History of Fresh Air Home
Through The Years…
A legacy of care, resilience, and summer joy for children. Explore key milestones in the history of The Children's Fresh Air Home.
1896
The Children’s Fresh Air Home was founded by L. Ida Dukes, a 41-year old mother of six children. Initially, Mrs. Dukes began to invite children whose families were unable to afford a summer retreat from city life for a day of fun along the Delaware River. Over the next several years, Mrs. Dukes continued her outreach. In 1911, she brought her first group of children to Wildwood, N.J. and in 1923 the Children’s Fresh Air Home opened its doors.
1937
Following the death of Ida Dukes, Miss Myra Loring became the Superintendent of the Children’s Fresh Air Home. Miss Loring served in this position from 1938 to 1988. She refused to accept a salary for her work during her 50-year tenure at the Home. She passed away in 1988.
- 1988 – Kris and Laura Perkins took charge as superintendents for 14 years of strong leadership in the Children’s Fresh Air Home’s history.
- 2003 – The Fresh Air Home welcomed Craig and Karen Wille to the role of Superintendents. Prior to assuming this role, the Wille’s, residents of Moorestown, NJ, had served in various leadership capacities in the Home for many years.
- 2006 – The Children’s Fresh Air Home board made the difficult decision to temporarily close the Home for critical repairs and established a capital campaign, called the Century Campaign, to support the renovation effort.
- 2012 – The Children’s Fresh Air Home introduced a new summer program during its renovation period to bring the gift of summer to children across the region. The “If Just for a Day” program utilized the grounds of the Home in North Wildwood and provided a day at the beach and BBQ, filled with fun activities.
- 2014 – The Children’s Fresh Air Home kicked off a three-phase renovation period. Phase one began with the rebuilding of the home’s foundation in late 2014.
- 2015–2016 – The 10,000 sq. ft. Home was lifted and the original foundation was removed. Plans to rebuild the new foundation began.
- 2017 – The new foundation was completed. The CFAH mission continued to serve children in the summer through day trips to the Home and beach.
- 2019 – Full exterior rebuild underway. New roofing, siding, windows, doors, and decking installed. A new stability center beam was installed inside along with all new rough-in plumbing.
- 2020 – The Pandemic Year brought challenges and construction delays due to supply chain issues, contractor employee shortages, and social distancing requirements. No summer day trips were conducted in summer 2020.
- 2021–2022 – Completion of full exterior reconstruction. The Summer Day Trip Program resumed. Launch of the “Help Us Cut The Ribbon” fundraising campaign to finish the interior of the home for reopening.
- 2024–2025 – Completion of the full interior of the home in preparation for the official ribbon cutting and full reopening.
