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January 21, 2005
Celebrating 50 (more) summers
Camp Solomon Schechter and Camp BB Riback will both host alumni
events, but with a view to the future.
KYLE BERGER
Summer camps have always been great places to create long-lasting
memories. This year, a couple of regional camps will place a little
more emphasis on those days gone by, as Camp Solomon Schechter (CSS),
in Olympia, Wash., and Camp B'nai B'rith (BB) Riback in Pine Lake,
Alta., are getting ready to celebrate their 50th anniversaries.
"In the life of any institution, 50 years is a milestone,"
said Dr. Ben Zion (Benzy) Kogen, CSS director. "Everywhere
I go in this vast Pacific Northwest region, there are people who
have been impacted by CSS, its programs and the extended reach of
its community. This year, Camp Solomon Schechter is not 50 years
old, but 50 years young."
The members of the board of directors of CSS, many of whom were
themselves campers or staff at the camp (some even in its earlier
days on Whidbey Island), have even more to celebrate – it is
also the one-year anniversary of Kogen running the camp.
With his deep-rooted background in Jewish education and leadership,
Kogen has been working hard at bringing the highest level of Jewish
spirit to CSS. It starts with the staff that he hires each summer.
"As an educator, it has always been a goal of mine to have
everyone employed by the institution in which I work to have a keen
sense of the direction and soul of the place," Kogen said.
"The soul of CSS is its very core and camp is finding its soul
once again.
"Those interested in coming to camp to serve on staff will
have a part in the ongoing history of one of the most significant
Jewish educational institutions in the Pacific Northwest,"
he continued. "An institution that has been home to thousands
of campers as well as hundreds of staff over the years."
What also makes Schechter unique, Kogen explained, is its age-specific
programming, with two- or three-week sessions, where no campers
are more than three years older than any other camper.
Schechter will celebrate its 50th birthday in style, June 5, with
a dinner and reunion in Seattle.
"The event will not only be a celebration of the camp reaching
a major milestone in its proud history," said Kogen. "It
will be an opportunity for the camp and its family to reflect upon
its past and fervently stride forward toward an even brighter future.
"The dinner will be an opportunity for the CSS family to unite
and to re-unite," he continued. "It will be a chance for
all sorts of people to catch up with each other and with camp."
Camp Solomon Schecter has also hired a writer/researcher to put
together a 50th anniversary book, featuring interviews with past
and present campers and staff, photos and a forward by one of the
camp's founding fathers, Rabbi Joshua Stampfer.
Max Lipsman, long-time director of Camp BB Riback, said that, as
his camp celebrates 50 years, it is exciting to see so many alumni
sending their own children to the camp.
"The life cycle continues, as old friends send their children
to make new Jewish friends from some of the most vibrant Jewish
communities in Canada."
He is also proud to represent the camp as its director at this significant
milestone.
"To have the honor of being the director for the 50th anniversary
is remarkably special," Lipsman said. "So many people
before me have given so much to this camp and to represent them,
the board of directors, the campers and staff, is just indescribable.
"I've spent more than 30 years in Jewish camping, but Camp
BB Riback will always hold such a special place in my heart,"
he continued. "The 50th is just another testament to what an
amazing program we have developed for Jewish youth."
Camp BB will also celebrate its milestone with an alumni event;
it will take place June 24-26. But the bigger sign of the times
for the Alberta-based camp is recent facility additions and developments.
These include a new pool, renovations to the cabins, a new motorboat
and a brand new multi-purpose centre.
More information about Camp Solomon Schechter can be found online
at www.campschechter.com.
Camp BB Riback is also online at www.campbb.com.
Locally, Camp Gan Israel, the Lubavitch-run Jewish day camp, will
celebrate 30 summers in Vancouver this year.
Kyle Berger is a freelance journalist and graphic designer
living in Richmond.
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