HISTORY OF THE FRESH AIR CAMP (Dowling, 2006)

The Fresh Air Camp was started in 1921 by the University of Michigan Students’ Christian Association (SCA) to provide outdoor experiences and contact with nature to underprivileged urban boys.  Common recreational activities at camp included nature study, swimming and boating.  The camp was held in different locations until 1923 when the existing Livingston County property was purchased by Marvin A. Ives and Harry B. Earhart to create the Virginia R. Ives Memorial Camp Association to be operated by the SCA. The current location, on a peninsula overlooking Patterson and Woodburn Lakes, provides a beautiful setting for a camp. The property contains a mix of woodlands, wetlands, and open areas and provides opportunities for a variety of outdoor recreational activities including hiking, swimming, boating, fishing, nature study and open field sports.  Construction began on a dining hall in 1924 and tents were used for several seasons until funds were available to build the first cabin in 1927. A total of sixteen cabins were on-site by 1935 and two are still standing. A main lodge with five stone fireplaces was completed in 1936 and was destroyed by fire in 1972. A tree that was saved during the construction of the lodge and survived the fire is still growing to mark the location.

The former health cottage was built by the Galens Medical Society in 1939 to provide medical care to the campers.  The Fresh Air Camp property was donated to the University of Michigan in 1944. The Institute for Human Adjustment and later the School of Education operated the camp for troubled boys and offered training to graduate students in psychology, nursing and special education.  Women counselors were first allowed in the early 1940s and the first of the “redwood lodges,” which still exist, were built in the 1950s as women’s dormitories. The original cabins were moved to their final locations during the 1950s.

The focus of the camp turned to children with disabilities in the 1970s.    Intended as a temporary structure, the current dining hall was constructed in 1972 after the main lodge was destroyed by fire. By 1980, lack of funding ended the camp program and responsibility for the site was transferred to the University of Michigan Plant Operations.

Most recently the site has been used for retreats and professional development programs, and responsibility for the camp was transferred to the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts in 1999, units of which have used the property for classes and research.  There has been no regular use of the property in the last 9 years.  Twenty-seven of the 40 buildings on the site were deemed non-salvageable and were demolished in spring 2010.  North Star Reach has entered into a long-term lease with the University of Michigan for exclusive use of the property to develop a new accessible camp.