Dear Campers, Parents, Staff, Alums & Friends,
How did we get to the end of the year already?! It’s hard to believe that soon enough we’ll be in 2018, and turning the corner heading towards everyone’s favorite season…summer!! Having spent a fair amount of time on the road last month, I managed to get a little taste of fall, and even a hint of winter weather. Here in Tucson we’ve been setting heat record after heat record, so it has felt about as far from winter as you can get. These past few days we’ve had what the weather folks on TV laughably call a “cold front.” That means we’ve dipped down into the 70s for daytime highs. Break out the sweaters and parkas!
November was the start of our reunion tour, and what a start it was. On Nov. 3rd I flew into St. Louis, and 16 days and 2500 miles later, I departed Nashville and returned home. 7 cities, 6 hotels, and 6 reunions were included on the tour. So was some nice local dining, and lots and lots of great kids and counselors to hang out with. Our thanks go out to all of our reunion hosts thus far, and to all the campers and counselors who freed up time in their schedules to hang out together. It sure made the time go by fast! We were also treated to some local sporting events along the way. In St. Louis we watched a high school hockey game showcasing two teams with Timberlane skaters. We saw John Burroughs – featuring ZACHARY ZLEPPER – face off with Ladue High School, featuring DYLAN STERN and TYLER DEUTSCH. All 3 had a great fan base in the stands cheering. Then in Nashville, SCOTT WOLF and I were treated to a few lacrosse games featuring JACK DE RIESTHAL and CONNOR O’NEIL. They finished the games with all the appropriate scrapes and bruises, so you know it went well.
Some camp folks took to the sky and highways to attend reunions in various cities, and we really appreciate that effort. In St. Louis we were joined by SAM “PICKLES” KAHN, JARED LETWAT, ARI KADEN, and DAVID HEIMAN from Chicago; CHARLIE LOVETT and RYAN COHEN from Los Angeles; ZACHARY & MATTHEW KALLMEYER from Cleveland, and JOVAN MCGEE from Dillon, CO. In Chicago we were joined by RICK & HOLLY JONES from Indianapolis; ADAM POGER and CHARLIE SMOLLER from St. Louis, and JOSH GLAZER from Milwaukee. And JORDAN PLOCKER made the trip from Chicago to Nashville for our reunion there. Thanks for staying so connected with camp friends.
We had a great time on the road and we met with several new families. We appreciate everyone’s help in reaching out to new kids. It makes a huge difference for us. Welcome aboard to the following “old-timers” who re-enrolled last month: DYLAN PRYSTOWSKY of Deerfield, IL; JAMES PRICE of Phoenix, AZ; ZACHARY SEGALL of Atlanta, GA; CALEB & JONAH GERSTEIN of Evanston, IL; ETHAN MAYDEW of Glencoe, IL; AIDAN LATZ of Mission Hills, KS; NOAH SEXTER of Rockville, MD; RYAN ACREE, DEVON BIERMAN, and MICHAEL LYNCH of St. Louis, MO; EVAN BLOOM and XANDER BREGMAN of Highland Park, IL; AIDAN POMEROY of Northbrook, IL; MORGAN DECKER of Tulsa, OK; JACK DE RIESTHAL, MAX KELLER, JACKSON SCHNEIDER and JACK SCHWARCZ of Nashville, TN; and RORY EVANS of Houston, TX.
Welcome aboard to the following first-year campers who have joined us: PAYTON FRIEDMAN of Glencoe, IL; ANDREW YORK of Northbrook, IL; GAVIN GREENWOOD of Mission Hills, KS; JEREMY KALISHMAN of St. Louis, MO; ISAAK PIERCE of Memphis, TN; and NATHANIEL WALTON of Houston, TX. We are going to have SO much fun this summer!! |
YO STAFF! We have sent emails out with information about the upcoming summer. Please be sure to check your email inbox! Thanks!!
YO PARENTS: This is an early reminder that your Winter Deposit will be due on January 15th. We’ll send you a notice early next month about that.
The 2017 Memory Books are really nice, and they have been mailed out to all campers who purchased one. They have many more photos than the old version, including all of the cabins from both sessions. We hope you enjoy them.
Our reunion tour continues this month with visits to California, Colorado, and Texas. Please check the reunion calendar below for the dates of reunions near you. At the reunions we show a somewhat abridged version of our 2017 Reunion Video. Well, you can now access the full Directors’ Cut online. This is 60 minutes of 2017 camping happiness all on one screen for your viewing pleasure. You can the choice of downloading the video to your computer or other device, or streaming the video from any sort of device. Please use the following links to access the video:
To Stream the Video: http://bit.ly/2mEwRz3
To Download the Video: http://bit.ly/2zRHlAe
And here is our reunion calendar for the next few months. Further additions will be made in the coming weeks. We hope you’ll all make time to come see us while we’re in town.
City | Date/Time |
---|---|
San Diego | Friday, Dec. 1, 5:30 PM |
Los Angeles | Saturday, Dec. 2, 3:00 PM |
Denver | Sunday, Dec. 10, 7:00 PM |
Dallas | Sunday, Dec. 17, 2:00 PM |
Seattle | Saturday, Jan 6, 2:00 PM |
Tucson | Saturday, Jan. 13, 2:00 PM |
Houston | Saturday, Jan 20, 2:00 PM |
We are truly just getting started, but what a great start it is! We are happy to tell you about the following “old-timers” who will be back again for another amazing summer at camp: RICK & HOLLY JONES are back for their 33rd summers at Timberlane! Wow!! The Jones’ live in Mooresville, IN and Rick teaches high school art nearby. Holly retired from her teaching career last year and has been traveling, making art, and raising trouble around the country. During the summer Rick is one of our Assistant Directors and Holly is our Office Manager. Are ya hungry? ‘Cause BILL MILLER is back for his 25th summer in charge of our kitchen. Bill has been cooking at camp for longer than most folks there have been alive! He is an awesome cook and knows what we like, and we’re very fortunate that he’s returning. JEFF MELROSE is back for his 26th summer at camp. “Mel” is a 5th grade teacher in Celebration, FL. At camp he is an Assistant Director focusing on our CIT program. HITCH & CORRIE HITCHENS will be back this summer. This will be summer number 15 for Hitch, and number 13 for Corrie. Hitch & Corrie are from Littleton, CO. Hitch retired from his high school history career a few years ago, and at camp is an Assistant Director in charge of our amazing Wilderness Trips Program. Corrie is an assistant principal at a high school in Littleton. We only get her for half the summer, but she is productive during that time helping out in the office and various waterfront activities. SAM “PICKLES” KAHN is back for his 18th summer at camp. Pickles is a middle school math teacher in Oak Park, IL. He occasionally sees camp kids roaming the school halls. At camp Pickles is an Assistant Director focused on supporting the counselors in their cabins and activities. |
We are happy to have lots of great news to share with you from all of our reunions so far. In St. Louis, JEREMY COHN has been busy with school and sports. LUCAS LEVY was playing baseball and is now in soccer season. BEN SIWAK is playing hockey, and MONTISSE JAMIL is playing basketball and football. ALEXANDER MCCLOUD has been playing basketball. JARED SETTLER is all healed from his leg injury last spring, and he’s excited for camp. MILES SETTLER is playing basketball and baseball, and he helped out with a visit we had with a new camper in St. Louis. That was awesome! IAN LYNCH has been playing soccer and getting huge in the weight room. School and soccer are going well for JOE COOVERT. ZACH NEWMARK is playing lacrosse and soccer. JUSTIN GOLDENBERG is busy with school and tennis. Water polo season is starting soon for DEVON BIERMAN. OWEN FRENCH is playing soccer now, and will start baseball in the spring. SAM SIWAK finished soccer season and will play baseball in the spring. TYLER DEUTSCH’s life is all hockey all the time.
We had a great reunion in Kansas City, but I FORGOT TO TAKE THE PHOTO TILL THE VERY END. So my apologies to the guys who were there and missed the photo. ELLIOTT KORENTAGER plays defense on his hockey team. He also played football and lacrosse. DUSTIN GREENWOOD made a select basketball team, and was excited to be going to JONAH SAMSON’S Bar Mitzvah in St. Louis. ZACHARY LISS had just finished baseball season and was starting basketball. AIDAN LATZ is also playing basketball.
Cleveland finds MATTHEW KALLMEYER recovering from a broken pelvis from a “competitive sporting event.” He’s A-OK now and will run track this spring. Down the road a bit in Cincinnati, MATT SILVERMAN was playing tennis and lacrosse, and also playing on a select soccer team. JACK SILVER is playing tennis, and both he and Matt are involved with Maker Space, which is a tech program utilizing a 3D printer. In the Chicago area, NATE GALE got braces on this fall. KOBE CERRA has been shooting on his new basketball hoop, and he’s also playing trumpet. BEN SPIEGEL is living life and having fun. MASSIMO D’AGARO made the A volleyball team for his club and has been playing multiple tournaments. DANIEL SOLOT is playing on the same volleyball team with Massimo. CODY KENDALL’S high school football season went well. ARI KADEN is running cross country for his high school. ANDREW KERPEL is fencing at his high school and involved with DECA. SPENCER VERNIER has been playing tennis and soccer. NOAH FOSTER has had a busy school year…and social life. OWEN MONIESON is having a blast at high school and loves seeing camp people there. Bar Mitzvah congrats to JEREMY STROUSE who celebrated with his family in Israel. Jeremy has also been playing tennis. JACKSON SHALTIEL has been playing soccer. TYLER MANN has been busy with lacrosse. ELLIOT RUBIN is playing hockey, and OWEN LILLY was playing golf…before it started snowing. COLE BERNSTEIN is happy to be going back to camp next summer. So are we!! SAM SALZER is busy with school, soccer and tennis. AIDAN POMEROY has been playing soccer. ANDREW YORK has been involved with baseball and football. BEN GOSS reports he still loves Star Wars. NOAH LEDERER has been playing some tennis. CHARLIE CALLEN has been playing ultimate frisbee. GABE NEWMAN has been playing tennis. BLAKE ABLIN has been playing football, and MATT PALEY has been learning the clarinet.
Check out our Reunion Slide Show:
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Down the road a bit further in Nashville, Bar Mitzvah congrats to JACK DE RIESTHAL who celebrated last month, along with all the lacrosse he’s been playing. Bar Mitzvah congrats also to CAM GORDON who celebrated recently. He finished football and soccer season, and his soccer team won the championship. He’s now starting basketball. MAX ELLIOT plays on his middle school basketball team, and he too recently celebrated his Bar Mitzvah. And the man plays drums too! GRAHAM ELLIOT finished baseball season and is now playing basketball. He also refs and keeps time for youth basketball games. GAVIN GORDON just finished mountain biking season, is playing lacrosse, and started learning how to barefoot waterski (his instructor was “old-timer” TYLER JACOBS). CONNOR O’NEIL is playing basketball along with lacrosse. JACKSON SCHNEIDER does lots of homework, and he’s playing hockey. DILLON ARONOFF is playing tennis and running. JACK SCHWARCZ just finished his soccer season. JACOB VINER can now get a ride to Sonic from his sister. SLOAN HURWITZ spent Thanksgiving in Arizona, and he’s growing! He’s no longer the least tall kid in his grade. Moving just a bit south, ISAAK PIERCE is in Memphis and is involved in “Rising Stars” theater and also playing soccer.
JONAH HOFFMAN was in Nashville for the reunion, traveling from Indiana University where he is enjoying his freshman year. In St. Louis, JOEY FLOM was playing soccer. OWEN TAYLOR is his school’s voice for any and all Jewish Student Union announcements and just completed acting in a Mark Twain stage production of “Is He Dead?”. ADAM COHN is prepping for the ACT. What fun! CHARLIE SMOLLER was happy he made two reunions in two weeks! He’s busy applying to colleges for next year. In Cleveland, ZACK KALLMEYER made National Honors Society and played soccer. ADAM WASSERMAN is a sophomore in nearby Kent State University where he is charge of a fund raising project for his fraternity. Sad news for JONAS MONIESON in Chicago, who got a new gold fish, but it only lasted 9 days. SAM PALEY is team manager for his school’s hockey team and is teaching his brother Matt how to play clarinet. JOE BERNS is enjoying school and playing lacrosse. In Milwaukee, JOSH GLAZER is busy with college applications, and visited JAKE FLOM at the University of Michigan. ETHAN TEICH paid a visit to Vanderbilt and caught up with some camp folks there. SAMMY COHEN hung out in Tucson for a bit over Thanksgiving, and got a few ski runs in with DAVID BERK.
AROUND THE HAND WASHING STATION by Scott Wolf HEY TEAM! This is the time of year when Mike and I start focusing some attention towards staffing. Which means very very soon you are going to get a newsletter saying some of your favorite counselors are officially returning to camp! How exciting is that?! This got me thinking about my favorite counselors growing up (some of them are still at camp…looking at you Brian, Rich, and Jovan…) and what made them so important to me – how excited I was to hear they were coming back to camp, to see them at the reunion, even to receive a letter from then in the mail (yes, I am a dinosaur in camp years).Sure, they taught me how to throw a baseball and complete the Tension Traverse. But it was so much more than that. Those guys were (are) my heroes! I wanted to be exactly like them! I wanted to do the things they did, like the things they liked, and behave the way they behaved towards others. When they listened to Ben Folds, I also listened to Ben Folds. When they laughed at a joke, I also found that joke HILARIOUS. And when they kept coming back to camp year after year after year, I knew camp was exactly the right place for me to be each summer. All this to say – as fun as the December newsletter is (no offense, Mike), I’m especially pumped for the January and February newsletters! Those might be my favorite of the whole year. It’s when we get to say “Hey! Look at these super cool guys and girls coming to hang out with you again this summer!” and be incredibly proud to say it. It’s coming. Just hold on with me for one more month… Until then, |
BRAVO TO OUR DECEMBER BIRTHDAY BOYS & GIRLS: Andy Abaroa – 12/1/2005, Devon Bierman – 12/3/2002, Erica Florimonte – 12/3/1989, Jake Flom – 12/4/1998, Danny Radi – 12/4/1997, Sam Siwak – 12/4/2002, Grant Garland – 12/8/2002, Will Fiegen – 12/9/2003, Kyle Gross – 12/9/1999, Holly Jones – 12/10/1957, Abdel Xochipiltecatl – 12/10/1990, Prestin Cooke – 12/11/1996, Gavin Gordon – 12/11/2002, Alexander Zlotnik – 12/11/2000, Alexander Zlotnik – 12/11/2000, Henry Coen – 12/12/2002, Zachary Hearst – 12/12/2001, Bill Miller – 12/12/1956, Daniel VanBuren – 12/13/1984, Sloan Hurwitz – 12/15/2003, Leslie Cohen – 12/18/1961, Kate Ashby – 12/23/1989, Reis Lourie – 12/26/2007, Jake Mazow – 12/26/1998, Zane Frey – 12/27/2003, Gabe Schultz – 12/27/2003, Andrew Karmin – 12/28/2000, Andrew Karmin – 12/28/2000, Johnathan Robertson – 12/28/2005, Jeff Melrose – 12/29/1971, Jacob Rosenstein – 12/29/1997, Alex Goldberg – 12/30/2005, Dylan Teitelbaum – 12/31/2004.
Have a wonderful month, everyone, and a very happy and healthy new year! We’ll write you in 2018!!
Benches up,