Life, 1925-07-16 · page 25 of 40
Life — July 16, 1925 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a fundraising appeal for Life magazine's "Fresh Air" program, which sent poor urban children from tenements to rural camps for summer stays. The piece uses first-person testimony from a grateful "Fresh Air Kid" to solicit donations. The appeal contrasts the child's previous miserable city life—sleeping on fire escapes in tenements, eating poor food, nearly perishing in summer heat—with the transformative experience at Pottersville Farm. Key selling points include: wholesome nutrition, recreational instruction from college volunteers, moral character-building ("Better Citizens"), and community spirit. The photograph shows the sheltered playroom facility. The $15 donation amount (substantial for the era) funded two weeks of summer camp. The piece concludes with an emotional appeal: the child must leave to make room for the next disadvantaged kid, emphasizing that even small donations "add up." This represents Progressive Era charity addressing urban poverty through rural-based character development.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ISTEN! Were you ever a Fresh Air Kid? », honest, I’m not tryin’ to be funny. Only wondering if you know what it's like to be here at one of Lire’s Fresh Air Farms. A fella told me that a lot of champions and Big League man- agers and bank presidents were Fresh Air Kids in their day. You never can tell, Anyhow, it’s great out here. Greater than ever this year, everybody says. We're the first party at Pottersville this Summer, and gee, everything looks swell, Two weeks ago folks were feelin’ sorry for me sleepin’ on a fire-escape in Rivington Street. Now-oh, boy! The King of England ain't in it! Beteher never had a brook and a swimmin’ hole like we got! Coupla weeks ago the Firemen of Hook and Ladder No. 6 were turning the hose on us and on the asphalt to keep us all from goin’ up in smoke. Now, a brook! We swim, and fish, and wade. They can't keep us out i xcept to cat—— listen! Were you ever hungry? - LIFE - Fresh Air and the Sportin’ Spirit By Our Special Correspondent Did you ever turn green at the awful things you had to eat? Well, you guys are feedin’ us each a quart of fresh milk a day, and bread and fruit, and soup and oatmeal and—ice-cream when someone gets a heart attack and sends us @ treat! And that ain't all! One look at the cook—and you know what he gives you's going to be good. And play! Betcher never had a real college guy teach you to play. Pretty swell for us. Why, the King of Eng- land— They put a lot of new stuff in just games. Honor and the sportin’ spirit. These college fellas are making “Bet- ter Citizens” of us while they feed us the fresh air, Sure we fight. Ain't we here to have a good time? But there's ladies at the Farms who bring on the arnica and witch hazel—no hospital guy could fix you better. Say, boy, you heard about those har- monicas that some one sent us? I can make one of ’em sound like Paul White- man’s whole troupe. I'll come in and play for you when I get home. I don’t want to go home, but they POTTERSVILLE’S SHELTERED PLAYROOM say I got to go to give my place to some other poor kid who'd never get the country and fresh air and a quart of frothy milk a day, and that “better citizen” stuff, if I didn't beat it back. That's something else the “counsellors” told us to-day—no one so badly off he can't help another fella. Makes you feel kinda good, that idea. All we can do is to go back and make room for another kid. Attaboy! I'll go. But, say, listen, you guys. Will you send him to the Farms, sure? $15 gives one of us children two weeks in the country. Tf you ain't got $15, I know just how you feel, but send us anything you have. It all adds up. The boys go to the Farm at Pottersville, N. J., and the girls to the Farm at Branchville, Conn. (P. O., Georgetown, Conn.) Anyhow, when I go back to the tene- remember there's another kid wants my place. Please give him the air—the fresh air. He needs it. (Acknowledgments of Fresh Air con- tributions will be found on pages 35 and 36.) . ments, comicbooks.com