News from Elizaville

Fall arrives at camp. A time to reflect on the summer and to start planning for the next year and beyond. It’s an exciting season as we hear kind words from parents and staff and the brainstorming begins. What new special events and program enhancements? Capital projects?Most importantly, as campers re-enroll (already more than 90 percent from 2018) we are also also hearing from key leadership staff and bunk counselors ready to call Elizaville home for another season.

Mark Your Calendars

Open House: Saturday, June 15
Opening Day: Friday, June 28
Visiting Day: Saturday, July 20
Scatico-In-Training: Sunday, July 28 to Saturday, August 3
Closing Day: Friday, August 16

Under the heading of “long-term planning,” we held our first official 100th anniversary meeting with head counselors Cory and Kerri as well as Scatico’s resident party-planner (and director of the cooking program) Ally Lipton (a.k.a. Chef Ally). Last summer, I was sitting with several Sub Senior boy campers one afternoon and they were talking about how much they are looking forward to being graduating Upper Seniors in 2020 for “the 100th.” Wow! It was on their radar two years in advance. They asked about plans for the celebration and then jumped immediately into making suggestions to mark the milestone before I could answer. We love that loyalty and sense of wonder—and the feeling that so many campers have that they are part of a community and culture larger than just themselves or their divisions; something that reaches back in time and into the future, bonding them with generations passed and yet to come.

We’re not exactly sure yet what the 100th anniversary festivities will entail, but 100 years for a (smallish) family business certainly does feel like a moment to embrace. And, of course, it’s not the facilities or programs that have made the journey possible, but the people—from the first campers who arrived in 1921 right through to the thirty-one 7, 8, and 9-year-olds who started their overnight camping careers as 1-week SITs (Scatico-in-Training) in 2018.

Color War has broken—and the Soph Boys are happy and excited. From left to right: Elias, Cooper, Owen, and Jonah. — Color War has broken—and the Soph Boys are happy and excited. From left to right: **Elias, Cooper, Owen, and Jonah.**

Making a List

If you have an idea/vision/thought/ inspiration for the 100th anniversary in 2020 in Elizaville (or elsewhere) send an email to info@scatico.com. We want to hear from you.

Two early ideas (although they may be a tad difficult to execute):

Book recording artist Southside Johnny to perform “I Don’t Want to Go Home” at the last-night banquet. [Editor’s note—boys side has sang-along with a casette/CD/device at the final lunch for more than 35 years.]
Schedule the resident bald eagles for more frequent and on-cue “fly-bys” (morning flag raising, special events...).

What’s Happening?

As always, we’ll start with Random Scatico Sightings (RSSes)—and there were a flurry in the weeks between the end of camp and the start of school.... A record for independent RSSes at a single location? Maybe a reflection of the popularity of the Scatico tennis program? Several reported RSSes at the U.S. Open in Queens: Nile Cather and brothers Adam and Ben Stiefel; siblings Ashley and Josh Mazarin and (first) Brett Bockstein and (then) siblings Landon and Fallon Krane (no photo for the latter RSS); and bunkmates Lauren Kassin and Allie Putzer.

The Mazarins and Lauren Kassin can also claim an RSS double-dip this issue as Josh and Ashley spotted photography counselor Dan Douglas at Kennedy Airport (they were returning from an August vacation and he was flying home to England after working with several outside user groups during Scatico’s “postcamp” session) and Lauren ran into sisters Vivi and Georgia Loigman while all were clothes shopping for the start of the school year....

School sports as always provided a few RSS opportunities: Bunkmates Julia Metzendorf (Mamaroneck) and Delia Pace (Edgemont) each discovered a friendly face on the opposing team at a September middle school volleyball competition. One week later (although not a full-fledged RSS) Julia played Billie Eichel’s team (Scarsdale) with Mamaroneck classmate (and bunkmate) Vivi Loigman joining to cheer.... Fans at a recent Ardsley high school football game included sisters Parker and Nealie Caldara and Courtney Lesser...

RSSes furthest from home? 2018 Sub Senior Ethan Rotko spotted his counselor Ben Greissman (both New Yorkers) on a hotel elevator in San Diego.... In the diagonally opposite corner of the continental United States (and almost to the day), divisionmates Spencer Hellman and Max Pisnoy had their RSS moment on the streets of Ogunquit, ME. (We’re thinking a first-ever Ogunquit RSS!). Spencer also had a double-dip RSS (like the Mazarins and Lauren Kassin), connecting with Jack Wasserman at a Westchester County clothing store (Jack was shopping for a Bar Mitzvah suit)....

And, if you dropped a line from Ogunquit to San Diego and traveled two-thirds of the way, you would land (approximately) in Boulder, CO, where Austin Moscou discovered a familiar tennis pro on the municipal courts—Fernando Garcia.... Finally (and though maybe not quite an official RSS, we’re counting it in anyway), on the final day of camp the families of bunkmates Brett Simons and Henry Lilienfeld realized that they would be on vacation in Florence, Italy, at the same time in late August. So, with all the siblings Jared, Brett, and Ella with Henry, Allegra, and Jaspar) we’re thinking this just may be the largest-ever RSS on Italian soil....

And even a few non-RSS items.... Under the heading of “Not a Surprise,” if you attended Comicon in New York City in October you would have spotted boys head counselor Cory Schwartz, who was working at a booth assisting legendary comicbook artist Neal Adams (Batman, X-Men,...). Cory reports that he now has lots of signed artwork for display in the boys HC. Stopping by for a quick “hello” at the event were fellow comic aficionados Quinn Croland and Chase Madorsky....

Six of 11 bunkmates from 3-4 helped Henry Berlach celebrate his birthday at Brooklyn Sluggers, a strong turnout considering four cabinmates live outside the metro-New York area (including Los Angeles and Madrid).... Four of 10 Junior girls joined Charlotte East for a sleepover birthday celebration (complete with a Scatico cake)....

Thanks for staying in touch! Send news, non-news, and photos (and non-photos?) for the Winter issue of the Camper Newsletter to info@scatico.com. As a reminder, we only include info on Scatico get-togethers if the entire division is invited.

For Parents

Thanks to all of our families who took advantage of the early enrollment discount period. Our camper return rate for 2019 already exceeds 90 percent (including 4 divisions with 100 percent returns). Parent Bulletins starting in November will walk you through the process of getting ready for the summer, but don’t hesitate to contact us directly with any questions along the way.

Finally, if you are ever in the Elizaville area during the off-season and are thinking of stopping by Scatico, campers love seeing their second home during different seasons—fall foliage ringing the lake or along the tree-lined road; snow on the golf course for sledding... Just call or email when you’d like to make the trip.

Coming soon to a waterfront at a camp near you... Hanging (out on the Magic Carpet), Paddling, and Sailing.

Staying Active at Camp

Among the many reasons for spending a summer at camp—friends, fun, learning, embracing values, being part of a close-knit community, forming lifelong memories...(You’ve heard a lot of this before?)—at the top of the list is spending time outdoors and being physically active. Just how physically active? We weren’t quite certain until camp parents Pavel and Maggie Mozga sent in the Fitbit summer-end statistics for their children Nicholas and Natalie.

Averaging 10+ miles a day is a pretty good endorsement for the summer camp experience about the value of getting unplugged and playing outdoors. Nick’s top day? 14.95 miles on July 10th (he topped 14 miles on 4 different occasions).

Last night of camp blues?

You may not be able to re-create fully the banquet, awards ceremony, and campfire at home, but you can watch the closing-night Slideshow and Video Yearbook. Dim the room lights and pretend you’re lying on the Pavilion floor....

In the Next Issue of the Newsletter

Survey Results: This is a last call for camper surveys... Favorite meals? Activities Things you like best about Scatico? Suggestions for 2019? If you haven’t returned your survey yet, there’s still time.
News from Elizaville: We will bring you up-to-date on completed fall maintenance projects and capital plans for next season.
Staff Updates: We have already heard from all of our Leadership Team and many of our counselor and support staff about returning for the summer of 2019. As a reminder to 2018 counselors, please contact us no later than December 31 about your interest in returning to camp. After that date, we will have completed almost all of our hiring and may not have any available positions.

Two of our favorite Scatico hikes:Left—Senior boys are halfway up Breakneck Ridge (that’s the Hudson River in the background and on a clear day you can see hints of the NYC skyline 50 miles south) Right—Sub girls at the top of Bonticou Ridge in the Mohonk Preserve.

Fall 2018, Edition 99, Issue #1