Although it was not a Scatico summer in the traditional, Elizaville, reveille-to-taps sense, the alumni community seemed more than ever to embrace the need to stay connected both with their Scatico friends and their Scatico memories: We received a steady flow of reports on reunions (both in person and virtual); alumni stopped by camp almost daily throughout the summer (coordinating visits with bunkmates or just making the trip on their own); and emails filled with reminiscences of years past reinforced yet again the power of the camp experience to transcend time and place….
Amy Malina was last at camp 53 years ago in 1967 (her final summer as a camper). She wrote from Playa Vista, CA: “I loved Scatico and one of my very best friends to this day, Betsy Hirsch, I met there in 1963. Scatico was great friends and wonderful times. I became a better swimmer, remember getting stuck with a friend on a Sunfish out in the lake, and remember writing all the lyrics for my 1967 Color War team songs to the melodies of Guys and Dolls. I had a pair of underwear with a Kathy Kassover name tag I must have worn for 35 years out of nostalgia. Also remember an appearance by [former camper] Lesley Gore in the dining room one year, but her ‘manager’ said she had to save her voice and couldn’t sing for us. How on earth do I even remember that?”
1964- Amy Malina seated far right. Two bunkmates over is Betsy Hirsch.
Richard Mack attended Scatico for two summers in the 1940s. He remembers a basketball practice when Uncle Nat “blew his whistle, walked over to me, and said, ‘Son, what part of the body moves the least?’ Ok, I couldn’t answer. He then said, ‘the hips, son, the hips.’ Quite a teaching moment for me. Obviously, I never forgot.”
Anabella and Ana Eugenia
Anabella Ron last spent a summer at Scatico in 2001 as an 11-year-old camper, traveling to Elizaville from Caracas, Venezuela, with her twin sister Ana Eugenia and brother Juan Andres. Now living in Washington, DC, she was traveling to Maine on vacation in July and made a detour to see camp for the first time in 19 years. She was amazed at how much she specifically remembered (especially Tribes plaques and songs from Divisional Sings) and the memories stirred. For International Camp T-Shirt Day on November 10 (see page 5) she sent in the photo to the right with Ana (who lives in Spain).
Michael Resnick attended Scatico from 2003-12 and now lives in Corvallis, OR. Those of you at camp in 2012 may remember how Michael solved a Rubik’s Cube while blindfolded on stage at the 4th of July Talent Show. He writes: “I can now solve a 7x7x7 Rubik’s Cube. Lately, I’ve been reconnecting with some passions of mine that I discovered while at Scatico: handball, chess, and woodworking.”
From the 1940s to the 2000s…. Whether 70 or 10 years ago…. The vividness of childhood memories never cease to amaze. And how often these memories are not of the “big” moments (although we marvel at these), but just as often an afternoon sailing (and getting stuck on the lake) or Uncle Nat on the A Court explaining how not to fall for a ball fake. These “small” moments also forge the friendships, life lessons, and passions that define who we are—and that help us persevere during times of adversity. The past year has challenged us in so many ways—and hopefully the foundations built at camp in summers passed have helped us stand strong.
STAYING IN TOUCH
Thanks to all who have checked in since the Spring issue of the Alumni Newsletter…. As always, we will lead with a Random Scatico Sighting (an RSS)— and this one straight out of a film/book.
On a flight from New Jersey to Florida, Lolli Kahn (Scatico camper, counselor, and division leader from 1999-2014) struck up a conversation with a woman sitting nearby. And, as all roads sometimes do lead to Elizaville, she asked Lolli, “Where did you go to camp?” It was Annie Bierman Gruenberger, who attended Scatico in the 1950s-60s along with Lolli’s mom Eileen Fleder Kahn and aunts/uncle Cheryl Fleder Sloane (a divisionmate), Gail Fleder, and Larry Fleder. After landing, Lolli and Eileen invited Annie over to their home….
Lolli, Eileen and Annie
In non-RSS news…. Max Bosch, a Scatico camper, counselor, and division leader from 2003-09, has launched Eddy.Com, a platform to connect educators with learners. As stated on the Eddy website: “We want to create a community for both parents and learners that love project-based learning and give them access to the best possible lessons.” Max would love to hear from alumni who are either teachers or parents of students….
Sisters Gaby and Halle Phillips (campers and staff from 2008-18) have deep Scatico roots (mom Jill Herzog Phillips and grandparents Don and Sue Kohlreiter Herzog all had long camp careers). Currently college Juniors, they have purchased a school bus and are planning a cross country road trip during the summer of 2021. They are inviting the Scatico community to follow their adventures on Instagram at #4babesandabus….
Max on the foul line at the 2004 Nat Holman Tournament. That’s referee Scott Kaufman in the background.
As staff members— Gaby and Halle cheer on the Girls Nat.
Jake Feinberg (camper and counselor from 1988-2001) has recently published The Cats!: Volume 2: The Cadence of Their Time, a collection of extracts of interviews from The Jake Feinberg Show (radio) with musicians “from back before drum machines and pitch correction were invented….”
The 1994 Upper Seniors held a spring Zoom reunion, which was attended by 12 campers and 3 counselors. Niklas Mortensen, who traveled from Norway to Elizaville for several camper summers in the early 1990s was one of the campers “present,” joining from Oslo….
From “The Way I See It,”— Jon left.
If you watched the Amazon documentary “The Way I See It” (about Pete Souza, a White House photographer during the Obama and Reagan administrations), you may have recognized Jon Cooper (a camper, counselor, and division leader from 1984-96) in a photo from Election Night in 2008. Jon attended the victory celebration in Chicago that night as the guest of camp contemporary Jared Shapiro, whose brother Nick (also a former camper) was Obama’s campaign deputy press secretary and later served as the senior advisor to the director of the CIA ….
Finally, dreaming of sunny skies and hot summer days—1977 Upper Seniors Rob Sussman and Jim Rosenzweig shared the beach photo to the right from this past August….
Thanks to all for staying in touch—please email news, photos, and recollections for the Spring 2021 issue of the Alumni Newsletter 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 if requested. Send to: Camp Scatico, PO Box 6, Elizaville, NY 12523.
Rob and Jim
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.
Changing fashions….
Divisional photos capture moments of time, below from the early 1940s (during WWII, from Don Plehn—bottom right of photo); 1967 (two years before Woodstock, from Lynda Goldberg Goldman—seated third from right); and the 1980s (the Reagan era, from Roger Stiefel—Scatico 1950s-60s and dad of current camp doctor Marc Stiefel, seated bottom right) .
Alumni Podcasts
Chase Madorsky, Bryce Holden, Noah Levine, and Quinn Croland shared many summers together as campers and staff in the 2000s-10s. A lot of activities as well as a lot of hang time on campus, and those hang times may just have planted the seed for and brought to life two current projects.
From Chase and Bryce: The Underdog Sports MLB Show, a baseball podcast released each week that covers all happenings around the league. You can subscribe on iTunes or find more info at underdogpodcasts.com.
From Noah and Quinn: The Dive-In, a podcast where they review and discuss a variety of films with other Scaticonians. Each episode features a guest host of Scatico fame, who selects a movie for in-depth analysis. Recent visitors to the program have included: Chef Ally Lipton (former camper and counselor and head of the cooking program— Sixteen Candles); Jim Hosking (20- plus summers on staff—Pulp Fiction); Mack Madorsky (longtime camper and counselor and current division leader—Catch Me If You Can); and Matty Carroll (former division leader and assistant head counselor— Christopher Robin). You can listen to all of the recent shows on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Zombie Camp
There’s nothing quite like a camp zombie movie…. Noah Levine (holding the sign— from the summer of 2011) showed his passion for movies early in his Scatico career. In 2018 and 2019, he taught film-making at camp. The campers with him in the photo to the right are (from left to right) Shane Spitzer, Alec Silverman, Matt Schumer, and Jayson Pinals. The counselors are Aodhan Gregory and Ashley Jones.
The Scatico 100
What now feels like a long, long, long time ago— early April (no listing here of everything we’ve experienced since then!)—boys head counselor Cory Schwartz and art director Ken Vallario launched The HC Porch, a podcast to keep us all connected, positive, and thinking camp. Each week they would invite a camp celebrity or two (girls head counselor Kerri Winderman, maintenance director Teddy Lydon, former division leader Danny Rosen…) to share their Scatico stories. At the end of each episode, they would ask their guests to answer a set of questions.
This segment quickly became a particularly anticipated part of each episode, rapid fire and spontaneous, covering everything from the mundane (“Go-to Holy Cow order” and “Sheets/comforter on your bed as a camper”) to the spiritual (“Favorite sound at camp” and “Favorite place at camp”), and lots of stuff in between. Everyone I spoke to who listened to the podcast reflected on what their answers would be if they were invited to be guests on the show.
Well, if camp isn’t about everyone getting a chance…. In August, inspired by Cory and Ken, we invited (by Instagram) the entire Scatico community to submit answers to “The Scatico 100” (a slightly revised list of questions). We have so loved the responses that we are expanding the outreach, hoping to connect with as many alumni and current Scaticonians as possible and develop a written shared history as part of the ongoing 100th anniversary celebration.
Here’s your chance to contribute. You can find the blank form in Scatico’s Instagram Highlights under #Scatico100 or go “old school” and email answers to nicki@scatico.com (or go “really old school” and mail to Camp Scatico, PO Box 6, Elizaville, NY 12523).
What have we learned from the more than 50 answers to date (so far every decade from the 1960s to 2020s represented)? That a lot of girls staff and alumni love the coffee ice cream at Holy Cow (often with hot fudge sauce). That campers from all generations feel butterflies in their stomachs or an adrenaline surge when they first see the Scatico sign on County Route 19. That sounds are absolutely an integral part of our camp experiences. For current camper Chase Baruch it’s the sound of Reveille each morning. For camp mom Hillah Wiczyk Mendez ( a camper and counselor in the 1970s-90s), “bunk doors slamming.” For Danny Klyde (2000s/10s camper and counselor), “the [boys side] mess hall just after the moment of silence.”
Four graduating Soopers weighed in: Sophie Rosen— “general swim from a distance when you hear everyone laughing and talking”; Maya Miller— “the ropes getting pulled when raising or lowering the flag”; Vivi Loigman— “cheering in the dining hall and campfire songs”; and Dylan Gottfried— “everyone singing together in the U [the dining room deck] before lunch.”
Matty Carroll and Kael Au-Carroll first met at Scatico as staff members in 2008 and then were married at a precamp ceremony at the girls campfire site in 2016. Answering independently, they had the same response: “heavy rain on the bunk roof at night.”
We look forward to embracing all the sounds at camp next summer. The bugles, the doors slamming, the laughter, the singing, and the rain on the roof of a bunk at night.
In Memoriam
Adele Wolff Holman passed away on July 3, 2020 at the age of 95. Adele was married to Merton Holman (Scatico 1931-42) and the mother of Tom and Bert Holman, who attended camp in the 1960s. Adele earned a BS in Chemistry and Mathematics graduating Hunter College in 1947. She then was employed by Fischbach & Moore, the largest public works electrical contractor in the world. She and Merton were avid bridge players and world travelers. Merton was a nephew of Scatico founder Nat Holman.
Bill Weinzimmer passed away on September 21, 2020, at the age of 90. Bill and his sister Phyllis Weinzimmer Schoenfeld attended Scatico in the 1940s. Nancy Schoenfeld Eisenberg (a niece who attended camp with her sister Ellen Schoenfeld Fischer in the 1960s) wrote: “He had a row- boat next to his Lake Mahopac house and it always reminded him of camp. He also had a flag pole and raised the flag every day, just like camp.”
Planting Trees at Scatico
Alumni planted seven trees at Scatico in November in memory of Sue Skollins Friedman, Steve Florin, Ira Briskman, Mark Tafeen, Bill Burton, and Bob “Bobo” Miller, all longtime Scaticonians (from the 1940s to the 1970s) who passed away in 2020. Two of the trees were gifted in memory of Sue—one by former bunkmates of her daughters Andrea and Stephanie and one by a group of Sue’s camp friends led by Hank Alpert, Dennis Rinzler, and Joan Haskell Berlly. A special thanks to Hank (a Scatico camper and counselor in the 1950s-60s), who continues to take a lead in bringing alumni together to make these living tributes. He began this tradition in 2015 and to date 24 trees have been planted in locations around camp from the boys ballfields to the boys waterfront (for Bobo, a longtime lifeguard and waterfront director) to outside the girls social hall.
International Camp T-shirt Day—November 10
Rye Brook in Scatico gear! Carly and Emmie Hodes; Roger and Noah Lowenthal; Cory and Bash Schwartz; and Emily, Doug, Charlotte and Mason Florin.
It was an International Camp T-shirt Day for the books, spanning generations, camp histories, and continents. We had first-time campers, returnees, and longtime Senior Staff. Siblings, parents, roommates (shoutout to Lexi Schecter and Emily Goldner), neighbors (from Rye Brook, NY), and even co-workers (Dani Josephson and Melissa Samuels). Represented were alum from every decade starting with the 1960s and staff from Europe to South America to college campuses. Scaticonians with dogs and in backyards, headed to school or ready to zoom, and reuniting on FaceTime (Soopers 2010!) or on stoops. For each of the 70 (!) participants who sent their photos to us for posting on Scatico’s Instagram account, we donated $5 to two Columbia County-based non-profits Kite’s Nest and Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood. Kite’s Nest is a center for liberatory education with the mission to build the collective capacity of young people to bring about personal transformation, social connection, healing, and systemic change. The Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood works to create a chain of support for children and families in the community from cradle through career in order to break through the inter-generational cycle of poverty and help kids' reach their full potential.
Scatico in Objects
Camp has always been about the people and the relationships.... But sometimes an object can also instantly conjure up a moment in time. As part of our 100th celebration, we continue to invite alumni to submit photos for an Artifacts Timeline that you can follow at Scatico100.com. Three recent additions...
Pam Weiss Caldara’s “T-46” trunk key from the 1980s (recently found, as labeled, by her mom). For current campers raised on soft duffle-style trunks, this was back in the day when campers’ trunks were “hard” (and suitable for use as coffee tables in college dorms). What we loved about these keys was that every single key opened every single trunk. So much for security.
The face mask worn by Lukas Ault in the 2006 Nat Holman Basketball Tournament (below). This is a story we should probably just let Lukas tell: “The day before the NAT in 2006 [during a scrimmage], I caught an errant elbow from [teammate] Eric Pittel after he secured a rebound. Complete accident, but friendly fire nonetheless. Doctor Wang examined me and sent me for x-rays immediately , which inevitably came back positive for a broken nose..... The compromise we reached was that I would have to wear a mask, a la Rip Hamilton, who had popularized it at the time in the NBA. Finding a mask and getting it up to camp proved to be very challenging in less than 24 hours. There was nowhere nearby that carried the product, so I believe that [division leader] Harris Sarraf drove it up to camp from NYC that night. I remember coming down to the canteen to have Doc Wang fit it on me and examine me before giving me the green light. I hated the mask as my depth perception was way off (I would push it up on my forehead when I shot free throws), but made it work. And, thanks to Jake Wolfin [tournament MVP], the rest is history....”
A Zak Penn photo of a tennis ball balanced on top of the boys handball wall from the early 1980s (below, right).... We’re not quite sure how many tosses (or was it a fluke?) it took Zak to achieve this miracle shot (the wall is about 16 feet high and 4 inches wide at the top). He shares, “I got to raise or lower the flag for this.... The 5th greatest moment of my life.” Given Zak’s career as a screenwriter, we’ll certainly settle for “top 5” recognition.
Bring on the Summer
Among many special events on the horizon—the 4th of July: dressing up in red, white, and blue for the full-camp BBQ; the Talent Show at the amphitheater; and (of course) fireworks on the golf course.
CONGRATULATIONS- The Next Generation
Maya Skylar on 11/3/20 to Ethan and Jodi Needleman. Ethan and his brother Josh were campers in the 2000s. Their mom Jill Smiley Needleman and grandmother Marilyn Morris Smiley also were Scatico campers.
Hudson Ira on 11/2/20 to Liberty Thomas McAteer and Rachel Seebacher. Rachel and her siblings Lauren and Paul were campers and counselors in the 1990s-2000s. Their dad Bob spent more than 20 summers at Scatico as a camper and counselor (1960s-70s) and camp doctor (1990s-2000s). Note to the current generation of boys side campers: Bob built the “pit” next to the nature building as a pioneering counselor in the early 1970s.
Logan Samuel on 11/7/20 to Sam and Jess Abrams. Sam and his brothers Joe and Mike were campers in the 1990s. Their dad Jeff was a Scaticonian in the 1960s-70s.
Ethan, Jodi and Maya
Hudson and Bob
Sam, Jess and Logan
Weddings
Michael, Audrey, Ian and Ben
Audrey Lew and Ian Strickman on August 1, 2020. Audrey was a camper and counselor from 2002 to 2011 and the younger sister of longtime campers and counselors Ben and Michael.
Helen Quigley and Horton McKinney on September 26, 2020. They met in law school and both now work in the real estate department at Shearman & Sterling in New York City. Helen and her siblings Sally, Doris, Joe, and Rodger (and many cousins) covered a lot of Scatico divisions in the 1990s-2000s. In the photo below, Helen drives to the basket at the Nat Holman Basketball Tournament in 2003 (her Sooper summer). For current campers—that’s the court at the Pavilion before there was a Pavilion.
Rodger, Doris, mom Theresa, Helen, Horton, Sally and Joe
Helen at The Nat
100th Reunion-- September 25, 2021
While there is still plenty of uncertainty in the world, we continue to plan for a special 100th celebration on Saturday, September 25, 2021, in Elizaville. Updated event information and registration (if you have not done so already) is at Scatico100.com. Want to get your camp nostalgia itch scratched before September? We’re still collecting objects for our Artifacts Timeline, which paints a picture of Scatico over time through camper and counselor-submitted photos of objects (see adjacent page). The current timeline—which features everything from Mallow Cup cards to Color War emblems—can be found at Scatico100.com/artifacts-timeline, and new submissions can be sent to nicki@scatico.com. Our Ultimate Scatico Playlists are also still growing, and can be listened and added to at Scatico100.com/playlists. (No surprise here, songs like “The Circle Game” appear in nearly every decade’s song list.)
Staying Connected....
Follow us on Instagram (@campscatico_official (1500-plus followers and counting) and Facebook (@campscaticoofficial ). Visit the Alumni Section at www.scatico.com to read back issues of the Alumni Newsletter and to purchase Scatico-wear.
Yes, the front gate did have an arch (until a 1940s laundry delivery)
Those paintings in the Dining Hall really were painted by campers in the 1940s-50s