New-York tribune., 1918-07-16
lhe Tribune Fresh Air Fund

Fron The Putnam, Conn, PatrtoD
me children of the tenements are
"aV'hg their vacation.
oh Tuesday Of this week eighty
youngsters from New York's East Side
arrived IN Putnam, all happy and smil-
ing IN anticipation of n two weeks' out
'"s mat has been planned for them.
10 'he little visitors, who come as
guests of The New York Tribune's
rresh AR Fund, the trip to New Eng
iahd Is like entering new world. for
70 nearly all OF them green fields,
growing vegetables, fruit trees. cows.
pigs and everything else that is to be
iouhd on well stocked Windham
county farm are products of veri-
""''e Wonderland. "Do wild flowers
grow near here ?" questioned one slcn-
uer h'ue miss as she waited on the
pia'i orm at the Putnam railroad sta
D!oh. and on being assured that there
was an abundance of daisies, wide
eyeu ana hardly able to contain her
e'ee, shc exclaimed, "And I'l be able
10 pick them ?" To these frail children
the opportunity to breathe pure coun-
Wv ar is the grandest experience of
thelr short lives.
After having seen nothing but hard
paVements and keep off the grass"
9isns lor seven or more years, these
:aus and lassles from the biggest city
IN the world scarce know how to be-
have themselves. Their delight in
everything they find is unbounded
me cnlldren arrived in this city in
a special car attached to the 7:1l train.
inc local committee had it's pans we'll
made, and those who had offered to
take one or more of the children into
'helr homes were at the station to re-
celVe them. In Putnam, Thompson
and Woodstock private homes have
been freely opened to receive the little
visitors. The work of receiving the
children was made much easier by a
tagging system that had been prepared
in New York.
All of the children are from the
East Side, and the task of gathering
them together and safely getting them
out OF the city was done under the
direction Of settlement workers. A
number of the children came through
the social worker Of the New York
Hospital. and these were from homes
where there was sickness Of a nom
contagious character. Others came
through the Jacob Riis Settlement
Aouse, Presbyterian Nursery, Child's
Welfare Society and Bowling Green
Neigh borhood House Tuesday morn
ing they gathered at these houses, and
We're given d careful examination bv
a nurse, who then signed statement
that each child examined was free
from disease, was clean and that
there was no disease in the house
from which it came. This latter is
important, lnasmuch as if the precau-
tlon OF investigating each house was
not taken, contagious diseases might
readily be spread. While all of the
children are free from disease. all
OF them are undernourished and need
such vacation as is being given
them.
The children stood the long trip
from New York remarkably we'll. Of
course, they were all excited and anx-
lous to reach their destination. Eycrv-
thing was new to them, many had
never ridden on railroad rain be-
tore and naturally, the excitement and
all, they were rather tired after the
days journey.
In Putnam the committee has had
difficulty in only one case because
Of homesickness. One little girl went
almost necessarily for a day and p