Health and happiness
at the camp

By Dr. Harry C. Silcox
and Jack McCarthy
For the Times

Few people living in Torresdale today remember the days when it was recognized throughout the country as having one of the nation’s most successful social and health programs for children.
Originating from the ideas of Jane Addams, founder of Hull House in Chicago, settlement houses soon spread to Philadelphia. Their purpose was to help the poor by improving their living standards and enabling children to receive proper food and health care.
The influenza epidemic of 1918 increased health concerns in the city. Thirteen thousand people had died in Philadelphia from influenza during September, October and November 1918, with many corpses left in the streets. The Board of Health was overwhelmed and unable to meet the emergency.
In the aftermath of this calamity, new laws were adopted that revert back to the tried and true methods of improving health — fresh air, sunshine and exercise, especially for children.
In 1919, a new law was proposed to establish a Philadelphia Department of Recreation as part of the Welfare Department to provide playgrounds and activities for children throughout the city. The bill was specifically aimed at establishing play areas for children, and there was a special provision creating a children’s summer camp.
Called "Camp Happy," it was to provide health and dental care and proper nutrition, as well as recreational activities for Philadelphia’s poor children.
Several locations were considered in the search for a site for the camp. Eventually a large tract of land on the southwest corner of Linden and Torresdale avenues in Torresdale was chosen.
Located in a large, city-owned tract of land near the Delaware River, it seemed the ideal location. Fresh air, clean water, swimming facilities on the Delaware River at Point Pleasant and the state fish hatcheries nearby would provide opportunities for a variety of activities at the camp. The fish hatcheries were very popular with children. Torresdale hatcheries produced 54 million perch, Susquehanna salmon and frogs for state streams and rivers each year. All were grown from eggs, transported to the hatcheries and placed in the various ponds surrounding the main building.
Given all of these favorable conditions for a summer camp, the only thing necessary to open Camp Happy was a large dining hall (later called Kendrick Hall) and tents for overnight sleeping. Established at a relatively low cost, Camp Happy opened in the summer of 1920.
By 1925, the camp was accepting 1,800 boys and girls for the summer. The city had built 20 cabins, an activities hall, two swimming pools, a playground and baseball fields. The camp also included dentists and doctors offices and a counselor’s cabin.
The camp often was described as being founded for "tuberculosis-contact children." This meant that the children’s environment had been tainted by tuberculosis, although they themselves had thus far escaped it.
All of the children were considered undernourished and underweight. The camp population was made up of children from the families of Russian Jews, African Americans and Polish, with a small number of Irish and Germans.
The children, all between ages 7 and 12, were selected by nurses assigned to the free clinics run by the Philadelphia Department of Health. They were taken to the camp in buses.
Upon arrival, they were issued khaki shorts and shirts to be worn at the camp. Their personal clothes were stored until their encampment was over.
Sixty counselors were placed in charge of all activities. Many of these were volunteers from local colleges, who received free room and board for the summer.
There were swimming contests, games, music and visits to the fish hatcheries and Point Pleasant beach for boat rides on the Delaware. In arts and crafts sessions, the boys were taught to work in leather and metals while the girls learned to sew and embroider.
For three weeks, these children were to experience the healthiest form of living. The camp had two swimming pools, both with new chlorinators, sliding boards, swings, a merry-go-round, sandboxes and a baseball diamond. Fresh air, special diet, proper activities, health exams and rest systematically were included in the daily schedule.
Also on the schedule were three planned meals a day and four milk-breaks. Brushing of teeth after each meal was mandated and exercise through games and activities were planned.
There were no chores for the children except the obligation to make their beds and keep the cabins clean. Cleanliness war rewarded with a lollipop, which many of the children saved to take home to a younger brother or sister. During rest periods in the cabin, counselors often read stories to the children.
Two graduate nurses and a doctor were on duty at all times. A dentist examined each child for tooth decay. By the time the children went home their cavities had all been corrected. In health reports at the end of each year, the medical staff announced that "each child had an average gain of eight pounds in weight."
Once a year the city sponsored "Mayor’s Day" at the camp. It was a special day with lots of visitors, special treats for the children and much publicity for the politicians.
Visits by Mayors Moore, Mackey, Wilson and Samuel over the years were accompanied by vaudeville shows, games and prizes capped off with party cake and ice cream for the campers.
The mayors praised Camp Happy and the work being done to improve the health of the children of Philadelphia. The publicity generated by the Mayor’s Days at Camp Happy was used to show the citizens of the city how the mayor helped the children of the city.
During the Great Depression in the 1930s, Camp Happy continued as one of the city’s premier programs aimed directly at the poor. Hikers and visitors to nearby Point Pleasant Beach were encouraged to stop and see the "inspiring" site of the children at Camp Happy.
In the years following World War II, increased development in the Torresdale area and the pollution of the Delaware River made the location less desirable.
Also, the new 1952 Home Rule Charter reorganized Camp Happy’s Board, placing it under the Department of Recreation led by Robert Crawford. A recreation specialist more focused on camp experience than the health issues of children, Crawford purchased a summer camp in the Pocono Mountains from Girard College for $25,000.
A contest was held by the last group of youngsters attending Camp Happy to rename the new camp in the Poconos. Camp William Penn was selected as the name of the new site and Camp Happy closed in 1951. Because the land was owned by the Department of Recreation, much of the old site became a playground. ••
To reach Harry C. Silcox, send e-mail to silcoxh@axs2000.net

History lessons
of the Northeast

Editor’s note: On the second and fourth Thursdays of each month, the Times publishes a column by local historians Dr. Harry C. Silcox and Jack McCarthy, who examine the little-known historical facts, people and events that have shaped the history of Northeast Philadelphia. Dr. Silcox and Mr. McCarthy are preparing these articles in conjunction with the recently organized Center for Northeast Philadelphia History and the Historical Society of Frankford.