Over 500 alumni have filled out this survey and we thank you all.  Here is a glance at what you all had to say about the 50^th, camp and the future of the alumni association.

When it came to the question of what the alumni association should do going forward – local events topped the charts.  This is very doable.  The first step is the October 18^th – Eisner Alumni Day Across America.  But this is going to take work and planning by the alumni for the alumni – volunteers are needed.  So if you are interested contact Beth Grossfeld at Eisneralumni@urj.org.

Anyone who hasn’t taken the survey – there is still time.  A winner will be selected on September 16^th.

Did you attend the 50th Celebration?
		Response Percent
Yes		62.1%
No		37.9%

How often would you consider attending an alumni event at camp (check all that apply)?
		Response Percent
Every summer		24.1%
Every other summer		19.0%
Only on milestone years		21.8%
Not sure		35.0%

How would you like EAA to set up a way for you to network with fellow alumni professionally (choose all that apply)?
		Response Percent
Would like to know what people do and how I can reach them		83.1%
Have a mentor in my field		18.4%
Be a mentor for others in my field		40.4%
Network to figure out what I would like to do in life		20.8%
Not interested in networking professionally with alumni		5.1%

How likely would you attend an EAA mission to Israel?
		Response Percent
Very Likely		6.6%
Likely		7.9%
Somewhat Likely		32.3%
Not Likely		53.2%

What initiatives or projects would you like to see the EAA undertake in the next 12 months?
Keeping alumni up to date on news of others that might be important.	Response Count
Manor House restoration
I would love to see the EAA take larger measures to locate more alumni. There are still so many people I just have not been able to find.
Establish comprehensive online directories/networking tools that will ensure that we are able to stay in touch! And alumni events!
I didn’t go to the 50th because I hadn’t been involved in camp since I left and was concerned it would be overwhelming. I would have liked to have attended a few events leading up to the big event so I wouldn’t have felt so “out of place”. Having more local events, a few a year would be ideal and less intimidating.
I would be interested in meeting with other Boston area alums. When I attended Eisner in the 60’s there were not many campers or staff people form this area. Some faculty who had New York roots came for a few days or weeks. I would be interested in meeting with others in the area.
Keep up the blog/ networking website
Describing how camp has changed, describing where people are now,  making camp music available.
maintain the connections that were made during this year – between alumni and camp, and helping alumni to stay connected with each other
put together a directory of camp alumnae by year (I know this could be impossible due to having to locate everyone).
Not sure
Develop/build local networks.
Scholarship programs for camp tuition
Since I live outside the Northeast, I’d like to see more ways for people to stay involved and connected on the internet.
Directory of Alumni
continued fund rising for camp; more publicity to hebrew schools
further raise the presence of the camp
For me personally, it would be great to figure out how to get kids with diseases like diabetes to be able to come to Eisner.
Developing a network of alumni in areas other the the NYC/MA area.
Set up min-regional events for those majority of alums who did NOT make it to Great Barrington for the 50th (“losers” we might call them).
More alumni events in more accessible places. I live in CT and it would be nice to have some events closer to home where both myself and my disabled wife can attend.
Productize Mung and sell it every national supermarket chain Just kidding….I definitely think the Alumni Day is a step in the right direction. Would be great to see lots of small reunions happening in various areas around the country
My interest is in seeing and socializing with alumni; sharing in memories; singing and dancing the way we did in the 60’s and 70’s
It would be wonderful to know if there are other alumna from Eisner anywhere near me in Shreveport, LA.
-photo share; have us all help categorize the pictures from facebook bunk1 etc, into more cohesive and accurate groups in a central or accessible location. (would love to see some of the old videos that Neil Fink took back in the days also) -
alumni habitat for humanity in the NY tri state area.
Annual alumni weekends at camp.
raise endowment money
Keep alumni in touch with each other

Reflections on our 50th summer:

In a few short days Eisner’s 50th year will draw to a close. And what a year it has been (despite a very rainy season).

As I look back on the summer, I thought I would share highlights beyond just the 50th celebration.

* First, camp is full. We are serving more children from more congregations than ever before. Quite amazing really given the economy. Many of these children are the offsprings of alumni which is a real kick. My daughter was in a bunk this year with Matt and Sharon Cutler’s daughter, I got to hang out with Yonni Limmer’s son, I made friends with Zellick Jackson’s two children. I mean seriously how cool is that?
* Last week was Mitzvah Mania – Olim planned a blood drive for staff. Now I don’t know if there was ever a blood drive here before. It is the first time in my memory that we have done one at camp. 54 pints of blood donated by staff and some of our friends from Great Barrington. This was just one of the tikkun olam projects we undertook this summer to help the local community. Campers also donated their unwanted books and videos and camp sent them along to different community groups; volunteered in a soup kitchen; and visited the sick in an elder care facility.
* July 4th carnival – now mind you I was a second session kid so I never had a 4th of July at camp. What a rockin time. And if you don’t believe me, ask Jeff Bank’s daughter who came for the experience. I think my favorite part was the dunking booth. You know the kind where people fire a ball at a target and if it hits, someone gets knocked in. Well, I cheated and dunked one of the unit heads by running up and just hitting the bulls’ eye.
* Banquet first session I got to see my daughter in her glory, dressed quite beautifully with her date. Okay so I hovered and waited at their table. I couldn’t help but think of banquet’s in the old dining room. (and how nervous I was when I asked Kim Locke – hey has anyone seen Kim Locke?). the theme was Broadway which set the decoration. But people for the most part come dressed in creative crazy outfits. I would tell you the theme for Saturday’s affair but I would have to… you know. Siroka (aka rain man) what were the themes when we were campers I don’t recall?

So finally as I write this let me share with you Maccabiah ‘08 – the apache relay is going on although it is now called Merutz M’Shugah. Yesterday was trivia bowl and I have reached a new camp pinnacle. You remember the phrase for your bar mitzvah, today I am a fountain pen. Well today I am a trivia bowl answer. Yes ladies and gentleman it is true (how cool). If anyone ever asks you, who was the Olim assistant Unit Head who lead the first Montreal trip – it was yours truly!

Thank you all for being a part of this 50th summer. Please keep reading the blog as we will continue to post alumni and Eisner camp related topics.

להתראות

PS – Wishing much Mazal Tov on their pending nuptials to:

Jen Shankman

Ali Shulman and Matt Stamm

Cindi Tepper

Putting the 50th Journal together was a massive project and in the process, a page got left behind.  We wouldn’t want anyone to miss such a neat page, so here it is:

Crossroads was hopping this past weekend. I was walking around throughout the event and when I wasn’t hearing event chatter over my walking talkie I was overhearing a multitude of conversations around me between alumni that started with, “I haven’t seen you in decades.”

Oddly, judging from the conversations, it seemed as if time had not passed at all between old friends. So many relationships have been re-kindled because of the 50th event. Tell us who you saw at Crossroads or throughout the weekend. What’s the story behind the friendship or a fond memory you have with that person? How long has it been? There are just so many relationships that have started from where they left off, let’s hear it.

If you were there or if you didn’t get to make it to the 50th, take a moment and view the epic closing Havdallah/Maccabiah Fake Break. I heard alumni and campers speaking afterwards saying that it was better than some real breakouts they had seen in the past. I guess when you put classic rock, fireworks and red,gold,blue, and green into the mix during a 50th celebration you can’t go wrong.

The 50th was a huge event. When I think big parties I usually imagine a few hundred people. For Eisner’s 50th Anniversary though there were about 1,500 alumni, friends, family and others who came to share in the joyous occasions. That’s not including the 800 campers and staff.

I was sitting in a debrief meeting of the event at around midnight on Saturday, following all of the guests departure. I was exhausted from the event, had been running around for days and all of the rabbis, program coordinators, chair people etc. were spitting out what seemed to be totally random numbers to me from the event’s happenings. We went through X thousand pounds of chicken, a few thousand feet of flag rope, X gallons of gold cart gas, bags of coal, used a few hundred feet of canvas in the art shack etc. The list continued and didn’t seem to stop. I started thinking that so many things happened at the event. What about the uncountable intangible items? How can we count hugs, tears and friends reconnected to? This is the start of the officially unofficial stat list from the event. Join in and give us your best guess for the frequency of an occurrence, how much something happened etc…

We’ve got the list of things (in no particular order) started for you!

40,000 Square Feet of Tent Cover
8 Small Tents
2,000 Unused Emergency Rain Ponchos
11,000 Bottles of water
216 Reform Jewish Proffesionals
2200-2300 People
1 Film Documentary
2,500 scoops of ice cream
1 Choral Singing of the Alma Mate
2,000 Glow Sticks
1,500 lbs. of Chicken
2,300 lbs. of Produce
23,000 lumens worth of projectors
2 Inflatables
1 Jewish Gospel Band
111 Volunteers
78 Third Party Vendor Workers
1 Clown
1 Caricature Artist
3 Balloon Artists
1 Fortune Teller
4.2 Acres of Parking Space
1200 Flags
512 Balloon Animals
1 10.5 Minute Fireworks Show
1 Rock Band
1 Announcements Song
1 Maccabiah Fake Break
41 Past Song Leader
20 Extra Rented Walkie Talkies
78 Tent Stake
10 15 ft. long Grills
15 Golf Carts
45 Gallons of Golf Cart Gas, 2 Gallons Used
9 School Buses1 Havdallah Candle
230 Shuttle Bus Trips to the Fairgrounds
312 Pieces of Official Signage
21,000 Blog Hits and Counting!

Approximations…

73,456 Hugs
11,598 Tears of Joy
1,345 Phone Numbers Exchanged
789 Alumni that Ran into Former Summer Romances
12 Re-Kindled Summer Romances
557 Former Staff Members
14,506 Re-Kindled Friendships
97 Mini-Friendship Circles
12 Groups of Friends that hunted for a time capsule
1,303 People that searched for their old plaques
34 Married Couples that met at camp
60,432 Stories that started with, “When I went here…”
3,612 Exchanges of Business Cards
22,678 Mentions of “Keeping the Hill Alive”
890 Alumni that hung out at the tree on the hill
7 Frisbee Games
12,456 Conversations started with, “You look great!”
2,119 People who got chills watching “I was Here”

If you missed the 50th or just plain want to see the incredible song session again here it is. We got to see over five decades of song leaders. Milder, Dropkin, Salkin, Shankman, Katz, Gurvis are just some to name a few and who can forget Loui Dobin shredding his guitar while he lifted it behind his head. An entire new generation of campers now bow down to the song leaders of old. After perusing YouTube I found that someone filmed the sessions, edited the footage and actually posted it on their own before us (please come out of the woodwork and tell me who you are!). Thanks so much!

Take a look at the recap of the weekend. There are bits of every activity, song session, service and anything else you can think of. When I was looking over the video I couldn’t help to notice that everyone, and I mean everyone, was caught smiling on video.

One of the great things about camp now as opposed to camp then (whenever that was) is that you probably had a digital camera this time around. I can only imagine how many pictures have been snapped, uploaded and tagged since the weekend. My guess is somewhere in the 40,000 range. Whatever the case is, if you have photos, we want to see them. As of now Eisner has been starting the arduous process of uploading over thousands of photos from the weekend onto the Bunk 1 website.  We want to create the officially unofficial 50th Album using your photos.

Soooooooo, we’ve created a Flickr group for everyone to post their photos from this past weekend. All you have to do is join, login to Flickr and post your photos to this URL: http://www.flickr.com/groups/eisner50/

Thanks for posting and we’re looking forward to seeing some sweet shots!

This weekend was nothing short of unbelievable.  While this may be a short post, let it foreshadow the wealth of fun, excitement, photos, videos et all that will rock this blog for the coming weeks. Check back soon for HUGE updates.  Great seeing you all at crossroads.

-Dave

I just got back to DC and I’m still wowed by the weekend.  Anyone who was there definitely felt the electricity all weekend long.  I could go on forever about how much it meant for me to see my old counselors (some are married with kids on the way) or to see my old campers (they are now counselors).  Still, I wanted to list my weekend highlights.

• Fireworks (that awesome rendition of Hey Jude in particular)
• The Tzofim Beit Am Movie (I had goosebumps the entire time)
• Seeing the Tzofim Beit Am renovations completed (it’s like the Camden Yards of Eisner, a modern take on a classic)
• Just walking around and being there.

–Sam

I imagine this will be the last crop of t-shirts we’ll be posting before the event.  Thanks to everyone who emailed them in and shared them with us all.  Sometimes it feels like nothing shows the passage of time quite like what people were wearing.  These t-shirts are no exception…

Thanks to Nina Shiffrin, Mark “Gunga” Derwin, Richard Stauber, Leslie Resnick, Isaac McEvoy, Mimi Rosen, Mike Ehrlich, Sam Karol and Rich Birnbaum for helping us create our virtual archive!

TWO MORE DAYS UNTIL THE EVENT! That’s right, everyone at camp is in full force prep mode for more than 1,200 people to come to Eisner’s 50th weekend. Take a look at the setup process.

With less than one week until the event, I thought it would be fitting to give you all an idea of where we are and where we’ve come from.

When Dave and I started this blog a few weeks ago, we had no idea what would come of it. For those of you who don’t know, Dave is up at Eisner working full-time on the 50th in many different capacities. I, on the other hand, work and live in Washington, DC. For me, blogging on behalf of Eisner has been squeezed into my off time during lunch breaks and and my nights after word. When Dave and I started talking about creating a new platform for Eisner alumni to connect, neither of us saw the magnitude of what it would immediately become.

What has come out of this project (which merely began as a quirky idea for a single YouTube video) has just been truly amazing and inspiring for all of us. The blog has registered over 16,000 hits since it went live just weeks ago and has become one of the most visited Reform Jewish websites. We’ve had around 200 comments and commenters that have logged in from all around the world from the UK and Australia to Minnesota. That alone has been an extremely humbling and rewarding outcome for both of us.

However, what is even more amazing is the community that has rallied and been built around this blog. What could easily be described as “just another website” has become a living history, a breathing community. The connections that have been made between generations, old friends and complete strangers is an incredible, incredible thing. For so much of my camp experience, myself and my friends would always consider cultural aspects of camp that we thought to be “old school” Eisner, you know, the subtle nuances of years and eras at Eisner that impact individuals heavily but change or even end. Things at camp change year after year and Eisner evolves. For me, I always want to hold on to the 1990s and the stories about camp that my counselors would tell us about.

A few summers ago, Greg Kellner (now the assistant director, then head songleader) spoke with a group of staff members about the idea of “Old School Eisner.” While we laughed this idea off for a while, it taught me an important lesson. We are all someone elses’ old school and someone will always be our old school. So to everyone who has posted memories and sent in pictures, thank you for being someone’s old school Eisner. Each of us can claim that legacy.

On behalf of Dave and myself, thanks so much. For me, I grew up with a dad and uncle telling me stories of their time at camp and starting as a day camper. Camp has been the single most transformative experience of my life. I grew up with Dave in New York and helped to bring him as a young staff member years ago. If you ask him, he claims something similar. Even though our experiences differ in so many ways, camp remains a central part of our lives.

For us, this blog demonstrates that everyone has gained something from Eisner, whether it be as small as a piece of advice from a counselor that impacted their experience to those who have met their spouses at the camp and were able to create Jewish family life. Eisner has helped to improve the quality of life for those that enter through the camp gates, and in a much larger sense, has proved to be a central influence of Jewish life in America and around the world.

Thanks so much for reading and contributing.

See you this weekend,

Sam Salkin and Dave Silverstein

MACCCAAAABBBBIIAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!

I was looking through the blog and all of the comments that people have been leaving. It occurred to me that many of the memories that people have posted have to do with one of Eisner’s most beloved events, MACCABIAH. Those few days at the end of the summer have made millions of memories; apache relays, sports games, song, cheer, dance, and art showcases. Everyone has taken their own memories from particular events or happenings during Maccabiah, but there is one thing that all individuals from all four teams remember from each year’s Maccabiah, the “Break.” Check out a video of the break from last year..

Hundreds of campers year after year wait anxiously in those last few days of second session for the four colors to be miraculously splayed throughout camp. The word “madness” cannot even begin to describe the aura and energy of the campers during the Maccabiah break. The campers all ask the same question year after year, “How will they break it this year?” Sometimes it seems that everything has been done. Will parachutes fall from helicopters with the four different iconic colors blue, red, green, and gold? What about fireworks shows or fake emergency evacuations? We’ve seen it all…well that’s at least what we say every year until something new and crazy happens. It’s high time that we collect these “breaks” in this unofficial history book. This is where you come in. Tell us what the break was from your year (and even what the fake break was)! What crazy things do you remember? Truthfully I don’t even know how far Maccabiah goes back, maybe someone can answer that…

CHECK OUT THE BREAK FROM LAST YEAR…

MACCABIAH THROUGH THE YEARS (Winners in parenthesis)

1958-
1959-
1960-
1961-
1962-
1963-
1964-
1965-
1966-
1967-
1968-
1969-
1970-
1971-
1972-
1973-(White) Shomrim plans the break for Maccabiah and has large plans to contract a local pilot to drop different colored volleyballs with parachutes over the crowd of campers.  Shomrim reverts to their Plan B when overcast skies make it hard for to execute the initial plan. Instead Shomrim runs through the bunks in the morning screaming “Maccabiah.” Maccabiah 1973 ended with the dramatic drinking of the Fribbles.  Shomrim counselors “Les and Linda” had added up the points and had concocted a novel way to announce the winner. As the entire camp watched, one at a time the 33 members of Shomrim came up and were handed a Fribble. As they sipped it through the straw it came up either blue or white, and campers announced the color to the crowd. One half of the dining hall would scream and a point would be added to the total. It came down to the last Fribble, and Sue (Yael) Shuman went up to get it. Sue Schuman pulled the drink through the straw, but the camp couldn’t tell what color it was. She tried to yell it out, but no one could understand it at first. She finally spit out “White!”, and the white half of the dining hall erupted.- Contributed by Jim Levi
1974-
1975-
1976-
1977-
1978-
1979-
1980-
1981-
1982-
1983-In the New Facility, at the end of the “Muppet Movie” Rich Stoerger dressed as animal breaks through a paper screen followed by all of the Olim ‘83 unit.
1984-
1985-
1986-
1987-
1988-
1989-
1990-
1991-
1992- (gold) During a spirited chanting of the “Announcements Song” DF was thrown into the pool as the Chadar echoed with “Won’t shut up till they throw you in the pool…” DF emerged from the bottom of the pool with a banner announcing Maccabiah.-Contributed by Saul Wiener

1993-The Ron Dagan concert brought all of Eisner together in the New Facility. The final chorus of “Jailhouse Rock” concluded with “Maccabiah”–Olimers ran in to the Newf and some were posted on a platform above the stage, revealed when a sheet dropped at the chant of “Maccabiah.”-Contributed by Saul Wiener

1994-Olim runs through all of the Eisner bunks screaming “Maccabiah!!!!” to wake up all of the campers at 6 AM. Chaos Ensues.-Contributed by Melanie Wiener.  
1995 (Blue)-
1996 (Gold)- Unit specific breaks. Bonim plays Simon Sez in the Chadar Ochel and for the final question, Simon said “Maccabiah!!!” as Olimers ran out of the Kitchen. Ofarim played “how well do you know your counselor” which was promptly interrupted by Olimers. Probably the coolest, most classic part of the break happened for Tzofim. While they were watching Terminator 2, the movie was spliced in with a message from Olim that told them, “that’s right, it’s Maccabiah.” Olimers ran through the screen and led everyone to the Quad.
1997-
1998-There’s a fireworks show over the large soccer field with the four colors of Maccabiah.- Contributed by Melanie Wiener.
1999 (Gold)-Olimers (and adventure staff) repelled with ropes and harnesses off the sides of the New Facility (which was taken down at the end of the summer) after a unit play and break into the building.-Contributed by Melanie Weiner and Bevin Nicastro
2000 (Green)-Olimers hide in the bushes and as a helicopter lands on the Quad, the Olimers run out from everywhere screaming, “Maccabiah!”- Contributed by Melanie Wiener
2001 (Red)- As camp anticipated an evening break after the Bonim show, they have to wait until the next morning when as staff goes into the serving line in the new Chadar, Olim runs out of the outdoor as a big surprise. Teams rolls were called and then split into team breakfasts.
2002-
2003- Unit evening programs were interupted by face-painted Djembe players who appeared out of nowhere. Camp all ran to the old chadar where a Blue Man Group exhibition and blue light powered balloon drop happened.
2004 (Red)-
2005 (Green)-Indiana Jones is the theme for this Maccabiah! An “arc” is built to the exact dimensions as stated in the Torah. All units are shown a movie clip from “Raiders of the Lost Arc” on large butcher paper screens throughout different locations on camp. Olimers run through the back of the screens and bring all of the campers to the lake for a fireworks and fire twirler show where the different color tablets are brought out of the arc.
2006 (Red)- Fraggle Rock is the 2006 Maccabiah theme. Eisner brings “Camplified” concert series to camp. Olim 2006 paints themselves in the four different colors and rush into the rock concert as confetti cannons blast.
2007-
2008-

TAKE A LOOK AT THE GALLERY TO SEE WHAT MACCABIAH HAS BECOME!

Well, sort of. Chances are you’ve got a few things you’re planning on bringing based on what the event organizers have sent out, but there might be some stuff you hadn’t thought about yet. Let’s try to get 50 items for 50 years.

We’ve started off the first 15, help us out to come up with the next 35! Just post your comment and we’ll add them (as quickly as we can).

THE ULTIMATE 50th PACKING LIST….I hope you have enough room in your bag

• Your best stacking game strategies
• Pocket sized version of the announcements song
• A letter to get your Mo
• A map to your time capsule you made when you were an ofarim camper
• A frisbee, or two, or three of them.
• Your old t’shuva notes
• Your Shabbat Whites
• A well practiced version of your favorite bean skit
• Your Maccabiah fake break skepticism
• A guitar (it’s a safe bet someone will want to play it if you don’t)
• The hope that maybe Eisner will win at least one inter-camp tournament
• That design for the plaque you’ve always wanted to make
• Your questions for the Israeli staff (How often do you eat falafel? How often do you go to Eilat?!)
• Ruach, duh.
• Pictures of your kids (I mean, I don’t have any yet, but if I did, wouldn’t I want to show them off to myTzofim sweetheart?)
• Someplace to stash the secret receipe for Mung!-Contributed by Matt Spool
• Old photos, of course.-Contributed by Lisa
• A warm heart. A wide smile-Contributed by Karen Cahn
• Bunk trunk and mad libs!-Contributed by Rachel
• Hat, sunscreen, bug spray, granola bars and great dancing shoes for Israeli dancing on the basketballcourts!- Contributed by Tanya
• Milk cartons for a water fight-Contributed by Cindy Gray
• “Network cards”- contact info on one compact card. Quicker than entering info on phone, and waiting until Directory is completed.-Contributed by Amy Dattner-Levy
• Pink, blue, tan and green Melamine dishes and brown plastic tumblers.-Contributed by Amy Dattner-Levy
• Eisner Songsters/Chordsters.-Contributed by Amy Dattner-Levy
• Toilet paper for weepy friendship circles.-Contributed by Amy Dattner-Levy
• Milk cartons, sand and Shabbat candles to create a huge “50″ at the Waterfront or on the Quadrangle for the weepy friendship circle.-Contributed by Amy Dattner-Levy
• Fond memories.-Contributed by Amy Dattner-Levy
• Your best strategy for not getting caught raiding.-Contributed by Diane Klein
• A sense of humour for when a Bonim girl asks you on 4th July if British people celebrate Independence day-Contributed by Paul Goldsmith

It’s great to know that so many of you will be making your way to Great Barrington for the start of our celebration on Friday at 6:15 PM. We understand that many of you will be arriving at camp after long drives from work or home and may not have time to eat before you get here. So to make the timing of things less complicated, and to enable you to enjoy a pleasant Shabbat experience here, we will allow event guests only to bring a picnic dinner onto camp from 4:45-6:00 PM. Picnicking will be strictly limited to these times and only on the softball outfield. Garbage cans will be provided, so please clean up after your meal. And remember, this is camp, not Tanglewood, so no alcohol, glass bottles, camp stoves, candelabras, or open flames will be allowed. We hope this helps make planning your arrival at camp a little easier. We’re looking forward to seeing you!

When I think brick I think about that catchy Commodores song, “Brick House.” Not this time though…

For all of you who are not able to make it to the wonderful event, consider leaving your mark in an entirely different way, buy a commemorative brick. You’ll be able to permanently fix your legacy in the Eisner community but your brick will be permanently placed in the Outdoor Sanctuary along with hundreds of others…how cool is that? Check out the link here for prices and details. Click on the picture to get to the donate page. http://necamps.urjcampalumni.org/eisner/50th_donate.htm

Sorry I haven’t posted these yet. I guarantee it was worth the wait. These shirts come from as far back as the 1970s and as far away as Australia (those were sent in by my former co-counselor and Aussie sensation, Isaac McEvoy!). Some are unit staff shirts, pool staff shirts, others are just general camp shirts. All of them are a great slice of history!

As always, if you’ve got some shirts lying around the house, send’em in! Email pictures to samsalk@gmail.com!

Paula (Popkin) Blumberg talks to us about what camp was like in 1958!

We have an alma mater. You heard me. For campers of the late seventies up until the present, you might be asking yourself why you never heard such a composition. Truthfully, we have no explanation. Somewhere along the way the alma mater was lost to the library of music that has been composed on these camp grounds. In the flurry of the 50th Anniversary Planning we were sent lyrics to “The Eisner Alma Mater.” Perplexed, we called a few alumni from the mid-sixties to verify whether or not Eisner ever had one in the first place. Not only did we stumble on a valuable relic, we ever had one alum sing us the melody. From there, assistant director Greg Kellner took the matter into his own hands and re-recorded the alma mater in two versions, one with and without guitar. Take a listen, it may bring back old memories or give you a new view of Eisner history.

CLICK TO LISTEN!

This is what Greg Kellner had to say about all of this…

About a year ago, I was speaking with my Uncle, Mitch, about the time he spent as a child at camp. He had incredibly vivid memories of the camp and gave me a quite descriptive “map” from memory. While many people have such images that have lasted decades, I was shocked when he told me of an Alma Mater from his time at camp and proceeded to sing every single word of this song while not missing a single beat, note or word. I didn’t think much of it at the time other than “Wow! That’s cool”. A number of weeks ago we were emailed the lyrics to an alma mater but nothing to guide us for the melody. When I saw the lyrics, the song was the very same song my uncle had sang to me a year ago, so I called him up and asked him to sing it for my voicemail. With the combination of the lyrics and recorded music, I learned the tune in a few minutes and we recorded it in our brand new recording studio, part of the Tilles Cultural Arts Program in the Tzofim Beit Am. I hope that you enjoy the recording and that it brings back wonderful memories. There are two versions, the first A’Capella and the second with guitar. I can just imagine this song being sung in the Beit Knesset or Bonim Beit Am during t’fillah or at meal time… Both of these rooms have magical acoustics and I can just hear in my head the voices of Eisner Camp joining together to create this beautiful melody. The recording we made will never do justice to a group of campers singing this all together with incredible heartfelt emotion. As a former head song leader and now assistant director, I feel a true connection to the musical history of Eisner Camp. We are blessed to have this new recording studio to capture the wonderful music that has graced Eisner Camp for so many years and will do the same for years to come.

See you at the 50^th,

Greg Kellner

Assistant Director (Present)

Head Songleader (2003-2005)

Machon/Counselor (2000-2002)

Camper (1994-1998)

Below is an email that was sent to me from Jeff Klepper, an Eisner alum who among other things is known for the songs he wrote with Dan Freelander. Jeff originally wrote this for his temple bulletin but I thought that it would be very fitting for the blog.

Jeff also sent in some MP3s of demos that they wrote and recorded while he was at camp. Most people know that him and Dan wrote Shalom Rav, but many of their other classic songs were also penned at camp.

Ashrei

V’yashvu Ish

.

Here is Jeff’s reflection:

There was a time when summer meant one thing: camp. Even after 40 years I remember it so clearly. In 1968 I spent my first summer at a Jewish overnight camp, and it changed my life forever. I remember the songs, the campfires, and the girls (I was 14), but most of all I remember Friday nights, when everyone dressed in white for Shabbat. After services and a greasy chicken dinner we sang for an hour in the dining hall, clapping, jumping, dancing and singing till we were hoarse. That summer I learned all the prayers of the service. I learned 30 or 40 songs, most of them in Hebrew, and in the months that followed I figured out the guitar chords for each one. I learned the Blessing after Meals (Birkat Hamazon) and observed a Jewish day of memory and mourning that occurs during the summer called Tisha B’av. We planted and harvested carrots on our “kibbutz”, mounted a production of Fiddler on the Roof, and created mosaics and stained glass to beautify the camp synagogue.

For the first time in my life I realized that Judaism had something to say to me, something to think about, argue with, and act upon. The camp rabbis may have struggled to keep our attention during discussion periods, but one of them had marched for civil rights with Dr. Martin Luther King and spent time in a southern jail. That got our attention. My counselors were college students seeking their own Jewish pathways, and they were my role models. Some of them became rabbis, teachers and Jewish leaders. Inspired by that summer, I became a songleader, and five years later, in 1973, I became the songleader of Camp Eisner. It was a summer that again changed my life, for it led to my composing (with my friend Dan Freelander) some Hebrew songs to teach the following summer. Those songs included Shalom Rav, Lo Alecha, and others.

That camp, the URJ Joseph Eisner Camp-Institute in Great Barrington, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer. A gala celebration is taking place in July, and a massive book will be published listing the names of thousands of Jewish kids like me whose lives were also changed because they went to Eisner. Unfortunately I can’t attend the celebration, since I will be traveling in Israel, but I will be there in spirit, just as my little ad will appear in the Tribute Book. Far away, in Israel, I will have those memories in my mind, those sounds in my ear, and the knowledge that this very summer at that very place, hundreds of young Jews will be singing and dancing, ready for their lives to be changed forever.

Cantor Jeff Klepper

Temple Sinai, Sharon, MA

July 2008

After months of hard work, the Eisner Community now has an opportunity to see a sneak peek at one of the largest projects commissioned in Eisner history, Adam Freelander’s and Evyatar Gour’s documentary on the Tzofim Beit Am. Check out the message on the film that Adam sent in!

“Hey Eisner alums. I’m writing from my tiny bedroom in Brooklyn which doubles as our editing studio. For the past few months, Evyatar Gour and I have been putting together a documentary film project that tries to get at what exactly fuels our weird, otherworldly fondness for the Tzofim Beit Am.”

“Having taken on such a project, we readily admit that we’re in way over our heads. Way, way over. When we started this, our plan was to just talk to as many people as we could, hoping to listen to their stories and memories about the Tzofim Beit Am and about the plaques they’d made and placed there. Then, we figured, we’d get a sense of what this was all about, this secret history that lives on those walls. From there we’d be able to tell a simple story and let everyone in on it.”

“Wrong. Here’s what we actually learned – that the magic in the Tzofim Beit Am, that holiness and singularity, that feeling of history and of being in the presence of giants, directly connects to the absolute fact that you’ll simply never know what all of it means. No one knows the stories behind all the plaques.”

“And that turned out to be the weirdest and best discovery we’ve made so far: that this mystery, the not-knowingness of it all, is something we all love, crave, and do our best to preserve and pass on to younger generations. Because at the center of it all, in the numinous place where we secretly wonder what “3-to-1 odds” actually means, lies a space that we’ve already filled with our own memories and projections and stories – the memories of our own friends, our own loves, our own failures, triumphs, regrets and hopes.”

“I should get back to editing – we have a lot of work to do before the reunion, and at some point we have to figure out what exactly this film is about. But I hope you take a look at the trailer we made for the project. I also want to take the opportunity to apologize to everyone reading this, because odds are, we couldn’t get to interviewing you for the film. Every Eisner alum has a thousand amazing and hilarious stories to tell. We only barely started to scratch the surface.”

See you at the reunion,

-Adam

50 years ago the first IHOP opened and NASA was first established. People were amazed when instant noodles first went on the market. Prince (or whatever he is called these days) was born. Times have changed, that’s for sure.

We want to see Eisner through the ages. In honor of the event coming up we wanted to give all alumni the opportunity to help in creating a timeline. Every year changes occur at Eisner Camp, buildings get built and taken down, mega events occur, the culture of camp moves forward and shifts etc. We want to plot every substantial happening at Eisner to truly see the evolution of the camp over the course of its history.

You need to fill in the blanks, expand upon what others have left, or even correct history if you think corrections must be made. We have take the time to start this timeline off, jotting down some large-scale happenings to get your memories flowing. The rest lies with you!

Click below to expand the link into our timeline. If you have a addition or correction, just post a comment below and we’ll edit the post!

• 1958- First year of camp! Pioneer campers and counselors work to convert the old green houses into the Beit K’Nesset, Eisner’s first prayer space.–Those in the makeshift infirmary would have contests to see who could kill the most flies with roll-up magazines.–Contributed by Whitney Weinstein Goodman 
• 1959-The Hershman Dining Hall catches fire.
• 1960-
• 1961-
• 1962-
• 1963-
• 1964-Sy Brief comes on as director of Eisner Camp.–Contributed by Rabbi Larry Schuval
• 1965-  The windows on the Beit K’nesset were painted for the first time with scenes depicting different Jewish holidays.  While the windows have been repainted from time to time, this tradition still lasts until today. –Contributed by Judith Freedman Caplan Beit K’nesset Greenhouse “pits” were filled in with dirt and concrete to make a complete ’smooth’ floor for our benches.–Contributed by Michael Ehrlich
• 1966-
• 1967-
• 1968-Michael Isacson writes his melody for V’ahavta that has become a “standard” at Eisner. –Contributed by Michael Isacson Josh Sanborn becomes the director of Eisner Camp.–Contributed by Rabbi Larry Schuval
• 1969- All of camp watched on a black and white television as Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. –Contributed by Linda Birnbaum The “Dishwasher Crowd” (i.e. Karl Fink, David Gruber, Paul Fink etc.) coined the term “MUNG,” thus renaming Eisner’s favorite chocolate mystery dessert.–Contributed by Michael Ehrlich
• 1970-Nobel Prize winning author Isaac Bashevis Singer and composer Robert Strassburg taught Haggigah at Eisner camp.–Contributed by Michael Isacson
• 1971-
• 1972-
• 1973-Jeff Klepper and Danny Freelander write their melody for “Shalom Rav” at Eisner Camp.
• 1974-The band The Aztec Two Step plays a show at Eisner Camp.–Contributed by Ellen (Pearl) Pollen Chalutzim helped to rebuilt and update the outdoor sanctuary making a mosaic art piece in from the ark, creating new benches etc.– Contributed by Susan Klein Camp ends early due to campers coming down with pnuemonia.–Contributed by Randi Epstein The entire camp listens to a radio broadcast of Nixon’s resignation speech in the dining hall. The Ranch House bell rings (for the last time) in honor of this political event.–Contributed by Nina Jaroslaw and Whitney Weinstein Goodman
• 1975-
• 1976- Famous folk singer and artist Tom Paxton puts on a show stopping performance for Eisner Camp. Cantor Norman Swirling becomes camp director. –Contributed by Rabbi Howie Jaffe The first Chaverim program was initiated by Nili Weissman and they lived behind the dining hall.– Contributed by Helene Marcus and Nina Jaroslaw 
• 1977-
• 1978-Eisner Camp initiates the fist installation of the Machon Leadership Program.–Contributed by Rabbi Howie Jaffe
• 1979- Salmonella breaks out at Eisner camp and the Bonim Beit Am converts into an extension of the infirmary to house campers.
• 1980-Chalutzim, the name of Eisner’s oldest unit, changes to Olim. The New Facility opens at Eisner Camp.  The Kivie Kaplan Center was built and dedicated. –Contributed by Eric R.
• 1981- The Machon program is first established. –Contributed by Rabbi Howie Jaffe
  
• 1982-The entire camp walks to the Mahaiwe Theater on Great Barrington’s Main St. to attend Steven Spielberg’s “ET.”  Rabbi Eric Gurvis leads the first ever “Eisner in Israel” trip. –Contributed by Roo.
• 1983-Olim breaks maccabi in the Newf – Rich Stoerger, dressed as animal, breaks through the movie screen just as the character does in the Muppet Movie. --Contributed by Corey Cutler
• 1984-Dean Friedman comes to camp and plays his hit “Ariel” for camp. Dedication of the Russell Daum Facility.
• 1985-The first pool opens at Eisner Camp in the middle of the summer.
• 1986- Ricky Schiffman writes the camp anthem “Over the Rafters,” drawing inspiration from the plaques in the Tzofim Beit Am. Eisner Camp staff features “Eisner Aid,” an all day music festival event to raise awareness and support for Soviet Jewry. Ralph Kurland comes in as Director of Eisner Camp.
• 1987-
• 1988-
• 1989-Olim takes its first trip to Montreal.  A video is made and shown to camp at final banquet. Contributed by Dave Rosenberg
• 1990-David Friedman comes in as Director of Eisner Camp.
• 1991- During turbulent times in Israel, camp created the Avodah program as an alternative.  Avodah paid to work at camp for a summer. –Contributed by Nina Berkowitz
  
• 1992-Mitzvah Max rules camp for the summer as the Limud character.
• 1993-Olim departs for Montreal for the first time.
• 1994- Camp grows so much that single shift meals in the Chadar Ochel become a thing of the past as camp transitions to a two-shift system
• 1995-Batting cages get put up next to the softball field. Eisner Day Camp moves from the basement of Kivie Kaplan Center to the Day Camp Pavilion. Shortly before the summer, a tornado ripped through camp and destroyed the original Bunk 36 – Siberia. –Contributed by Michael Fried
  
• 1996-Alpine tower opens. Y-Guy (Yisrael Guy) takes Eisner by storm as the summer’s Limud Character.
• 1997-The lap pool opens at the end of first session.  Another tornado in the Berkshires forces camp to relocate underground until the storm passes.  Luckily, it comes nowhere near Eisner.
• 1998-
• 1999- Louis Bordman takes over the helm as Camp Director.  Summer 1999 marked the return of campers to the legendary Bunk 29 after several decades of haunting. –Contributed by Michael Fried.
  
• 2000-The new Hockey Pavilion opens. The New Facility is demolished and a tent is put up in preparation for…
• 2001- The Freelander Family Dining Hall opens and camp begins its transition back to single shift meals.
• 2002-
• 2003-
• 2004-The new Beit Am opens at camp and acts as a new all purpose room for a variety of activities and a new setting for Shabbat song sessions.
• 2005-
• 2006-
• 2007-
• 2008-

I meant to post this earlier in the weekend but hopefully it still resonates with some.  A lot of us have gone through our years at camp hearing the words to Dean Friedman’s song Ariel on the 4th of July and never put much thought into it.  Friedman performed the song at camp one year on the 4th of July and has remained part of camp tradition ever since.  The song, which charted as high as #26 on the Billboard charts, gained Friedman a lot of notoriety in US pop culture… as a one hit wonder.  If anyone reading the blog was there during that fateful 4th of July when Dean played this ticket to his 15 minutes of fame, post a comment and tell us about it.

Until then, “tears on my pillow and Ave Maria…”

Recently young Eisner Alumni departed for their NFTY in Israel trip. The attendees were met by Rabbi David Wolfman at the airport and will join with Rabbi Eric Gurvis once in Europe. Click to see some of the photos! If you are an Eisner parent or alumni who was there send us your photos!