🌾 Fresh Air Baby Camp

October 18, 2023 | Sign Up | Support Us

TOGETHER WITH

Good morning, Wichita!

Don't forget to grab your ticket for the Wicked Pairings event at Exploration Place this Friday. We will be a couple of your hosts, costumes and all. See you there!

p.s. Happy birthday to Alex (tomorrow)!

In today's Wichita Life Update

Fresh Air
Fresh Air Baby Camp
Restoration

Let's get to it!

- Landon Huslig

TOGETHER WITH MARGARET MCHENRY MAIDS

Precise. Referring to their trained maids and 75-points of service attention.

Don't dilly dally and wait until the last minute to book your holiday cleanings.

Let Margaret McHenry make your home shine so you can focus on the things that matter.

Extra time for family and merriment and stress-free hosting.

Gift certificates available!

Learn More Here

Big shout out to Veloace (Instagram, Tiktok - be sure to give him a follow) for the inspiration for this deep dive.

I had not heard of this until his video went viral.

Fresh Air + Baby Camp

2021 KPA Awards Projects — KANSAS PRESERVATION ALLIANCE

How do you care for sick babies in 2023? How do you think people cared for them 100 years ago?

In the early 20th century, well-circulated fresh air, sunlight, and sanitation were found to be some of the best ways to care for at-risk babies, particularly in warm summertime.

Enter: Baby Camps and the Fresh Air Movement.

Babies who had trouble breathing due to colic or respiratory diseases were treated with fresh air rather than stuffy hospitals of the time.

“Airing children” was commonplace, including in crowded cities where babies were put inside special cages attached to an open window.

I’m not sure about the whole "put your baby in a cage" part, but the fresh air part sounds good.

Fresh Air Baby Camp in Wichita through the years

Let’s dive into the history of the Fresh Air Baby Camp and the journey its building has taken through the years. Wichita has one of the last buildings of its kind.

1917/1918: Wesley Hospital in Wichita hopped onto this movement when they put up a tent facility on their grounds.

1919: A larger tent facility was built in North Riverside Park, but it burned down before the 1920 season.

1920: A new, permanent structure was built in Oak Park at 1221 W 11th St N, Wichita, KS 67203 and named the ‘Fresh Air Baby Camp’ thanks to Mrs. Norton and other prominent women in Wichita who helped fund-raise rom the community.

It operated in the “good weather” months (May-ish to September / October) because they did not have heating or cooling, they just left the windows open for circulation. The original location for at-risk infants was at the Wesley Hospital in a 3-story Victorian house that did not have ventilation.

Black and white newspaper photo of the Fresh Air Baby Camp circa 1926.

The Fresh Air Baby Camp building was built with triple sash windows to increase circulation. If you're interested to learn more about how that works:

Care was free for poor parents at the Fresh Air Baby Camp.

There were 20 cribs where volunteer doctors and nurses helped out as well as taught the young mothers how to best care for their kids.

1926: The Fresh Air program was moved to the new Wesley Hospital on north Hillside so it could take place year round instead of just the summers.

This KMUW article from 2015 documents some locals that actually participated in the program back in they day.

1928 - 2000: Following the program being moved and for the next 75 years, the building was leased by the Girl Scouts and has been known as the Girl Scout Little House to many people.

This little historic building is the last known survivor of this unique national health program. You can find it on the National Register of Historic Places since 2007.

Restoration

After years of no use since the turn of the century, the building was in rough shape.

A group of volunteers known as the Friends of the Historic Air Baby Camp, Inc or FHFABC for short (try saying that 5 times fast) set out on a quest to save this building and bring back the glory days.

Funds were raised from people who held fond memories in their hearts of the building or lived in the area.

The building was restored with everything from the original plaster walls, triple-sash windows, new doors, as well as a new sewer line, electrical service, and geo-thermal HVAC System.

The project was completed in 2021.

You can rent the Fresh Air Baby Camp that has handicapped accessible catering kitchen, meeting room, and restroom.

Did you know about this building or the Fresh Air program? What other secrets does Wichita have that we might not know about?

It is encouraging to learn about the community coming together to help out a common cause back when it was first built as well as the renovation.

Sources: Wichita Parks Foundations & KMUW

TOGETHER WITH THE KANSAS MASONIC FOUNDATION

It's time to shop for good! 💎The upcoming Pendants for Prevention event collaboration between Kansas Masonic Foundation and Kendra Scott is just days away, and we can't wait to see you there! Head to Kendra Scott's Kansas locations this coming Thursday, October 19th, from 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM for an exquisite in-store shopping experience.

Remember, 20 percent of all sales made during the event will directly support the purchase of mammogram screening equipment, so it's time to shop until you drop!

Learn more about the upcoming event and discover how you can help expand preventive services offered to rural Kansas communities: Shop in-store on Thursday, October 19, from 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM, or enter the code GIVEBACK-KMFKS at checkout from October 19th - 22nd!

Learn More Here