Volume LIII, No. 4, December, 2012

Dear Campers, Parents, Staff, Alums & Friends,

The months are just flying by, y’know?  Its already December, and before you know it, spring will arrive, then summer and CAMP will be here.  That’s the way it goes.  But November is  one of our favorite months…know why?

1. We start our tour of cities in November, holding fun camp reunions all over the place.
2. Camp gets its first real measurable snow fall in November.  It’s been snowing fairly regularly up there since Thanksgiving,
3. THANKSGIVING! A great holiday! Good food, good football, great times with family.  And there’s leftovers for a week!
4. Fall weather sets in.  Well, not really this year….been in the 80s a lot in Tucson, and it was hot in Houston during our reunion there, but cooler temps, falling leaves….all that great stuff happens in November.
5. Best of all, after the first Tuesday in November, THE ELECTION IS OVER!! Finally.  No more ads, it’s done!

Up at camp, there is indeed some snow on the ground, and we keep hoping for more.  Our incredible caretaker, GREG FUS, has been hard at work, continuing to make progress on the major rebuilding of our Trampoline Area.  He’s not always a big fan of the snow, though he knows it is great for the lake.  Did you know that we have to plow from the back entrance of camp all the way down to the Lodge and Rec Hall each winter after a big snow?  That’s so a fire truck could get in just in case something bad happened to those buildings.  And sometimes the plow kicks up HUGE walls of snow that can be several feet high.  Maybe even this winter….

As of the writing of this issue, we’ve had reunions in 4 cities, Chicago, Milwaukee, Nashville, and Houston.  This month we’ll be in St. Louis, Cleveland, and Columbus, with more to follow in January.  We’ve been having such a blast at the reunions, and we thank all of our host families, and you guys who came out to spend a little time with all of your camp buddies.  And a quick apology to the guys in Nashville who came to the reunion….somehow I managed to misplace the photo we took of everyone together.  It is also possible, that I completely forgot to take the photo, ‘cause that’s what happened in Houston.  Sorry about that guys…we’ll try to remember a little better next time.

Things continue to cruise along on the enrollment front, and we anticipate closing some age groups by the end of this month.  If you’ve been waiting for the holidays or the new year to get your son signed up for camp, now is a good time to act!  We’d hate to see anyone unable to get a spot at camp because it just got too late.

Welcome back to the following “old-timers” who re-enrolled this past month: BLAKE BERKOWITZ and RYAN GALOWICH of Chicago, IL; after a summer’s absence, JONAH RAWITZ of Buffalo Grove, IL; BRYAN EASLEY of Tucson, AZ; ISAAC BLUE and AVI HIKEN of Louisville, KY; MILES PADZENSKY, SAM PALEY, and ADAM WASSERMAN of Deerfield, IL; JAKE & JOEY FLOM of St. Louis, MO; NATHAN FRIEDMAN, BEN KITE, and HARRIS LERNER of Glencoe, IL; ADAM & BEN KRAMER, ARI & JORDY MAZZA, JACOB & MYLES ROSENSTEIN, and ETHAN VICTOR of Highland Park, IL; ZACH KALLMEYER of Cleveland, OH; ALEX FREEDMAN of Nashville, TN; DUSTIN EPSTEIN and SAM WETZEL of Northbrook, IL; BEN SCHACHTER of Dallas, TX; ADAM SUSMAN of Oak Park, IL; MIKE SHKLYAR of Riverwoods, IL; and HARRISON ATLAS of Houston, TX. 

Welcome aboard to the following new campers who will join us this summer: BEN SPIEGEL of Deerfield, IL; BEN SOLLINGER of Evanston, IL; WILL SEXTER of Rockville, MD; MASSIMO D’AGARO of Northbrook, IL; CALICO ALVAREZ  of Irving, TX; CODY KENDALL of Winnetka, IL; and SEBASTIAN GARZA of Garza Garcia, Mexico.  We’re so happy to have you all with us for a great summer ahead!

YO PARENTS & CAMPERS: As we mentioned above, our 2012 Reunion Tour continues this month with 3 more stops before the 1st of the Year.  We can’t wait to see you guys when we’re in a city near you!  Come on out and join us!! Please remember that the great majority of our new campers learn about us via referrals from our existing camp families.  So if you think a friend or relative of yours might have camp-age kids and are interested in learning more about us, please be sure to let us know, especially if we will be in your town for a camp reunion.  That way we can meet them personally and tell them all about camp.  Thanks very much.

If you ordered a Memory Book from last summer, that should have been sent to you also very recently.  If you are certain you ordered a Memory Book, and it has not arrived by now, please let us know and we’ll look into it.  If you’re not sure if you ordered a Memory Book, send us a quick email and we can check that out and get back to you.  Unfortunately, it is not possible to add an order for a Memory Book from last summer at this point.  Thanks.

YO STAFF: You all hopefully know that we have sent invitations for next summer via email this year.  And to show off our high-tech skills just a little bit, we event sent you a text message reminding you to check your email.  Huh?  Huh?  Oh yeah, we’re geeks.  If you would like to add your cell phone number to our text list (meaning you did not recently get a text message from us), please email us with your number, and we’ll add you to the list.  We’ll send these out very rarely during the “off-season,” mostly just alerting you to an important email or date coming up.  So not too much in the way of texts coming your way from us, we promise.  JCs: Please be sure to read the letter we sent you carefully to avoid any confusion about our staffing situation this summer.  We hope to hear from all of you soon!  Also, Reunion DVDs are being mailed out to all of our staff as we speak. You should have yours soon.  Enjoy!!

Our contracts and invitations to our staff from last year have just gone out this month.  Starting with our very next issue of “Timberlife!” we’ll have some names of awesome people who are going to be back at camp next summer.  It’s exciting to just think about that.  And we know our core leadership group is rock solid again.  We’re happy to tell you that we will again have RICK & HOLLY JONES with us this summer.  This will be summer number 28 for both Rick and Holly.  They are both school teachers in Indianapolis, IN. Rick is one of our Assistant Directors, and Holly is our Head Secretary.  MICHAEL BREEN is, of course, back for his 18th summer at camp.  Michael has grown up at Timberlane, and he is presently living in Chicago and working year ‘round with us as our Associate Director.  He’s been traveling quite a bit as well as seeing prospective campers frequently in the Chicago area.  And JEFF “MEL” MELROSE is back for his 21st summer.  Of course, his bouncing baby boy, Andy, will join him for his 2nd summer at camp.  Mel is a school teacher in Celebration, FL, and he is an Assistant Director and CIT Director in the summer.  We’re far from done, but already, including your friendly neighborhood camp directors, we can boast of nearly 150 summers of Timberlane experience, just with our directors and assistant directors!!  And much, much more is coming, so stay tuned!

Reunions are also a great way for us to get some info to share about your camp buddies’ happenings around the country.  In the Chicago area,  CHRIS TOMPKINS is joining an all-star football program.  DYLAN SALDINGER had a great time on a school trip to Washington, DC.  SIMON LEVY is doing a theater workshop for kids with disabilities.  Simon’s hockey team (he’s the goalie) won the championship at their tournament at Notre Dame in South Bend and Simon won MVP of the tournament! JACOB ROSENSTEIN recently finished volleyball season, other than that, not much going on.  LUKE SCLAMBERG took 2nd place in a USTA tennis tournament.  JACOB KLINE is starting basketball soon.  NOAH KRAUS is playing football.  CHARLIE & CODY KENDALL just welcomed their new baby sister, Chloe, into the family last month.  JONO, JOEY, and EDDIE ROSENBLUM were in Cleveland for a Hot Chocolate Marathon over Thanksgiving, and Joey ran part of the race with Clevelander ZACH KALLMEYER.   In Milwaukee, MICHAEL KAPLAN is playing soccer and basketball, and preparing for his Bar Mitzvah in January.  An early congrats to you, Michael!  JOSH GLAZER finished with football season and is starting basketball.   RICKY ROMERSI is playing the lead role, Tevya, in his school’s rendition of “Fiddler on the Roof.”  Mazel Tov!  Ricky is also playing volleyball, basketball, and will run track. In Nashville, MICHAEL GORDON finished baseball, and is now playing football and basketball.  GAVIN GORDON also finished baseball (he is a catcher), and is into football and basketball.  ALEX FREEDMAN is playing basketball, lacrosse, and football.  JONAH HOFFMAN is playing basketball and soccer, and his soccer team was in the state semi-finals.  ALEXANDER WEITZMAN was the leading scorer on his soccer team.  He’s getting ready for his Bar Mitzvah this coming May.  JORDAN FISHEL is playing lacrosse, and he’s out on the road with his learner’s permit.  MATTHEW JACOBS  also has his learner’s permit and is out there….driving.  He’s also playing lacrosse.  TYLER JACOBS is playing soccer and basketball.  In Houston, HARRISON ATLAS is off to a great start of his wrestling season.  He’s also singing in a state-wide choir, and in the fall he played volleyball, and traveled to Dallas and saw JAKE MAZOW and WILL HENLEY at a volleyball tournament.  GARRETT GLOVER is playing basketball.  He played football in the fall (wide receiver) and his team was undefeated and won their conference.  JEFFREY GOLD is playing varsity soccer, is about to start tennis, and is doing well in school.  SCOTT GOLD is playing soccer, starting tennis, and also happens to be doing well in school.  JONATHAN BLOOM is playing tennis and soccer.  HAYDEN TURK is playing varsity basketball at school, and their team got to play in the Toyota Center in Houston.  ALEX KUPERMAN is just a little crazy.  JARED ORKIN is playing golf and earned the Arrow of Light in Cub Scouts.  Wow!  Way to go, Jared!  BEN SCHACHTER traveled from Dallas to Chicago over Thanksgiving, and hung out with JOSH SPAETH, CHARLIE DEERE, SAM WETZEL, and MICHAEL NATINSKY. 

In Chicago, DAVID RINGEL is engaging in a scholastic bowl very soon, and will go up against ARI LACKNER. Keep it civil, boys. DAVID PAWLAN is beginning swimming season.  SCOTT WOLF is getting ready to direct a show this winter at Northwestern.  AARON ZEMACH authored 2 plays that were performed this semester at Washington University in St. Louis.  In Boston, MATT RODIN was involved in “BoCo Backwards 2012: A Miscast Cabaret” at THE Boston Conservatory. Creative much?  In Milwaukee, AARON GLAZER is president of his BBYO chapter. Houston finds Timberlane guys as the dominating force on the Emery Weiner HS Varsity soccer team.  That includes BEN SPIER, JONAH ROSENBERG, JEFFREY GOLD, JOEY BURSTEN, BEN ROBERTS, and JOSEPH KUPERMAN, as well as “old-timer” JAKE STEIN. CAMERON CAVALIER is playing basketball, and MICHAEL BLOOM is playing tennis.  In Nashville, MATTHEW JACOBS is playing soccer and is out driving on the road.  Some “old-timers” stopped by our Nashville reunion, including CONNOR LEHR who is from Denver, but is going to school at Vanderbilt and singing in the Vandy Choir.  ANDREW LEHR lives near Philadelphia, and was in town checking out Vandy since he’s graduating high school senior.  BRIAN GORDON came by (since the reunion was at his house and all..) and he’s also a senior checking out some top-notch colleges for next year.  In St. Louis, AARON ZEMACH, SAM KAHN, and BEN TAMSKY showed visiting Chicagoan RYAN COHEN a good time with some pseudo-home cooking before taking in a Paul McCartney concert.  KAYLA WANDSNIDER will graduate from UW-LaCrosse this month.  Congrats, Kayla!  She recently received a visit from JOSH BOLING and “old-timer” DAN NEWMAN.  After graduation, Kayla will travel a bit in Chile and Argentina, and then move to Utah to hang with a bunch of our camp tripper-types out there.  MICHAEL BREEN recently had a mini-camp reunion with DAVID FINE and BEN LEVEY and “old-timers” DOUG CHOD, JEREMY GURWITCH, JAKE LEVEY, and JOEY WERNER in Ann Arbor.

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THE JUICE
A special section from Michael Breen

Trampball. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh. Just saying the word alone makes me let out a gasp of joy like after taking the first sip out of a can of coke.

Now, having gone to camp as long as I have, I have seen the game evolve a lot since the nineties. Some will argue it has changed for the better. Some for the worse. Either way, I would like to make the following positions very clear:

· Yes, you can throw the ball to the back of the tramp

· Yes, drop shots are legal. AND, if played correctly it is the most beautiful shot in the sport.

· A true trampball ball should be a volleyball blown up to 90% capacity, giving you just enough squishiness to be able to play with one hand

· Playing with one hand is a critical skill: it allows you to catch drop shots and gives you more range of motion in your spike

· There is no rule against spiking against Chippewa campers, but a long-standing “gentlemen’s agreement” makes it ill advised. And besides, it’s not very nice…they’re in Chippewa!

· The greatest trampball player was, is, and will always be Kris Owens. The man could go between his legs three times before passing it. One time I saw him spike diagonally on seniors from A to C tramp. Also, he one time spiked a ball so hard that the tremors were felt all the way in downtown, metropolitan Minocqua.  Okay…that last one may have been a rumor.

However, there is one part of the game that will never change. My favorite part. The part that regardless of how styles or rules will change will always be the same. The part that makes trampball the greatest sport ever created. And that part is—the bench.

Think about it. Think about the waits between games. You’re sandwiched between two campers during that time, sometimes (especially on juniors) campers you did not know when the wake-up bell rang that morning. With nothing else to do, you strike up a conversation about the sport you love so much, critiquing and admiring the lucky players who get the chance to bounce on the tramps. The wait continues and the conversation transforms into activities at camp, favorite EPs, favorite counselors, trips. Summer goes on, and the conversations get a little more meaningful: life at home, issues in the cabin, relationships with your family. Years go by and you’re sandwiched next to the same kids. Inside jokes develop, memories are shared, bonds form. And, wouldn’t you know it, by the time you’re a PA, you have a cadre of friends to last a lifetime—all thanks to that bench!

I love to actually play the game. But, ultimately, we’re just bouncing on a trampoline. I really love that game for the bench. For the waits. For the friends. Trampball. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.

And now, let’s wheeze some juice:

· It is the first day of camp (either session) and you hear about this new game called Telepathy that is sweeping through the cabins. You don’t know how they’re doing it, but when two or more counselors get together, they are able to (without sharing a word or looking at each other!) name the same thing within any category you suggest. Alright, for those playing at home: think of a sport…1…2…3…Tennis! If you didn’t get it, don’t worry, we’ll play this summer.

· You are a first session camper and you’re excited for your first Evening Program: Staff Skit Night. Each skit is funnier than the last, but your jaw drops when a group of intermediate village counselors come out to lip-sync to Call Me Maybe. The counselors have choreographed a dance and the crowd is loving it. However, the whole place goes bonkers when the third verse picks up and Jeremy Sutton steps forward and gives the most emotionally-powerful interpretation of Carly Rae Jepsen’s hit anyone has ever seen. Nobody can believe what they’re seeing and there is no doubt Jeremy has a serious future in modern dance.

-Michael Breen

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BRAVO TO OUR DECEMBER BIRTHDAY BOYS & GIRLS: Jake Flom – 12/4/1998, Max Wallder – 12/5/1991, Joseph Fields – 12/7/1998, Ryan Galowich – 12/7/1997, Grant Garland – 12/8/2002, Jeffrey Gold – 12/9/1996, Kyle Gross – 12/9/1999, Jonah Rosenberg – 12/9/1996, Holly Jones – 12/10/19??, Gavin Gordon – 12/11/2002, Alexander Zlotnik – 12/11/2000, Bill Miller – 12/12/1956, Grace Mc Gowan – 12/14/1987, Anton Sanders – 12/14/1997, Ben Bloom – 12/17/1998, Jared Margolis – 12/17/1998, Leslie Cohen – 12/18/19??, Kolby Monroe – 12/19/1996, Mike Whitman – 12/19/1996, Jason Garland – 12/20/2000, Charlie Weiss – 12/20/2002, Jack Baruch – 12/21/2000, Michael Kaplan – 12/21/1999, Jordy Mazza – 12/21/2000, Jay Feldman – 12/22/1994, Joey Marks – 12/26/1994, Jake Mazow – 12/26/1998, David Pawlan – 12/26/1996, Kayla Wandsnider – 12/26/1989, Josh Boling – 12/27/1987, Ethan Gordon – 12/27/2000, Andrew Karmin – 12/28/2000, Jeff Melrose – 12/29/1971, Jacob Rosenstein – 12/29/1997, Ben Skrill – 12/31/1996, Lawrence Toye – 12/31/1989.

We hope everyone has some great plans for the holidays.  If you do something really fun, maybe let us know about it or even send us some photos!  And if you bump into any other camp folks on your travels, that is must-send stuff, so please take a pic and send it to us!  Thanks very much, and we’ll write you again next year!

Benches up,