I have never had so much of a sense of being brought back to a place and time than [at the final ceremony] before the years were burned. I found myself sitting with my head down, eyes focused on the blades of grass that I was picking up and splitting head down the middle as I listened. I could have picked my head up and been sitting on the steps of the Pixie House as an Upper Senior on a Friday evening.
- Lawrence “LT” Thaler—1990 Upper Senior

In books and film, time travel always proves just a little problematic. What happens when the past is changed? What happens when you meet yourself?

Fortunately, for the nearly 1,000 alumni and current campers at the 100th anniversary on September 10th, the time travel swirling in the air proved unencumbered and highly restorative—from the front gate to the campfire sites; from the waterfronts to the ballfields; from the social halls to the dining rooms; from the....

Brothers Jason and Griff Trow recreated a photo that their dad Seymour shot on Visiting Day in 1965....

1963: The Boyfriend. Leslie is stage center with her elbows up.

For Leslie Fadem it was a first time at camp since working as a counselor in 1969: “Reconnecting....filled my heart with love and reflection.” One stop for her was the Social Hall (set up as a Scatico Museum). There she gazed upon the same stage on which she had appeared in a production of “The Boyfriend” as a Sooper in 1963. Her grandmother Rose (as in Aunt Rose, sister of Jack and Nat Holman) helped run the camp office from the 1930s to the 1970s.

Visiting Day 1965? The Scatico stage 1963? Time traveling a scant 57 and 59 years respectively. Of everyone present, Marjorie Holman Sunshine boasted the longest “time voyage”—all the way back to her first Scatico summer in 1934—88 years ago (also camp’s first summer in Elizaville and with female campers after relocating from Wingdale, NY). For the many current campers who attended and were first-time campers in 2022, this would be like returning for a reunion in 2110! In the photo to the right, Marge is with Cessy Goldman Rubinson (camp journey started in 1946). Cessy’s father Bucky Goldman was a Color War leader in Scatico’s first summer in 1921.

Whether alumni embracing camp memories from decades past or current campers thinking of Elizaville summers still to come, it was a day that wrapped generations together in a warm embrace. And if you looked down, took a deep breath, and picked your head up quickly.... You just may have found yourself traveling through time.

At the 100th Anniversary, a lot of time traveling (and singing and tears) at the girls campfire site.

Staying In Touch

As always, we’ll start with reports of Random Scatico Sightings (RSSes).... A first-ever rodeo RSS: Eileen Fleder Kahn (1960s) was attending a rodeo in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, when her husband Stewart noticed a young girl wearing a Scatico choker. It was Sophie Finkel (a first-year camper in 2022) with her brother Max. When Eileen went to meet their parents (mom Jen Florin Finkel—1980s-90s) they pieced together that Jen’s brother Matt had been a counselor for Eileen’s son AJ in the 1990s. (Follow all of that?)...

Mike Abrams (1990s) runs Dog Rock Resorts in New City, NY. This spring, a new customer came in looking for a place to board their pet when they had to go upstate for a Visiting Day weekend at their sons’ camp. “What camp?” asked Mike. (You know where this is going!) It was Jen Krakowsky, mother of current campers Leo and Ian.... Former bunkmates Jonah Bleckner and Matt Lippman (1990s-00s) ran the NYC Marathon together in November. While picking up their badges the night before the event, they spotted Michael Lefcort, who was also running (and had been in the division behind them at camp)....

When separately embarking on Birthright trips to Israel last Spring, Jared Simons (2010-21) and Jeffrey Rosenberg (2012-19) soon discovered a certain Scatico connection in their group.... Mike Madorsky (1970s-80s) and sons Chase and Mack (2000s-20s) RSSed (now a verb) at a Grateful Dead concert in August with Randy Goldstein and brothers David and Eric Poritzky (all 1980s-90s)....

Two RSSes reported by Jeff Bukantz (1970s-80s). As president of Maccabi USA, Jeff was in Israel in July for the start of the games and met Josh Needleman (a member of the United States water polo team). Josh recognized him as the dad of his former division leader Michael Bukantz. Two months later, Jeff was golfing in New Jersey when he heard “Hey, Buk.” It was Jeff Klein (1970s)....

Michael Vickers (1980s-90s) ran into Mitch Polay (1980s-2000s) at LaGuardia Airport over Memorial Day weekend. Michael was excited to introduce his sons Nash and Alec (campers 2010s-20s) to his first division leader, which proved fortuitous as, two months later, Alec (an Upper Senior returning from a Scatico service trip in New Orleans) recognized Mitch on the same flight back to JFK Airport. This past summer, Scatico’s Soopers and Upper Seniors volunteered with SBPUSA, a disaster recovery nonprofit founded in New Orleans in the wake of Katrina (our graduating campers worked on a home for their Opportunity Housing program, which turns blighted and abandoned properties into newly built, affordable housing for first-time homeowners)....

Vanessa, Melissa, Daniel, Roza, Mar, and Josue

Get braced for an extremely complicated RSS that covers current and former staff and Scaticonians from four countries (the United Kingdom, Poland, Mexico, and the United States!): This summer, Vanessa Bowcock traveled from England to visit camp for the first time since she worked as a counselor and division leader in the 1990s. After her day in Elizaville, she connected with Melissa Rosenblum (1970s-2010s) and her son Daniel Pisetzner (2009-present—on a day off) for lunch in New York City. There Daniel recognized current counselors Josue Lora and Maria Fernanda Vazquez Juarez (a.k.a Mar—current head of the dance program), who were also on days off and had plans to meet Roza Izydorczyk (from Poland, who worked with Mar on support staff in 2019). Whew!....

We are counting this as an RSS: When Shawn Chudnoff Goldberg traveled with her family to California, her daughter Jordan wanted to visit her bunkmate Eden Ettinger (who lives in Los Angeles). It wasn’t until they arrived for the playdate that Shawn realized Eden’s mom was her Scatico contemporary Jill Ettinger.... And, finally, a personal RSS: Peter and Maria Rodriguez Casbolt last worked as counselors at Scatico in 2002 (Peter as a lifeguard and Maria helping to run the nature program). Now married and living in Australia , they were vacationing in New York with their son Lachlan when we met outside of Yankee Stadium in October. Peter is a clinical psychologist and Maria a Director of Student Health and Wellbeing for the Department of Education....

....When current camper Jessica Sanders met with her high school academic advisor in June in San Francisco, she mentioned that she was spending the summer at a camp in New York. (You know where this story is headed!) The advisor casually asked, “What camp?” and then her jaw dropped. It was Alice Rose, a staff member in the 1970s....

In non-RSS news.... Congratulations to standup comedian, actor, and writer Lucas Held (1980s-90s), who co-authored “Signs That Your Dog May Be Smarter Than You” which appeared in the online “The New Yorker” in August....

Good luck on new ventures: Eric Vandenhulle (a tennis instructor from Belgium for several summers in the 1980s-90s) has opened an Airbnb near Brussels (he also operates a woodworking business) and Sloan Zuckerman (1970s-80s) now owns an Englewood, NJ, location of The Salad House....

As detailed in a recent article in “The New York Times,” The New York City Public Library now houses a Lesley Gore (1950s- 60s) archive “which includes family photos, scrapbook pages, and annotated music, [that] traces the singers’ arc from releasing bubblegum hits to creating a powerful feminist statement”....

Brothers Jon and Matt Gross covered Scatico summers from 2006 to 2022 between them (and their mom Susan Greenbaum Gross was a camper and staff member in the 1970s-80s). They are now both pursuing careers in sports. (Not a surprise!) Matt is the director of operations for the Monmouth University women’s basketball team and Jon is broadcasting professional games for a broadcast company based in Florida (doing play-by-play remotely off of live feeds)....

Former bunkmates Charlie Stein and Scott Kaufman (1999 Upper Seniors) organized a June fundraiser at the Friars Club in Manhattan to raise money and awareness for Cerebral Palsy. The event was in honor of Natalie Amsterdam, the daughter of Ben and Hope Mandel Amsterdam. Ben and Hope’s long Scatico careers as campers, counselors, and division leaders spanned the 1990s to the 2010s....

Congratulations to Barry and Carol Greenstein Stone , who will celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary on December 28th. They met at camp during the summer of 1956, when they worked as counselors (Carol—tennis; Barry—basketball). As Carol writes: “We were ‘pinned’ on July 2... and share only wonderful memories of our years at Scatico.”

Thanks to all for staying in touch—please email news, photos, and recollections for the Spring 2023 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.

Visiting Camp

We love hearing from Alumni who want to visit in the off-season, especially if it’s been a long time since they were last in Elizaville. A few who couldn’t make the September reunion....

Jimmy Roberts drove into camp on a fall weekend for his first time at Scatico in more than 50 years: “All these years later, I can still remember Flick pulling his Saab up to our house, unpacking the movie projector, and telling me all about a place that would become such an important part of my life.” Jimmy is currently a sportscaster for NBC sports....

Cindy Hermans and Vanessa Bowcock each worked for several summers as counselors in the 1990s, Cindy traveling from The Netherlands and Vanessa from England. When they visited camp, it was their first times back at Scatico since their last summers. Part of their motivation to make the pilgrimages was to show Scatico to their children. Maybe future camp counselors? In the photos to the right, Vanessa is with Kerri Berkman Winderman (current girls head counselor—on staff together as division leaders in the 1990s) and Cindy (center) is with her husband Ferrie and children Norah, Jade, and Florent (now a college freshman in the United States on a tennis scholarship)....

Hank Alpert (1950s-60s) stopped by camp in November to see three trees he planted along the roadside of bunk 9-10 in memory of Stan Silverberg, who died in July 2021 at the age of 89. Stan spent more than 20 summers at Scatico (from the 1950s-70s), including 10 as the boys head counselor (1964-73)—and had been Hank’s Junior Division Leader in bunk 9-10....

In the neighborhood? Want to see what camp looks like snow-covered? Just send an email to info@scatico.com.

Reunions

Two Scatico generations at a University of Michigan football game: 1970s-80s dads Roger Lowenthal and Jeff Hellman with sons (and current campers and bunkmates) Noah and Spencer.

1996 Soopers and families at a spring pool party: Erica Rothman. Meri Brown, Deborah Ben-David, and Randi Schwartz Gross.

Vintage 70s-80s: Jeff Bukantz, Mike Madorsky, and Scott “Beef” Lief connected for the Pro Wrestling debut of Jason Hendrix (Scott’s stepson).

Vintage 1960s-80s dinner: Hope Kellman, Wendy “Pooh” Ginsberg Wolff, and Jill Herzog Phillips.

Bunk 9, 1967—lunch in NYC: Jason Trow, Bobby Lapides, Frank Cohen, and Jimmy Roberts.

Vintage 1950s-70s: Manny Toonkel joined Steve Hanft and his wife Annelie Struessmann at the Hayden Planetarium in Manhattan.

Vintage 1960s-70s: Griff Trow and Jack Cohen clamming in Cape Cod.

When former bunkmates Jack Heineman and Ben Putzer traveled to Prague they visited Katie Simova and Moises Torres who live together in the Czech Republic.

Andrea Perez (from Spain) and Nikki O’Brien (from Ireland) worked as counselors at Scatico in 2019. They reconnected this fall in Barcelona for the first time in 3 years.

100th Anniversary Digital Memory Book

How do you capture a moment-- let alone an era-- at camp? How do you convey all the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, feelings and memories? It was a tall, maybe impossible, task that we passed along to a handful of alumni.

In anticipation of our 100th weekend celebration, we put together a digital yearbook in the vein of a Girls Side Scatico Memories or Boys Side Banquet Edition. Part of this yearbook project involved asking seven Scaticonians to write from the heart, and to submit an essay/ article/ musing that "encapsulates the essence of their decade," whatever that meant to them in whatever format they found fitting.

In the end, Roger Granet took on the 1950s/60s, Jill Herzog the 1970s, Jeff Araten the 1980s, Ben and Hope Mandell Amsterdam 1990s, Josh Wigler the early aughts, and Sydney Segal the late aughts. Many elements, or core truths, of each submission echo-- particularly Roger's poem, a fitting opener. But each submission is distinctly its own, and reflective of its time. You can read all the submissions, and view the full yearbook (featuring a beautiful custom-painted cover by John Hickey) at https://www.scatico.com/scatico-100th-memory-book

In Memoriam

Aziz Kommel, Scatico’s beloved tennis director from 1996 to 2016, passed away in March, 2022. Aziz’s presence at camp was felt not only on the tennis courts, but through his spiritual story-telling at many campfires and on Friday nights and at his fortune-telling booth at the yearly Carnival.
Kirk Orseck passed away on August 30, 2022, at the age of 53. Kirk was a camper in the 1970s-80s with his brother Michael and cousins Alyssa, Danny, Gary and Jon. Kirk was a partner of Orseck Law Offices, founded by his grandfather Sidney Orseck in 1928. A decorated combat Marine, he served in Desert Storm, and was elected state-wide as Judge Advocate and Chief Legal Officer of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was also elected and served as Town Justice in Liberty, NY.

International Camp T-Shirt Day

Last month, we celebrated another successful International Camp T-Shirt Day!! We had a record number of 90(!) Scaticonians participate this year— from campers to alum, staff to campers-to-be (and even pets)! 10 submissions came from the polls (T-shirt day also happened to be Election Day); 5 were from out of the country (shoutouts to France, Scotland, England, Mexico and Argentina); and we had States represented from coast to coast.

Once again, T-Shirt Day served as a fundraiser this year, with Scatico donating to Schaghticoke First Nations Inc., for every submission. Schaghticoke First Nations Inc., is an Indigenous led 501c3 organization that focuses on environmental and racial justice, food sovereignty, human rights advocacy, culture, and education. Does the name of the non-profit sound familiar? Schaghticoke First Nations is the Indigenous Peoples from which Scatico took its name back in 1921. To learn more about Schaghticoke and its connection to Scatico, you can read our newly-written Land Acknowledgement on our website at https://www.scatico.com/land-acknowledgement.

Below, a collage of the alum who participated in the event! Emma Georger, Jamie Rosh, Marlee Georger, Ryan Watson (with his current campers), Bruce Holman, Marly Fass, Allie Putzer (via FaceTime), Sammi Salmirs, Ellie Klein (via FaceTime), Cory Schwartz, Ally Lipton, Ali Stiefel Lobel (with her current campers), Tara and Hava Suchait (from Paris), Kerri Berkman Winderman, Dori Popkin Chait (with her current campers), and Shira Savada (who had an RSS with Dan Robinson shortly after this photo was taken!).

The Summer of 1960

Left—Stephen “Scooter” Schneider (1953-62) shared his “draft notification” from the Color War break (and in which he’s informed that he will be a Green Captain).

Right—Leslie Fadem (1956-69) sent in a copy of the camp invoice for her brother Randy, including charges for round-trip “Railroad Fare and Transportation” from Grand Central ($12) and “Waiter’s Service” ($12).

The Next Generation

A lot of celebrating for 2022-minted grandparents Chas and Ellen Levine (many, many Scatico summers—Chas’s career from the 1960s to the 2010s). Harrison Jerome to Geoffrey and Jenni Levine Michener on 8/27/22... AND Maddie on 2/19/22 to Veronica Peldys and Jason Levine. Siblings Jenni and Jason were campers and counselors in the 1990s-00s.
Wyatt Asher on 9/7/22 to Mark and Rachel Wang Levey. Rachel was a camper, counselor, and division leader from 1997 to 2009. Her siblings Lauren and Andrew Wang and Brett Bush were also longtime campers and counselors, and her dad Fred was a Scatico doctor (and chess coach) in the 1990s-00s.
Freddie on 10/19/22 to James Litchfield and Lottie Butcher. Lottie traveled from the United Kingdom to Elizaville to work three summers as a counselor and division leader in the 2010s.

Blair to Scott and EB Berwitt Strauss on 11/3/21. Scott’s brothers Eric and Jesse attended camp with him in the 1980s-90s (and Eric is a current camp doctor); EB’s mom Iris (1950s-60s) and sister Kate (1990s) were also Scatico campers. In the photo to the right, Dan Fabian (dad’s former bunkmate) visits Blair.

Edith Evelyn on 12/4/22 to Ashley Jones and Dannie Vaughan-Jones. Ashley and Dannie traveled from the United Kingdom to work at camp in the early 2010s.

Weddings

Dan Wingham and Amy Rosenblatt on 10/22/22. Amy’s sister Barbara, mom Nancy (Rosen Rosenblatt), and grandmother Doris (Brody Rosen) all attended Scatico as campers (covering the 1940s to the 1990s). Scaticonians in attendance included division- mates and family members who’s time at camp spanned 63 years, from 1959 (Nancy) to 2022 (Dusty Fox, a 1992 Sooper with Amy and current assistant head counselor).
Alexis Cohen and Brian Helfman on 8/27/22. Brian, a Scatico camper, counselor, and staff trainer from 1997 to 2021, is the Founder and Chief Experience Officer at Third Nature (“a personal growth platform for entrepreneurial-minded, impact-driven individuals and organizations”). In addition to former divisionmates in the photo to the right, the weekend celebration included, from the 1960s-70s, Jane Rosenberg Helfman (Brian’s mom), Tom Rosenberg (his uncle/Jane’s brother), Jane Gottlieb, and Amy Marshall Gilson; and, from the 1990s-00s, Mike Lew, Trevor Dodge, Justin Grodman, JoAnna Datz, and Nicki Fleischner.

Amanda Litman and Jacob “Pargy” Pargament on 10/29/22. Jacob was a camper and a counselor from 2003 to 2013. His sisters Katie and Shelby also attended camp along with other Scatico friends (see photo below).

Zoe Katz and Michael Samuels on 7/24/22. Mike’s Scatico career as a camper, counselor, division leader, and assistant head counselor spanned the 1980s-10s. Rabbi Samantha Safran Bodner (1980s-00s) officiated and Sloan Zuckerman (1980s) reunited with his band Leroy Justice to provide musical entertainment. A lot of Scaticonians attended (only Sloan missing in the photo below).

Parting Shot

At the 100th anniversary, camp doctors and nurses (spanning more than 20 summers—and covering 150-plus camp years cumulatively ) came together for a photo. From left to right: Felicia Berger, Greg Mazarin, Fred Wang, Dot Vanderhoff, Dan Wollman, Patti Klyde Press, Kim Vossler, Marc Stiefel, Carly Messitte, Eric Strauss, Marie Serina, and Jeremy Reissman.

Winter 2022, Edition 101