…Paul
Warshauer (camper/staff 1966-1988) and Mike Lurie (camper/staff 1970-1981) took down the
signs at the corner of Stratton Lake Road and Highway 22 after a successful
reunion. They sighed, shook hands, then drove off vowing that this would be the
last reunion unless they both had more help…During their 4th annual
visit to Waupaca in 1999, their interests were piqued again when they realized
that in the year 2001, 50 years would have elapsed since the founding of Camp
Waupaca…“well, what the heck, perhaps we should do one more reunion”…As we made
some exploratory phone calls, Lynn Garb, (wife of Dick Garb, Camper/staff 1962-1984) agreed to help with the 50th
anniversary Yearbook…other interested parties were surveyed in a very
non-scientific manner…all agreed and told Paul and Mike to “Do
the Fiftieth…”
…during their 5th annual
visit to Waupaca, Paul Warshauer contacts Camp Young Judaea and inquires
about the impending historical 2001 event. He is told to contact them next
year. Meanwhile Mike Lurie, Dick Garb and others began finding other
alumni and “getting their stories”… a new director came and went from Young
Judaea - OY…
…Contacts were made in September of
2000 and the lines of communication were opened… Would the reunion be better on
Memorial Day or on Labor Day? Should we do a mid-week reunion? Would a
midsummer reunion be better? We opted for a mid-August date after months of
stalled negotiations and discussions with Young Judaea and their Board members…
…A new CYJ Director, Ben Sadek, took
the job and began negotiating with us in good faith…he told us we would have to
have some sort of minimum. The numbers changed and finally Paul and
Mike signed a contract guaranteeing that at least 100 adults and 25 kids
would attend the weekend…”what about those who just wanted to visit for the
day?” No, CYJ wouldn’t do it… “but we need it for the locals and staff who live
in Waupaca!”…
…After
furious negotiations, and after Paul corrects their standard contract,
we “closed the deal” in June of 2001… insurance quotes came in high and Paul’s
company, The Jefferson Street Theatre, agrees to underwrite the entire event…
Menus were discussed, ski and swim times agreed upon, and finally the
enrollments began to come in… Mike Lurie checks the PO Box in
Minneapolis each day, and reports to Paul about the daily activity…”A
registration has poured in!” an excited Lurie says…Some give special
donations, others agree to help find lost alums… Dick Garb is a super
sleuth, using the Internet to ferret out long lost alumni… Linda
Fastow-Dosey (nurse, 1981) talked her son Andrew (age 15) into attending…Steve Prebish (camper 1976-1981) worked
on talking his wife into letting him attend… Rose Mary Clotiaux (nurse, 1969-1977) from New Orleans packs and
repacks her suitcase, including her legendary salt tablets for heat and
Phiso-Hex for impetigo…
…The
big day approaches and we do not make our minimums… Lurie and Warshauer
meet in Chicago days before the reunion to cook the books and realize they are
several thousand dollars short… Phone calls go to “financially gifted” alums
who generously open their checkbooks to guarantee the success of this last
reunion… Some folks who agreed to attend cancel and our numbers plummeted. We
might have to cancel – OY!… but what about Ricky
Weinberger (camper, 1970s) who was flying in from Los Angeles or Paul “Turkey” Goldstine (camper/staff, 1968-1976) from Pennsylvania?
What could we do? Paul negotiates with Ben and CYJ agrees to accept a
reduced flat fee. It would be tough,
but the reunion MUST go on!…
…The
reunion activities actually began today when, at 9:21 AM, Ricky Weinberger lands at O’Hare on Spirit (El Cheapo) Airlines…The
rule for “official reunions” is when two gather in Waupaca’s name…We pick up
“sleeping Rick Passman,” (camper/staff,
1963-1976) on LSD (Lake Shore Drive) and begin our drive to Waupaca through
construction zones in near 100° heat… We lunched at the Roxy Restaurant in
Oshkosh… We gassed up (not just the car!) and read that the weather would cool
off just for us at Camp Waupaca… Greg
Berke (camper, 1976-1981) called Paul on the cell phone six times,
“can we bring a dog? Is there extra room? What hotel do we stay at?” After all
of that he still doesn’t attend!…
…On
to Waupaca… we stopped at the rest area just outside the Waupaca airport and Rick
Passman “beams with glee” as he realizes that we were so near to camp… we
buy cheap shoes for our trip at a Waupaca outlet store…We check in at the
Village Inn and swim, then rest… a trip to JRs Bar and we get a bucket of beer.
The reunion has now truly begun!…
…up by 7:00 at the Village Inn and
off to breakfast at the Waupaca Woods Restaurant in the small mall…a drive to
the Casino Bar, the site of many a night of counselor debauchery but it was
closed… next door is Ding’s Dock…Passman
and Weinberger go down the
Crystal River…They tell everyone that they went fast and “lapped” some of the
old timers…Paul goes to the library to receive FAXES from the insurance
company…
…Ralph Saunders (camper, 1960s-1970s) and Ken
Saunders (camper/staff, 1969-1985) get lost leaving Chicago but finally
arrive at the library and Ken, Ralph, and Paul go to the
Wheelhouse for lunch. Paul gets
a cell phone call from Passman and Weinberger. They have “just
come off of the river,” and are calling from inside the
Wheelhouse restaurant. Paul, Ken,
and Ralph are outside on the on the patio! So they walk
through the door and meet up!…
…After
lunch, the group piles into two cars and drive to the Red Mill to go under the
waterfall…Passman sets a new camp
record by jumping under the waterfall and going through it TEN times… Ken Saunders gets some nasty cuts… We complain about our knees, backs
and other maladies, but we are still boys so we keep jumping and doing the
waterfall thing!…
…Off to the Harbor Bar for
refreshments, then to Camp Waupaca by 6:00 PM!
We get a call while on the way from Mike Lurie and we wait at the
gate to meet up in our three car convoy: a white Cadillac, a black SUV, and a
gold Toyota are lined up outside of the gates just like on parent’s visiting
Day…
We
remember how Leroy Clotiaux (husband of
nurse Rose Mary Clotiaux) guarded the gates on Parents’ Day from
over-anxious parents, waiting to see their little boychicks whom they haven’t
spoiled in 5 weeks… We remember Jon Juron’s father who tried to sneak in
on a Saturday night prior to Visiting Day and got stuck in his car and high
ended…
…Current
camp director, Ben Sadek meets us at the gate and says, “Welcome back to your
camp!” Sniff sniff. What a mensch!… the “advance team” takes over Cabin ONE and
unpack. It is a little like the first day of camp, with all the boys claiming
bunks and shelves. “I want a board under my mattress”…Then we spiffy up and
drive downtown for a great dinner at Simpson’s Indian Room Restaurant. Twelve of us including Andrea Wanty (Kitchen, 1970s-1980s), Bob Mowen (staff, 1965-1988), and
Cory Kramer (Wife of Waupaca printer Darold Kramer)… we also see, for the
first time, one of the camp nurses, Rose
Mary Clotiaux who has come all the way from New Orleans! Great story
telling and we head back to camp… The Saunders boys set up their tent by
the old rifle range… the stars are incredible as we are away from the city
lights…we dream of earlier times…
…We
remember with fondness the memories of those who can no longer join us: Joey Berman, Steve Chavin, Chris Clotiaux,
Leroy Clotiaux, Chuck Cooper, Roman Danielson, Scott Diamond, Bob Dickenson,
Fred Glen, Irene Guthu, Erv Kasian, Ross Much, Chris Ray, Jon Reder, Terry
Rifkin, Wally Tomchek, Anne Towne, Bill Wanty, and owners Manny Desnet, and Irving “Skipper” Kuklin… may the
spirits of these and others not mentioned rest in peace…
…the
schnorer group in Cabin One awakens at 6:00 AM… Mike and Paul walk the camp grounds at 6:15 AM
and see the old place with older eyes… The first showers in the newly remodeled
bathrooms are wet and warm with extra hot water capacity thanks to the dual hot
water heaters… “the urinals in cabin one have not been completed yet, so use
the crappers”… off to the King’s Table restaurant for breakfast of ham, bacon,
and all non-kosher items before our kosher meal service begins at camp… the
advance team moves into the infirmary (used to be Manny’s house)… Mike
makes name badges and we set up shop near the office on a picnic table…
…Warren Metzdorff (staff and legend in his
own mind from 1971-1988)
and his wife Anna, arrive early at 11:00 AM and check in…the Fed Ex trucks
arrive with shirts, hats and caps from Scorpio Product in Chicago courtesy of Jeff Korman (camper/staff 1967-1974)…
we set up the picnic table display near the site of the old canteen! It is long
gone but we still hock merchandise like the boys of yesteryear, “Get your hats
and shirts! Here's a FREE early bird shirt for signing up before July 1!”…
…Many
former campers and staff say that the place looks smaller but the people don’t
look any different (some with a few strands of gray, others with a belly)… the
campers and counselors from the 1950-1980’s arrive… “the waterfront is now
open,” and swimming, water-skiing, and tubing are popular with all… some
question the age of the boat driver, “Say, how old IS that blonde
kid anyway?” The kids, campers and
their wives all get a crack at skiing and tubing… Rick Theiler (staff, 1982-1985) and his son Clay both barefoot on
Lake Stratton… Ricky Weinberger
scavenges for parts and finally sets up the old Sailfish sailboat and takes it
for a spin… The ski boat runs out of gas but not before nurse Rose Mary
Clotiaux goes around the lake on the tube; she is asking the drivers to go
faster on each turn! What a trooper!…
…Others
reminisce and Bob Mowen and Wayne Towne (staff, 1956-1982) have
plenty of catching up to do with all the campers who remember them so well!…Jordy
Leff (camper, 1960-1969) arrives and wants a good bed to sleep on! He tries
to muscle in on the Class A accommodations. He settles for a nice night in the
CIT Village…
…Wash
up for dinner and all assemble at the flagpole…all line up alphabetically for
introductions… Linda Fastow-Dosey
has fixed the flagpole rigging so that an ancient rope (from our reunion in
1998) moves up the ancient pine timber and goes through the ancient pulleys.
All help by moving logs from a “circle” to the back white rocks… after dinner
we set up the Near Diamond and have a softball game, men women and children all
play…pitcher Rob Gerowitz (camper/staff, 1964-1979) is beaned in the
mouth by a line drive off the bat of Larry Lifson (camper, 1966-1969)
but recovers… promises not to sue us… relief pitcher Jordy Leff does a good job… pitcher Larry Lifson is the
winning pitcher…Stan Friedell (camper, 1969-1974) is the player of the
game with a three run homer…
…We
go to a campfire at the horseshoe where we hear from many campers and
counselors about how much of an impact camp had on their lives…Little Mikey
Chavin (camper/staff, 1965-1977) remembers what a terror he was years ago
and thanks all of his counselors…Wayne Towne tells a grizzly bear story
with a twist at the end… George Lamm (staff, 1970s) sings the infamous
“Egg Song” and a wonderful rendition of “I’m Going to Camp Waupaca in My Mind”…
Joel Kettler (camper, 1961-1966) tells the children around the campfire
about “Wisconsin State Law” which becomes the mantra for the entire weekend:
“Wisconsin State Law says that after lunch, even if it’s 98 degrees, you must
lay motionless on your bunk for at least 30 minutes, and Wisconsin State Law
also states that if you fail to remain motionless in your bunk you will lose
your canteen”…
…Some
of the families go back to their bunks and put their kids to sleep, it has been
a long day for most of them… others go out to the far fields to see the Perseid
meteor shower or parts of the Aurora Borealis…still more end up at the Harbor
Bar in King… Tom Gumpert (staff, 197x)
tells us the REAL story of the last night of camp and his “log in the fire
escapade” from years ago…Harlan Rips (camper, 1961-1966) explains the
Omaha connection and a Talmudic view of body piercing… A few of the men meet
some older women… Former campers felt lucky to be drinking with their former
counselors…It is strange, say some, to be having a beer with Ricky Garfinkle (camper, 1976-1980) or
with Todd Laff (camper, 1977-1979)…
We are fortunate to have some designated drivers…
…Mike
Lurie walks through camp and awakens the troops ala Manny Desnet (Owner,
1966-1988): “Good Morning, Men – it’s another beautiful sunshiny day in
Camp Waupaca. Everybody up. Flag-raising in 20 minutes”… we remember Manny who
would call rain, “liquid sunshine…” We
line up by cabins at the flagpole, introductions, then into the remodeled
dining hall for waffles & syrup…
…Steve
Prebish, Larry Gordon (camper/staff, 1970-1979) and his family, Joe and
Larry Rosen (Owner & son/camper & counselor, 1951-1960), all
arrived early and schmoozed and wowed the crowds! Marc Ringel (camper, 1958-1966) and brother Paul Ringel
(camper/staff, 1961-1970) raise hell as they remember their camping years!
The Saunders boys finish their reunion early, as usual, and headed for
O’Hare…Dave Weiner (Counselor 1951-53) arrives and we are informed that
he was the “inspiration for the Camper of the year, “It was political!” He
bellows…
…An
impromptu football game at 10:00 AM sees Mike
Hollobow (camper/staff, 1974-1979) and Jacqueline Theiler as players of the
day!…
…Water-skiing
and tubing began early. “If it is not in my little black book you cannot ski,” Warshauer bellows… David Garb does a
180° on the knee board… Many campers & staff show their photos and
memorabilia by the picnic table, including Larry Weiss (camper, 1965-1968)
Camper of the Year plaque that his mother sent to him while cleaning the
basement… During the morning, secret meetings are held to select Larry Lifson and Paul “Turkey” Goldstine as Big Chiefs, Steve Prebish and Glen Spear
(camper, 1972-1976) as Little Chiefs. At lunch we do a water throw by the
little chiefs and the now infamous “silverware bump and drop” by the big chiefs
and the “war is heating up!”… Ed Lubejko
(staff, 195x) confesses that he was Ricky
Passman’s horseback riding instructor and tells other stories! What a
lunch! Some Lakers continue and for the first time in 34 years, John Rosenberg (camper, 1963-1967) and Joel Kettler swim across the lake and
back!!…
…Larry Gordon rushes into town to make copies of the Super Duper
Relay… We had visitors all day who streamed in and out sharing the wonderful
Waupaca past. They include: Gary Nahm
(camper, 1973), Mitchell Ex (camper & Counselor 1958-1966), Jim Avery
(staff, 195x-196x) who still refuses to divulge the secrets of the Brave
program, Dennis Bravick (staff
1986-1988), John Everman (staff,
1980s) computer maven way back when and still now, Brenda Wanty-Campbell (Kitchen, 1977-1982) who worked in the
kitchen with her mother many years ago, but still is as pretty as she was back
then, Marvie Landis-Wisniewski (Kitchen,
1979-1981) a kitchen gal who brought great photos from the past, Linda Caldwell-Forseth & Shirley
Caldwell-Thompson (Kitchen, 1952-1955) both ladies worked in the kitchen in
1952-1955 and had a great visit with Joe
Rosen and Don Danielson (staff,
1952-1954) in the Mess Hall, Columbus
Caldwell who along with his father Clifford dredged the “marl”, otherwise
known as muck, from our lake making a great beach, Don Danielson and his wife, and Ed Lubejko…
…At 3:30
PM, the Blue and White “Super Relay” commences by making two teams at the
flagpole… two lines form and Program Director for a day Warshauer divides the camp into two teams…some of the wives cheat
to get on the same team as their husbands… others don’t want to be on the same
team… Larry Lifson takes his
team to the horseshoe, Paul Goldstine
takes his to the cabin 15 area. They assign people for each event including the
dreaded “Craig Fuller (staff, 1970-1972) Instant Tantrum Event” and the
“Dave Kerstein (camper, 1960s) Run
Like Hell from Terry Rifkin (camper/staff, 1950s-1960s)” Event…
…At exactly
5:08 PM, the relay begins with Mike
Hollobow sinking the first free throw…Rose
Mary Clotiaux and Linda Fastow-Dosey
do a stop and start job with the Ace Bandage 3-legged event relay, but Lynn
Garb and Beth Theiler do their leg race without a hitch!… John Everman was visiting but we put
him to work finding “chazzari” cones for the relay event… the participants
themselves have to scramble to find nails for the “Erv Kasian (staff, 1970-1979) Most Powerful Craft shop” event… The
wise guys on the tennis court, Dave
Weiner and Larry Rosen, figure
they have got it down, but David Wax
(camper, 1970-1977) and Shelley
Weiss (camper and counselor, 1965-1969) volley it in the air seven times
instead of letting it bounce, saving precious seconds for their team. Would Ron Lavine (camper/staff, 1964-1988)
allow such tactics?…Todd Laff and
Jacqueline Theiler run like the wind… former Camp Waupaca expert archer Steve Shyman (camper, 1970s) hasn’t lost a beat, sinking the 3 arrows in
the blue or better section of the target …
…Larry and Shelly Weiss do the “tantrum canoeing craziness” but
strategize that they can jump out in the muck where it is shallow… Glen Spear (camper of the Year) and
partner Ricky Garfinkle do the
canoeing deal legit!…
…Andrew Dosey
swims the marathon around the raft… Jen Garb runs fast and a LONG way
from the beach to the swing set (near the site of the old horseshoe pit)… The
famous “Little Beaver” event (pitcher to batter to shortstop to first base) was
done by both teams on their first attempt! one Larry Gordon, Jake Gordon, Dick Garb, Steve Kerstein, Steve Prebish,
Lee Multack, Rick Theiler, and Steve Kuklin (camper & Counselor, 1951-1966)…
…On
the to flagpole for the final event, “Boil water boil,” as Chavin, Gerowitz, Lamm, and Lifson for the White team, and
Theiler, Kerstein, Prebish, and Goldstine
for the Blue team build their
fires, using knowledge gained from wars past… officials Wayne Towne and Bob Mowen monitor the cans of soapy water as the water begins to
boil… both cans boil over simultaneously! Can this be? Goldstine and Lifson
race, well more like hobble, to the office to ring the bell together… The
officials confer and both teams are declared victors! A perfect ending for a
terrific program. The Chief’s are both gracious and thank everyone… The running
time of the relay is a record 28 minutes!…
…We
“Warsh up for dinner,” (as we remember Mike
Euer’s (staff, 1968-1988) legendary announcements on the PA) and have a
great flagpole ceremony where all the participants line up according to the
years they attended camp. We have the pups who worked or went to camp from the
1980s on one side and the “AK Bench” with folks who were at camp from 1951!
Great intros of all. Thanks to videographer Dan Lyon (camper, 1955-1963) who, we hope, captured most of the
weekend on tape!…
…A
chicken dinner (under CYJ cook Jim’s watchful kitchen eyes) with a capacity
crowd (70 or so diners)… we sing our songs with THREE pianists: Dave Weiner, plays the “Waupaca Fight
Song,” a song he claims that he stole for our fight song, Joel Kettler plays “Green Canoe,” and Bob Mowen plays “Titanic.”
What a joyous noise!…The melodies come rushing back although some have
to hold their song sheets at the end of their arms!… the cooks make Camp
Waupaca a birthday cake although Waupaca is misspelled as “Wapaca…” Camper Rob Gerowitz gets a birthday cake, too… Loretta Kuklin (Owner,
1951-1966) cuts the Camp Waupaca cake…
…
A softball game begins right after dinner at the Near Diamond with our captains
Rick Theiler and David Wax as they pick teams trying to
be fair…pitcher David Kerstein catches
a sizzling slam off the bat of David Wax; the pitch was clocked at a
speed of well over 48 mph. Still, pitcher Dave Kerstein handles it and
throws a man out on second for a double play and is declared player of the game… The Razzle dazzle award goes
to ad-man maven, Dave Weiner for
clever base running while yelling and distracting the second baseman… We clean
up the Near Diamond, and many collect some wood for a campfire built by Towne
and Mowen…
…
Many get up to share their thoughts and reflections… We hear great stories and
tales from camp founders Joe Rosen and Loretta Kuklin…
Rob Gerowitz reads his Top Ten List of why camp was great, Warren Metzdorff sings “Three Jolly
Fisherman”… Wayne tells a
Potawatomie story…kids roast marshmallows…Mike Lurie tells how Dr.
Sam and Dr. Jerry Salan , Jewish
doctors, end up in small town Waupaca… Paul Warshauer retells his
infamous Zeus entry to the Olympics stories: “Warshauer, have you ever
ridden a jet ski?” “Yes, Manny, I have.” “Sign the waiver, Warshauer.”…
all sing “Day is done” to close the campfire…
…The
older group of campers ends up at the Harbor Bar where we take over several
tables amidst a western wedding party in progress. Chavin and Warshauer
smoke Cuban cigars; home was never like this! …“Little” Ricky and Rob Garfinkle (camper, 1973-1978) don’t really look that much
older than they did as campers after a pitcher of Point Beer…We chat, tell
stories and see Benjy Zalay (camper and
terror, 1970s)…
…Back at camp, others end up on the far fields
betwixt the Flickerball goalposts
to admire the shooting stars… Others stayed at the horseshoe swapping old
memories until the wee hours… others are content to stay with their kids. Larry Gordon plays Mr. Mom for the
weekend with his three darling kids. His pal, David Wax, stays behind from the drinking and carousing to be with
his good friend and his kids. What a mensch. Like many of us they stay up
really late to talk over old times… Sydney and Rachel Gordon sleep soundly
until…
…Paul
“Froggie” Warshauer, who has now lost most of his voice, comes through the
cabins waking everyone up at 7:45 AM… Folks are sure slow to get up and arrive
at the flagpole, although we all manage to straggle in…We line up by distance
traveled to the reunion… Wayne Towne
from Keshena, Wisconsin, to Steve
Shyman’s girlfriend from Colombia, South America!… good breakfast and
coffee with REAL Half-and-Half (a contractual request from Paul Warshauer)…last
shot to sing as we do Rise and Shine…
…After
breakfast and packing up to leave, most end up on the beach to watch the last
skiers and tubers… Larry Gordon and son Jake Gordon chat by
walkie talkies… others hang out by the picnic table where new controversy stirs
around Warren, “Did the kids and
staff really like that song you brought back from Club Med?” Nonetheless, Mike Chavin rushes to Warren’s defense, (winking and
blinking) on the 10,000 water-skier’s claim, which has now risen to 10,002!…
…Slowly the reunion fades as people
pack up their wet bathing suits. Some of us remember Manny and Lil Desnet handing out plastic bags so
that the wet suits and towels wouldn’t ROT inside the footlockers going back to
Chicago!… Last sales of hats and shirts… The Gregg Pavalon (camper, 1969-1970) family takes over the archery
range…we have a small lunch crowd for hamburgers and hot dogs… the last of the
reunion group packs up supplies and by 2:00 we are all gone from camp… Mike
and Paul take down the cardboard sign at the corner of Stratton Lake
Road and Highway 22… They each take a piece of the historic poster board, “Who
knows when we shall ever see Waupaca again?”… someone else will have to do a
reunion as they are tired out, but filled with great memories…
…we
will long remember the happy faces that attended, Michael Rosenblatt’s (camper, 1971-1975) adorable 6 year old son at
the campfire, Dick Garb’s son after
he did his first wake board, the look on Larry
Lifson’s face as he and Paul
Goldstine rang the Super Duper Relay at the same time, the contented look
from Joe Rosen who now knows that he
and Irving “Skipper” Kuklin built
a place that made a difference in so many lives and in so many ways!… these are
the Kids that came from Stratton Lake… we’ll keep in touch until the Trail’s
End…