Leslie Leary was 16 when the Fresh Air Fund introduced her to Irene, a 9-year-old girl from New York City who stayed in Leary's home for the summer.
Photo providedFresh Air Fund participant Leslie Leary, of Auburn, hugs her guest, Kobe Smith.
Above all her memories of playing with Irene like an adopted sister - taking her to Falcon Park, vacationing together in the Adirondacks - Leary recalls one mental picture of her family's guest.
“She used to sit in the front yard and just feel the grass,” Leary said.
Since 1877, the Fresh Air Fund has grouped New York City children from low-income families with upstate homes to give them a scenic summer escape from the sprawl of skyscrapers and concrete.
“It's the little things we do, like catching fireflies, that city kids have never done,” said Anne Beasley, area coordinator for the fund. “They can't go outside unless their mother takes them, and they rarely go swimming unless they go to a public pool.”
Last summer - 30 years after meeting Irene - Leary revisited the rewarding sensation of taking a city child into her Auburn home when she welcomed Kobe Smith, a 10-year-old boy from the Bronx. Having lost her mother six months before hosting Kobe, Leary felt some fresh air would benefit both her and her guest.
Before becoming eligible, Leary was screened in a speedy process that included a home inspection, interview and background check. All applicants are able to select the age and sex of the child they wish to accept into their homes.
“There are more children registered than hosts, so if anyone signs up we'd need them,” Beasley said.
Leary's information was then sent to Kobe's mother, who talked frequently with her son's hopeful host before he made his trip upstate on a Fresh Air Fund bus with other children.
Kobe arrived in Auburn for his one-week stay. Being so far from home for the first time, he initially battled some homesickness, but quickly found enough activities to engage his attention.
“Once he met the boys next door, they hit it off right away,” Leary said. “He was so delightful and well-behaved; he just likes to play with others.”
Even the dreary weather that week couldn't deter Kobe from enjoying himself watching a Doubledays game, miniature golfing, swimming at Skaneateles Community Center, blueberry picking, hearing a Hoopes Park concert and eating bountiful ice cream.
“I loved it,” Leary said. “He kept me busy trying to pack it all in.”
The Auburn area presented Kobe with a change of pace from the urban trappings of the Bronx. He felt comfortable and safe in contrast to his dangerous neighborhood, where he was forced to spend most of his free time indoors, Leary said.
By the time of his departure, Kobe was ambivalent about returning home to his family because it spelled the end of his stay in Auburn. When he returns on July 9, he'll savor an additional week of activity in a hopefully sunnier Finger Lakes. Leary plans to take him fishing and possibly painting or drawing at a Schweinfurth Art Center class.
As Leary and Kobe enjoy another summer together, Jennifer Fraher will spend her first 10 days with a city child through the Fresh Air Fund. Her son, Austin, encouraged Fraher's enrollment after spending time with a city child staying in his friend's home.
“He swam with us and had lunch with us, and he was a really nice child so I figured we'd try it,” Fraher said.
On a recent trip to New York City, Fraher and her husband drove through Brooklyn with their children and pointed out the landscape of apartment buildings in which many of those children live - without much room to play.
“I thought they could come to our house, where we have a pool, a big backyard and nature trails and green grass to play outside,” Fraher said.
Fraher has no plans once her guest arrives but to do what he or she wishes in the Finger Lakes area. However, excursions to Buttermilk State Park, the Finger Lakes Drive-in and Howe Caverns are all possibilities.
“Being here is kind of a shock, having that big backyard with grass,” Fraher said. “It shows my kids how lucky they are because they have that every day.”
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
“Once he met the boys next door, they hit it off right away. He was so delightful and
well-behaved; he just likes to play with others.”
Leslie Leary
Fresh Air Fund participant
“She used to sit in the front yard and just feel the grass,” Leary said.
Since 1877, the Fresh Air Fund has grouped New York City children from low-income families with upstate homes to give them a scenic summer escape from the sprawl of skyscrapers and concrete.
“It's the little things we do, like catching fireflies, that city kids have never done,” said Anne Beasley, area coordinator for the fund. “They can't go outside unless their mother takes them, and they rarely go swimming unless they go to a public pool.”
Last summer - 30 years after meeting Irene - Leary revisited the rewarding sensation of taking a city child into her Auburn home when she welcomed Kobe Smith, a 10-year-old boy from the Bronx. Having lost her mother six months before hosting Kobe, Leary felt some fresh air would benefit both her and her guest.
Before becoming eligible, Leary was screened in a speedy process that included a home inspection, interview and background check. All applicants are able to select the age and sex of the child they wish to accept into their homes.
“There are more children registered than hosts, so if anyone signs up we'd need them,” Beasley said.
Leary's information was then sent to Kobe's mother, who talked frequently with her son's hopeful host before he made his trip upstate on a Fresh Air Fund bus with other children.
Kobe arrived in Auburn for his one-week stay. Being so far from home for the first time, he initially battled some homesickness, but quickly found enough activities to engage his attention.
“Once he met the boys next door, they hit it off right away,” Leary said. “He was so delightful and well-behaved; he just likes to play with others.”
Even the dreary weather that week couldn't deter Kobe from enjoying himself watching a Doubledays game, miniature golfing, swimming at Skaneateles Community Center, blueberry picking, hearing a Hoopes Park concert and eating bountiful ice cream.
“I loved it,” Leary said. “He kept me busy trying to pack it all in.”
The Auburn area presented Kobe with a change of pace from the urban trappings of the Bronx. He felt comfortable and safe in contrast to his dangerous neighborhood, where he was forced to spend most of his free time indoors, Leary said.
By the time of his departure, Kobe was ambivalent about returning home to his family because it spelled the end of his stay in Auburn. When he returns on July 9, he'll savor an additional week of activity in a hopefully sunnier Finger Lakes. Leary plans to take him fishing and possibly painting or drawing at a Schweinfurth Art Center class.
As Leary and Kobe enjoy another summer together, Jennifer Fraher will spend her first 10 days with a city child through the Fresh Air Fund. Her son, Austin, encouraged Fraher's enrollment after spending time with a city child staying in his friend's home.
“He swam with us and had lunch with us, and he was a really nice child so I figured we'd try it,” Fraher said.
On a recent trip to New York City, Fraher and her husband drove through Brooklyn with their children and pointed out the landscape of apartment buildings in which many of those children live - without much room to play.
“I thought they could come to our house, where we have a pool, a big backyard and nature trails and green grass to play outside,” Fraher said.
Fraher has no plans once her guest arrives but to do what he or she wishes in the Finger Lakes area. However, excursions to Buttermilk State Park, the Finger Lakes Drive-in and Howe Caverns are all possibilities.
“Being here is kind of a shock, having that big backyard with grass,” Fraher said. “It shows my kids how lucky they are because they have that every day.”
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
“Once he met the boys next door, they hit it off right away. He was so delightful and
well-behaved; he just likes to play with others.”
Leslie Leary
Fresh Air Fund participant
Citizen
Hot Jobs
New! Off the Menu
The Citizens' Say
Post your comment - click hereThere are 1 comment(s)
periwinkle wrote on Jul 6, 2008 6:22 AM: