The exhibit, Camp Fee Fee: The St. Louis Jewish Anti-Tubercular Preventorium, will open at the Jewish Federation of St. Louis on February 21, 2017. A special opening program led by Diane Everman will be held at 7:00 pm at the building, located at 12 Millstone Campus Drive. Reception to follow; dietary laws observed.

Tuberculosis was a rampant disease that knew no boundaries or class distinctions from the late 19th century into the early 20th century. Communities tried a variety of ways to deal with the problem, such as enacting ordinances against spitting on sidewalks and creating sanatoria for those suffering from consumption. While most efforts focused on dealing with adults, there was a growing movement around the turn of the century to work with children who either suffered from tuberculosis or were at risk. As part of this movement to quell the alarming numbers of those contracting and suffering from tuberculosis, the St. Louis Jewish community created a summer camp for at-risk children in 1926. Commonly called Camp Fee Fee, this preventorium was meant to not only expose the children to fresh air, exercise and good food, but also to teach them subtly about health.

Diane Everman holds a Doctorate in History from the University of Maryland-College Park. She serves as the Archivist for the St. Louis Jewish Community Archives, the Holocaust Museum & Learning Center Archives, the Taylor Family Archives, and as Corporate Archivist for Enterprise Holdings, Inc. She also does classical archaeology, currently working on a site in the northern Negev in Israel. Her research presented here is in association with her 2016 Center for Missouri Studies Fellowship from the State Historical Society of Missouri.

To RSVP of for further information, please call the Saul Brodsky Jewish Community Library at 314-442-3720, or RSVP by email to Cyndee Levy at CLevy@JFedSTL.org. This program is free and open to the public. Dessert reception to follow; dietary laws observed.