Children's Fresh Air Society of Baltimore, 1896-1965, MS 3093

Finding Aid to the Children’s Fresh Air Society of Maryland Papers, 1896-1965, MS 3093

H. Furlong Baldwin Library, Maryland Historical Society

Collection summary

Title	Children’s Fresh Air Society of Maryland Papers
Creator	Children’s Fresh Air Society
Call number	MS 3093
Inclusive dates	1896-1965
Bulk dates	1920-1960
Extent	14 boxes; 7 linear feet
Abstract	This collection consists of correspondence, administrative records, and financial material of the Fresh Air Society of Baltimore during the first half of the 20^th century.

Administrative summary

Repository	H. Furlong Baldwin Library Maryland Historical Society 201 W. Monument St. Baltimore, MD 21218 www.mdhs.org specialcollections@mdhs.org
Access restrictions	Open to the public without restrictions.
Use restrictions	Permission to quote must be received in writing from the Special Collections Librarian.
Provenance	Donated by Richard Glaser of the Habonim Camp Association
Accession number	2011-015-LIB
Processing note	Processed and finding aid created by Eben Dennis in December 2012

Historical Note

The Children’s Fresh Air Society started informally in 1888 after the Christian Endeavor Society of Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church raised funds to give disadvantaged children summer vacations in the countryside; By 1891 the Fresh Air Society was fully organized by 1891and was giving children a two week summer holiday in the countryside, away from hot, noisy city streets. Much of the thought behind the creation of the Society was the misguided idea that the fresh air contributed to spiritual cleanliness and was a most suitable way to prevent disease.

During its first years the Society secured vacation homes for children who were otherwise unable to visit the country. In 1895, 132 boys and 348 girls were sent on two week stints. Homes were also offered for sixty-two of the children, who otherwise could not attend due to lack of funds. Initially the boys were lodged at Camp Endeavor near Bel Air, MD, and lodges for girls were placed in Mount Washington and Phoenix, Md. In 1907 the Society purchased a 38 acre property called Dunkale Farm from Benjamin Amoss three miles south of Bel-Air.

Applications for attendance to the Fresh Air farm were filled out by families or charitable organizations. These applications were reviewed by a four person staff that made the selections, and then arranged date and length of visit, transportation, place of departure, and individual requirements. The Bureau of Communicable Diseases of the City Health Department sent lists to the office daily of contagious diseases, to insure no exposed children made the trip.

Organizations such as the Kiwanis Clubs assisted the Christian Endeavor group in the early days of the camp. Hundreds of dollars were raised through street carnivals, neighborhood parades, and even small lemonade and snowball stands. In 1926 the Fresh Air Society became part of the Community Chest, and received support from their annual fall appeal.

The later years of the Fresh Air Society included a notable drug bust in which 16 of the 50 counselors were arrested for possession of marijuana and LSD, after repeated complaints of drug activity were reported to the Harford County Sheriff’s Department. The Fresh Air Society closed its doors in 1983 due to lack of funding and the counselor’s inability to deal with “street-wise” youths.

Scope and Content

The collection has been broken into six distinct series : Charters and Bylaws 1896-1946; Meeting Minutes, 1927-1960; George Klinefelter’s files, 1947-1960; Correspondence, 1913-1957, Subject files, A-Z; and Financial Material, 1928-1965. All of this material was found in the attic of the Habonim Camp Offices in Street, Maryland in 2011. The Habonim Camp had purchased the building, which had been previously occupied by the Fresh Air Society in 1984. The records were forgotten until 2011 when Richard Glaser gave them to the Maryland Historical Society. Original order was protected in series 3, George Klinefelter’s files, as these documents were isolated in manila folders. The rest of the collection had no logical order, appearing to have been dumped into four large boxes. The Charters/Bylaws, Meeting Minutes, and Financial series were all arranged chronologically. The correspondence covers day to day life of the camp, hiring and firing of counselors, activities offered, correspondence with the families of prospective campers, etc. This material was arranged chronologically by year. The Subject Files series consist of pamphlets, reports, flyers, brochures, etc.. These were pulled from the general correspondence, as none of these items related to the surrounding correspondence. Material of this nature that accompanied correspondence was kept in the correspondence series.

Container List

Contents	Span Dates	Box	Folder
Series 1: Charters and Bylaws	1896-1946
Charters and Bylaws	1896, 1929, 1944	1	1
Charters, Bylaws and Procedures	1945-1946	1	2
Series 2: Board of Director’s Meeting Minutes	1927-1960
Meeting Minutes and Corresponding Documents	1927	1	3
Annual Meeting Minutes and Corresponding Documents	1928	1	4
Meeting Minutes and Corresponding Documents	1928	1	5
Annual Meeting Minutes and Corresponding Documents	1929	1	6
Meeting Minutes and Corresponding Documents	1929	1	7
Board of Director’s Miscellaneous Documents	1928-1929	1	8
Annual Meeting Minutes and Corresponding Documents	1930	1	9
Meeting Minutes and Corresponding Documents	1930	1	10
Committee Reports	1930	1	11
Annual Meeting Minutes and Corresponding Documents	1931	1	12
Meeting Minutes and Corresponding Documents	1931	1	13
Meeting Minutes and Corresponding Documents	1931	1	14
Committee Reports and Documents	1931	1	15
Annual Meeting Minutes	1932	2	1
Meeting Minutes and Corresponding Documents	1932	2	2
Meeting Minutes and Corresponding Documents	1932	2	3
Committee Reports and Documents	1932	2	4
Annual Meeting Minutes	1933	2	5
Meeting Minutes and Corresponding Documents	1933	2	6
Meeting Minutes and Corresponding Documents	1933	2	7
Committee Reports and Documents	1933	2	8
Annual Meeting Minutes	1934	2	9
Meeting Minutes and Corresponding Documents	1934	2	10
Committee Reports and Documents	1934	2	11
Annual Meeting Minutes	1935	2	12
Annual Meeting Minutes	1936	2	13
Annual Meeting Minutes	1937	2	14
Annual Meeting Minutes	1938	2	15
Annual Meeting Minutes	1939	3	1
Annual Meeting Minutes	1940	3	2
Annual Meeting Minutes	1941	3	3
Annual Meeting Minutes	1942	3	4
Annual Meeting Minutes	1943	3	5
Annual Meeting Minutes	1944	3	6
Annual Meeting Minutes	1945	3	7
Annual Meeting Minutes	1946	3	8
Annual Meeting Minutes	1947	3	9
Annual Meeting Minutes	1953-1956	3	10
Annual Meeting Minutes	1956	3	11
Annual Meeting Minutes	1959-1960	3	12
Series 3: George Klinefelter’s Files	1947-1960
Correspondence and Subject Files *explanation for series in folder	1947	4	1
Correspondence and Subject Files	1948	4	2
Correspondence and Subject Files	1949	4	3
Correspondence and Subject Files	1950	4	4
Correspondence and Subject Files	1951	4	5
Correspondence and Subject Files	1952	4	6
Correspondence and Subject Files	1953	4	7
Correspondence and Subject Files	1954	4	8
Correspondence and Subject Files	1955	4	9
Correspondence and Subject Files	1956	4	10
Correspondence and Subject Files	1957	4	11
Correspondence and Subject Files	1958	4	12
Correspondence and Subject Files	1959	4	13
Correspondence and Subject Files	1960	4	14
Series 4: Correspondence	1913-1957
Correspondence	1913-1917	5	1
Correspondence	1918	5	2
Correspondence	1919	5	3
Correspondence	1920	5	4
Correspondence	1921	5	5
Correspondence	1922	5	6
Correspondence	1924	5	7
Correspondence	1925	5	8
Correspondence	1926	5	9
Correspondence	1927	5	10
Correspondence	1928-1929	5	11
Correspondence	1930	5	12
Correspondence	1940	5	13
Correspondence	1940	5	14
Correspondence	1941-1942	5	15
Correspondence	1944	5	16
Correspondence	1944-1945	5	17
Correspondence	1945	5	18
Correspondence	1946-1947	5	19
Correspondence	1949	5	20
Correspondence	1949	5	21
Correspondence	1949	5	22
Correspondence	1949	5	23
Correspondence	1949	5	24
Correspondence	1949	5	25
Correspondence	1949	5	26
Correspondence	1949	5	27
Correspondence	1949	5	28
Correspondence	1949	5	29
Correspondence	1949	5	30
Correspondence	1949	5	31
Correspondence	1949	5	32
Correspondence	1949	5	33
Correspondence	1949	5	34
Correspondence	1950	6	1
Correspondence	1950	6	2
Correspondence	1950	6	3
Correspondence	1950	6	4
Correspondence	1950	6	5
Correspondence	1950	6	6
Correspondence	1950	6	7
Correspondence	1950	6	8
Correspondence	1950	6	9
Correspondence	1950	6	10
Correspondence	1950	6	11
Correspondence	1950	6	12
Correspondence	1950	6	13
Correspondence	1950	6	14
Correspondence	1951	6	15
Correspondence	1951	6	16
Correspondence	1952	6	17
Correspondence	1952	6	18
Correspondence	1952	6	19
Correspondence	1953	6	20
Correspondence	1953	6	21
Correspondence	1953	6	22
Correspondence	1953	6	23
Correspondence	1953	6	24
Correspondence	1953	6	25
Correspondence	1953	7	1
Correspondence	1953	7	2
Correspondence	1953	7	3
Correspondence	1953	7	4
Correspondence	1953	7	5
Correspondence	1953	7	6
Correspondence	1953	7	7
Correspondence	1953	7	8
Correspondence	1954	7	9
Correspondence	1954	7	10
Correspondence	1954	7	11
Correspondence	1954	7	12
Correspondence	1954	7	13
Correspondence	1954	7	14
Correspondence	1954	7	15
Correspondence	1954	7	16
Correspondence	1954	7	17
Correspondence	1954	7	18
Correspondence	1954	7	19
Correspondence	1954	7	20
Correspondence	1954	7	21
Correspondence	1954	7	22
Correspondence	1955	8	1
Correspondence	1955	8	2
Correspondence	1955	8	3
Correspondence	1955	8	4
Correspondence	1955	8	5
Correspondence	1955	8	6
Correspondence	1955	8	7
Correspondence	1956	8	8
Correspondence	1956	8	9
Correspondence	1956	8	10
Correspondence	1956	8	11
Correspondence	1957	8	12
Series 5: Subject Files	1898-1957
Architectural Drawings of Fresh Air Farm	No date	9	1
Baltimore Council of Social Agencies : A study of the Children’s Fresh Air Society	1957	9	2
Baltimore Council of Social Agencies: Report of the Priorities Committee	1954	9	3
Baltimore Council of Social Agencies: Summer Employment for College Students	1954	9	4
Camp Chemical Company, DDT Release Statement	1949	9	5
Camp Pu’htok	No date	9	6
Children’s Fresh Air Society: Discipline Form and Regulations Committee	1945	9	7
Children’s Fresh Air Camp : “Look What F.A.C. is Doing”	No date	9	8
Children’s Fresh Air Society: Annual Reports	1913, 1916, 1920	9	9
Children’s Fresh Air Society: A Report on Farming Operations at the Fresh Air Society	1944	9	10
Children’s Fresh Air Society of Baltimore : A History	1929	9	11
Children’s Fresh Air Society: Report For Season	1935	9	12
Children’s Fresh Air Society: Statement of Purpose	No Date	9	13
Children’s Fresh Air Society: Camp Summary and Recommendations	1948	9	14
Child Study Association: 26^th Annual Report	1950	9	15
Community Chest of Baltimore	1926-1950	9	16
Community Chest of Baltimore	1926-1950	9	17
Constitution of the Loyal Soldiers Club	Ca. 1920s	9	18
Flower Campaign	1927	9	19
General German Orphan Association: A Report of the 89^th Year	1952	9	20
Maryland Christian Endeavorer	1898	9	21
Maryland Christian Endeavorer	1900	9	22
Maryland State Conference of Social Welfare	1950	9	23
Miscellaneous	1940s-1950s	9	24
Special Report on the Board of Directors	1940	9	25
Tyson Street Opera House	1950s	9	26
Series 6: Financial Material	1928-1965
Cashbook	1951-1952	10	Loose
Cashbook	1953	10	Loose
Cashbook	1954-1955	10	Loose
Cashbook	1956-1958	10	Loose
Cashbook	1959-1960	10	Loose
Cashbook	1962-1963	10	Loose
Cashbook	1964-1965	10	Loose
Cashbook	1966	10	Loose
Stock and Investment book	156-1964	10	Loose
Investments	1960s	11	1
Investments	1960s	11	2
Financial Reports	1965	11	3
Insurance	1945-1958	11	4
Financial Reports	1954-1962	11	5
Investment Information	1964-1965	11	6
Financial Reports	1962-1964	11	7
Financial Reports	1958-1961	11	8
Financial Statements	1951-1952	12	1
Financial Statements	1953-1954	12	2
Financial Statements	1955-1956	12	3
Financial Statements	1957-1958	12	4
Financial Statements	1959-1960	12	5
Financial Statements	1961	12	6
Financial Statements	1962-1963	12	7
Monthly Reports	1952	13	1
Monthly Reports	1953	13	2
Salaries and Expenditures	1950-1960	13	3
Salaries and Expenditures	1950-1960	13	4
Stocks etc.	1950s	13	5
Stocks etc.	1950s	13	6
Stocks etc.	1950s	13	7
State and Federal Taxes	1942-1949	14	1
State and Federal Taxes	1942-1949	14	2
State and Federal Taxes	1942-1949	14	3
Financial Statements	1928-1929	14	4
Financial Statements	1930-1932	14	5
Financial Statements	1933-1935	14	6
Financial Statements	1936-1937	14	7
Financial Statements	1938	14	8
Financial Statements	1939	14	9
Financial Statements	1940	14	10
Financial Statements	1941	14	11
Financial Statements	1942	14	12
Financial Statements	1943	14	13
Financial Statements	1944	14	14
Financial Statements	1945	14	15
Financial Statements	1946	14	16
Financial Statements	1947	14	17
Financial Statements	1948	14	18
Financial Statements	1949	14	19

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Children's Fresh Air Society of Baltimore, 1896-1965, MS 3093