Tuesday, July 21

This is weird. I just noticed a photograph in The Chicago Tribune with a caption naming the subject as, 'Beth Reimer." Coincidentally, one of my bunkmates, Sheryl Reimer had a sister named Beth. There were alot of sisters at Lenore. Lenore was a camp that not only was filled with siblings, it was also filled with cousins, as well as the daughters of former campers.- For many, it was a family tradition: Girls went to Lenore because their mothers, or sisters, aunts, or cousins went to Lenore. I'd be curious to find out how people first heard of Lenore, and why they chose it over the myriad other choices that existed at the time. My sister and I went to Lenore as a result of family tradition as well. But, not because any family member had preceded us there. My paternal grandparents owned a boys and girls camp in Delaware Water Gap, PA. (Camp Dalmaqua and Camp Diana) I'm guessing they started their camp not too long after Lenore was founded. The individuals who ran camps from the New York area all knew each other. Since my father spent many summers immersed in the camping experience with his parents, he was familiar with the names and reputations of competing camps. Oddly enough, when our good friends, the Nobles told my parents that they were considering sending their two daughters to a camp called Lenore, my father asked if it was a camp in Massachussetts, once owned by the Spectorsky family. When he heard that it was, I was signed up sight un-seen. Of course, Milton Schulman did come to our house with a slide show, but that was just a formality. For my dad, the deal was sealed before that. I was going to Lenore because my grandparents knew the Spectorskys and it was a good camp. My sister followed 4 summers later.