News from Elizaville
In 1978, Radisa Borisavljevic traveled from Serbia (then part of Yugoslavia) to Elizaville to work for one summer as a camp driver. He found the experience so formative that his son Aleksander spent a summer at Scatico in 2006, holding the same position. (Certainly all sorts of Scatico father-son “firsts” established here.) In 1997, Mickey Kim arrived at Scatico from South Korea, speaking very little English, but proving to be an incredible piano accompanist. She was also a counselor for my older daughter Nicki (then in her first summer as a camper). Despite the language barrier, the kids loved Mickey, who spoke the universal languages of kindness, caring, and patience.
What do Radisa and Mickey have in common? They both took a leap of faith in their early 20s, challenging themselves to travel alone halfway around the world to have a camp experience. They knew little English and maybe even knew less about what to expect. And they both thrived. They also both recently emailed to reflect on their Elizaville summers, respectively 42 and 23 years ago, and how their Scatico adventures helped define and form the people they were to become.
1997 Jinter Beanie Babies (Divisional Sing theme): Nicki Fleischner, Dayna Roberts, Mickey, Lindsay Greenberg, and Jackie Wainer
Radisa wanted to see how his camp family was doing during this difficult time. He was quarantining in Belgrade and hopes to make the 100th Anniversary celebration (now scheduled for 9/25/21—see below) with his son Aleks.
Since her summer at Scatico, Mickey has married, had a son, lived in Illinois and California, and then moved back to South Korea (from 2010-19). She has now returned to the United States, living near Seattle: “I am so happy and thankful that I am being remembered. As a pianist and a counselor, I am always thankful to camp for giving me unforgettable memories. Scatico has always been in my heart and memories all these years.”
As we read through the pages of the Alumni Newsletter or visit www.Scatico100.com it’s easy (and awe-inspiring) to focus on the multigenerational families or the many campers and staff who spent the better parts of 2 or 3 decades of their lives at camp. Of late, I find myself even more amazed at those who spent just one summer at Scatico, who were not only enriched by their few months in Elizaville, but also so positively impacted the community. They often traveled long distances to arrive at camp, whether geographically or culturally. They were prepared to open themselves up to something new and different, to meet it head on, to teach and to learn.
Scatico, when at its best, has managed to perform this juggling act: embracing traditions and welcoming the new. Understanding that while what has come before is part of our collective history, that what will be in the future should always continually improve on the past. A core value and call to action to cling to during these times of challenge and self-reflection. During these days of pandemic, as we grapple to contemplate a first Scatico summer without campers and staff since Opening Day 1921, we look more than ever toward a celebration of both our past and future. Thanks to all of the alumni and current Scaticonians who shared vintage camp photos and reflections about this moment in our lives on our Community Bulletin Board, which you can view and add to at www.scatico.com/10-for-2.
A Scatico Work Connection
Sammy Wolfin, an account executive at DKC/O&M (and a Scatico camper, counselor and division leader from 2000-18) had an intern this past year whose grandmother, Sybil Erland, attended Scatico for one summer as a sailing counselor in 1962. Only one summer in Elizaville, but a trove of vintage photos that she was kind enough to share.
Bunk slumber party in the Lodges. Judging by the hoard of food, maybe Visiting Day night?
Sign located at the intersection of Routes 9 and 78.
1962 at the Girls Waterfront: hairstyles and swimsuit fashion will undergo a rapid evolution over the next few years. For current Scaticonians, the boat slips (in the picture to the left) made it to the late 1960s.
Discovering a Scatico Neighbor
Current camp mom Nicole Greenblatt (sons Isaac and Elliott) was thrilled to discover that her neighbor in West Hartford, CT, Judith Ugelow Satlof attended Scatico in the 1940s. Once the connection was made, a quick trip to the attic followed, yielding her 1949 “Report Card” (below on the right). Among many recognitions, she received one star in “Quoits” and two stars in “Choral Singing,” but (alas) no stars in “Stamps.” Stamp collecting? Writing home? Making rubber stamps in crafts? The photo below and to the left is from a 1940s “Circus Day” (rebranded as the “Carnival” by the 1960s). We’re not quite certain which building this is, given the fence railing she is standing on and the awnings. Can anyone help?
Back in the day (that day being pre-1960) there weren’t half pints of chocolate milk and packages of cookies at taps, but whole milk in glass bottles with trays of sheet cake served after Rest Hour.
Early 1940s—with a shortage of male counselors be- cause of WWII, female staff were hired for the young- er boys divisions. Cubby areas in Freshman cabins are curtained off to create “private” sleeping areas.
We Will Miss You
Sue Skollins Friedman on 4/28/20. Sue attended Sca- tico from 1944-59 and was on the planning committees for Scatico’s 75th anniversary celebration (held in Manhattan in 1995) and for the 100th. Her sister Karen, daughters Stephanie and Andrea, and grandson Cooper are all Scaticonians. At the June 2019 orientation for first-time campers in Elizaville, she spoke eloquently about her lifelong camp friendships to current Scatico parents.
Ira and Sue at a 2012 Scatico reunion in Florida.
Sue, bottom left, with bunkmates on the Clubhouse steps in 1953, proudly displaying the Friends plaque.
Ira Briskman, on 4/7/20, was a camper and a counselor in the 1950s-60s and his daughters Anna and Emily attended camp in the 1980s-90s. Born in Toledo, Ohio, and a graduate of the University of Michigan, Ira had a long career in magazine circulation and distribution, working for Time Warner, Playboy Enterprises, and Rolling Stone.
Steve Florin, on 12/30/19, was a camper and counselor in the 1950s-60s. Steve was the patriarch of a large Scatico family that included his children Doug, Matt, and Jen and grandchildren Charlotte, Mason, Jake, Max, and Sophie. Steve was the president of Florin Creative Film Service, which distributed films to independent theaters. Steve’s brother Richard was also a Scaticonian.
Scatico riflery team with coach Bill Powley. Steve is the third from the right.
Diane Terman Felenstein, on 12/8/19, was a camper in the 1950s. She founded Diane Terman Public Relations (whose clients included artist Salvador Dali and weightloss guru Dr. Robert Atkins) and was the New York Times best-selling co-author of “The Money Club” (written in 1997 as a guide for women to take control of their financial situations). Diane’s brother David (“Tookie”) also was a Scatico camper.
Jerome Maliner, on 6/22/19, was a camper in the 1930s with his brothers Robert and Martin. Born in Brooklyn, Jerome had a long career as a dermatologist in Eugene, OR. Passionate about the outdoors, he hand planted hundreds of trees during his lifetime.
Aaron Schechtman, on 4/16/20, was the husband of Carol Schechtman, the girls head counselor from 1967 to 1984. Campers from the era will remember Aaron for his elaborate marionette and puppet shows when he visited Scatico during the summer.
Bill Dodge on 1/23/20. Bill was a regular weekend visitor to Scatico in the 1990s-2000s when his wife Lisa Paymer Dodge worked as the girls athletics director and assistant head counselor. The combined Scatico careers of their children Jessica, Trevor, Tory, and Aliza covered more than 40 summers and ran from 1994 to 2015. Is there another Scatico family with four siblings elected by peers to be Color War leaders?
Bob “Bobo” London, 77, on June 17, 2020. Bob was a Scatico camper, counselor, division leader, and waterfront director from 1952 to 1973. He taught a generation of boy campers how to swim (this writer included). Bob’s former camper Matt Weinstein shared the origin of his nickname: “While on a canoe trip (I did three with him) he revealed that to make some money he wrestled professionally and used the name Bobo.... He remains one of the most influential people in my life.”
1960s lifeguard staff. Bobo, the waterfront director, is the second from the left.
1974 Color War break, Bobo is attacked by the sea monster
STAYING IN TOUCH
As always, we like to start off with RSSes (Random Scatico Sightings).... One of the more interest- ing RSSes in recent memory (okay, stretching the definition a bit) was reported by Melissa Marques Goldberg (1970s-80s): “I’ve been a huge fan of this podcast that does recaps of “Survivor” and other shows I watch. I’ve been listening to it for years . Someone had asked where the title to one of the segments came from and the host said it came from the camp he went to—Scatico! I was floored! The host is Josh Wigler. I reached out to him afterwards and we have corresponded since. He is hilariously funny. I’ve been listening to him for years!” Josh was a camper, counselor, and division leader from 1996-07 and has hosted several podcasts and written extensively about television....
Katie Mazarin Derasse and Michelle Brandt King spotted each other while skiing in Colorado in February.... Jeff Hellman (1970s-80s) was introduced to Jen Hyman (1990s) at the annual gala of the Fashion Scholarship Fund. Jen, an honoree at the event, is the co-founder and CEO of Rent the Runway.... On family vacation together in February, Mike Madorsky and Rob Rosen (both 1970s- 80s) struck up a conversation with someone next to them on the beach. Talk (what a surprise) turned to camp. The third person was Larry Leibowitz, who helped run the canteen and was a head waiter in the early 1970s. Larry got his job at Scatico through his high school principal (and future employer) Irwin “Flick” Fleischner....
Michelle and Katie
Maz, Larry and Rob
In non-RSS news.... Fern Zipser Feldman reported that her sister Lyn Zipser Rosen received a Century Award from the Dressage Foundation for competing in Dressage where the horse’s age (24) and the rider’s age (77) totals 100 or more. Fern and Lyn (Scaticonians in the 1950s-60s) are the second generation of a four-generation Scatico family that started with their dad Fred, a former camp doctor....
Danny, Caren and Eric
Caren Himelson Cummings (1958-64) sent in the photo to the right from a December event with camp contemporaries (and brothers) Danny and Eric Baron.... Jill Ostrower Trovillion checked in recently by email. She and her sister Penny Ostrower Rezeppa attended camp in the early 1960s. Their parents Donald and Roberta Serden Ostrower met at Scatico as staff members in the 1940s and were married for more than 60 years....
Carol Schectman was the girls head counselor from 1967 to 1984. On a recent Zoom she connected with four of her former campers AND their Scatico children (covering more than 200 camp summers).
Zoom with Carol. Clock wise from the top left—Leslie Wayte Heineman with Emily and Jack; Laura Danford Mandel with Lucy; Carol; Lisa Paymer Dodge with Aliza and Jessica (on the phone); Jackie Olensky; and Wendy Sheldon Brown with Maggie....
Siblings Steven and Lauren Bisk attended camp in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Steven has lived in Israel since graduating college in 1982 and not been back to camp since his last summer in 1975: “I think about the waterfront. Building the nature pit and capturing snapping turtles and snakes from the nearby swamp [on the way to the Elizaville falls]. Frogs from the lake. Screaming, pushing yourself to the end of one’s energies for Color War. My counselor Manny Toonkel smashing a tape deck with a bat. Mudsliding on the baseball field. Morning line up. . . .”
From the nature pit (built in the late 1960s and still standing) to mudsliding—memories from 50 years ago are still vivid (or somewhat vivid!) .... Thanks for staying in touch. E-mail news and photos for the Fall 2020 issue of the Alumni Newsletter to info@scatico.com.
100th Reunion Celebration Rescheduled
After planning, prepping, daydreaming, and several reunion committee meetings... we've made the difficult decision to postpone our 100th anniversary celebration to September 25, 2021, due to the coronavirus. With hundreds of Scaticonians already registered—many of whom would need to fly by plane—our priority is everyone's health and safety. Silver lining? An extra 357 days to plan a spectacular centennial event.
The reunion website Scatico100.com has been updated with all the new schedule information. We are still working on rescheduling the Friday night event for 1970s+ Scaticonians, but that event will not be part of the September 25th weekend. For now we will simply be "rolling over" everyone's registration, so if you'd already registered for the 2020 event there is no need to do anything! You can see the current (and still growing) guest list at the event website.
We have been in awe of our community's spirit these past months-- from campers, to parents, to alumni, to staff-- and we know that spirit will carry us through to an even more magical celebration in one year's time.
Visiting Scatico in Summer 2020
This summer looks very different for Scatico, but one silver lining is our availability for visits. We've already welcomed dozens of alum to the 12523 in the past few weeks. Want to stop by? Please just email us in advance, so we can be mindful of numbers on any given day.
On the "Radio"
Well, maybe not on the radio in the traditional sense... but on Spotify! During quarantine we created 6 collaborative camp music decade playlists and we haven't stopped jamming since! Visit www.scatico100.com/playlists to listen and add the many tunes we know are still missing. Our favorite component of the project? You can see which Scaticonians added which songs.
Virtual Camp
The Strauss family (Stacey, Jacob, Matthew and Eliza) enjoys Cooking with Ally!
Although not quite the same as jumping in the lake during general swim on a hot afternoon, there does seem to have been some correlation on the uplift and energy front. Visit the Scatico Blog and Scatico Podcast pages to see (and listen to) some of ways we have stayed connected over the last few months: podcasts from boys head counselor Cory Schwartz (1980s- 20s) and art direct Ken Vallario (1990s-20s); a cooking class from Chef Ally Lipton (1980s-20s); an activity book from media director John Hickey (1980s-20s); yoga with CIT trip supervisor Brian Helfman (1990s-20s); renditions of the girls Alma Mater and “I Don’t Want to Go Home” sung by alumni and current campers and staff; art and talent shows, Apache Relays, and behind-the-scenes Scatico tours.
Looking for a School or Camp in Ecuador?
Ishai and Laura Gold Eshed may spend typical summers in Elizaville running the boys waterfront and girls art program, but they are also embarking on a new adventure, organizing the founding of a school/camp program (see ad below) in San Jose, Ecuador (population 7,243 in the 2010 census). The curriculum will be environmentally focused: “Build a garden; Flora/ Fauna investigations; Butterfly garden; Pollution investigation.” They promise to return to Scatico in 2021 with daughters Eden and Bar. For Ishai, it will be his 3rd summer (honor society threshold for staff members!), while Laura will entering her 4th decade at camp (having started her career as a camper in the 1990s).
Laura running an art class in 2019
CONGRATULATIONS
The Next Generation (for the best deal ever... send in a birth announcement and receive a Scatico onesie and bib!)
Randy, Kael, Matty (with Rory), Sam, Alex, and Cameron
Rory Lee on 2/2/20 to Matty Carroll and Kael Au- Carroll. Mom and dad first met as Scatico counselors in 2008. Grandparents Randy Au (the current boys athletics director) and Lynette Santoro-Au as well as Uncle Cameron Au have all worked as staff members. Two of Matty’s former campers, Sam Josephson and Alex Jaramillo, both studying abroad in February in Copenhagen, made a trip to London to visit their former division leader, Kael, and Rory.
Henry Delaney on 12/16/19 to Ben Lew and Alexis Delaney. Ben was a camper, counselor, and division leader from 1996-2010. His siblings Audrey and Michael were also campers and counselors.
Rory
Henry
Alexandra Evette on 7/2/19 to Allie Fass and Todd Markowitz. Allie was a camper and counselor in the 1980s-90s. Her brother Jarret was a camper in the 1990s.
Mollie on 8/30/19 to Jenny and Oliver Johnson. Oliver (1999-2003) and his sister Emily (2003) traveled from the U.K. to Elizaville to work as Scatico lifeguards. Those who remember Ollie’s skills as a counselor will not be surprised that he has pursued a career in education and is now the executive principal of four primary schools
Leah Avery on 1/20/20 to Kevin Khani and Dana Wattenberg (1990-97). Dana’s brother Aaron was also a camper in the 1980s- 90s.
Devyn Rose on 4/2/20 to Scott and Randi Schwartz Gross. Randi was a camper, counselor and division leader from 1989-2003. Uncle Cory Schwartz (the current boys head counselor) began his Scatico career in 1988. Plus, a special shout-out to big brother Sander, who began his Scatico career as a 1-week camper in 2019.
Leah
Devyn
Hudson on 2/13/20 to Ellen and Sol Hayon. Sol and his twin brother Ben were campers, counselors, and division leaders from 1997-2012. Their sister Rachel Hayon Trinidad was a camper and waitress from 1997-2005. Sol is a urologist and lives in Chapel Hill, NC.
Corey Logan on 6/4/20 to Michael and Rachel Rothman Sackman. Rachel and her sister Hillary attended Scatico in the 1990s-2000s. Rachel is the Director of Special Events and Operations at Temple Emanuel of the City of New York.
Sol, Hudson and Ellen
Corey
Scatico in 100 Objects (more or less)
Objects and letters paint a remarkable picture of moments in time— providing insight into the social norms, pop culture phenoms, trends, and little (though meaningful) moments that “official history” can sometimes fail to capture. The New York Historical Society once displayed “A History of New York in 101 Objects” with things like a subway token and a black and white cookie; the MoMa has a design wing with items like the first edition of the iPod. You see it, and you get it; you are transported to a time and a place.
As we worked on an official Scatico timeline in honor of the 100th— chronicling things like when camp opened and when it moved locations— we realized there was so much of the story missing. The songs played on the radio and belted out in bunks, the snacks devoured, the hot bus rides, the making of friends, the individual creative and athletic triumphs.
And so we had the idea to create a second, alternate timeline. A timeline of artifacts, crowdsourced from the entire Scatico community. The signs that hung over your bed, the pieces of mail family received at home, the many mementos that, while not significant in the grand big picture sense of things, are personally significant. The items that when you see them, bring you back to that feeling, that sense of camp. We hope this will be an ever-expanding chronicle, with Scaticonians sending in new items to be added over time. Because who knows what camp looks and feels like better than all of you. To view items “collected” to date, visit www.scatico100.com/artifacts-timeline.
![From Maggie Brown (2007-18): "I dug up these medals which were my grandma's [Barbara Lehman Sheldon] from the 1940s/ 50s."](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54516e11e4b0a45b47d3c121/1595513712070-WKWS9FMR4NHC74J8SKO8/Barbara+Sheldon+Medals.JPG)
![From Samantha Derasse (2009-19): "My mom [Katie Mazarin Derasse] and my Tribes clipboards from our Sooper summers in 1988 and 2016 respectively."](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54516e11e4b0a45b47d3c121/1595513565516-9WT9HKW4ZQ1TFTN1737C/Katie+Mazarin+Derasse+and+Sam+Derasse+.JPG)
