As another Scatico summer approaches...
(number 96 if you’re keeping score at home) it’s easy to focus on the traditions and spirit that never seem to change—from Opening Night campfires straight through to candles on the lake (and all of the things in between)—and lose sight of the never-ending evolution that camp also embraces.
First, there are the changes to the physical site, both the subtle (tree saplings growing into generous shade-givers from more than 20 trees planted around camp over the last decade) and the not-so-subtle— recent large additions to camp including the Basketball Pavillion (2008); new waterfront dock systems on girls (2012) and boys (2015) sides; lights on the girls athletic fields (2013); and the cooking center (2014). For 2016, we can’t wait to applaud the first production at the new outdoor amphitheater. Built into the hillside on the lakeside of the tree-lined road, there will be seating for 400 and a view of the lake behind the stage. Through time, this was the location of a cornfield (pre-1970) and then an open lawn.
Amphitheater—3 rows down and 4 to go. That’s the dining room in the top background.
Second, there is the evolving nature of the changes to seemingly timeless camp traditions. On boys side, when was the first Color War chicken fight or the first time a rock was thrown into the lake at a Friday night service (campers and staff silently reflecting on the ever-expanding ripples)? On girls side, when did the first candles float on the lake or when was the first time a song was sung about a certain green frog meeting an unfortunate demise? Last summer, art director Ken Vallario created a midsummer art show opening and Open Mic night. A reprise (with some new twists) is planned for this season. Will future generations of campers and staff look forward to this event as fixed in the Scatico calendar as the Carnival?
Most important is the growth and change seen in our campers as they begin their journeys from Jinters to Soopers and Sophs to Upper Seniors. Soft skills—gaining self-confidence, bonding with bunkmates around group projects and activities, learning how to build consensus in a community, appreciating the un-plugged pace of camp life…. And hard skills—building a campfire, shooting a basketball, hitting a tennis ball, completing a project in woodshop or ceramics, performing on stage as part of a Divisional Sing…. At Scatico, our summer-to-summer camper return rate of more than 90 percent has made it especially possible to watch these personal evolutions up close and on a broad scale. With more than 65 staff members in 2016 who are former campers (from first-time JCs to head counselors Cory Schwartz and Kerri Berkman Winderman), we have also been lucky enough to watch many former campers grow into adulthood.
The secret ingredients that make for a memorable camp experience? A recipe that calls for equal parts of embracing change and tradition.
Calling All Photos:
We are looking for classic (and even not-so-classic) photos to print in future issues of the Alumni Newsletter. Send by e-mail as an attachment to info@scatico.com or by mail to: Camp Scatico, PO Box 6, Elizaville, NY 12523. We will return the originals, if requested.
Bert Holman (1960s-70s) sent in this 1939 photo of an “away” intercamp baseball. That’s Bert’s father Merton, third from the right in the top row. We love that Uncle Nat accompanied the team and wore a suit and tie.
These two photos from the summer of 1966 arrived courtesy of Bob Singer, a counselor and divisionleader in the early 1960s. To the left, Rich Hanft and Paul Jellinger on the ballfields. To the right, Steve Weinstein, Bob London, and Stan Silverberg on campus. The current Scaticonian might note the “skinned” infield and the porch on 3A-B (which is now enclosed). Between Bob and Stan is a steeltopped, wooden net ping pong table that weighed approximately 500 pounds.
This mid-1970s social night photo was sent in by Jim Rosenzweig (1971-80). From left to right—Jim, Jeff Rosen, Rob Sussman, Jamie Raphael (with the very impressive afro), Steve Friedman, and Scott Lief. Just a slight evolution in male hairstyles from the 1939 and 1966 photos found above and to the left.
Sharing Scatico with Your Children
Our annual roll call of alumni with children at camp as campers or counselors includes many new names for the 2016 season. If your next-generation son or daughter might be ready to share in the magic, let us know. We would love to schedule an in-season tour. Visit www.scatico.com for general information. This summer’s alumni parents (more than 100 and in no particular order):
Pam Weiss Caldara, Julie Nahoun Hartstein, Hillary Nahoun Krane, Samantha Nahoun Gornstein, Hillah Wiczyk Mendez, Scott Madison, Lara Holzer Miller, Andrew Tannenbaum, Katie Deutsch Eichel, Kara Haback Freeman, Jen Florin Finkel, Andrew Zuckerman, Sloan Zuckerman, Roger Lowenthal, Stefanie Birbrower Greer, Beth Yurdin Metzendorf, Scott Yurdin, Jessica Clark Newman, Alan Ranzer, Ian Ranzer, Dusty Fox, Ken Vallario, Pam Blomberg Schwartz, Lance Gould, Linda Lowenthal Tolstoi, Cory Gluckstal, Justin Lapatine, Debb Falk Zerwitz, Jeff Araten, Adam Holzer, Greg Mazarin, Pavel Mozga, Maggie Parwanicka Mozga, Barry Pisetzner, Melissa Rosenblum Pisetzner, Patti Klyde Press, Michael Ditkoff, Melissa Fass Karlin, Rob Rubin, Gerald Stein, Todd Fass, Julie Strauss Greeley, Laura Danford Mandel, Pam Hougnou Nivasch, Gregg Rosh, David Rosh, Becky Feuer, Todd Sherman, Katie Mazarin Derasse, Carolyn Mitchell Kane, Jessica Weiner Mester, Michael Smiley, Jon Feldman, Ketti Krieger, Michael Lippman, Shana Madoff Swanson, Kara Horowitz Bockstein, Shawn Chudnoff Goldberg, Larry Max, Randy Goldstein, Doug Florin, Dori Popkin Chait, Jennifer Fleischner, Tom Rubinson, Andrew Rubinson, Marc Stiefel, Michael Vickers, Beth Gustave Bochner, Jon Cooper, Andrea Baron Cooper, Eric Kleiner, Arthur Roses, Kerri Berkman Winderman, Stacey Lipton Schumer, Whitney Scott Jacobson, Rob Klafter, Jamie Raphael, Mandi Zucker, Joel Beck, Stephanie Deutsch Clendenin, Rana Grossman Leibowitz, Susie Oshatz Perlman, David Rothenberg, Wendy Sheldon Brown, Wendy Nedlin Schindler, Mike Madorsky, Elisa Segal Madorsky, Susan Greenbaum Gross, Leslie Wayte Heineman, Mark Sanders, Stefanie Klein Bressman, Rob Rosen, Richard Croland, Brandt Josephson, Randy Au, Lynette Au, Mark Goldner, Dave Berger, Felicia Berger, Nancy Klyde Hecker, Dick Hecker, Andrea Matles Savada, Cheryl Fleder Sloane, Elyssa Berger Schecter, Jill Herzog Phillips, and Sharon Beck Kochen.
Staying in Touch
Keep connected with fellow Scaticonians by e-mailing news, photos, and recollections to info@scatico.com. If you prefer the regular mail and printed pictures, that works just as well. We will even return the photographs after reproducing them for the Alumni Newsletter.
The Chudnoff and Brandt families
As always, we love to start with Random Scatico Sightings (RSSes for the uninitiated)…. Vintage 1980s: Chudnoff and Brandt family reunions connected on vacation in December in Jamaica. In the photo to the right—Perry Chudnoff, Michelle Brandt King, Shawn Chudnoff-Goldberg, Brooke Brandt Fishkind, and Larry Brandt. Missing from the picture were Lois Brandt (mom of Michelle and Brooke, and Larry’s wife), Mady Drazin Chudnoff (the mom of Perry and Shawn attended camp in the 1950s-60s), and Aaron Goldberg (Shawn’s son who started his Scatico journey in 2015). Larry set the standard for future generations of camp doctors during his 10-plus year run, starting in the 1970s. During most of those summers, Larry and Lois would spend 4 weeks at camp….
Softball in Central Park
When former bunkmates (and current teammates) JoAnna Datz (1999-2008) and Jaime Hollander (2002-08) showed up for their adult softball league game in Central Park on a Sunday in April, they were exited to discover two Scaticonians on the opposing team—Jamie Meyers (2015-16) and Audrey Fleischner (2000-2016)….
Traveling from Florida to Los Angeles to visit daughter Jenni (1994- 2009—and currently an agent at William Morris Endeavor) Chas and Ellen Levine ran into Ricky Frishman (1965-76) in LAX airport. Chas and Ricky were bunkmates in the 1960s-70s as were their daughters Jenni and Rachel (1996-98) in the 1990s. For Chas and Ellen, 2015 marked their final summers at Scatico (after remarkable 20-plus year runs). They were the summertime parents of campers and counselors alike, always ready to listen, comfort, and advise. We wish them much love as they take on new adventures and travel…. While in L.A., the Levines met up with Bob Seebacher (1960s-2000s) and his wife Joanne for a tour of SpaceX’s facility in Hawthorne, CA. Tour guide? Propulsion Design Engineer Paul Seebacher (1990s-2000s)….
Chas, Ellen and Ricky
Levines and Seebachers at SpaceX
Buk and Tom
Jeff Bukantz (1974- 79) and Tom Rosenberg (1965-82) played on the United States Maccabiah Masters (over 50 years old) Golf Team at the Pan Am games in Santiago, Chile, from December 27 to January 3. More than 6,000 athletes from 24 countries participated in a range of sports. Tom reports they won the gold medal (helped just a bit by two country club pros that were also on the team). Jeff continues to do color commentary for fencing competitions for NBC Sports ….
Rose Wilton traveled from Australia to Scatico to work as a lifeguard in 2000. She works for the New South Wales Police Force as a Forensic Investigator and is the proud mom of two daughters…
Mark Ostow’s (1960s-70s) photographs of Republican presidential candidates on the campaign trail were featured in the January/February issue of The Atlantic….
Rachel Katz (2005-13) is a freshman at SUNY Geneseo. Her article “10 Reasons Why Sleepaway Camp Helped Prepare You for College” appeared in the December 14 issue of The Odyssey, a website produced by students at universities across the United States…. Former bunkmates
Tom Rubinson and Gary Orseck met up for dinner in Los Angeles. Tom is a judge for the Superior Court of L.A. County; Gary is a D.C.- based attorney….
Ally's housewarming
When Ally Lipton (1980s to present) had a December housewarming party at her new apartment in Manhattan, she was joined by current girls head counselor Kerri Berkman Winderman and 1980s-90s boys side campers and counselors (left to right in the accompanying photo) Justin Lapatine, Mike Samuels, Randy Goldstein, Brian Berusch (all the way from Petaluma, CA), Jared Shapiro, and Scott Yurdin. Ally returns to Scatico this summer to once again head our culinary program. Brian was then back home in California to host Howard Luks, who currently works for Oracle in London, but was in San Francisco for business. Brian is a principal at Story House, a boutique video production agency….
Tom and Gary
Howard and Brian
Scaticonians in Paris
Former bunkmates Amanda Gerzog, Hayley Blumenreich, Maddie Bianchi, and Tara Suchait held a reunion in Paris, France. Amanda, Hayley, and Maddie are studying abroad in Europe and took the opportunity to meet up in Tara’s home town….
Spanning the generations—Doug Herzog (1960s- 70s) and Chase Madorsky (2003-present) took in a UCLA baseball game together. Doug lives near the university and regularly attends games; Chase is a sophomore at the school (and returns to Scatico this summer as a division leader). At UCLA, Chase works on the radio station and this fall interviewed former major league baseball player (and Cy Young award winner) Bret Saberhagen.….
1992 boys side Color War leaders Jon Tucker, Aaron Wattenberg, Eric Kleiner, and Eric Strauss got together for dinner in Manhattan in December….
Doug and Chase
Jon, Aaron, Eric and Eric
Stephen Dorochovich, the camp driver from 1968-71, retired recently as a chef at USMA West Point. He is now splitting time between homes in Brooklyn and lake Ariel, PA….
Brian Helfman, (1997-2009), has co-founded Startup Island, a retreat for aspiring young entrepreneurs. After a successful first trip in March to Costa Rica, they are planning another outing to the same site from August 6-12, and then a weekend getaway to Camp Scatico August 26-28! You can learn more at joinstartupisland.com….
Brian’s bunkmate Ben Hayon (1997-2012) has also co-founded a business: Athos Health. As Ben describes: “Athos is a team of patient advocates who work to give individuals the assurance they’re paying a fair and accurate amount for their care. Think of it like a AAA card for your medical bills. When you get a bill, you can call Athos for help and/or a discount”….
Larry Gershwin (1953-57) has written “A Kid from Brooklyn: Lessons Learned,” an autobiography available on Amazon. The book not only covers Larry’s long career in the entertainment industry as the founder, chairman, and CEO of World International Network, but also “my time at camp and what the whole Scatico experience has meant to me and the direction my life has taken.”…..
Thanks for staying in touch. E-mail news and photos for the Fall 2016 issue of the Alumni Newsletter to info@scatico.com.
Maya and Jon
Congratulations
The Next Generation
Drew
- Maya on July 8 to Andrea and Jon Braunstein (1987-2000). Jon’s sisters Hayley and Marcie attended camp as did their mom Lynda Malkin Braunstein.
- Eliza Brooke on February 24 to Eric and Stacey Koretsky Strauss (and a sister now for Matthew and Jacob). Eric and Stacey attended camp in the 1980s-200s, as did their brothers Scott and Jesse Strauss and Josh Koretsky. Eric, currently part of the summer doctor rotation at camp, wrote that they went with “Eliza” because “they thought Elizaville would cause some trouble in the schoolyard.”
- Drew on October 27 to Shawn and Jamie Jacobs Siegel. Jaime and her brother Jon were campers and counselors at Scatico in the 1990s-2000s.
- Samuel Joseph on July 18 to Jaymes and Lauren Leiner Dermody. Lauren and her sister Sarah were at Scatico in the 1990s-2000s.
- Lainey Amelia on December 2 to Jonathan and Amy Paul Turick. Amy and her brother Sandy were campers and counselors in the 1980s-90s.
- Caleb Mason on January 14 to Scott and Katie Deutsch Eichel. Caleb’s big sisters Summer and Billie are current campers. Katie was a camper and a counselor in the 1980s-90s; her brother Adam and sister Stephanie were campers in the 1970s.
- Miles Reed on April 5 to Chris and Jamie Nowak Noe (1990s-2000s).
- Ryan William on February 16 to Marc and Emily Buchbinder Hutton (1990s- 2000s).
When bunkmates (1998 Soopers) Ashley Green-Sheen, Lauren Leiner Dermody, Jamie Jacobs Siegel, and Shira Savada recently got together, the next generation joined in the fun. From left to right— Declan Sheen, Sam Dermody, Drew Siegel, and Jack Dermody. Shira returns to Scatico in 2016 for her 26th summer (a seriously big number). Once again she’ll be taking camp photos and helping to run the girls’ one-week Scatico-in-Training program with running mate Deb Sloane (who was Shira’s division leader back in 1997 and 1998).
Weddings
Doug, Andy, Jeff, Richard, Ben, Forest, and David
- Brenda Schachter and Ben Krull (1960s -80s) were married on December 13. Ben’s mom Judy Weinstein Krull and brother Spencer (masterful toast as Best Man) were also Scaticonians. At the celebration, Ben was joined by camp friends Doug Herzog, Andy Levine, Jeff Abrams, Richard Croland, Forest Sussman, and David Fleischner.
When bunkmates (1998 Soopers) Ashley Green-Sheen, Lauren Leiner Dermody, Jamie Jacobs Siegel, and Shira Savada recently got together, the next generation joined in the fun. From left to right— Declan Sheen, Sam Dermody, Drew Siegel, and Jack Dermody. Shira returns to Scatico in 2016 for her 26th summer (a seriously big number). Once again she’ll be taking camp photos and helping to run the girls’ one-week Scatico-in-Training program with running mate Deb Sloane (who was Shira’s division leader back in 1997 and 1998).
Alex Holman NYC circa 1930
We Will Miss You
Hilde and Donna Blum July 1956
- Alex Holman was 96 years old when he died on April 3. He was born in New York City, was a graduate of New York University, served as a U.S. Army Captain in World War II, and had a long career in the fashion industry. When he visited camp in 2010 for Scatico’s 90th anniversary, he entertained campers with songs from his days at camp in the 1920s-30s.
- Margie Feinberg (1960s-70s) passed away on June 4, 2015. She served as the deputy press secretary for the New York City Department of Education for 15 years, and was a reporter for The New York Post from 1981- 90, covering NYC transit. Her brother Richie also attended Scatico.
- Hilde Blum Fischman (1952-59) passed away on January 7. Hilde’s sister Donna attended Scatico, as did her sons Mike and Matt Madorsky, daughter-in-law Elisa Segal Madorsky (Mike’s wife) , and grandsons Chase and Mack Madorsky. As Mike wrote: “There truly was never a day that she didn’t dream of the green and the grey, the mist on the lake, and the comfort of a campfire.”
Vintage 1970s: All those group photos… Invariably the hottest day in July. In order to get a group to stop fidgeting so as to make the “serious” picture possible, generations of camp photographers (from Vernon Findlay and Ted Blody through to Cory Schwartz and Shira Savada) have proffered the promise of a “funny picture.”
Scatico In the News….
Scatico was featured in two recent magazine articles. In “Rethinking Service” (CampBusiness, May/June 2016) Nicki Fleischner describes in detail Scatico’s CIT Service Trip to the Dominican Republic, partnering with The Dream Project (dominicandream.org) to run a 1- week day camp for 7 to 11-yearolds who have never had a camp experience. Nicki also did a presentation on the program at the TriState Camp Conference in March.
“Turn on the Radio,” by David Fleischner (Camping Magazine, March/April 2016) describes how campers sit out on the boys HC porch nightly during the summer to listen to baseball games on the radio (just a tad throwback).
Scatico early 1940s…. Missing? The “Boys Side-Girls Side” shaded seating area has not yet been built. That’s the girls social hall in the background. The “Guest House” was re-branded the “Long House” in the early 1950s. In the 1930s-50s parents could rent rooms throughout the summer.
Scatico early 1940s.... Missing? The “Boys Side-Girls Side” shaded seating area has not yet been built. That’s the girls social hall in the back- ground. The “Guest House” was re-branded the “Long House” in the early 1950s. In the 1930s-50s parents could rent rooms throughout the summer.