News From Elizaville
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 (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 adrenalin 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.
Wha’s Happenin’?
As always, we’ll start with Random Scatico Sightings (RSSes).
With the world of youth baseball and softball slowly ramping up this fall, Charlotte Florin and Alexa Tannenbaum were excited to spot a familiar Scatico face in the opposing dugout on a recent weekend. In the photo to the right, that’s CFlo playing second base and Alexa taking the lead off of first…. While not technically speaking a pure two-way sighting (but clearly a classic RSS in spirit), when boys head counselor Cory Schwartz moved into his new home in Rye Brook, NY, and went to answer the doorbell, he was surprised to discover sisters Carly and Emma Hodes on his front steps (proudly wearing Scatico shirts). Unknown to Cory when first relocating (and we might add now 30 minutes closer to Elizaville), was that his immediate backyard neighbors shared more than a property line….
CFlo and Alexa
Cory, Emmie and Carly
Maybe a first-ever biking RSS? Assistant girls athletics director Moises Torres and former staff member Robin Guzman were riding in Manhattan when they were spotted by division leader Bryce Holden…. In other news, the Moscou and Tolstoi families held a Scatico reunion in Boulder, CO, in August (we love the “Scatico Outpost” sign). Michael Tolstoi, starting his Sophomore year at the University of Colorado, made the trip west from New Jersey with his family. Mom Lara Tolstoi and dad Jimmy Moscou were Scatico contemporaries in the 1970s-80s. Brooke and Lara Tolstoi and Austin and Leah Moscou are current campers….
Robin, Bryce and Moe
Moscous and Tolstois
Boys side art director Helen Suter visited camp in August. She is already planning a range of projects for her second Scatico summer in 2021. You can view her latest work at helensuter.studio….
Maggie Brown, Emma Bochner, and Amanda Hartstein, who each spent more than 12 summers at Scatico, formed particular close working friendships as Sub counselors in 2017. In July, they launched The Catalyst, a weekly newsletter that consolidates ways for its readers to make a direct impact and play a small yet meaningful role in imparting positive systemic change. Each issue has had a different focus, such as immigration, supporting the USPS, and climate change….
Maggie, Emma and Amanda in 2017
Although the annual CIT service trip to the Dominican Republic to run a day camp for The DREAM Project was cancelled this summer, the CITs were undeterred. In June, they created a 43-page activity booklet (think mazes, word searches, and coloring pages) for our Dominican campers (to keep them engaged and learning during their summer quarantines) and launched a fundraiser, designing and selling a limited edition Scatico-DREAM t-shirt which raised more than $1,700. This money went towards printing and distributing activity booklets and supporting DREAM’s critical food delivery programs….
Emma Hochberg (left) and Leia Pinals (right) with the Scatico-DREAM t-shirt: “a dreamer keeps on dreaming.”
Coby, Jimmy and Zoe
Chef James Wexler is looking forward to his 15th Scatico summer in 2021. In the off-season, he and his family (wife Debbie and children Coby and Zoe) run Two Fat Cookies in Delray Beach, FL. Their summer-launched Death by Pizza was featured in The Palm Beach Post and on a regionally-focused podcast. The weekly pizza production, which is strictly limited and can only be ordered online (one day a week) sells out within an hour (or, more accurately, minutes). It’s a Detroit-style pizza: square-shaped, sourdough crust, and with toppings layered in inverse order (cheese below sauce). Maybe a new concept for pizza Wednesdays next summer?...
Scatico participated in the Camp Madness Virtual Intercamp Competition in support of SCOPE (an organization that raises money to send children from under -served communities to overnight camp). We joined 30 other camps in submitting an original video to demonstrate our communities’ spirit and tradition (we went with our quarantine virtual Alma Mater created last spring by former and current girls side campers and counselors). Camps were placed into brackets and then people voted on which videos demonstrated the most camp spirit. Current Scatico dad Andrew Tannenbaum (also a former camper, counselor, and division leader) is a SCOPE board member….
Send news, non-news, and photos for the Winter issue of the Newsletter to info@scatico.com. P.S. It’s very nice to be back and sharing updates from the Scatico community!
Virtual Camp
Though no substitute for the real thing, current and former Scaticonians have embraced the connections made possible through virtual activities since last March. Maybe more than ever, we needed to be mentally transported back to camp, camp friends, and camp memories. Most of the activities and “calls to action” can still be viewed (and even contributed to) on the Scatico Blog.
Maddy Klein—Scatico logo in Perler Beads
Liza Zelkin—Scatico tote bag
Maya Ziff
If you need a little off-season pick-me-up and spiritual connection, here (in rough chronological order) is a list of activities you can re-visit:
Scatico March Madness (with hosts Bryce Holden and Matt Stuttman)
The HC Porch—8 episodes of the quarantine podcast created by Cory and Ken
Virtual Game Show (with hosts Chase Madorsky and Jane Rosenfeld)
Activity Book (shoutout to John Hickey)
Yoga with Brian Helfman
Pen Pals
Scatico Night Live (shoutout to Kate Rosenfeld)
Escape the Zoom
Opening and Closing Campfires (thanks to the division leaders)
Asher Taubenfeld—Loot Llama
Chase Baruch
Sam Ryan
Eloise Berlach—popsicle stick sign
Jacob, Matthew and Eliza Strauss
Olivia Levine
On the Horizon
In the Winter Issue of the Camper Newsletter: We will bring you up-to-date on completed fall maintenance projects and capital plans for next season.
For Staff: We have already heard from many of our counselor and support staff about returning for the summer of 2021. As a reminder to eligible counselors, please contact us no later than December 31 about your interest in applying for a job next summer. After that date, we will start locking in positions and may have few positions still available.
For Parents: Parent Bulletins starting in December 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.
As you plan ahead.... The 100th reunion at camp on September 25, 2021, is for all current campers and their families as well as for alumni from way back when. We will be serving lunch, many activity areas will be open, and there will be a closing program. For more details, visit Scatico100.com.
Girls Back Campus— 2019 Sooper Halle Press drew the free-hand image above on a iPad Pro for a school project last spring as a 10th-grader.
Line Up— 2019 Jinter Ruby Harrison submitted the above for the Virtual Art Show. Congratulations as well to Ruby, sister Luna, and mom Rebecca for winning/solving the in-summer Escape the Zoom.