Camp Avoda

Last updated
Camp Avoda
Camp Avoda RGB logo.jpg
Location Middleboro, Massachusetts
Coordinates 41°51′59″N70°51′48″W / 41.866362°N 70.863209°W / 41.866362; -70.863209
Type Jewish boys' overnight camp
SeasonJune to August
Established1927;97 years ago (1927)
Website campavoda.org

Camp Avoda [lower-alpha 1] is a Jewish boys' overnight camp located on Tispaquin Pond in Middleboro, Massachusetts. It has been in continuous operation since the summer of 1927, [1] making it the oldest Jewish boys' camp in New England. [2] [3]

Contents

History

Camp Avoda was established in early 1927 by the Young Men's Hebrew Association [4] to serve the needs of underprivileged Jewish boys. Originally, the bunks were essentially "huts" and had no screening or walls. Today, campers sleep in basic cabins which were built at various times between the late 1950s and early 1980s. Many bunks were expanded after a rise in attendance in the mid-1990s.

Organization

The camp is a non-profit entity operated by a Board of Directors and duly incorporated as Camp Avoda, Inc. It serves the needs of 125-150 campers per session.

Camp Avoda is located on a 60-acre (240,000 m2) tract of land on Tispaquin Pond in Middleborough, Massachusetts. More than half of that land is wooded area, which is used for hiking, camping, mountain-biking, and a high-elements ropes course which was constructed in 1999.

View of Camp Avoda's field Camp avoda field.jpg
View of Camp Avoda's field

The camp's buildings, including eight cabins, the recreation hall, the C.I.T. "bungalow", the shower houses, two administrator cabins, and the "OD shack", surround the large ball field, where all field sports are played.

Ken Shifman is currently the executive director of the camp. Shifman began as director in 2008 and became executive director in 2015 after Paul G. Davis retired. Davis had been employed since 1966, making him one of the longest-serving camp directors in the United States.[ citation needed ]

Camp Avoda currently has a 7+1⁄2-week season, which includes a 4-week-long first session and a 3+1⁄2-week second session. Each summer there are 32–40 junior and senior counselors ranging between ages 17–24. Almost all counselors were once campers at Camp Avoda, and most are typically college students.

Most campers reside in New England, with the vast majority concentrated in the Greater Boston area. However, some campers travel from Florida, the Washington, D.C. area, New Jersey, California, and Israel, to spend their summers at Camp Avoda.

In 2002, Camp Avoda celebrated its 75th anniversary, with over 1,000 Avodians attending festivities.

Traditions

Nearly all counselors were once Avoda campers and successful graduates of the Avoda Counselor-in-Training (C.I.T.) program. [5]

4th of July Celebration

July 4 is the first pinnacle event of the summer. The camp hosts its own carnival during the day, where each bunk creates its own booth in addition to those rented by the camp. At night is the annual Bonfire and Chip Ceremony. The bonfire is built entirely by Bunk 14, who name the bonfire and place a sign at the top with the name. The bonfire can be as tall as 16 feet (4.9 m). Once the fire has started to die down, a member from each bunk stands in front of the fire and makes a speech about their camp experience. After they make their speech, they take a wood chip, and throw it into the fire. Bunk 14 is the last bunk to speak, and has three speakers. After the campers finish, staff members and administrators, and finally the director, make speeches.

The bonfire during the 4th of July celebration July 4th Celebration.jpg
The bonfire during the 4th of July celebration

Trips

Trips occur every Thursday, except during Color War. Destinations have included Six Flags New England, Red Sox games, and Water Country. In addition, there are choice trips, in which campers are given between 3 and 4 options of destination. Trips designated for specific groups of campers include the annual fishing trip (Freshman, Sophomore, and Juniors), the Bunk 14 overnight, and the Senior Canoe Trip.

Tournaments

Avoda competes in tournaments with rival camps such as Camp Bauercrest, Bournedale, Young Judaea, Tel Noar, and Tevya. Avoda also attends the Bauercrest and YJ tournaments, and hosts its own annual tournament including soccer, softball and basketball.

Bunk 14

Bunk 14, also known as "The Betty Grable Commandos" is the bunk of the oldest campers at Avoda. Typically it houses 15-year-olds entering the 10th grade, however following the cancellation of the 2020 summer due to the Covid-19 pandemic, 16 year-olds entering the 11th grade are currently Bunk 14ers. With Bunk 14 comes special privileges and automatic "alumni" status. Many alumni are often identified and identify themselves by their Bunk 14 Year.

Color War

Color War occurs during the last week of the summer. The camp is split up into two teams, "White" and "Blue", with each team including eight staff members. Each camper is placed in a division with other campers of their own age and one year above or below them. The four divisions are Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior. In each division, the two teams face each other in sports, side events, tug of wars, and other events. The point values for each event are hidden from the campers, but increase in value from the Freshman to Senior Division.

One of the traditions of Color War is the silent meals. If campers are caught talking during any of the 18 meals (6 days, 3 meals a day), points are deducted from their team.

The winner is usually announced through a fixed race or game of some sort, in which the counselors representing the winning team win. The winning team then jumps in the lake.

Color War Record

YearWinning teamLosing team
1972White Patriots

General Carl Rottersman
Captain Jon Bamel, Arthur Mendelsohn

Blue Braves

General Steven Woolf
Captain George Brockman

1973White Cougars

General Bobby Gilberg
Captain Neil Sandler

Blue Brigade

General Danny Bauman
Captain Steven Bender

1974Blue Israelites

General Robbie Coppel
Captain Phil Lukoff

White Cobras

General Brad Barry
Captain Gary Epstein

1975White Wizards

General Robbie Coppel
Captain Jerry Gordon

Blue Tide

General Mike Katz
Captain David Bamel

1976Blue Rockets

General George Brockman
Captain Robbie Satloff

White Eagles

General Robbie Coppel
Captain Bruce Bender

1977Blue Destroyers

General Stuart Bram
Captain Ken Sandberg

White Kings

General David Goodman
Captain Mike Ross

1978White Cosmos

General Eric Yaffe
Captain Glen French

Blue Diamonds

General Phil Lukoff
Captain Gary Greenstein

1979White Warriors

General David Bamel
Captain Neil Schneider

Blue Cyclones

General Mitch Rubin
Captain David Snider

1980White Avodians

General Paul Kleinmann
Captain Richie Mintzer

Blue Aztecs

General Robert Satloff
Captain Evan Yampolsky

1981White Sabres

General Steve Aronson
Captain Bruce French

Blue Galaxy

General Steve Camiel
Captain Paul Simon

1982Blue Sting

General Mike Roth
Captain Alex Sherman

White Warlords

General Steve Aronson
Captain Mike Saperstein

1983White Falcons

General David Snider
Captain Richard I Lefkowitz

Blue Dragons

General Mike Rutstein
Captain Jon Lee

1984Blue Express

General Evan Yampolsky
Captain Lee Kaiser

White Magic

General Andy Stone
Captain Larry Gold

1985Blue Demons

General Paul Simon
Captain Jon Feldman

White Spray

General Mark Solomon
Captain Danny Gold

1986White Spartans

General Peter Spider Lebowitz
Captain Josh Camire

Blue Crusade

General David Wertheim
Captain Brett Smith

1987White Cougars

General Davida Bones
Captain Jimmy Sklaver

Blue Pythons

General Gary Solomon
Captain Stu Glasser

1988Blue Shadow

General Jay Yampolsky
Captain Adam Kaufman

White Lightning

General Russell Katz
Captain Jon Cohen

1989Blue Storm

General Mark Glovin
Captain Ariel Waldman

White Raiders

General Ken Shifman
Captain Brian Malamut

1990White Panthers

General Ken Shifman
Captain Jake Farquharson

Blue Stampede

General Russell Katz
Captain Bobby Zuker

1991Blue Scorpions

General Jeff Blocker
Captain Aaron Katz

White Knights

General Andy Spear
Captain Josh Kaswell

1992White Empire

General Stu Glass
Captain Spencer Kimball

Blue Assault

General David Wilcov
Captain Darryl Malamut

1993Blue Sharks

General Jeremy Agulnek
Captain Jason Kurtz

White Heat

General Ricky Hyman
Captain Jeremy Steckel

1994Blue Predators

General Jeremy Agulnek
Captain Dan Gold_Pitegoff

White Seminoles

General Ricky Hyman
Captain Scott Bookman

1995Blue Devils

General Jeff Vetstein
Captain Sam Chates

White Wolves

General Bobby Zuker
Captain Adam Hatch

1996Blue Grizzlies

General Jeremy Agulnek
Captain Josh Schneider

White Wildcats

General Mark Sokoloff
Captain Jesse Fanuiel

1997Blue Justice

General Jeff Vetstein
Captain Greg Lazaroff

White Bulldogs

General Ken Freeman
Captain Jon Ostroff

1998White Vipers

General Spencer Kimball
Captain Josh Damm

Blue Rebels

General Aaron Agulnek
Captain Dave Pratter

1999White Force

General Eric Levy
Captain Matt Aschaffenburg

Blue Tide

General EJ Kimball
Captain Matthew Chella

2000Blue Dynasty

General Spencer Kimball
Captain Sam Glick

White Warriors

General Dave Brown
Captain Dave Kivowitz

2001White Lions

General Barry Morgan
Captain Josh Coran

Blue Terror

General Adam Miller
Captain Sawyer Emmer

2002Blue Gladiators

General EJ Kimball
Captain Steve Mendelsohn

White Patriots

General Josh Schneider
Captain Brian Norcross

2003Blue Giants

General Adam Miller
Captain Matt Glick

White Titans

General Greg Lazaroff
Captain Jared Shalek

2004Blue Buccaneers

General Adam Miller
Captain Benny Bershad

White Outlaws

General Evan Traiger
Captain Jonathan Katz

2005Blue Mafia

General Todd Miller
Captain Justin Lukoff

White Tigers

General Mike Pemstein
Captain Cory Schneider

2006Blue Venom

General Sawyer Emmer
Captain Eli Rodrigues

White Dragons

General Mike Pemstein
Captain Sam Brenner

2007Blue Animals

General Dan Gollinger
Captain Eddie Bernson

White Spartans

General Erik Silevitch
Captain Sascha Bercovitch

2008White Phantoms

General Matt Norcross
Captain Jason Hefter

Blue Army

General David Fine
Captain Brendan Hefter

2009Blue Monsters

General Adam Rubin
Captain Paul Sockol

White Mustangs

General Jonny Singer
Captain Brandon Banker

2010White Assassins

General Cory Finkelman
Captain Marc Gleason

Blue Heroes

General Ethan Gurwitz
Captain Sam Watman

2011Blue Barbarians

General Richard Katz
Captain Harrison Bamel

White Legends

General Josh Coran
Captain Jake Alexander

2012White Mercenaries

General Ben Rubin
Captain Drew Lukoff

Blue Gators

General Eddie Bernson
Captain Benji Satloff

2013Blue Goblins

General Jason Hefter
Captain Ben Shale

White Prophets

General Jacob Dennis
Captain Louis Yarmolinsky

2014Blue Vikings

General Joey Sherman
Captain Abe Watman

White Chiefs

General Jacob Dennis
Captain Dan Chafetz

2015White Olympians

General Sam Watman
Captain Eli Sabin

Blue Apes

General Louis Douglas
Captain Max Waltzman

2016White Villains

General Jared Fixler
Captain Ross Halpern

Blue Bears

General Louis Douglas
Captain Zac Roth

2017Blue Wizards

General Joshua Cohen
Captain Sam Waltzman

White Royals

General Drew Lukoff
Captain Nate Goldberg

2018Navy Seals

General Abe Watman
Captain Adam Alter

White Avengers

General Wes Fixler
Captain Sawyer Busny

2019Blue Anarchy

General Shay Wenglin
Captain Charlie Zuker

White Jaguars

General Ty Goldstein
Captain Michael Shnidman Jr.

2021White Avalanche

General Jay Blumenfeld
Captain Jason Karas

Blue Conquerors

General Max Waltzman
Captain Cole Busny

2022Blue Demons

General Nate Goldberg
Captain Matt Brayer

White Armada

General Ethan Shifman
Captain Jacob Demeo

2023White Huskies

General Owen Sherman
Captain Ryan Jacoby

Blue Bandits

General Max Kleinmann
Captain Jonah Bramson

2024Blue Revolution

General Charlie Zuker
Captain Zack Leibman

White Flames

General Alex Shifman
Captain Danny Karas

Alumni Association

Since 1987, the Camp Avoda Alumni Association has hosted a full weekend dedicated to Alumni events, which typically takes place the weekend before the campers arrive at camp. [6] t is common for Alumni members to stop by throughout the summer to interact with the current staff and campers.

In addition to the Alumni Weekend, the Avoda Alumni Association hosts events throughout the off-season at various Massachusetts locations, including: Billiard Nights, Family Day at Gillette Stadium, and the annual Thanksgiving Football Game. The Alumni Association also hosts fundraising and charitable endeavors aimed at providing scholarships to campers for the summers.

Notes

  1. ↑ See "Avodah" article for the meaning of the word.

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References

  1. ↑ Staff, Peterson (2003). Summer Opportunities for Kids and Teenagers 2004. Thompson Peterson's. p. 275. ISBN   0-7689-1158-3.
  2. ↑ Jewish Camping and Summer Programs Archived 2008-01-16 at the Wayback Machine retrieved on May 4, 2008
  3. ↑ A Parent's Guide to Jewish Day and Overnight Camps Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine retrieved on May 4, 2008
  4. ↑ Reckford, Laura. Frommer's Cape Cod, Nantucket & Martha's Vineyard 2008. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing, (2008), p. 109.
  5. ↑ "Our Leadership Team". Camp Avoda. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  6. ↑ Archived 2008-01-16 at the Wayback Machine retrieved on May 1, 2008
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