Here at camp, autumn has officially begun. The leaves are changing their colors and have begun falling from the trees. We are often visited by noisy Canadian geese “dropping” by on their way further south for the winter. Our days are cool; the nights are chilly.
Our celebration of Blue Star’s sixty-fifth season allows us to reflect on how to strengthen what is enduring and vibrant in a Blue Star summer. We all know the world is very different, now, than it was in 1948. In many important ways, life has improved, but it has also become much more complicated.
Social media, pop culture and technology rapidly change the texture of our society and challenge us as parents. Most adults forget how critical it is for children to discover their own interests and talents through self-directed play. Times change, but the elements needed for a healthy childhood remain constant.
The essential needs of children do not change. Children benefit by making their own choices and taking responsibility for their own decisions. Kids still need healthy and wholesome role models; trustworthy adults and safe venues for adventure, exploration and learning.
Our Jewish values model the beliefs and skills needed to grow and mature with independence and integrity. As everyone knows, Blue Star is a fun and exciting launching pad with a soft landing zone filled with Summer Magic!
On Saturday the 17th of September, Dana and Matt were married in our Elmore Solomon Chapel.
The ceremony was led by Cantor Fran Goldman from Matt’s hometown congregation in Richmond, Va. Their family and friends will always remember the moment when Dana and Matt said their vows and wove their personal story into the tapestry of three generations of Blue Star campers and staff.
Adding to this unique event, Cantor Goldman shared her story as a former camper and as a Mom of two campers. Many attending the ceremony laughed and smiled as they were reminded of their own stories.
Our Blue Star family enjoyed the telling of Dana and Matt’s love story, born and nurtured at Camp. They are only the fourth couple, and the only one married in the Chapel, who are not members of the Popkin family.
All of us at Camp are honored to have watched the very beginning of their romance and to have been included in their most beautiful wedding ceremony and reception. We wish them a long, happy and healthy life together and a great big MAZEL TOV!
For the last year, Alan Cameron, a 7-year volunteer with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, has been surveying Blue Star’s land for the Green Salamander (Aneides aeneus). This salamander is THE only one of North Carolina’s 66 known species of salamander to be listed as ‘rare and endangered.’
Alan started his work on our camp property while expanding his search from the DuPont State Forest which adjoins our camp (see link). Better understanding this Green Salamander will help state wildlife biologists create more effective conservation methods.
This particular salamander spends most of the Spring and Fall in crevices in rocks. In the Summer most of the population is up in the trees, and in the Winter they are in hibernation deep in the rocks’ crevices.
Usually late in June the gravid females will come down out of the trees and move into the rock crevices where they will lay about 30 eggs which will hang from the crevice roof like a bunch of grapes. The female will stay with the eggs for three months until after they hatch, and it is believed that she does not eat during this period.
Alan has discovered five sites on camp where Green Salamanders are living, and hopes to find a site where campers can see this rare and endangered creature.
This past August, he discovered a site in camp where a female Green Salamander had a nest of eggs, and in ten days all of the eggs had successfully hatched. Attached are photographs of a single adult Green Salamander and a female one with an egg nest she is protecting.
Blue Star appreciates Alan’s efforts on behalf of this endangered Salamander. We should all be encouraged by Alan’s selfless commitment to this gentle creature and to our planet. We know that there are many ways to repair our world and to express reverence for life on earth. Alan has found his way. In this New Year ahead, may we all find ours.
Best wishes for a healthy, happy and peaceful 5772.
Adult Green SalamanderFemale protecting an egg nest
Yesterday our 64th Season Became a Precious Memory and
Today We Begin to Celebrate Blue Star’s 65th Anniversary Season.
Our last day of camp is always a little heartbreaking for all of us at Blue Star. It makes us sad that we will not see our camp friends, at camp, until next summer. It helps all of us to know that this season’s special moments will always be a treasured part of who we are and who we will become.
As it should be, closing day is acutely bittersweet for good friends who are parting . Living together as a happy summer family is a wondrous experience. When we Dream BIG and LiveCourageously, camp life today becomes a clear reflection of Blue Star as the three Popkin brothers envisioned it back in 1948… “A Summer Camping Adventure With A Purpose”.
Each and every summer since 1948, Jewish campers have been comfortably immersed in Blue Star’s relaxed Judaic culture. Our campers have been inspired to build friendships, learn skills, expand their self-confidence, and successfully navigate cabin life. These successes are huge accomplishments for any young camper, and what helps make Blue Star their “home away from home”.
Blue Star aspires to be the place where campers begin to express their independent personalities and developing identities. Blue Star encourages campers to feel safe and protected so they can unplug from the confines of everyday life at home. In the space between what campers already know and understand about themselves and the amazing possibilities of wholesome growth and new adventure is that unique terrain where” Blue Star Magic” actually becomes reality.
One of our major goals this season was to help our campers believe in themselves as confident and kind young people. It is our hope this season’s campers will always remember that it was at Blue Star during the summer of 2011, that they first discovered they could Dream BIG and Live Courageously!.
For all this and more we are grateful and thankful to all the camp families, staff, and friends who have nutured and sustained Blue Star through three generations!
Rodger, Candy, Jason and Lauren
and of course,
Roscoe and Zeke too!
by Jennifer Finch (SG Counselor x2, Photography x2, Library, Programming, Fitness x3 and Web News)
In 1987, Blue Star Camps chose me. I was one of a pool of foreign staff selected from many offered by Camp America. At the age of 23 I was an Aussie living in London looking for something new to do. Being paid to go to America for 3 months seemed a safer option than a six month camping tour through Africa. Little did I know what a huge impact it would have on my life.
Although it is now nearly 25 years ago, I distinctively remember the overnight stay at the New York City YMCA after the flight from London; a tiny little single room with traffic noise the likes of which I had never heard before. Then there was a seemingly endless Greyhound Bus ride where drifting off to a noddy sleep I urged my eyelids open at some time around who knows when, to see parts of Washington DC for the first time. I also remember arriving, a little worse for wear, in one of the old Blue Star school buses (a real American school bus just like the ones I’d seen on TV) down the drive, past the blob and into the magical bubble we call Blue Star Camps.
Much of my memory of staff training has gone into the ether but I know I was a Senior Girl counselor, Susan Breen was my camp leader and Rodger had dark hair and a mustache. Lauren was a Junior and Jason was the skinny little Pioneer Boy on the basketball court we all pointed at and whispered that he was Rodger and Candy’s son.
I was not Jewish. To be honest, for all I knew at the time, I had never met a Jewish person. However I dove right into singing the blessings before and after meals, grateful for the transliterations on the wall, mumbled a lot through services, and felt welcomed and accepted by all. Having arrived alone, I very quickly bonded with other staff, both foreign and American and noticed that something in the water here causes most single, young, adult staff members to find summer romance. I too was strongly affected.
As my first summer came to a close, I knew I was leaving here with wonderful memories; one of my favorites was lying on the tennis courts (which are now the middle field) late at night. The heat of the day seeped up through the blacktop into our skin as we looked up at a multitude of stars. Friendships formed hard and fast and took a grip on my heart like none before. What I didn’t realize, was I had a little less of my heart, because unbeknown to me, a chunk of it was left behind….. The following was a long year, half in England and half in Sydney. I had tunnel vision and one goal – work and save for camp.
I returned the second summer, along with many of my new friends, a little more confident yet a little disappointed that I wasn’t made a SG Unit leader, (what WAS that about Susan?) but hey I knew the drill. It was 1988 and I arrived with a shiny new SLR camera. However untrained, I had a good eye and it was not long before Rodger saw some of my prints. Towards the end of the summer he asked me if I knew how to process and print in black and white. I hadn’t a clue. The challenge was put to me that if I was able to learn, he would invite me to return the following year as the Photography Specialist. Now if you’ve ever worked at camp as a counselor, you know that Specialists are the envy of all. It was a challenge I could not resist (and to be honest I still had a little thing going on with the same guy from the previous summer. OK, it was a big thing in my mind at the time). I had also been told about a very good photography school in Daytona Beach Florida and had been toying with the idea of attending.
On my return to London, I looked into evening classes in photography and managed to learn the most basics of the darkroom; just enough to be dangerous. Also, just enough to be hired as the camp’s Photography Specialist for 1989. Meanwhile, I had applied to Daytona State College (known as Daytona Beach Community College back then) where the Southeast Center for Photographic Studies was located. I was accepted as a student for the fall semester. So I arrived at camp with a plan for the next two years, the sad fact was that to get my new degree, I had to attend compulsory summer classes.
Being a specialist was cool. Being dumped wasn’t. I worked in ‘The Black Hole’, the darkroom under P.2 which was pretty appropriate for my mood most of that summer. However, sharing a cabin with my cool Kiwi room mate was a step up from 14 hormonal teenage girls. I loved teaching what little I knew about photography to the kids and still, nothing can compare to the fascination in their eyes as that first print begins to appear in the developer.
Summer ended as they always do, with sad and painful goodbyes and off I went to Daytona Beach. One of the working Mum’s from the Blue Star main office lived there and offered up a bed in her basement till I got settled. It was a huge culture shock attending an American school, even after three years at camp, I realize how much it had existed in it’s own little orbit. I did go back to visit Blue Star for a brief weekend during those 2 years, I missed camp, but it seemed that chapter of my life was coming to an end. The book however, was far from over, just shelved for a decade or two.
My degree required a class named ‘Human Potential Seminar’. After traveling for so long, I had a fairly good idea of who I was and where I was headed so the class was an easy A. The lecturer and I became friendly and ultimately, she set me up on a blind date. My social life had been severely lacking and the idea of meeting some people apart from my class mates was appealing. It so happened at the time that my brother was visiting from Australia, he was an engineer for Qantas, so a group get together was planned at a local bar. The gentleman I was to date, happened to be a helicopter pilot so I felt confident that if he was a dud, I could palm the conversation off to my brother and he would be none the wiser.
I took one look at his baby blues and fell hard, a funny side note was that the lecturer who introduced us happened to be his ex-wife and he has often stated that it was the best thing she ever did for him. Long story short, we were engaged within 3 months and married eight months later. (We just celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary). We began the necessary paperwork for me to obtain my green card but before it could be completed, a career opportunity came up for him in Sydney. We sold up, consolidated and moved to Sydney with two suitcases and a trunk.
We spent seven years in Australia but it wasn’t easy. We moved from Sydney to Perth and back again, struggled through lay-offs and unemployment. Rentals were sold out under us and we ended up living with my mother. We did however, bring two beautiful boys into the world but were facing a difficult financial future. In 1998 we visited the States to show our boys off to their American family. After much discussion with our friends and family there, we made the difficult decision to return. As much as we loved Australia, career opportunities were much more plentiful in America. During these years, Blue Star was a distant memory.
In 1999, we picked up and moved to Kennesaw, Georgia. The world was shrinking; internet and email became more and more accessible and now that I was back in the USA, I began to reconnect with some of my old camp buddies. Some had disappeared, some had married and some had not changed at all. I was still in contact with my ‘Camp Mum’ friend in Daytona, along with several others from the area. We landed on our feet and were soon in a position to buy a home. We chose to return to Florida in May of 2001.
My life has done a full circle several times over and on our return to the Daytona area, I was able to procure a job working in the same Photography School I’d received my degree. The boys adapted very quickly to their new life in America and although September 11th created a huge setback for us financially, I consider that we were one of the luckier ones.
Life rambles along and in 2004 I was contacted by an old camp friend who had married her camp boyfriend and now had 3 children. She was American and her husband British, they were living in England. We had a lot in common. She was telling me that they planned on returning to camp to work and that their kids could be campers. Strangely, the thought had never occurred to me even though I’d lived in the home of a Main Office Camp Mum. My husband and I rarely discussed camp. I approached him with the whole idea; he was from small town Indiana and although we were not Jewish, we agreed that it would be an amazing opportunity. Not only to experience the Jewish culture, but the incredible growth opportunities a camp like Blue Star could offer.
So once again I planned on changing my last name to my job title and arrived for my 4th season at camp as a ‘mature’ staff member with 2 little boys in tow. One had just turned 6 and the other, a very independent 8 year old. This time, Rodger’s hair and mustache were gray, Lauren and Jason were camp directors, Susan Breen was a year round employee and suddenly, the majority of the staff looked WAY younger than I remember ever being. Needless to say the whole painful romance part of camp was not a factor now. The pain I did not expect to experience was that of being a parent of a very clingy six year old who had never attended sleep over camp. Let me tell you it is hard to walk past your child while he sobs “Mummy! my heart hurts for you!”. Painful barely describes it. I do understand how it has helped form him into the terrific teenager he is now and that within moments of my passing he was happily playing on the waterfront, oblivious to the discomfort I was in. The message parents need to take is that most often any upsets that campers have, are forgotten very quickly, the lesson learned however, is not.
So since 2004 I have only skipped one year, 2006 to build my Personal Training business. It was a disaster for my kids, they missed Blue Star and their friends terribly. It did however, allow me to spend the last 3 years here as the Fitness specialist. My youngest son has attended Juniors through SB 3 and my oldest has gone from PB2 through Teen Village. Last year I was bought to tears as my son was presented with the coveted Ultimate Teen T-shirt, which if you know me well, was quite the accomplishment seeing as he was very close to being sent home for misbehavior the previous summer! He’s now chafing at the bit to graduate so he can be a counselor.
My life has gone full circle several times over. This summer I am the Web News Specialist. I’m the one posting and writing a lot of the stories on the web site, tweeting and Facebooking on behalf of the Camp. Web news is located under P2, yes, right where the ‘Black Hole’ used to be. Oh and by the way, my cool Kiwi roommate from 1989…. we’re sharing a bathroom this summer, seems she was drawn back into the bubble too. Susan Breen and I, great friends.
Besides watching my own children grow and mature every summer, I have had the pleasure of seeing many children go from cherubic juniors to gorgeous and handsome young adults. I have taught them, mentored them, hugged them and loved them while they have absorbed the wonderment of Blue Star. I have seen campers return as counselors and other staff from the 80’s return as doctors, mothers and even the Kitchen manager. As they sing in the Chapel – Ain’t no summer like a Blue Star summer! Who knows who I’d be if I wasn’t chosen?
Early last Tuesday Teen Village loaded up in their air conditioned coach and headed East for Savannah, Georgia for a 3 day 2 night escape. They booked, four to a room, into Howard Johnson’s Admirals Inn on Tybee Island and prepared for a fun filled few days. First on the agenda was to get all dolled up for a dinner cruise where dining and dancing released stored energy from the long bus ride.
Savannah’s historic architecture is laid out in tree-filled squares, where the shade is deepened by the spanish moss dangling through the branches. This, along with loads if interesting facts, is what Teen Village experienced on their horse and carriage historical tour.
All were treated to an evening at the Historic Savanna Theater to see ‘Country Star Review’ a 2-hour salute to the music of the great country stars of the past 50 years-from Patsy Cline to Taylor Swift. Johnny Cash to Rascal Flatts, featuring a foot-stompin’ live country band and 7 vocalists.
Daytime activities included a refreshing swim in the ocean at Tybee Island and successful spotting on their dolphin boat tour. Of course several people were also spotted getting mani-pedi’s JJ?? while others shopped and explored the artwork in City Market. Many samples of famous Savannah pralines were eaten while wandering the touristy but interesting River Street.
Likely, the most impressive visit was that to the 3rd oldest synagogue in America, Mickve Israel Synagogue. Founded 1733 they are proud of over 275 years of history in Savannah. Their historic sanctuary was designed by New York architect Henry G. Harrison and built in 1876 in pure neo-Gothic style, reflecting the fashionable architecture of the Victorian era. It is the only Gothic-style architecture synagogue in America. The three story Sheftall Memorial Hall addition, opened in 2003, and houses a world class museum, library, Judaica shop, religious school and temple offices, as well as an impressive banquet room and full professional kitchen.
The last tour of note was the Ghost Tour, where they were taken to haunted sites and then to a warehouse-type building. Inside they were treated to all sorts of scary special effects that had the girls squealing and huddling together while the boys just laughed and rolled their eyes.
Late on Thursday evening the coach rolled back into Camp Blue Star with all aboard a little worn out, but full of fun stories of their 2011 Teen Village Savannah Ga. field trip.
Blue Star’s Teen Village Reaches Out with Community Service
Blue Star’s Teen Village is more than just a place to chillax. Among their many activities, Teen Village are spending quality time with the Boys and Girls Club of Hendersonville.
The club states their mission is “To inspire and enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens”
Their core promise to the community is:
We will uphold high ethical standards…
in every decision we reach,
in every action we take,
in every dollar we raise,
in every membership number we report,
in everything we do and say…
Because our most prized possession is our integrity.
With this in mind, our Blue Star teens have been working together with the Boys and Girls Club teens to help beautify their facility. Grounds were cleaned and mulch was spread as the kids mingled and experienced each others different backgrounds. Later, they all enjoyed team building activities like musical chairs and games like basketball and ultimate ball (ultimate frisbee with a ball!)
Tomorrow the tables are turned, with around 35 of the club’s teens coming to Blue Star Camps. Teen Village will bring the kids along for a typical Blue Star day, including options, pool and slip and slide. Our Teen Village Living Judaism reps, Zach Weinstein and Nichole Farchi-Segal, along with our LJ specialist Jamie Mafdali have worked hard to develop a service that is not only welcoming for our guests but also educational and informative.
Teen Village is looking forward to a summer-long relationship with the Boys and Girls Club of Henersonville and perhaps the beginning of some life time friendships for our youth.
Something unique and magical begins to happen every Friday afternoon in camp. As the sun begins to go down and the shadows are cast longer through the trees, the light seems as if it is being tuned by a greater hand. The color temperature saturates and the tones are highlighted. The emotional atmosphere calms as campers return to their cabins to shower and dress for Shabbat.
Donned in their best blue and white, the boys and girls mingle on the blacktop prior to entering their respective dining halls. Once settled, candles are lit and blessings are made over the challah as the Sabbath is ushered in. Meals on Friday evenings are respectfully subdued, which is an achievement seeing as they are usually accompanied by a special dessert treat! Once the tables are cleared, boys and girls meander up through Senior Girl Hill, past the Upper Athletic field to the ever present Elmore Solomon Chapel.
The open walls of the chapel accept all faiths and creeds and offer up a breathtaking view. Our first Shabbat introduced our theme for the summer, this years theme being “Dream Big Live Courageously” with Tzedakah. Our Blue Star Family learned that tzedakah comes from the root “tzedek” which means righteousness or justice. The idea being that by giving, we are helping to create a more just world.
This concept is being put into action during Sunday’s carnival where campers will have the opportunity to participate in the Annie Weber Relay for Life as well as walk and swim laps for Juvenile Cancer Research. With this, Blue Star Camp staff and campers will be actively participating in tzedakah by putting justice into action.
