...the autumn winds of 1995 blow cold in Klamath Falls Oregon and little Paul "Froggy" Warshauer yearns for the summer...he calls Mike Lurie in frigid Minneapolis and informs him that a reunion is going to happen...Lurie scoffs but agrees to help...calls to Jeff Rissman, Rick Poole, John Schmitt, Ken Lapins, and Karamath Khan are placed...Greg Berke and Paul Warshauer have dinner downtown Chicago during Thanksgiving to drink and discuss the reunion...bank accounts are opened and Mike Lurie and Jeff Rissman are the signatories...Paul Warshauer offers his corporation, The Jefferson Street Theatre, Inc, as a guarantor...many faxes between Camp Young Judaea and the Theatre result in a draft contract...December comes and goes and still no signers...Paul Warshauer and his fiance Rachel fly through Minneapolis and have dinner with the Lurie and Rissman families to plan the main event...all parties are now committed to doing the "reunion thing"...Rick Poole starts phoning alumni in Chicago...Paul Warshauer tries to get in touch with Manny's daughters...calls, letters, and finally Steve Reitmeister offers to purchase the White Pages CD ROM program for the group..."I want to be reimbursed" he declares...he does, and is, and now 21st century technology enables us to locate all 95 million Camp Waupaca alumni (well, everyone SHOULD have gone to Camp Waupaca, don't you think?)...the snow melts...April comes and goes and still no final contract...plans go ahead anyway and a newsletter is sent out...calls come in to the "Reunion Group" (as they are now called) from all corners of the planet: Mark Goldstein in Washington DC, Harlan Rips from Omaha Nebraska, Tim Matayas in Moscow Idaho, Mark Kettler in Portland Oregon (Paul Warshauer's back yard!), Paul "Porky" Steinfeld in Tennessee, Gordy Adams in Georgia, Allen Schaeffer in Highland Park Illinois, Ken Robbins in New York, and Mike Jelinek and Rick Passman in Nevada...some are too busy with work or families or previous commitments to come to the reunion, but all vow to come to the next one...
...July arrives and still no signed contract...Mike Lurie is collecting money and Paul Warshauer's insurance company sends a price quote that would make Manny faint...we agree to not hire counselors to watch the kids, that parents will supervise...insurance rates now at a reasonable level...Rick Passman calls every day and says he wouldn't miss this for anything...Jeff Korman offers to make T-shirts and hats for a modest price...then makes them available at cost!...
...August arrives and the money and registration fees come rolling in...Manny agrees to bring his entire "mishpakha"...Sy Sussman drives in from Pennsylvania...Paul Ringel gets excited that this will finally happen...Loretta Kuklin (Skipper's widow) is delighted to hear from us...she promises to send her son Steve and grandson David (and they do!)...Jim Avery is astounded that we found him in Fond Du Lac...Harry Teinowitz wants no part of it...Ben Teifeld does, but cannot make it that weekend...calls come in regarding accomodations, food, programs...the Waupaca Best Western fills up! Next time we'll get group rates!...airline reservation centers experience a noticeable increase in call volumes...Steve Dudzak (a.k.a Pervis R. Fletcher, Camp security guard) agrees to fly in from L.A. to re-enact his schtick. "Is Hansie the dog still alive" he wonders?...Warren Metzdorff won't come unless he can see the guest list...Bob Mowen sends a long letter of remembrances, as does Wayne Towne...
...Mike Lurie sends out late notices and more money flows in..."I wasn't going to come, but that postcard changed my mind" says Don Gerowitz (now Garrett)...Bob & Sue Krohn can't make it but send a letter that is read at a reunion campfire...Stu Sorkin calls from Chicago, says he wouldn't miss this for the world...Wally Tomchek in Milwaukee calls Allen Schaeffer to say "Stop bothering me! I'll go!"...
...Thursday August 29, and the cars and vans are being packed for the ride up highway 41 (it's now 65 mph!) to Camp...Rich Trester wonders if he'll need a sleeping bag...Steve Shyman looks for a ride...Rick Goldman and Steve Reitmeister call to say they'll be up early Saturday morning and expect lox for breakfast...a large Cadillac with Missouri plates is rented at O'Hare and Steve Dudzak, Rick Passman, and Paul "Froggy" Warshauer begin the nostalgic trip to Waupaca...the Lurie family arrives and camps out in cabin 15...dinner at Simpsons for the organizers...last minute preparations are made, the flagpole is repaired, and the weather forecast looks GREAT, for as everyone knows, "it never rains at Camp Waupaca"...just hours before the gates open and we're wondering if anyone will really show up, if the hats and shirts will make it, and will folks enjoy the weekend...our last night of slumber before the sun rises and we're off!...
...FRIDAY AUGUST 30 1996, DAY ONE finds people crashing the gates early, just like our parents tried to do on Parent's Visitors Day...Abby Levine (CYJ director) wonders how many there will be...so do we!...Ken Lapins and Cathy Weasner-Lurie help out in the office by keeping the records straight and welcoming folks to the reunion...Mike Roskin arrives with two little "Rosko's" and a "Diesel"..."What's a Diesel?"...Wonderful Warren Metzdorff shows up with a cute gal - is she his daughter?..."Attention, attention please: a softball game will start in 5 minutes at the near diamond"...my god, is that Whitey Nelson the painter? Is he a guest or a CYJ employee? Yes, and yes, and he plays in the first of 3 softball games...Rob Gerowitz feels young again, even though he wipes out after reaching first base safely...Greg Berke wonders if his batting average will be in the yearbook...after sore muscles, we call the game with home runs by several who had never done so well as campers...Verne Noparstak and family stop and visit for a few hours...who is "Diesel?"...the waterfront opens and we swim, sail, and boat...a good dinner, followed by singing with Bob Mowen at the "Ivory 88's", leading us in Titanic, The Camp Song, and Green Canoe - what a great start to our reunion!...a short free period with "all areas open"...tennis, archery, more sore muscles...Manny and Lill Desnet look great!...the first night campfire with stories, laughs, and remembrances...Steve Shyman remembers being stung by a bee, Jeff Korman remembers a riderless ski boat and trashing the kitchen (even Ron Lavine gets in trouble with Ann Towne over that one!)...Rick Passman remembers Stu Sorkin giving Stu Osher a swirly...Jeff Rissman remembers the Porcupine mountains...Ken Lapins remembers that late night "kitchen raids" were always planned and known by the entire Camp before they occurred...Manny remembers almost losing 2 kids due to the efficiency of the Buddy Board, only to find the 2 kids in the Infirmary after all...Mike Chavin and Ben Zalay remember running off to the Casino...we do "Day is Done, Gone the Sun" and the campfire adjourns to JR's, the Harbor Bar, and the Grandview Beach Club (formerly the Roost)...more tall tales...late night arrivals scramble for accomodations..."Stay in cabin 10, Rob Tepperman"..."Where's cabin 10?"..."It hasn't moved since you were here 25 years ago!"...
...SATURDAY AUGUST 31 1996, DAY TWO..."Good morning, men! It's another beautiful sunshiny day at Camp Waupaca!" as Mike Lurie wakes up the troops like Manny used to do...flag raising at the flagpole sees many stumble and shiver at the early hour...Joe Gan crawls out of a tent where the tee-pee used to be..."Where's the bathroom?" he asks..."In the woods, Joe!"...Manny warms us up with calisthenics...cabin reports and we meet the entire Chavin family...quickly the Camp fills up..."Hey, I remember you! Except for the gray, balding head and 25 extra pounds, you look the same!"..."So do you!"...Wally Tomchek arrives and immediately starts in on memories from the 1960's, and he has the pictures to prove it!...former 'Camper of the Year' Glen Spear arrives...Wayne Towne shows up and Steve Shyman gets Wayne to agree to tell stories during rest hour, including "Big Moe" and "Thumpdrag"...many just wandering about and remembering, others swimming, still others breaking into smaller groups for storytelling..."Attention, attention please: this is the end of first period Monday/Wednesday/Friday classes, everyone move to your second period Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday classes. Maurice Newberger, come to the office, you have a package" and so go the announcements...more alumni showing up. Did they pay? Did they sign a waiver?...canoeing with Wally & Bob...tennis games and Reitmeister, Berke, Goldman, and Rissman go at it as if it was the Camp Olympics with the gold medal at stake...Steve Reitmeister slips and skins his knee (did he sign a waiver?). It's a good thing nurse Maxine Greenstein is here to patch him up!...lots of water skiing - Jeff Korman thinks the boat is underpowered...another softball game...John Schmitt arrives and immediately takes the field to round out the teams...this game has the kids and Mrs. Paul Rosengarten getting into the action...more kibbitzing than playing..."Hey, do we play 'Dick Garb' rules?"..."Yes, George Lamm, no crossing the plate while you're at bat!"...Tim Mukand shows up for a few hours... another former 'Camper of the Year', David Wax and spouse, join in the reunion fun...more waterfront activities, as even more people show up for what will prove to be the biggest day and night of the reunion..."Warsh up for dinner, everyone to the flagpole for flag lowering"...all introduce themselves and say a few words...Allen Schaeffer gets emotional for all of us as he says how great it is to be with everyone again...the Wanty family arrives...the kids lower the flag as we hum the flag lowering tune...into the dining hall for a huge chicken banquet, stories, and singing...Wally Tomchek takes his cue and leads us in "The Paddle Song"...a short free period...Dr. Khan works on Adam Lurie's tooth...and then the evening ending campfire extravaganza..."Key note" speeches by Steve Kuklin and Manny Desnet...Paul Warshauer retells the stories of his Olympic entrances as Zeus and the waivers Manny made him sign!...the plaques that adorned the dining hall are auctioned off to raise money for future reunion activities - the bidding is fierce as the paddle goes to Ben Zalay...a Frank Buck Day plaque goes to Paul Ringel..."What the heck is Space Day?" wonder the old-timers...Rick Poole and Mark Squires show up...Warren Metzdorff brags that he personally taught over 10,000 boys how to swim. "Mathematically impossible" says Manny...more memories at the horseshoe and it's off to town for more informal and unprintable memories...
...SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 1 1996, DAY THREE...boy, is it early as the troops straggle towards the flagpole for flag raising...Manny's troops raise the flag with little Chavin...cabin reports and breakfast of lox and bagels, smoked fish and more!...more water skiing and yet another softball game (my muscles can't take this anymore!)...Bob Mowen leads nature hikes to the old beach...some head to the waterfall in Parfreyville...others go the Merrimac (but not Warren)...several partake in naked lakers. "Big Moe Lives" says an unclad Rob Gerowitz...suits are hidden, wives are accomplices, but one brave woman swims the lake in the nude, too...Dr. Khan successfully dislodges Adam Lurie's tooth. "Dad? Will the tooth fairy find me in Waupaca?"...more oral histories and remembrances are videotaped before dinner...more hikes and watching the sun set over Lake Stratton bring back the great times of friendship, and new ones develop at the reunion...flag lowering and a steak dinner...Manny makes the "motzi"...Manny's office mailbox is signed and given to the "Chief" by all present...one last campfire, and we remember Ron Lavine's tireless devotion to Camp...Rob Gerowitz does a "Braves" program for the young bucks - all are braves, no pledges!...a great day and night close quietly with "Day is Done"...off to town again, as we salute the success of the reunion...there was just enough programming to make it interesting without being intrusive...
...MONDAY SEPTEMBER 2 1996, DAY FOUR...Adam Lurie wakes to find a check for $40,000 from the tooth fairy, written on Camp Waupaca check stock. "Don't cash that, son" says the wise dad...the wake-up call is a bit later and the die-hards shuffle to the flagpole on the last day of Camp...no announcements, but the kids raise the flag in traditional style...more breakfast and singing, but it's a quick one...everyone wants to head home, not because it's been bad, but that reality has settled in...Don Garrett says he and his wife had "fun" in cabin 9 last night...the Cadillac for O'Hare leaves at 9 AM...the last of the group pulls out at 10:30 after sweet goodbye's...so long, office...bye canteen...thanks mess hall, tennis, archery course...good-bye blue bus, green truck...see you all at the next reunion, or as the Trail's End...