My Camp Memories

"In Their Own Words"

In 1998, the idea of a 50th anniversary Camp Waupaca yearbook was born. Paul and Mike considered the idea of soliciting written material from campers, counselors, staff, and owners from 1951 to the present. We had, after all, 3 years to complete this task. We had solicited articles (CLICK HERE to see the letter sent to potential contributors). And we had an outline for the book (CLICK HERE to see the outline).

Well, the 50th anniversary of Camp Waupaca came and went in 2001. No book.

The 55th anniversary came and went. No book.

So did the 60th, the 65th, and the 70th anniversaries of Camp Waupaca.

Because a book will NEVER be published by us (despite our best intentions), we have decided to archive many of the writings, letters, emails, and other reminiscences that have been collected over the years. This material is not alphabetized, nor is it indexed by topic. It will be easy to scroll through the list of contributors. The titles you see next to their name are either ones the author has assigned to their work, or provided by the editors of this page based on the content of the material.

Every person who has ever been involved with camp has a story to tell. We feel it is important to share their thoughts and feelings "In Their Own Words".

As lifelong friends, we continue to carry the torch of memories from the past to the present, and now into the future, or until The Trail's End......

Paul W. Warshauer Mike Lurie
(Editor-in-Chief) (Publisher)

Disclaimer: all stories presented here are personal recollections of the submitter and may not represent the feelings of all readers. The Camp Waupaca Reunion Group does not take any responsibility for the factual accuracy of these stories. Stories are presented here in alphabetical order by author name.

NameYearsTitle (if available)
Herb Beller1952-1965Camp Waupaca, the Early Years
Greg Berke1976-1981
Manny Desnet1966-1988"Aphorisms" of Manny Desnet (by Paul Warshauer)
Rob Gerowitz1964-1979
Steve Goldberg1980-1984Commenting on the 2006 reunion
Maxine Greenstein1979-1984Camp nurse
Bob & Sue Krohn1958-1966
Ken Lapins1976-1988
Ken Lapins1976-1988A familiar place, a different me
Jordy Leff1960-1969
Larry Lifson1966-1969
Warren Mezdorff1971-1988Warren has some choice words about AJ Levin (1984-1987), and AJ responds!
Dan Oseran1982-1988
Rick Poole1978-1986South-end-of-camp director
Marc Ringel1958-1966

NameYearsTitle (if available)
Harlan Rips1961-1966
Larry Rosen1961-1966From 4 years old and beyond
John Rosenberg1961-1966From Omaha to Waupaca
Jon "Punky" Shulman1976-1980
Steve Shyman1968-1977
Lee Sloan1968-1977A Tale of Two Brothers
Sy Sussman1977-1980
Wayne Towne1956-1982Lots of stories, fiction and non-fiction, from our resident story-teller!
Paul Warshauer1966-1988All things Zeus
Paul Warshauer1966-1988Lots of stories, fiction and non-fiction, from our Big Chief!
Dave Weiner1951-1954
Dave Weiner1951-1954Another submission from Dave Weiner



(more content coming soon . . .)

Legal Stuff