Spring 2024, Edition 103
News from Elizaville
Carol as a 9-year-old camper
Before the Oscar, the Grammy, the two Golden Globes, and the star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; and before Phil Collins covered a song she co-wrote and it reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100…. Carol Bayer Sager was a Scatico camper (the winning Color War General in 1959) from New York City. We recently heard from alumnus Bert Holman (1960s), who was reading Carol’s 2016 autobiography “They’re Playing our Song: A Memoir.” Bert, a kindred spirit in the music industry as the longtime manager of the Allman Brothers Band from the 1990s to 2010s, shared the following quote from the book: “While away at summer camp, I began writing lyrics to our camp songs. Everyone liked them and sang them on campfire nights. It was then I knew that I wanted to be a songwriter.”
Maybe the experiences and passions nurtured at camp don’t always translate into careers quite so linearly, but how often must they help us learn a little bit more about ourselves and help foster not just the friendships that carry us through life, but the interests we cultivate and embrace? Whether something tangible like a lifetime devotion to swimming in a lake or pickup basketball or work on a pottery wheel, or intangible, like the wave of nostalgia that descends when you look up at an endless star-filled sky or into the heart of a crackling campfire.
Bob Seebacher and a crowd of nature enthusiasts surveying the latest aquatic creature in the
nature pit.
For Eric Rubin (1960s-70s) it was a love of the outdoors. Now living in Elgin, IL, he is the Chief Change Officer and Managing Partner at Triad Embryonics (a consulting firm “dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and start-ups advance their dreams”). He wrote in a winter email to camp (a place he hasn’t physically returned to since his last summer more than 50 years ago): “I loved exploring and fishing and catching critters…. Believe it or not, Scatico is a frequent visitor in my dreams. In them, I am always connected to the nature pit, where we used to keep huge bullfrogs, snakes, turtles, etc.”
Nature continues to be a popular activity.
For the current generation, we hope Scatico continues to resonate, inspire, and nurture each camper’s unique spirit, perhaps creating foundations for buildings not yet known. Plus, there’s always room for a little full-circle-moment magic….
In the mid-1980s, Girls Head Counselor Nancy Kleiner asked her Division Leaders to select an Alma Mater from a recent Color War Sing to become THE Alma Mater, a song girls side would sing at the end of every evening activity. Historically, Alma Maters were written as part of the Color War Sing, in which Soopers would select an existing song melody and rewrite the lyrics to make it about camp. Nancy wanted to find the best of the Color War Alma Maters, to become a more permanent fixture. Which Alma Mater did the Division Leaders choose? None other than the one from Grey 1982, which goes to the tune of Through the Eyes of Love (the theme to the motion picture Ice Castles). And who (coincidentally) co-wrote the theme to Ice Castles? For which she won a Grammy and a Golden Globe?
And to make the full-circle moment even more full-circle… current Girls Head Counselor Kerri Winderman was a second year camper on Grey 1982. She remembers sitting in the first row and singing the Ice Castles Alma Mater (which all of girls side still sings), and even more, getting hit in the eye when the opposing Green Manhattan threw crab apples (gathered from the old tree by the canteen) as part of their skit. She swears she never looked away from the leader!
Girls’ Color War Sing
Scatico Fall Open House
We are excited to invite all alumni and their families to the first-ever Scatico Fall Open House on Saturday, September 21 from 10:30 AM - 4:00 PM. We envision this day as a new, revamped version of the traditional Alumni Day, or a Visiting Day without camp being in session. It's a day of activities, connecting with friends, and simply being in the 12523.
Sports facilities and the lake will be open, but the day is relatively unstructured. Come and go as you please within the 10:30 AM - 4:00 PM window! We will have crafts/ activity stations for younger kids, and the Canteen is open for snacks. For lunch, it is a BYO picnic (Visiting Day style).
Learn more and RSVP (for general headcount purposes) HERE. Current camp families and staff members are also invited.
Random Scatico Sightings
There may be no off-season Scatico news we like to hear more than reports of Random Scatico Sightings…. Whether it’s running into former division mates unexpectedly or connecting with a soon-to-be former stranger wearing a Scatico shirt ….
Like on the streets of Park Slope in Brooklyn when 2019 Sooper Chloe Cardello spotted 1975 Upper Senior Ben Krull in his 100th anniversary t-shirt….
A Scatico car magnet triggered an RSS in Larchmont, NY. Amy Paul Tunick (1980s-90s) was “randomly” chatting in line with a woman at a store and then left to drive home a few minutes later. But before she could pull out of her spot, the same woman pulled up alongside Amy in her car. “I went to Scatico!” It was Pam Bayer Schoolman (1950s), cousin of Carol Bayer Sager (see lead article in this issue). Wrote Amy, “I couldn’t take a picture because we were in our cars—majorly blocking traffic during the entire conversation.”….
An RSS Down Under as 1990s-2000s camper Jake Wolfin connected with 2010s U.K. counselor David Corder. Though they never attended camp together, David recognized Jake from when he used to visit his younger brother Ben on Visiting Day. They are both now living in Australia….
Doug Herzog (1960s-70s) and Rob Solomon (1970s) met at a recent event at Emerson College (attended by Doug as a board member and Rob as a first cousin of the new president). Rob, who played in the 1978 Under-13 Softball Tournament hosted by Scatico immediately shared that he had a cassette tape of Doug (then a radio counselor) broadcasting a game with Hillel Italie….
The music of the band Guster could often be heard in girls’ side cabins in the 2000s-10s, so maybe it’s not surprising that while attending a recent concert at the Paramount in Brooklyn 2005 Soopers Rachel Modica, Joey Smilgiewicz, and Nicki Fleischner ran into 2006 Soopers Nicole Festa, Hillary Rothman, and Melissa Samuels….
At a women’s college basketball game between Lafayette and Monmouth, Sam Kuperman (broadcasting the game for ESPN+) spotted Matt Gross (Director of Basketball Operations at Monmouth). They overlapped at camp as campers and counselors in the 2000s-10s…
A first pickleball RSS! Current Scatico mom Rebecca Lederman recently opened Pickleball Palace in Whippany, NJ. Jaime Poller and Elyse Segal Madorsky (1970s-80s) were there to play and connected with current camper Eden Lederman….
Imagine the surprise of Doug Florin (1980s-90s), who when attending a high school softball game for his daughter Charlotte (a 2024 Sooper) recognized that the home plate umpire was his camp contemporary Jon Blaufarb. Doug’s report? “Great umpire. Very consistent.”
Alumni News
Jamie Hamburg and Drew Winiarski
Congratulations to Jeff Bukantz (1970s-80s) on his induction into the USA Fencing Hall of Fame. Jeff has served as a U.S. Olympic Team Captain, as an Olympic Referee, and as an NBC Television Olympic analyst….
Jamie Hamburg (2000s-2010s) has served as a front of house engineer on American country music singer-songwriter Zach Bryan’s most recent nationwide tour. Coming as no surprise to Jamie’s camp contemporaries who watched him regularly play guitar on the Scatico stage, he has even joined Zach on stage to perform. At a recent concert, Jamie’s former camper Drew Winiarski (2010s) visited after the show….
The Modi Rosenfeld comedy tour continues! 1980s camp contemporaries connecting backstage after recent shows included Sam Safran Bodner (with her husband Sacha), Todd Fass (a former bunkmate with his wife Selena), and Mike Smiley (a former counselor)….
Kyungmin Park, an art and ceramics counselor in the 2000s, was one of three featured artists this past February at a 3-day conference hosted by the Morean Arts Center in St. Petersburg, FL. While there, Kyungmin got together with Bren Karcich (a Scatico caretaker from the 1990s-2010s with her husband Ian Slater), who lived in nearby Old Town, FL….
Michael Lippman (1960s-70s) appeared in a recent episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm (starring Larry David), playing a Rabbi….
SCOPE is a non-profit organization that provides Summer Camp opportunities for children who otherwise would not be able to attend camp. Former Scatico camper, counselor, division leader, and current camp parent Andrew Tannenbaum is a member of the board. At an April event in Manhattan, a strong Scatico contingent turned out to support SCOPE. Each summer, as part of Scatico’s mid-season Service Day, younger campers build Dream Boxes for SCOPE campers attending nearby Ramapo. The Dream Boxes are packed with new school supplies donated by Scatico families.
Sam, Modi, and Sacha
Todd, Modi, and Selena
Mike and Modi
Larry David and Michael Lippman
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Bren and Kyungmin
2024 SCOPE Benefit
Reunions
Brooke, Sara, and Jamie
1980 Soopers
Connecting while studying in Europe during Junior Semesters abroad--2018 Soopers in Budapest and 2018 Upper Seniors in Copenhagen….
In Los Angeles, representing the 1960s-70s (and Friendship), Lee Gelb, Jane Herzog, and Nancy Greystone….
NYC get-togethers for dinner included the 1993 Soopers (shoutout to Melissa Green Pearson who flew in from California) and the 1992 Soopers….
1950s-60s Scaticonians Arnie Goldman, Paul Jellinger, and Dennis Rinzler sent in a photo from Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami…
Representing the 2000s to 2020s, Anna Rosenfeld, Sarah Feldman, and Jane Rosenfeld (a current assistant head counselor) sent in a photo from London….
Sara Mester’s former bunkmates Brooke Bolnick and Jamie Segal were there to cheer her on (with a take on a Color War chant) when she completed a recent half-marathon. Jamie currently heads Scatico’s performing arts and media programs….
In Westport, CT, 1980 Soopers Laura Danford Mandel, Jackie Olensky, and Wendy Sheldon Brown were joined by Jody Beck (spouse of 1980 Upper Senior Joel Beck), and Barbara Lehman Sheldon (Wendy’s mom and a 1940s-50s alumnus)….
Alexa Nass (2000s) celebrated her 35th birthday with a Murder Mystery party and a lot of Scatico friends….
A multi-generational Scatico reunion in Florida in December included Dori Popkin Chait and her daughter Samara; Andrea Wagner Alhadeff and her daughter Jules; and Brielle Mark and her children Oliver and Charlotte—covering Scatico summers from the 1980s to the 2020s….
Steve Hanft (1950s-70s) and his wife Annelie traveled from their home in Germany to witness the solar eclipse in Waco, TX, on April 8. A road trip afterward included a stop in Truth and Consequences, NM, to get together with Fred “Ferd” Herman (1970s) and his wife Laurie….
A likely locale for a (mostly 1980s) Scatico reunion? How about a Dead & Co. show at Citi Field in Queens? Thanks to Wendy Nedlin Schindler for sending in the photo (better late than never) from last summer’s concert….
Current counselor Austin Moscou will be a freshman at Dennison University in the fall, playing wide receiver on the football team. In January, he toured the Granville, OH, school with his dad Jimmy (1970s-80s) and they visited Randy Au at his home in Columbus, OH. Randy, the current athletics director on boys’ side, began his Scatico career in the 1980s (alongside Jimmy on staff). Now he gets to supervise Austin.
We also heard from…. Steven Bisk (1960s-70s). Now living in Israel, married with 7 children and 9 grandchildren, and running a nonprofit called JOIN Israel that sends “600 underprivileged Israeli youth annually to 3-week camps.”…
David Epstein (1980s-90s). Now living in Austria after spending the previous three years in Belgium, he works for the U.S. Mission to NATO, advancing Outer Space Policy….
Jon Koren (1990s-2000s). Now living in Monaco with his wife and 3 children, he co-manages a “shipping company with a fleet of tankers and dry bulk vessels.”….
Dinath Rose (ceramics program head for several summers in the 2000s), who has moved from Florida to near camp (Rosendale, NY) and is teaching and tutoring Hebrew….
And Karen Salver. Karen never attended Scatico, but her dad Seymour Alterman was a camp doctor in the 1940s. Recently going through items in storage, she was touched (as were we) to discover that her dad (who passed away in 2011) had saved many photos (including a full-camp panorama) from his time at Scatico.
Send in news (and non-news) to info@scatico.com for inclusion in the Fall 2024 issue
of the Alumni Newsletter.
CONGRATULATIONS
The Next Generation
Eli on April 3 to Jaime Hollander and Brian Goldwasser. Jaime and her sisters Rachel and Jackie were campers and counselors in the 1990s-2010s.
Lily on May 24 to Alexa Wallerstein and Dylan Lawson. Alexa was a camper, counselor, and division leader in the 2000s-10s.
Bella Etta on May 10 to Bennett and Jackie Polen. Bennett and his siblings Jocelyn, Zach, and Natalie had Scatico careers that covered the 1990s to 2010s. Their dad Rusty was a camper in the 1960s-70s.
Sarah on April 6, 2023, to Adam and Julie Blaufarb Kinory. Julie was a camper in the 1970s-80s and her brother Jon a camper in the 1980s. (See the reports of Random Scatico Sightings for a Jon sighting.) Their dad Gene Blaufarb ran the boys’ waterfront for nearly ten summers in the 1970s-80s.
Top Left—SARAH, Top Right—BELLA
Bottom Left—ELI, Bottom Right—LILY
Weddings
Alyssa Bush and Barrett Lynner on April 27. Alyssa and her brothers Matt and Brett were campers and counselors (collectively) from the 1980s to the 2010s. Her parents Mike Bush and Nedra Rosen were camp doctors for more than 10 summers in the 1990s-2000s (and Mike was a camper and counselor in the 1960s-70s). David Fleischner officiated the wedding.
Andrew Nathin and Maya Goldstein on May 6. Andrew was a camper, counselor, and division leader in the 2000s-10s.
We Will Miss You
Barbara Meyers-Rothenberg-Brown passed away on October 4, 2023, at the age of 81. Barbara and her brother Al Meyers attended Scatico in the 1950s. The matriarch of a 3-generation Scatico family, her son David Rothenberg was a camper in the 1970s and her grandson Branden Rothenberg was a camper and counselor in the 2010s-20s.
Mady Drazin Chudnoff passed away on May 7 at the age of 78. She and her brother Andrew were Scatico campers in the 1950s-60s. She was also the matriarch of a 3-generation Scatico family—her children Perry and Shawn attended in the 1980s-90s and her grandchildren Aaron and Jordan Goldberg in the 2010s-20s. An avid golfer who played on courses worldwide, she carded three holes-in-one.
Carol Bloomgarden Schechtman
Carol Bloomgarden Schectman, the girls’ head counselor from 1967 to 1984, passed away on February 14 at the age of 98. In the photo, Carol is dressed for a “wedding” (Color War break) in the early 1980s.
Louise Holman Roth, passed away on January 8, at the age of 87. Louise and her sister Rosalind Holman Schiff, nieces of Scatico founder Nat Holman, attended camp in the 1940s-50s.
Stanley Wallerstein, who passed away on December 1, 2023, at the age of 87, was a camper in the 1940s-50s with his sister Barbara Wallerstein Bickel.