1944-48 era camper

These are the positings from the old message board !!

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Bob Aronoff

1944-48 era camper

Post by Bob Aronoff »

Hats off to Gary Scharoff for being the "web" that pulls all the Camp Alton (CA) campers together!

Probably not everyone from the early days is aware that there is a CA website so there are a lot of us out there unaware of this site.

I've lost contact with those campers from my era having moved from Chestnut Hill (Brookline) MA in 1948. Most campers were from this (Brookline)area in the 1940's.

Another camper from the same era is Allan H Goodman, who moved from Brookline shortly after our family moved to California. He is located in San Diego CA -- a very successful thoracic heart surgeon. We've maintained contact over the years but know of no other CA campers in the LA or SD areas. Surely there may be some. "Goody's" email address is <A HREF="mailto:acegood@aol.com">acegood@aol.com</A>.

We're saddened to hear of the 1992 demise of CA. The experience of CA broadens anyone's dimensions in life. In my time, there was a wealth of human talent that attended camp -- not the least of which was Chief, himself. Camp moved smoothly with very little friction as the genius of Chief in organizing and running the operations from first having conceived the concept of CA, then going out and buying the land, putting the cabins and playing fields on it, processing the campers and creating daily organized activities, arranging for 3 meals a day, obtaining the counselers, instructors, etc. Only "talent" could do that.

No question exists that those attracted to CA were a select group. First off, if I recall correctly, Chief himself would approve of your
attending the first time you applied. How he determined who could/could not attend is unknown to me. But not just anyone could attend and I think you needed a strong reference if not personally interviewed by him or someone he trusted.

I'm pushing 69 and I'd need a list of names to recall many of the campers of my era. My brother, Dick, was a counselor for the same years I was a camper.

For some reason, "Mousey" Mammis comes to mind. Goodman tells me he became a dentist. My cabin counselor was named Marvin Gaster, who became a DDS. He must be in his late 70's by now. I see Rosenthal is still going strong (per Gary Sharoff) at 92. Rosenthal's son, Paul,
was a contemporary of ours (Aronoff and Goodman).

Lem Starr was a counselor whose name I recall for a poem he wrote about the Red Sox shortstop, Johnny Pesky, "holding da ball" in the 1946 World Series.

One of the things we waited on with daily was the newspaper some of us got by subscription (a major Boston daily newspaper cost 2 or 3 cents). The paper was the only contact we had with the "outside world". We didn't have radios in the cabins, nor was their one we campers could listen to, and TV was non-existent. Any newspaper was treasured, mostly for the baseball standings. Most kids were rabid baseball fans of that era at camp.

I recall camp was clean. We kept it clean as I think we had organized cleanup times everyday but keeping camp clean was not an onerous chore.
Every Thursday was a special day. We all looked
forward when our group (e.g., sophmores) would be going on the steamer Washington to go to the
Wiers for a day's outing (lots of pinball and other gaming devices to put your nickel to work).
Another outing was to hike into Wolfeboro for the day. Each Thursday groups rotated taking these special trips. I don't recall any anti-Semitism from the time.

We also had a "overnight camp out" but that was by cabin, not by group. You got your cookout chow from the mess hall, grabbed your sleeping bag and hiked out, led by the senior cabin counselors, to a spot a mile or so away from the center of camp totally surrounded by a dense grove of trees with a breeze off Winnespesauake whistling amongst the tight growth. It was a zenith of solitude with the stars sparkling clearly overhead. I think we were back in time the next morning for reveille where Chief would read a passage from the bible to start off the day and then announce any changes or special activities. We simply went to lunch after the morning's activities with a short rest time before lunch.

Similarly, after a short rest before dinner time, we sat on designated logs for our cabin each time divided between grays and greens. We heard the Chief preside with any more messasges, point totals for the grays and greens that day (to cheers and more cheers) and accumulated point totals and then he would dismiss us for dinner.

I don't recall anyone ever complaining about the food. It was one good time by all but as a group of (Jewish) campers, I'd characterize us as more serious-bent than happy-go-lucky. After dinner there were planned activities, too. I recall one night was singing songs with many having a Jewish motif (and religious oriented but never in a cram-down-your-throat manner whatsoever). Another night was for movies (light comedies, I recall Laurel and Hardy were prominently featured). Fridays nights were always reserved for religious services. Sat were no different than any other day of the week but maybe we did have off Sat pm for personal time. Paul Rosenthal's dad was the crafts instructor. Everyone liked and respected everyone else in any capacity as best as I can recall. Some fights did occur but they weren't of a serious nature that didn't fill the camp with animosities, revenge-mindedness or hate. The trust was so high that I don't recall anyone ever losing anything by theft.

The only women at camp were the "cabin mothers" in lower camp (I don't recall what they were called). They were usually the wives of the instructors. I think there was a full-time nurse, however. I don't recall upper campers getting sick or a having a broken bone but the lower campers did need attention from time to time. In today's world, I cringe to think of the amount of insurance coverage necessary to buy to operate a camp like Alton.

Sundays were for visits for parents and only Sundays. As kids, we looked forward to those days as our parents usually brought up cookies, a favorite baseball book, or our friends came with our parents to visit with us. If you're parents were not coming up that day, it could be lonely. I don't recall how we filled in the time.
Before the word became used like water, the family life of the campers was "close"; most attendees came from close-knit Jewish family backgrounds, not that Jews had a monopoly on "closeness" but our parents were usually the children of first-generation foreign born or were ourselves first-generation foreign born and we still had that European closeness which Jews brought wtih them from Europe.

When camp was to begin, we all directly headed to North (or South Station)in Boston) to board a 3 or 4-car chartered train pulled by a steam locomotive (in those days) which chugged its way up to Wolfeboro with our trunks loaded on board the train. In Wolfeboro, Chief would have arranged truck transport to take us the 5 or so miles to camp, trunks and all. I think there were l75 of us campers or maybe 200. It took a number and back and forth trips to get us all assembled, assigned and ready for camp the next day. At the conclusion of camp, the process was reversed unless your parents drove up to get you.

Biggest event of any weekday and a very happy moment was "mail call". Attached to the mess hall was what passed for the "post office". You could buy pre-stamped USPO penny postcards or camp stationary there as well as stamps. Chief encouraged the counslers to have us to write home. Probably so your parents wouldn't be calling camp to inquire what was happening with you.

Anyway,you would go to the "post office" window to stand in a short line after lunch to ask if you had any mail and they would hand it to you. Mail is what kept you from being homesick.

No kid was ever singled out for harsh treatment. We had kids whom the counselors (or us) thought did things wrong from time to time but they were harassed by what is now called "peer pressure" to "get real", to get in line. Your group could be "docked" privileges for actions of miscreants.
What those privileges were I don't recall but you damn well didn't tolerate losing privileges.

The swim area was controlled by a "buddy" system. You couldn't go in the water without first selecting a buddy. Whomever was suiting up next to you was a buddy if you didn't have a
pre-selected buddy. Every so often a swimming counselor would blow his whistle and every kid would look for his "buddy". YOu would race over to hold his hand up in the air and look around for all hands coupled in the air. The counselors would survey the area and if everyone had a buddy, the whistle would blow and you would resume swimming. I don't recall any organized swimming activities but we were all into swimming. In reflection, it was good that everything wasn't competitive all the time.

Whatever camp was, I learned today it ceased to exist in 1992. It's is history, it's gone. Gone
forever. It is wonderful that there are still reunion dinners.

I've recorded these personal recollections on camp for whatever benefit they'd be in looking back on the trail, should any such interest exist. It's good there was a Camp Alton.
Isn't there a song "Thanks for the Memories"? For this camper, it sure applies. It's good to know there are so many other campers around celebrating camp's existence with these reunion gatherings. Right on!

Any former campers should feel free to contact me or Allan Goodman, especially those from our era. My email address will change and I will post the new address as directed by Gary Scharoff. Lastly, please excuse any typos I didn't catch.

Again, Gary, you've done a "mitzvah" for all campers, past and present!



bob607@cyberhotline.com
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