Wayside Sign – New Life for Children at the Detroit Free Press Fresh Air Camp

They needed and got a good dose of being wanted. The Detroit Free Press began the Fresh Air Camp in 1906 to give underprivileged Detroit children the experience of two weeks of recreation in the countryside. Most were on their first trips away from home, their first rides in new modes of transportation – interurban trolleys, automobiles, buses – which brought them to a whole new world in only an hour. Until 1962 the camp gave children sunshine, fresh air, fun and good food. Generations of village residents shared in play and entertainment with the visiting children.