Fresh Air Kids Enjoy A Birthday Celebration Picnic

By Jan Howard

Over 100 adults and children joined in celebrating the Fresh Air Fund’s 125th birthday with a picnic July 11 at Wolfe Park in Monroe.

The largest crowd ever at the picnic enjoyed swimming, games, and plenty of food. The children especially enjoyed spending a lot of time in the pool and on the playground.

Annmarie, 9, who visited Mimi and Paul Morin and their children, Keira, 17, Chelsea, 15, and Bethany, 11, for the second year, is having a really good time, she said.

“I’ve been going to the pool,” Annmarie said. “It’s my favorite thing. I really like to swim. They say I’m like a fish.”

She said they would be going on a boat ride on Lake Candlewood.

“I really like them,” Annmarie said of the Morins. “They’re really sweet.” And, she added, “They have new kittens.”

Yesenia, 8, was leaving that night with Kate and Brad Eggleston and their three daughters, Brady, 9, Zoe, 6, and Eliza, 4, and son, Evan, 1½, for a weekend family reunion in Cooperstown, N.Y. She was looking forward to camping, hiking, swimming, and climbing a waterfall.

She said she had a good time on the Ali Baba ride at the St Rose Carnival. As she has four brothers, she has also enjoyed playing with Brady, Zoe, and Eliza.

“It’s my first year,” she said. The Egglestons were also experiencing Fresh Air for the first time this year.

“It’s just been perfect,” Mrs Eggleston said.

Christopher, 12, returned for another visit with Tom and Lisa Gissen and their children, Teddy, 12, Maura, 10, and Suzie, 6. Last summer, he spent part of the two-week visit with them in Vermont. During the winter, he joined them again in Vermont for four days of skiing and snowboarding.

Christopher was looking forward to an outing on a boat on Candlewood Lake as well as more swimming at the Treadwell Park pool. He also enjoys playing video games and Monopoly.

“Everything is working out great,” he said. Teddy, Maura, and Suzie echoed his sentiment.

“It’s unanimous!” Mr Gissen said.

“It’s been very smooth,” Mrs Gissen added.

Christopher has also been enjoying the closer contact with nature. “I saw a hummingbird right by the door,” he noted.

Naasia, who was 12 on July 12, is visiting for the first time with Barbara and Joe Fowler and their children, Nick, 17, and Chelsea, 11.

She, too, said she enjoys swimming at Dickinson Park. She also loved the St Rose carnival, especially the Ali Baba ride. “It goes up and drops,” she explained.

Naasia has been a guest of the Fresh Air program since she was 6 or 7 years old. She hopes to come back to visit the Fowlers next summer.

The Fowlers have taken Naasia to the ocean, where they went body boarding, and shopping at the mall.

“Her mother was a Fresh Air child. She knew what a wonderful experience it is,” Mrs Fowler said. “She wanted her to reap the benefits of it.”

The children are scheduled to return to New York City today (July 20).

Families interested in hosting a New York City child next summer should contact Susan Dann of Bethel at 203-790-1465 or the Fresh Air Fund at 800-367-0003.