The Final Countdown

On July 20 (Visiting Day night) at exactly 10:56 PM (Eastern Standard Time) we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of astronaut Neil Armstrong stepping on the moon. As an 11-year-old camper at Scatico, I remember being brought into the boys social hall to watch the event on a black-and-white television (I’m guessing with a 19-inch screen). The picture was crackly and blurry—as much from the transmission from the moon as from the quality of the reception using a “rabbit ear” antenna (cable, let alone the Internet, had not yet arrived in Elizaville).

2018 Subs at Bonticou Crag in the Mohonk Preserve.

I can’t recall the actual first step (and I have a suspicion that the lower hill campers might have been herded back to their cabins before 10:56PM), but what I do remember vividly is the mystical nature of the event: walking in the dark from bunk 9-10 to the social hall; sitting on the hardwood floor with the entire boys side; and watching the eerie glow emanating off of the screen. Childhood memories of camp are often like that, so clear that you want to reach out and touch them; the people and moments and lessons learned that help define who you are and how you see and embrace the world around you.

Camps are not unique in creating this cosmic time warp, but there is something magical that often happens at camp. It’s the intimate size of the community and the mixing of ages. It’s living relatively removed from the outside world (lunar landings notwithstanding) and in closer proximity to nature (the stars are always just a little brighter). It’s the calming ebb and flow of the daily routines, regularly punctuated by moments of joy and wonder at special events and activities.

And what’s best, we get to start all over every summer and embark on the next great adventure. Opening day looms. The next generation of campers arrive. The magic begins anew, creating memories to sustain us 50 years or more into the future.

Welcome to Scatico—Class of 2019

In no particular order (as of May 15)... Max Finkel, Miles Senior, Joe Kedwards, Teddy Curreri, Ryan Percival, Sander Gross, Jackson East, Logan East, Marlon Reitzes, Landon Hoffower, Greyson Nestler, Lawson Davis, Rafa Groom, John Weiss, Thomas Weiss, Ethan Deitz, Samuel Deitz, Nathaniel Deitz, Asher Taubenfeld, Liav Klein, Leo Marcus, Gabriel Shapira, Oscar Strickland, Andre Barrientos, Harry Savitz, Sacha Azoulay, Solly Azoulay, Bruno Gerico, Caroline Moyal, Jordan Henry, Abby Harwood, Olivia Garber, Eva Marcus, Alexa Falik, Emma Rotko, Naya Bodner, Zoe Abrams, Rosie Marcus, Samara Chait, Lily Pisnoy, Natalie Oberwerger, Annabelle Hussian, Giselle Ball, Emmie Hodes, Lilly Nielsen, Kylie Hall, and Isabelle Hellman

Plus, 2018 one-week Scatico-in-Training campers (SITs) returning for their first extended stay.... Jonah Dany, Chase Baruch, Jacob Strauss, Joey Ostrove, Oliver Mark, Blake Cernitz, Levi Sherman, Alex Harwood, Jacob Hirschl, Oliver Justus, Drew Schwartz, Hayley Kahn, Dylan Kleiner, Eryn Lobel, Lily Shuli, Eliza Tarlow, Lila Cohen, Olivia Gourevitch, Hazel Gutstein, Ruby Harrison, Avery Kamo, Maddy Klein, Sarah Pomerantz, Josephine Roses, Demi Yarkon, and Maya Ziff.

Seventy-three first-time campers in total (counting the 2018 SITs)! The first-time campers and returning SITs will travel to Elizaville from 12 different states (plus the District of Columbia) and 4 countries.

Staying In Touch

The final Staying in Touch column of the 2018-19 off-season... Thanks to the many contributors of news (and non-news) who helped Scaticonians near and far stay connected throughout the off-season. As always, let’s start with the latest reports of Random Scatico Sightings (RSSes)....

This issue’s RSSes crisscrossed numerous time zones and Scatico generations. The Windermans and Stiefels met while hiking in Moab, Utah, an RSS including a girls head counselor, a camp doctor, three boys divisions, and Scatico summers spanning from the early 1980s to the 2010s.... In the award for this year’s most complicated RSS and (sort of) a first-ever RSS before a camper officially started a Scatico career, when 1-week camper Marlon Reitzes went to his day camp Open House, the assistant director (Alex East—a Scatico mom) noticed Marlon’s mom (Scatico alumnus Lindsay Newblatt Reitzes) with a Scatico umbrella. Not only will Alex’s twin sons Jackson and Logan soon be bunkmates of Marlon in the Scatico-in-Training program, but Alex and Lindsay were high school classmates who hadn’t seen each other in many years. (Did you follow all of that?)....

When Cousins Asher Gornstein (Florida), Scarlett Hartstein (California), and Landon and Fallon Krane (New York) traveled to France for a family trip they met up with sisters Georgie and Vivi Loigman at the Eiffel Tower (Fallon and the Loigmans had their RSS at JFK airport in New York just prior to departure, so the families made a plan for a Paris get-together ).... Two months earlier, Fallon had an airport RSS with Kate Metzendorf. (Maybe an individual record for airport RSSes in a single issue?)....

Cousins Ryan Derasse and Josh Mazarin spotted siblings Abby and Rob Orseck while skiing in Colorado (“screams of excitement,” is how one dad described the moment of recognition). It was a busy RSS week for the Mazarins, as Josh’s sister Ashley connected with Caroline Graf in the airport prior to her family’s flight from New York.... Bunkmates Zach Gluckstal and Josh Montvelisky had their RSS in Las Vegas....

And for the final two Newsletter RSSes of the 2018-19 off-season, we will turn to this season’s clear RSS champ, Spencer Hellman, who reported on 6 (two per issue) since September. The latest two, both from the Westchester County Mall in White Plains, NY, involved counselor Jeremy “Tuna” Reissman (at the Tesla store) and (separately) Tyler Korsten. Congratulations, Spencer, truly a Hall of Fame RSS standard.... In non-RSS news, Spencer and divisionmate Sam Ryan sang together in the Westchester All-County Choir Concert in March....

Nicki Fleischner and Moises Torres represented Scatico at the annual New York City gala for The DREAM Project. This summer, Nicki and Mo, along with longtime Scaticonians Brian Helfman and Marie Serina, will once again chaperone the CITs on a service project trip to the Dominican Republic to run a day camp program for 80-100 children. This will be the fifth summer that Scatico has partnered with The DREAM Project.... And as we get set for the summer—we wanted to say a final “goodbye” to winter with this photo of siblings Mason and Charlotte Florin on a snowy February visit to Elizaville. Everything looks just a bit greener and brighter right now!....

Recent Division Reunions

Centers in Aiden Cohen's Backyard

Jinters at Lucky Strike Bowling in NYC

Inters at "Beat the Bomb" in NYC

Seniors breakfasting at Allie Putzker's

Debs at a Hibachi restaurant

Thanks to all who stayed in touch throughout the year. When next we “meet” it won’t be through the Newsletter, but in the 12523 (a certain zip code).

For Parents

By now you should have received our Forms Mailing and Parents Handbook. The following forms are required for all campers: Enrollment, Medical, Confidential, and Signature Sheet. Return paperwork to: Camp Scatico, PO Box 6, Elizaville, NY 12523. As a reminder, rather than mailing a Packing List, you can find it here.

We hope to see all first-year campers (including this year’s one-weekers as well as our 2018 SITs returning for a longer session) at the June 15th Open House at camp. The program runs from 12:30 to 3:30PM and includes lunch. Have campers wear sneakers so they can participate in activities. You can bring luggage, as prior to Opening Day we unpack campers entering 7th grade and younger.

Cans From Campers

Bring cans of food and boxed dry goods with you when you drop off your campers and we will make a donation to the food pantry at the nearby Elizaville Methodist Church. We have annually supported this program at the end of each season, and thought our families might want to join us in supporting the local community.

New for 2019

It’s been a busy off-season in Elizaville. The two most visible projects (see the photos below) are the expansion of the dining room (which includes a new 70-foot deck along the lake side—about four times larger than the previous deck) and the construction of a covered pavilion by the girls tennis courts (accepting naming nominations so as not to confuse with the basketball pavilion) to be used for picnics and meetings.

Elsewhere around camp things have also been busy. On girls side, the Lodge 2 expansion is completed (the bunk now includes its own full bathroom separate from Lodges 1 and 3) and, on boys side, there are two new (larger) backstops on the ballfields. There’s a new waterfront Rave (that’s the trampoline with the launcher) and re-surfaced courts (11 tennis, 5 basketball, and 2 volleyball).