The Champ's Camp: A Closer Look at Fighter's Heaven
Photograph and caption courtesy of the Pottsville Republican, November 18, 1985.
A Home for Someone New
Once Muhammad Ali retired from boxing, the training camp sat empty for a few years, though he still owned the camp. Ali had hoped to turn the camp into a safe haven for orphaned children.
Finally, in 1985, the camp was rented by Marietta Andrefski of Thy Kingdom Come Children's Home. Mrs. Andrefski had wanted to use the camp as a refuge for children in need. Ali rented the camp to the children's home for $1.00 a year until the organization was able to raise enough money to build a single, larger facility nearby in the early 1990s.
Once the children's home moved out, the camp was put up for sale. In 1997, Muhammad and his wife, Lonnie, sold the camp to George Dillman and Kim Foreman, both of whom are accomplished experts in martial arts.
George Dillman had often visited Muhammad Ali at Fighter's Heaven to assist him in training. Ali wanted to learn martial arts to keep his technique fast, and Dillman was there to teach him. After purchasing Fighter's Heaven, Dillman and Foreman converted the boxing gym into a martial arts training facility, and the rest of the camp was renovated into the Butterfly & Bee Bed and Breakfast. The camp would remain with Dillman and Foreman until shortly after Muhammad's passing in 2016.
