
Interlakcn, Mas?.
Teachers in Charge
In each of the Fresh Air homes th"
children are comfortably housed
and well cared for. A corps of
workers 'ai:, s care of them at each
place. Many of these workers are
school teachers who receive very
small pay and their room and board
for the summer. All of them ara
-nil. n iid ;??? ruons for the children to
Vacations in private homes are
looked out for through Fresh Air
commirt?. es in different towns. Early
in the summer a worker for the
fund goes looking for new horte:
whore little people may bo taken
??a iivu'i o l'on a r resn Air commit
; ?>^.^..?....,.i.r..-?Rva-i-v VV" ??'?? "''V.
; :-con of the town to sponsor the
a, ma:;::-'. Then he or she gets
ihe res', of the committee.
Looking L'p Home
Tho local Fi 'sh Air committee ,
I? !:s out ? r a 'ting homes opened
up to the children. It guarantees
the h nies and makes the appeal for
''The most powerful appeal to
these people," said Mr. Leslie M.
c m!y, general manager of the
i-j.-.'. !;;<t va ? k, "is that they can
nun h troc t ? : ??nai?y by help?
ing wit!1, the Fresh Air work. We
call th< ir attention to the fact that
this gives them an opportunity to
give of themselves and their goods
in a personal way, and that is the
strongest argument in getting them
to take the children in the begin-,
ning. Later, after they have taken
Adoption Sometimes Follows
S-,:-.!. Urnes these repeated vaca?
tions with the same families de?
velops into ; ort of foster parent au i
child arrangement. One little girl
who went out to a private home
early it: thi summer has been there
evi r since, and the plan now is f t
her to :- iy in the country until
af- :? ' si-!.--::i :;s. She is on?y th.
years < Id and comes from a wry
poor hot ??. V> i it. n she arrived a:
her summer home she had nothing
with lier except the clothes on her
back. "My lady," the name which i
most, of the children call their '.'ai?
mer mothers, took the little girl to ?
DACK from a Tribune
r -?** " rre?n air vacation "
: i
a store ana stocKea ner wen with
all kinds of pretty and practical
clothes. In cases of this kind the
result ;s sometimes the adoption of
the tenement child by the family in
the country.
Nearly all the children come back
fron: these private homes loaded
with gifts from the families with
wide!; they stay. Recently a boy
was in the Fresh Air Fund office
just after returning from the coun?
try. His mother called for him,
and ;i3 they started out he said:
'?Oh, wait a minute. I have a
"A trunk!" exclaimed the. mother,
"you went away with a bundle, and
now you come back with a trunk."
Sure enough, the youngster had
an immense suitcase packed with
clothes and playthings and even a
blanket, which his summer family
had given him.
A Medical Examination
Before the children a'-e sent to the
, country each has a physical exami?
nation. This is given, by the fund's
own physician. It is necessary, be?
cause children with communicable
diseases could not be taken care o:'
in these homes. There are other
agencies which lock out for them.
The children who have been passed
for the vacation are taken to th"
railroad station by a worker from
the organization which is recom?
mending them. There they are met
by a representative of the Tribune
Fresh Air Fund, who gees with th? m
on the train to their destination. At
the other end of tho line a member
of the local Fresh Air committi
meets the party and takes charge o!
the children to sec them to their re?
spective homes.
Average Trip $7
The contributions to the Tribune
Fresh Air Fund go directly for
fares and maintenance in the coun?
try. They average ?7 a room! trip.
Of cour.-", some of the trips aro
less, and these make \ui for those
that are more than $7. But the
average cost of sending a child, to
tho country for two weeks through
' the Tribune Fresh Air Fund is $7,
f?r by any other organization that
and that is less than it can be lone
. Ps uomg s;mi;ar work, so each t er
sori who contributes 7 knows he
has sort a child to tie country.
A few of the tai'." ; v.' ch the
Pre:!' Air Cum! promi -<] to Ho, a :
which it litis can ied thr >: . 1, ar ' :
No Distinctions Ma?le
Provide fortnightly vacations, free
of all expense, for p ior i iiildron of
greater New York v. it! out respe :t to
color, creed or nationality. Little
mothers, convalescents, undernour?
ished children and oth, rs ara rent.
About f',000 of tin se chil ?: '? a i
country of New York, X t\v Ji : ? .
Connecticut, Massachusetts, V.
mont and Pennsylvania.
The others are sent to the homes
of countfy people of seven states
who receive them as guests.
Every cent of the contributions is
expended on tho outing beyond
the city terminal. No expense of
the work in the city Ie; pai i from it.
360.000 Vacations
In V'-.o forty-four years that the
Fresh Air Fund has been operating
; moro than 360,000 vacations
have been provided. The increas?
ing cost of railroad fare and
help and materials to operate
the Fresh Ail lientos han beca
fi it by the fund. But, in the face of
these increased expenses, the fund
has held its own and this year will
mow that 9,500 children, 500 mor?
than last year, were sent to the
lountry. Tins has l?vn possible
ccau. i of the increase d number o?
i mtributions, which means that th?
fund has mida more friends and ha;
' ee? me more popular.
The only limit to the number ci
children who ran. be sent to privat?
homes in the country is the amour:
of money contributed. If at thi
beginning of the season sufneien
funds could bo foreseen to sen?
20,000 children out of town, th?
Tribune l-'rcsh Air Fund could plac
them.
ir, the last four years the aderig
numl er of children sent out eac:
year has hi en more than 9,000. I
1:<1C} it fell off, as compared wit!
the 9,727 sent in 1915, to ".277, ix
cause of the infantile paralysis.
It is due to an increased rumbe
!' contributors that the Tribun
resh Air Fum! has leen able t
?!d its own, in spite of the ir
i ? ased cost. The personal contr
mitions have not increased much. ?
?omparison of the average contribi
iion in 1911 with that of 1919 show
'hat whereas in 1911 the averaj
attribution was $13.22, in 1019
vas $14.7.'l, while this year it wt
s 1 -.20.
4>f>0 i Cnntrihutions
The average receipts of ten yea:
horn 1900 to 1909 a* compared wit
h" total amount of contribution
or 1919 show, however, an ?rieres
f 175 per- cent. The increase in tl
nount of contributions last yei
.ver 1918 was SP3.10?, '.'.V-s P
en t.
The fund has na..i" more friends
his year, in s? ite of g! ion y prov?
ocations early in t!:e acaso:,
Can it ever had before. The num?
ber of contributors last year wa>
-L20S, and their coi tri butions
4,004 persons have c ntributed to
amounted to $02,891. This yea:'
the fund, 3oG friends having tee-'1
added to tho e the project had
already, and their ? mtril utions
amo i' * ' 7 'h1,:*. - a ;. 'i n.e tola! con
tr butii as " s v a- have a-, i tinted
to 7 ,105.ill m ?e ti an i .? :' k^:
y ar.
A Romance of the Fund
.co:::e time ai-o a y ung '.vornan
came into the Fund's i Sice and gava
a check for .7. She told Mr. ('on?
ly she had bo, a a I resh Air child
herself. It further d well ped that
?lei :d g one bu'-k to ! ?? - une fa ?
?i . year aft r v tr, a1 1 ' " '?' ?J
o. be :. ?? ? I i, th,. .- :' ti:,
h r in. She ara. hi - : i ?' ?'? ,u'
have a nice home in the country.
Next year she will be one of tha
"ladies" who take little children for
like Fresh Air vacation. w