7,
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Page Twelve

THE JEWISH NEWS

Fresh Air Camp . . . 1945 Model

Director Traces History,
Expansion of Program

Society Organized in 1902, Started with Series of Picnics
At Belle Isle; Moved Several limes; Brighton Camp
Now Serves 690 Children

By ALVIN G. SHELLY

it could not be bettered: Give as
many children as happy a vaca-
tion as possible.
Specifically, how is this done?
In the first place, airy, spaci-
ous dormitories are provided for
sleeping' and mid-day rest. Sec-
June 25th, 1945, marked the be- ondly, the diet of the children is
ginning of Fresh Air Camp's 44th carefully • supervised and "prepar
season: In the years since the ed; Finally;. the activities of the
Fresh Air Society (the camp's
sponsoring agency) was organ-.
ized, the growth of its service
has been rapid.
In 1902 the' SticietY begari with
a series of picnics at Belle Isle;
in 1905 it became necessary to
lease a house in Kingsville, Ont.,
for the accommodation of 25
mothers and children;; in 1906
a larger home was leased near
Mt. Clemens for about 50 per-
sons; in 1908 this too was deem-
ed inadequate, and at that time
a real was site on Lake St.
Clair W
ai purchased in order to
accommodate 200 children each
summer; finally, on June 26,
1927, Fresh Air Camp's present
site was opened near Brighton,
Mich., on , grounds donated by•
Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Rosenthal.
Today 690 children are accom-
modated each summer for Per-
iods of three weeks • each.
, ALVIN. G. SKELLY
• 21 BuildingS Now.
The growth of ' the Fresh Air children are such that the camp-;
Camp has been the growth. of ers learn while they play.
Camp throughout America. The
There isn't an interest or need
resemblance of the Fresh Air. So- of a. child • which is not taken
ciety's camp of 40 odd years ago care of somewhere in the pro-
to that of today is the resemb- gram. Do e s the child wish tip,
lance of the old covered wagon create? He has the outlets of
to - that- of - the modern electric draniaticS, the camp newspaper;,
train. .
handicrafts... he.• poorly coor-
Where,. formerly, "camp" was dinated? Put a bat in his hand;.1
one houSe, 'today camp contains watch him plane down that
21 - buildings.
board; f011oW hiS progress as he
Where, formerly,,, children- of learns to
all ages took their fun ,where
DoetogwAlways Present
they could find it, today chil-
Does he' have the_ sniffles? •
dren are 'homogeneouSly group- The cloctOr and nurse are pre-
ed by :age,- and their :age-inter- seiit for that. Is he alWays' col-
ests are provided for;
lecting bugs? Let. him '2 :get the
. Where, in days _ past, counsel- advice: and example of an expert
ors were
•
just people . at :•loOie at the-nature study shelter in the
ends for the summer, today a woods.
person must show equalifica-,
Ile caret' jive without books?.
tions for,. and Sincere 'interest in, Let him browse in the fully.
handling children.
stocked library. Do yoU: want to
Basic Philosophy- Saine -
build a citizen? See 'hiin live_
But throughout the yearS the democratically in a dorm where,
Society was growing, its basic "I make my bed so that our
philosophy haSi not changed;Sirice . doinritory will look nice;" where,

EDITOR'S NOTE: 'Freih Air camp,
a unit of the local network of Jew-
ish Welfare Federation agencies, - is
in the midst of one of the busiest
summers in its history. In this
article, Mr. Skelly, camp_ director,
tells how Fresh Air Camp of 1945
goes about its job of serving the
Jewish children of Detroit.

1

as the member of a group, his.
good suggestions • are incorpora-
ted into the group's activities;
where he 'must learn to curb his
anti-social tendencies or his fel-
low campers will have little pati-
ence with him.
No Time to Be Lonely
Afraid he'll be lonely? His
counselor knows children and
can detect the first sign and
knows what to • do. Besides,
there's no time to be lonely what
with handicraft, dramatics,
camperaft, athletics, waterfront,
hobbies, movies, treasure hunts,
campfires, amateur shows, circus-
es, religious services and dozens
of other evening_ programs, the
mention of any one of which
evokes many' a pleasant picture
to a camper.
The staff of Fresh Air Camp
is convinced that it can do, noth-
ing better than to create healthy
citizens of a democracy. The diet,
prograni, rest, and sunshine take
care: of the health of the chil-
dren. The factor of citizenship
is provided for•by . the children's
group experiences and by such
experiences as the visit of an in-
terracial goodwill team. compos-

.

Friday, July 27, 1945

ed of Negro, Japanese, and white
girls (sponsored by the Michigan
Council of Churches) in the sum-
mer of 1944; and by the visit of
a team from the Round Table of
Christians and Jews this year.
Democratic Living
•
In the former case, the girls
lived at-camp for almost a week;
in the latter, the team added to
the Frith:,, evening services of
July 6. Several movies with the
theme of democratic living have
also been shown.
Perhaps no better proof of
the good influence of camp on
the lives of its campers and
counselors can be offered than
the fact that dozens of service-
men, former. counselors and
campers have taken time out
from furloughs the past three
years to visit Fresh Air Camp—
to make sure that one of the
things they have been _fighting
for, a healthy , democratic citi-
zenry, is still being produced.

It is.

Buy War Bonds!

New Visa: Procedure
Explained By State Dept.

WASHINGTON, (JTA).Reg-•
ulatiOns covering applications by
aliens for. U. S. visas were issued
here this week by the State De-
partthent. It was announced
several • weeks ago that in view
Of the end of the war in Europe
a new procedure would be
adopted.
Under the new set-up, the
State Department explained, "an'
alien seeking a permit to enter
the States, must first apply to
the American diplomatic or con-
sular office Which is authorized
to accept applications for visas
in the district of the alien's-
foreign residence. _
"Persons in. the' U. - S. desirous
Of presenting evidence in support'
of visa _applitatiOns should for- .
ward such . evidence for the
present to the consular officer.'
The State Department no longer
will accept' sponsofship docu-
ments nor. initiate action in visa
cases.

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