- mudsliding after it rains
- going to the Snack Bar
- eating Black Cows and Sugar Babies from the Canteen
- hiking to the Glen
- eating Slim Jims in the bunk during rest period
- eating boxed lunches on Visiting Day
- singing my heart out during Colorwar Sing
- the frenetic excitement of the Apache Relay events
- drinking red Bug Juice
- the excitement of winning inter-camp games
- Boone's Farm Apple wine
- sitting on the "ping-pong" tables at night
- announcements from the Roundhouse
- dining hall dedications: "Quiet please, dedicated to..."
- the Bimmies
- fearing the "Blairstown bus" speech
- walking to Siberia for Sick Call
- Herbie Hot Pants
- listening to "Stairway to Heaven"
- waiting for care packages from home and sharing them with bunkmates
- getting "tapped out" at the Campfire
- playing Anagrams on the basketball court
- getting fooled by "fake Colorwar breaks"
- the disappointment of not being a Colorwar Camper Captain
- the anticipation surrounding mail call
- emptying my laundry bag into a huge pile on laundry day
- screaming and running from bats at night
- writing our names and dates on the rafters
- morning roll call at flag-raising
- the little "pleated" paper pill cups at the infirmary
- Herman the Baker
- "cleaning off" the clothesline before inspection
- "raids"
- signing pillowcases the day before Camp ends
- waking up to "Here Comes the Sun..."
- square dancing on the basketball court
- playing "Killer Basketball"
- playing "Horse" and "21"
- eating Stewart Sandwiches from the Snack Bar
- the anticipation of the Banquet and Awards
- watching outdoor movies
- watching counselors set off fireworks on the 4th of July
- sitting under the tree by the handball court
- getting ready for inspection
- Ira Mandor and Red truck, puttering around Camp
- Zev the Cook
- the totem pole
- "Walpack or Bust"...
- riding in the back of the Red truck, the wind blowing on my face
- watching the Waterfront Staff attempt "Dock Starts"
- jumping off the dock, lathered up with Dr. Bronner's Soap
- the distinctive bugle calls for "recall" and "first call"
- making my bed with hospital corners
- green wool blankets
- making and using "rattails"
- "ignautz" (for those who know, nothing more need be said)
- torching bugs with Right Guard and matches
- Glenn Fuller's 1968 Camaro
- banging our silverware on the tables when the food didn't arrive fast enough
- chicken with metal tags on it
- Jeff Enouch at the Equipment Shack
- encountering skunks at night
- the view of the Riverbend from next to the Dining Hall
- walking down the path to the Waterfront
- playing ping-pong in the Small Dining Room
- Ron Gardner's cartoons on the walls of the Small Dining Room
- getting scalded if someone flushed when you took a shower
- reading the graffiti on the bathroom walls
- Lazy Day
- staying up all night to paint Colorwar scenery
- being astonished at the sight of a blonde Afro
- bus rides to rollerskating for evening activity
- playing "jock football" after it rained
- going to the Allentown Fair
- living in Bunk S-1 (the Wild Waiters of 1971)
- the tonsilitis epidemic of 1972, being quarantined and forced to eat scrambled eggs and mashed potatoes
- learning how to smoke from Dave Herman
- being a counselor at age 14, in charge of 8 girls It's amazing that any of us survived!
- Stan, the Camp Director
- the Boys finally winning Boy-girl Sing with the Masada theme
- my counselor's Mickey Mouse ears
- getting off the Bus and walking over the bridge to Camp because it couldn't make the turn
- screaming Colorwar cheers in the dining hall and losing our voices
- "Who's gonna win this Color War, Grey, Grey..."
- the excitement of being a Camper Captain during Colorwar and wanting to win so badly
- being sad at the end of the Apache Relay, knowing Camp was ending soon
- borrowing each others clothes
- trading T-shirts with other waiters
- losing things in the laundry
- being scared to remove the damp towels from the clothesline, because of the big hairy spiders on them
- going on canoe trips down the rapids
- gathering at the flagpole each morning and singing "Raise the Flag"
- upper and lower campus
- playing the part of "Maria" in the "Sound of Music"
- directing "Bye Bye Birdie"
- playing the part of "Consuelo" in "West Side Story" (and being glad I didn't have to sing a solo)
- removing our Counselor's belongings from the bunk on his day off and pretending we didn't know who he was when he returned
- staying up late to work on the Colorwar anthems
- being Colorwar General for 4 straight years
- my Colorwar Co-general making me wear red tights
- when Marv Fleischman was the Boys Head Counselor and Camp was owned by 2 rabbis, Mendy Vim and Jerry Turner
- my Counselor making my 4 summers at Camp some of the best summers of my life
- listening to Carol King, Loggins and Messina, Grand Funk, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and the Rolling Stones
- "fake breaks" starting with a "staged fight" and counselors being "fired"
- Colorwar breaking with leaflets being dropped from a plane
- taking JLS, SLS and WSI lessons at the pool
- watching Davey Greenberg play tennis with a racquet in EACH hand
- amazing memories of boyhood, first love, the bridge and the brook
- the "black robes"
- wearing white ducks for Friday night services
- all day swims and intramural softball games on Saturdays
- the Dining Hall interior where the Camper of the Year plaques hung
- Dave Herman on his motor scooter
- Myron, hitting tennis balls high up into the air for us to catch
- trying to sneak to the Mo' for burgers
- Steve Dick coming up with the 1964 Colorwar theme of Maroon "Planet Nooram"
- going to the Mo' with my brother David and Head Counselor Marv Fleishman for beers
- never winning a Colorwar in all the years I was at camp (8)
- lifeguards twirling their whistles around their fingers
- "buddy call"
- making lanyards: box, barrel, butterfly and diamond stitch
- NOT going to Services
- raiding the equipment shack and throwing bocce balls in the river
- toilets that didn't flush very well
- getting soaked up to my ankles in "cesspool overflow" on a nighttime raid
- waking up early to do laps around the track
- Kenny Wilson running the last lap of the 440 relay, "possesed", catching up to and beating Mike Margolis
- the trailer park that the Bimmies lived in
- listening to "White Rabbit" and "Society's Child" on the Social Hall Jukebox
- winning Colorwar on "Horror Films"
- people being "escorted" to the Blairstown bus in the middle of the night
- one female Bimmy
- Jerry the cook, and his wife, who did the Camp laundry
- Koo Chin's famous midnight games: "run camper run" and "drink camper drink"
- having Koo Chin jump out of a tree during a late night raid
- the bimmie we called "smiley". He wouldn't talk, but would come close to your face with a big smile
- Birthday Ball (Herman baked cakes for each season)
- skunk hunting (or being sprayed)
- a double activity period of softball
- going bowling in town and everybody leaving without returning their bowling shoes
- the challenge of trying to be a counselor for campers only a few years younger than myself
- tasting a Slim Jim for the first time at the Mo'
- being the last victorious Color War General: "M-A-R-OON on to Victory, M-A-R-OON now I sing to thee"
- Scott Swerdlin and me imitating the voice of Long John Nebel (from WNBC AM radio)
- the summer of 1969, when it rained, rained, rained. The waterfront was flooded we watched many movies in the social hall. We did many trips to the movies and bowling. But most of all we played football in the mud and went mudsliding to our heart's content
- the 1967 Targoff-Freed boxing match (to resolve some disagreement), when one jab started the blood flowing and settled the disagreement
- being tennis specialist and bunk counselor in '63 and Division Head from '64-66', Colorwar General from '63-'66 - always on the Maroon team
- being inducted into the OPA (order of the painted arrow) and how proud I was to get my first patch and then try to get other achievements done so as to color the remaining feathers on the patch
- looking foward to getting my canteen order delivered to the bunk during rest hour. Frozen cokes were a favorite, but by the time they arrived, they were reduced to watered down half frozen slurpies. They still tasted great and we still ordered one the next day - hoping that it would come fully frozen
- asking Dave Herman why there was a Bunk 13. He told me that his father, Sol, made sure that Camp had a Bunk 13 because in Judaism "13" is a lucky number
- my counselor listening to the "Jesus Christ Superstar" Album over and over (and over) again
- being a "different person" in Camp, or maybe just being "myself" there. There was no one from my neighborhood, so it was a fresh start for me. I blossomed when I was there.
- drinking orange juice from those little paper cups at the infirmary
- the cloudy white tap water in the bunk. Adding "Tang" was considered an improvement!
- airing out Banquet outfits on the Girls' porches
- winning "Best Actress" in 1969
- writing SWAK on the back of letter and using sealing wax
- waking up August 15, 1969 and discovering my counselor and waiter had gone... to Woodstock
- "Steve Roundhouse to the Newhouse" being announced over the loudspeaker
- playing the card game 'Spit' with the campers and loving it
- finding out that yesterday's tuna had maggots in it (and I thought it tasted better than usual!)
- Melvin Buckspan falling asleep in the lunchroom, his head in a plate of spaghetti
- getting drenched with a picher of water at mealtime
- Last Will and Testament
- Midbight Movies
- NY Giants Highlight Films
- copper enameling and mosaic tile projects in Arts and Crafts
- The Sound of Music
- Let's Make a Deal
- Las Vegas Nite
- The Gold Rush
- The Dutch Auction
- fireside story-telling in the Social Hall
- West Side Story
- The Talent Show
- Joe Pyne and Alan Burke
- splash parties
- Tug-of-War
- playing Cageball
- getting dressed up for the Prom
- Candlelighting ceremony on the last night of Camp
- winjning the Watermelon League championship
- taking JLS and SLS training
- eating cotton candy at the Allentown Fair
- going to the beach at Swartswood
- trips to Monticello
- being part of the "Farkle Family"
- Photography Club
- taking my deep water swim test
- "Wiggly-woo" time
- going on overnights
- taking trips to Dairy Queen
- eating french fries in the middle of the night
- Buttermilk Falls
- participating in the Archery tournament
- winning the Tennis tournament
- shooting a rifle for the first time in my life during riflery
- the mid 50's when Jerry Turner was the lifeguard
- when the camp was owned by Saul & Rabbi Herman
- Dave Herman on the loudspeaker in the Roundhouse
- the waiters' bunk on lower campus
- the many times that the lake flooded over
- when the waiters' bunk was above bunks 1 & 2 (where we had a great time)
- swimming across the Delaware
- hiking to Bushkill
- raiding girls campus, stealing all the bras we could find & raising them on the flagpole
- having my throat painted with "gentian violet" at the Infirmary, regardless of what was wrong
- raiding the CITs in Siberia
- the Camper Awards
- being a Camper General in Colorwar, a waiter, Head waiter & Counselor
- campfires in the parking lot, where we roasted marshmallows and heard stories about three-fingered Willie and the Cropsy Maniac
- walking across the extension bridge to Flatbrookville to buy a Coke in green glass bottle... and a Hershey Bar for a nickel
- my 12 years at Camp being some of the greatest times of my life
- the 1966 fake Colorwar break when Camp got up very early to watch a pre-breakfast counsellor football game and a "broken leg" was staged to occur in the middle of the game. I was in Bunk N-1 that year, I think our last summer at Pokono.
- raiding bunks for candy (while cutting activities) with Mike "Little Mess" Messinger
- my stage "triumph" as Kurt in The Sound of Music
- spraying Cheeze-Whiz on crackers - yummy
- eating "Cheez-it" crackers and having my fingers turn yellow
- wearing tie-dyed t-shirts
- playing "Cat's Cradle"
- playing board games on rainy days
- wearing plaid flannel shirts
- playing "Mad Libs"
- pulling the threads on my "cut-off" shorts to make fringe
- Squeezing into Steve Tirsch's Spitfire to see the Rolling Stones at Madison Square Garden in the summer of '72
- Davey Greenberg buying us "Choo Choo Charlie hats - and wearing them
- winning a race around the track against Tabor before breakfast
- getting up on water skis for the first time
- making secret trips to the snack bar through the woods and over the creek (and Yellin falling in the water)
- watching old movies on the lawn behind the Roundhouse
- winning my only boxing match (by TKO)
- being at camp with my older brother
- finding my life-long best friend
- white "Ducks", which never stayed white, because chicken cacciatore was always served when we wore them
- Friday night services in the amphitheater
- "jelly roll" blankets at the foot of the bed
- "short sheeting" a fellow bunkmate's bed
- cubbies
- all day swims
- O.D.s
- boxing matches against fellow bunkmates
- rest hour
- Visiting Day
- Camp Mothers
- Haircuts
- "retro-milk"
- the older girls who sat on the long table near the wall in the Dining Hall - the ones we couldn't "get" but would have liked to
- writing Camp songs, playing guitar, making banners and scenery with Richie Hofflich
- Richie Mandor could hit a softball farther than any other right-handed hitter; Mitch Goldberg hit the longest softball from the right side.
- being a Camper in Bunk 9 and Jeff "Mendy" Mendelson was the counselor next door. He played the Who's "Tommy" Album all summer long! By the time camp ended I knew every word!
I REMEMBER...
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39 comments:
I remember every couple of weeks or so going on a rickety school bus for a half hour ride to roller skate as a night activity. I think there were two groups that went each time, one after the other. One year a counselor broke his arm or wrist after taking a fall roller skating, I don't remember which or who it was. Garry W.
Allentown Fair
overnight trip to the state park and mudsliding after a heavy rain
Stu,
Can you find out the name of the State Park? NY, NJ or PA? Any specific recollections ABOUT the overnight? (bears, Cropsey stories, toasting marshmallows on the campfire...)
living in S-1
Nino at the St. Moritz (the Mo)
Does anyone remember the Tonsillitis epidemic of 1972, being quarantined and being forced to eat scrambled eggs and mashed potatoes?
I do remember the epidemic of 72. I forgot the illness. If I remember right all those infected were put in bunk 28. Is that right?
David,
That's correct, I was one of the unlucky ones.
I remember Zev the Chef stirring up meat sauce and dropping a cigar ash into the sauce. I said "Zev there is ash in the sauce". Zev said" Zellman get me a big spoon" I got him the spoon and he stirred the ash into the sauce. With a big smile he turned to me and said" now everyone gets a little ash"
The summer of 69. It rained, rained, and rained. The waterfront was flooded we watched many movies in the social hall. We did many trips to the movies and bowling. But most of all we played football in the mud and went mudsliding to our hearts content. Anyone remember what we wore for our mud football games?
I remember the cloudy white tap water in the bunk. Adding "Tang" was considered an improvement!
Airing out banquet outfits on Ramona's porches ... Wondering why Slim Jim square dance caller wasn't sold at the canteen ... Winning best actress in 1969 ... SWAK and sealing wax ... "Walk around around the lake with someone new; have yourself a summer fling or two; just remember MENDY'S WATCHING YOU!" ... Waking up one August morning in a camp without a counselor. Or a waiter. Did Leila Spirt escape to Woodstock, too?
"Steve Roundhouse to the Newhouse"
3 More Things I remember;
1) Playing the card game 'Spit' with the campers and loving it;
2) Finding out that the day before's tuna had maggots in it (and I thought it tasted better than usual!);
3) 6 year old camper Melvin Buckspan falling asleep in the lunchroom , his head in a plate of spaghetti. Garry
4) getting (and seeing others) get drenched with a picher of water at mealtime;
5) Lifeguard Cindy Aloi in a bathing suit.
Make that 5 more things I remembered. GW
I remember in the mid 50's when
Jerry Turner was the lifeguard &
the camp was owned by Saul & Rabbi Herman........ Jerry married Judy Herman & took over the running of the camp - years before Mendy Vim
came to Pocono.
I remember Dave Herman on the loudspeaker in the Roundhouse -
years before becoming a DJ
I remember the waiters' bunk on lower campus & the many times that the lake flooded over....
I remember when the waiters' bunk was above bunks 1 & 2 where we had a great time.
I remember swimming across the Delaware & hiking to Bushkill.
I remember raiding girls campus, stealing all the bras we could find
& raising them on the flagpole in the morning.
I remember going to the Infirmary & having the doctor or the nurse paint your throat purple,regardless of what was wrong with you..
I remember raiding the CITs in Siberia....
I remember the Banquets, the Camper Awards....... being a camper Color War General, a waiter, head waiter & being a counselor..........
and I remember my 12 or 13 years at Pocono as some of the greatest times of my life.
Boones Farm Wine
I remember the campfires in the parking lot near the road to Siberia, where we roasted marshmallows & heard stories about three-fingered Willie & the Cropsy Maniac
walking across the extension bridge to Flatbrookville & then
buying a coke in a green glass bottle.....& a Hershey Bar for a nickel
The thrill of receiving Apollo 11's
detailed newsprint coverage upon opening my mail, July 1969.
camper general and general - maroon and grey wins! - all around camper - and the ping pong table under the big tree!
"I Remember" The Black Robes. And White Ducks(which never stayed white because chicken cacciatore was always served on Friday Sabbath night before services began in the ampi-theater.)
Hospital corners on the bed and jelly roll blankets at the foot of the bed.
Short sheeting a fellow bunkmate's bed.
Cubbies
All day swims.
O.D.'s
Laniards
Intercamp games
Watermelon League
Boxing Matches
Rest Hour
Visiting Day
Camp Mothers
Haircuts
Buddy tows (come on Hank Snow, Please E-Mail me)
Being a waiter and serving, reluctantly, retro-milk.
I know some of these are repeats, but here goes:
Weekly socials
Prom
Movies in the social hall on rainy days
Panty raids
Practicing for the sing
Costumes for sing, which usually involved wearing sheets
Colorwar fakeouts and then breakouts
Visiting day
The pool and my uncle, Jerry Turner, being frustrated that I wouldn't put my head underwater
Campfires
Hiking to Bushkill
Mail call
Canteen
Another one --
One summer our bunk was infested with bats. I remember standing outside the bunk while the exterminator got them all to fly out and there were hundreds of them!
I see Carl Slotnick has posted here -- I remember him.
Carl reminded me of another one:
Hating walking across the suspension bridge! It terrified me.
I also remember going through the bunks with my grandmother and my Aunt Judy and my mother after everyone had left at the end of the summer and finding all the stuff people had left behind.
i remember one outing the oldest boys and girls and waiters took in 1966, to go bowling in sparta, and everybody stole a pair of bowling shoes. we had to bring them to line-up the next morning,(mendy was fnot happy with us) and that was the end of bowling in sparta for that summer
Getting hit so hard during boxing that I had a red dot in my eye for a week. I think it was Larry Rosoff that tagged me.
The year Steve Tirsch got the road rash to end all road rashes by going too wide on a turn while water skiing during a drought. River rocks 1, Tirsch 0. Oh, that and gungus, so much gungus...
the suspension bridge over the brook
wedgeezz
The "PIT"
quiet,quiet,quiet please. Dedicated to Nancy Bader
shwartzward state park!
where I learned to play the guitar
1968: Bunk S-1...who remembers what the "Piken special" was? And don't you DARE articulate the details here! (If you remember, you'll know why.)
Anyone know whatever happened to Dave Kemmerlin?
Waking up to "Here Comes The Sun" every morning
is anyone in touch with sheri sterunthal? (probably spelled wrong)
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