October 25, 2008 - Hello again. It's been a while. There's some news to report, not all of it good. The sad is there was a death announcement in today's New York Times for Jeanette Chazen. Many of us who attended Everett in the 1960s, had one thing in common before we got there - a connection to this very nice, intrepid lady, who showed up at our house with a photo album of pictures to sell our folks on the camp. At one point in 1966, it seemed like half the camp had been signed up by Jeanette. She was 90 years old when she died. Her husband Nat, who supplied those great white and green windbreakers, is still going strong at 97. Condolences to Ed, Karen and Leonard.

As promised, there is good news. I've heard nice things from a few new folks. Donna Moskowitz checked in from Scottsdale, Az. She was in camp in the late 1960s and/or early 1970s. More importantly, she thinks I have a "fantastic sense of humor." Of course, she's correct about that. She sent some pictures. They can be found here. Here's her email: MARCETT@aol.com. I also heard from Lynda Luks Davis, a camper in the 1950s. Her email address is: pacof3@optonline.net. Fred Melnick, who was in Camp from 1947 to 1953 or 1954 (he doesn't remember), also checked in. Here are a few things he does remember:

Counselors were Roy Rubin and he could hit the mess hall in softball, Sandy Farber, Bobby something-or-other and not so nice, Abe Rothstein the arts and crafts counselor. Bunkmates I remember were Bucky Weiner who I was with through all those summers, Leonard Levy, Jack Zipes, can't recall the others.Halperin, Birn and Gorodnick were the owners, then it was bought by Goldstein and Freund the last year or two.Hey - remember the head counselor who balanced a bench on his chin?I remember Lois Schaefer, Amy .......jeez, can't remember her last name, but she was Ado Annie in "Oklahoma," Carol Koenigsberg who sang and harmonized with her sister, Jackie Horland who I dated a little many years later.The summer I arrived, the mess hall burned down and we were bussed to Berkshire Hills Camp for our meals.The biggest sport then was "rafketball," lobbing a ball and the number of times it bounced on the rafter determined the number of bases.Just remembered - it was Amy Friedman. Ihij met her on a local golf course when I first moved here.I used to ride a motorcyle up to the Berkshires and Connecticut and would often stop by the old camp which was deserted. There were still some plaques up in the mess hall with the individual bunks.I am now a retired dentist in New Hempstead, New York in Rockland County.What great memories, and thanks for the memories. Now, about the next reunion........???

Fred's email address is: FMinParis@aol.com.

One of my favorite emails came from Pieter Valk. If any of you remember him, you might want to have your head examined, as Pieter never attended Everett. He's just a fan of the site:

Thought I'd let you know that it is even for me a trip down memory lane yet I have never been to EverettYour camp just looks so much like 'my' camp!I guess all camp experiences are similar even though mine was as a counselor at a United Methodist Church camp in Ohio. (www.campwanake.org)A lot of European kids did and do stints as counselors in American camps actually. We have camps ourselves but they usually last a week or two at the most. American camps, where you spent entire summers together, were new to me. I LOVED it though. I stay in touch with many people I met there. I can honestly say that I am today partially because of my time at Wanake.So even though I don't have the many many years of camp you have in your pocket, and I have never been to Everett, the one endless summer at Wanake has been such a great one that your site brought back many happy memories. I wanted to thank you for that!Good luck with keeping up a great site!

I also got a nice note from Ira Goldfine:

I find myself searching for the words to describe how I feel tonight finding your wonderful site. Just on a whim I googled Everett and this place appears. My first hunch was to go to "What's new on the Site" and what do I see on the March 1, 2008 posting but two pictures that bring back a flood of incredible memories. The 1961 or 62 photo of our group (it is me in the second row 3rd from the left) knocked me out. There were my tennis playing partners Mark, Lester and Joel. My bunkmates (including two more Ira's) and there was Pete Leepson. Then I look above that picture to see Irv Cohen and read about his death. So sad. During his first summer at Everett I had to spend an hour each day studying earth science with him because it was the only way I could have gone to camp that summer having failed Earth Science and he saved me from a summer at home. He was a magical teacher and when I got home I aced the earth science test!

Its sometimes sad to go back in time through sites like this because all the nice memories they bring back get offset by the sad news about people who have passed away and some prematurely. It was incredibly sad for me to to read about Lester's death. We were groupmates from 1955 until my last year as a waiter in 1963.

Seeing the "current" state of the camp was very sad. When you have spent so many summers with happy memories it is hard to fathom a "ghost town". Seeing mention of so many names of people I liked so much was really nice. The pictures of the Brenners and the Halperins were just amazing. Some people appeared who I have always wondered where they were. Annie Halperin and I were friends at BU and we lost track as we went on with our lives and I am so happy that she has been in touch with you. In fact please let her know that I still think of her.

As for me I still live in Brooklyn and still mourn the loss of the Dodgers. Although I graduated as an accountant I spent 33 years as a teacher in the NYC school system. It was Lyndon Johnson that saved me from a life I wasn't suited for anyways when he wanted to send me to Vietnam. So I became a teacher instead in Bedford Stuyvesant and never looked back. I retired a few years ago. My wife and I do lots of travelling and I work as a volunteer gardener at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. Our daughter just graduated from law school and is a corporate attorney in Manhattan. Life has been good to us and my years at Everett were very special ones. I met so many wonderful people both campers and counselors. I learned basketball from Ray Felix, I learned tennis from Victor Niederhoffer, I learned the stories of Sholem Aleichem from Sam Kostman at Friday services, I learned to feel comfortable around girls and met my first love at camp. I could go on forever but I am sure you can relate to all of this.

On a sad note I should mention that my younger sister Ellen(also a longtime camper at Everett) passed away from cancer at the young age of 51 in 2001. Let me end by thanking you for putting this site up.You can do anything you want with this letter.

Ira, who after saying kind words not only about the web site but also about Alger Hiss and my former friend Eliot Asinof (he's only "former" because he is dead), is now my favorite Everett alumnus. He asked me to post his email address, which I am doing. Click here to drop him a line.

Finally, I heard from Ellen Rapapport (aka Cookie Bromberg) (aka Big Ralph Spalaghetti). Cookie went to camp in the 1950s. She wrote:

I spent 4 wonderful summers at Camp Everett from 1954-58. If you remember correctly after 4 years a camper received a Camp Everett sweater. I wish I still had mine!
That picture of College Hall...just up the hill from the next to the oldest girls bunk. My bunk(s) were on the right side. Some of the girls that banked with me were: Arlene Meadoff, Arlene Singer, Phyllis Rebel, Jane Levy, Jane Newberg, and of course me...Cookie Bromberg.
I remember being sent to the infirmary where they took my temperature. Yale peeked...he was a camper on the boys side. The science barn next to the auditorium. And what did we call the battle between the 2 countries...something like camp olympics. Don't remember.I remember taking my lake test to swim in the deep area and looking for those bull frogs. I once rowed out to a small deserted cabin down the lake. Do you remember that?
I remember fondly my parents visiting me I believe it was twice during the summer. At that time we had boxed lunches on the grounds. As a matter of fact I may have 2 pictures of myself with my parents as well as Leslie Friedman and her Mom, Rose Friedman, as well as a picture of my beloved Father. I cried my heart out when it was time for them to leave.
I'm just so happy for this wonderful website on Camp Everett and wanted you to know that now at the age of 62 years I can remember such fun times ...such a special part of my childhood.

Then she added this:

BTW...I noticed the store we (on rare occasion) would walk to. We had the opportunity to buy Sugar Daddies and often a bubble maker. The bubble maker consisted of a small straw along with a tube of multi colored goo...we'd put the goo on the end of the straw and blow to make bubbles. On these walks we also came across a river/brook. There was a long rope ties to a branch and the kids could swing into the brook. Precious memories. If you look back at the 50's photos I'm in several of the pix. In one Jane Levy is directly in back of me...I'm seated on the ground and I believe Heidi is across from me on the ground also. Jane was looking quite mischievious since she was happily kicking me in the butt during that photo session . By the time the 2nd picture was taken I was almost in tears.

Jane had a change of personality that year and we (the girls in our bunk) decided to get even with her. We stripped her, covered her in lipstick and toothpaste, and locked her outside the bunk. The counselor made us help clean her up bewfore we could go to the mess hall for our meal. That wa the same year Jane's father & brother came to camp t(unexpectedly) to inform Jane that her mother had commited suicide. Children can be so cruel...not realizing what had happened to change Jane's demeanor I'm sure. I remember after everyone else was asleep I'd hear Jane crying for her mother. I can't forget it.

Here's just one of the pictures Cookie sent along. That's her relaxing with a cigarette and the crossword puzzle on a Sunday morning (just like my Dad, except he did it on the can):

Cookie sent a bunch of other pictures. You can find them here and here.

May 12, 2008 - Got some calls and emails to report. First, the FBI has cited Camp Everett as a terrorist organization. Ok, that's not true. What is true, is a bunch of old-timers have come out of the woodwork. A few months ago, I got a nice email from Lenny Planes. He writes, "So, here I am, very egotistically searching the net for my name and I find this site. I look and sure enough there are pictures of me. Holy shit. I thought everyone had died on a reunion bus tour. Steve Abramson is there and Julie and a whole bunch of people I have pictures of from 1970-71 ish. I now live and teach in Watertown, New York. It is far upstate where it is cold and like Rhoda I will keep better. Also, I am the only Jew within 200 miles." In a subsequent email, he said he especially would like to get in touch with Steve Abramson, the Nathans and "the twins." He didn't specify which twins, so I can only guess that he is referring to the Minnesota Twins (who can be found in the Minneapolis phone book — duh), the Doublemint twins (who don't really exist), or the Olsen Twins, who have billions in the bank, but apparently spend none of it on food. For a second I thought he was referring to the Schultzes, but as anyone who has seen them knows, they are not twins. You can get Lenny's email address by clicking here.

I also received a nice email from Jane Mintzer Hoffman, who was at camp in the 1970s and cops to being the person in the yellow bottoms in this shot. Then, in what can only be considered an amazing coincidence -- and not the kind where you pay $3.75 for a gallon of gas and it turns out the oil companies are making record profits -- I heard from two, count 'em two former waterskiing counselors this week. I mean, how could that be? The first was Stu Offner, who drove the waterboat in circles during the summer of 1970 and the second was Russ Miller, who drove the boat in circles for two or three summers following Stu. Stu is now a lawyer in Boston. Russ mysteriously said he works for the federal government and lives somewhere in the Virginia area. He also had a bone to pick, saying that he wasn't the waterfront counselor who was mean to kids. According to Russ, he was only nice, which, of course, would make him something of an anomaly at camp, but we'll take his word for it and change the caption of two pictures of him in 70s photos.

That's the news. I'd love to post more photos if anyone has some. I'd love to get new news from people. I'd love to get old news from people or news from old people or old news from new people. Send anything, your news, your picture, your tax rebate checks. I'll take 'em all. And if there are any other waterskiing counselors out there, drop me a line.

March 1, 2008 - First news of 2008, and it isn't happy. Ron Cohen writes that his father Irv, the beloved teacher of Everett Academy, was killed last week in a car accident down in Florida. He was 94. His wife Myra, who also taught at Everett, was in the car and was seriously injured. The report from run, however, is that she was recovering. Ron can be reached at nicuron@yahoo.com. Here's a photo of Myra and Irv:

There is some happier news to report: Gil Rosenthal, who attended camp in the mid-1960s, and is now -- despite years of pyschological torture at the hands of assorted camp bullies --, is now a successful Philadelphia architect, reports that he is cancer free. Also, I heard from Marc Jonas, another successful Philadelphian. Marc attended camp with his brother Jeff in the early 1960s. He sent along this photo. He is in the middle row, fourth from the right:

September 10, 2007 -  Wow, two years since our reunion. Happy anniversary. As I mentioned previously, we Kisseloff-Glasser types celebrated our reunion last week, and now you can see what a miserable contingent we were by clicking here on the Old Fogies page.

September 8, 2007 -- I added another picture from a recent reunion. You can find it on the Old Fogies page. There was another reunion of sorts last week, a the wedding of Jared Kisseloff, spawn of Alan and Wendy Kisseloff. At the wedding were former Everetteers Renee Glasser, Ellen Glasser Kisseloff Fuss, Wendy Glasser Kisseloff Gruscott, Alan Glasser Kisseloff and Jeff Kisseloff Glasser Kisseloff. There are pictures of event, but you will have to wait until Ellen Glasser Kisseloff Fuss sends them along from her digital camera. In other Everett news...Actually, there is no other Everett news.  

August 26, 2006 - Twice in one week, the joint is jumping! After getting literally scores of emails (ok, I lied, six) I realized how negligent I've been, so we now have an updated "Where are they Now" page with news of Sally Meyers, Ed Rosenstein, Donald Birn, Doug Weiss, Roger Schank and Jane Axelrod. There are also some pictures from the latest mini-reunion, a gathering this summer up in the Berkshires. You can find those on the "Old Fogies" page. This is the last week of August, and it hit me this week, that right about now we would have been taking that train or bus home from camp, having a decent meal, being able to cross a road without a CIT watching out for me, and of course the biggest adjustment, taking that first shower alone after eight weeks. I'm missing those days, so if anyone wants to come over for a group shower, feel free to drop me a line. In the meantime, enjoy the new entries -- and send me more! I'd love to add photos, especially old ones, but I don't have any.

August 20, 2007 - Wow, there are more cobwebs on this site than there are in the old dining room. It's been ages since an update, so I wanted to let people who aren't on the mailing list to know that they can now view all the camp photos as a photo album at this address: http://gallery.mac.com/jeffismee. By the way, try the "carousel" view on the gallery page. Once it loads the photos, it's way cool. In the meantime, I'll do some updating in the next few days of some recent photos and news. For now, there is a forum on Yahoo groups where people can contact each other. Just make sure when replying, you set the "To" tab to campeverettgroups, not the name of the person who posted previously.

July 16, 2006 -- Wow, longest time since an update. The big news is that we are moving the forum over to Yahoo groups. This will be the first stage of moving the entire site. But the Yahoo group, which Ernie Schultz set up last year, is a great place for us. You can not only post messages, but also photos, and joining is a snap. So head over there and say hello. The other big news is that I am famous, or infamous, depending on your point of view. In case you didn't see last Sunday's headline in the New York Post, here it is:

All I can say is, the nerve of that woman, after all we have done for her.

April 18, 2006 - It's been a while. The news on the site is that the forum is back up but is not being used. Neither is the chat room. I'm going to monitor them over the next few weeks, and if people don't have any interest in using it, it might be best to take it down. I'm also thinking of moving the whole site over to a yahoo group, where people can simply converse when they want to and add any pictures they have on their own. Feel free to let me know how you feel about this. Our usage is way down, and I've pretty much run out of photos to post, although I think there is still one more movie. If we do decide to go that route (which might be a more democratic arrangement), I'll keep the site up long enough to give everyone a chance to download all the photos.

In the meantime, the following postcard advertising a new book recently arrived in the mail:

Joani, who is a terrific mystery writer, is the wife of one of our Camp Everett alumni. Can you solve the riddle? The alumni is:

1) Billy Lerner
2) Phil Zittell
3) David Ascher
4) Ash Resnick

Anyway, the book is the fourth or fifth in a series. I've read one so far and loved it, so if you like a good mystery and feel like contributing to a poor, starving writer, click here.

And speaking of poor, starving writers (in my case, poor refers to the quality of my work as well as my financial situation), here is the cover for my upcoming tome:

The book will be out in September and should sell millions.

Let's also not forget Barry Goldstein's book, "Being There," a collection of photographic portraits of, and interviews with, NYU medical students who volunteered in the New York City Medical Examiner's morgue following 9/11. The book has been published by the University of Rochester Press.

March 16, 2006 - I'm convinced now that our forum has been taken hostage by Camp Berkshire Hills alumni, so I've established a new temporary home (ok maybe permanent) home for a Everett forum. You can access the new board by clicking on the forum button above or by clicking here. I'm hoping we can ransom the old one back at some point. If so, we'll either reinstate or archive it so our collective brilliance won't be lost forever. Although the board's operator leans on you to register, you don't have to do so to post on the new forum, which has quite a few more features than the old one. Feel free to explore them and use them to your heart's delight (I think you can even add small photos). Please use your own names when posting, however. Like Larry Brown, I retain the ultimate hammer and can sit you on the bench if you misbehave.

March 12, 2006 - I don't know what's going on with the board, but right now it looks like Patti Pashutsky is a posting demon!

March 2, 2006 - Forum is still down.

Word has arrive that Esther Silverblatt, Rick's mother, and a beloved figure at Everett for many years, has died. I didn't know Mrs. Silverblatt, but I know Rick, and his wonderful, gentle, humane genes must have come from somewhere.

February 15, 2006 - I finally heard back from our bulletin board folks. They are changing servers and will have the process completed within four days. For those addicted to the board, let me suggest crack or heroin in the interim. It's basically the same high but without the Jewish guilt. Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day. I got a beautiful card from my daughter, telling me how much she loved me. I was very moved until I saw the envelope was addressed to "Current Resident."

February 13, 2006 - The bad news is the forum is still screwed up, but the good news is that there is another film to watch. Go to the download page, and you'll find the first of two 1970 movies. I chopped it up into pieces, so it should load fairly quickly.

February 12, 2006 - (a little later in the evening). Except now the forum is screwed up again. I think the company must be run by a group of retired gym teachers.

February 12, 2006 - Ok, the company apparently paid its bill. The forum is back up. Take a break from shoveling and post a message or two.

February 11, 2006 - Apparently the company that hosts our forum has gone belly up. I'll be investigating alternatives today.

February 9, 2006 - The second 1969 film has now been uploaded. Because of the reprocessing, it is larger and sharper, but I've divided it into four bite (byte) -sized pieces to hurry up the downloading time. I think there's still a bit of a delay with the first one, but don't be discouraged, it's worth it, especially since one of the first images you'll see is my handsome 14-year-old puss.

February 7, 2006 - Pam Goldman has stepped up to the plate with some fine donations to the Everett Museum. If you go to the download page, you will see the final two editions of Everett Echoes — from 1973 and 1974. You'll also see a genuine copy of the Friday night sabbath services program. It seems to me that the next reunion, insteal of party, maybe we should restage Friday night services. We can sit on long benches, drink little Dixie cups of grape juice (with just enough juice in them to cover the bottom), sing like 370 verses of adon alom, and maybe even invite Pete Berland just to tell us to shut the hell up. Afterward, maybe one of the Goldsteins could conduct a forum, and we can discuss world events and check out the girls (or boys depending on your gender and preference).

There's another additon to the site, a sad one, too. Head over to the 70s page and scroll to the bottom. There's where you'll find the letter Sandy and Norman wrote, notifying the 14 kids who attended Everett in 1974 that camp would be no more.

I've gotten exactly three emails about the new film. Has anyone else tried to download them? If so, have you had any success? The staff here needs to know.

January 18, 2006 - Well, our crack team on crack was smoking some extra stuff when someone burst out and said, "Oh, wow. Did you know dog spelled backwards is God?" Then they said, "And if we cut the movie in half, I bet it will load immediately." And so it did. Next time anyone tells you that illegal pharmaceuticals are no good, don't believe them. I have now re-uploaded the first film and added a second movie. Both should pop up as soon as you click on them. Hallelujah! You'll find them on the download page. And now I'm off to make nice to our dog.

January 15, 2006 - Our crack team on crack has been very busy in the new year working on your behalf. The first fruits of their labor can now be viewed on the download page. This is the first of our films, which have now been professionally reprocessed, replacing the inept transfers engineered by that idiot Kisseloff, using a machine that only worked when the hamster was overdosed on methamphetamines. Go to the download page and scroll down to the movie section, where you'll see the film from 1968. When you click on it, a blue "Q" will appear on your screen. Because it's such a huge file, you'll have to wait a few minutes for the film to appear (we're trying to shorten the load time). Actually, you'll have enough time to go shopping, start and settle a fight with your spouse or make some popcorn, before it appears. But stick with it. The film is gorgeous, and if you run it slowly, you'll be able to make out the faces of dozens of people you've chosen to forget all these years.

All five films will be uploaded to the site over the next week. However, if you decide you would like to own all five on your own dvd and you would like to help defray costs for the site at the same time, let's make a deal. If you send the webmaster a check for let's say twenty smackers (20 calvin boulevard, new paltz, new york 12561) and five box top, he'll send you your very own copy in a genuine plastic case. For an additional $19.95, you get a set of Ginsu knives that has been hardly used. Together, this is a $99 value, but you can have it for much less while supplies last.

I would like to hear from people who were or weren't able to download the film.

January 8, 2005 - Here's to you, Paul.

December 22, 2005 - I got a lovely note from Pam Goldman recently. One of the things she told me was that she had seen only one shot of her on the site, so because she sent such a nice email I uploaded two more. Those and a few other shots can be seen on the 70s photos page. There's also a new addition to the photos now page, this one of the famous Boston-area shrink, Marty Kafka. Also new is a batch of Everett Mini Echoes from 1971. They can be downloaded from the download page. Suddenly, I found a bunch of stuff to upload, but I'm off to Arizona for a few days so it will have to wait. In the meantime, from my family to yours, here's our non-demoninational holiday card which clearly looks like it was photoshopped by an idiot:

So a Chappy Chanukah and/or a Merry Christmas to all of you out there. Let's hope for a healthy and happy holiday to all the wonderful members of our community and even to those who aren't so wonderful.

December 4, 2005 - Yesterday, my wife and child had their taste of the tribal cultural ritual called the "bat mitzvah." Last night, my six-year-old shiksa sweetheart announced that she loved dancing the "hula", that Hebrew was a "lovely language" and that she wanted to be Jewish. She then asked me to teach her some songs they sing in the Jewish countries, whereupon I serenaded her with various tunes closing tunes from our Everett Friday night services. Apparently, it was a big hit, as this morning she demanded to be taught the Jewish language so she can have a bat mitzvah. It could have been worse, I guess. Yesterday could have been a bris.

Anyway, today I uploaded some 50s and bunks photos from the Steve Fischer collection. I'm starting to run out of photos to make fun of. I'm also noticing that the site numbers are way, way down. Are people getting tired of the site? Of me? Has it run its course? I'm about to have the film on the download page professionally reprocessed and uploaded over the next few weeks. You can then download it and any pictures on the site and keep them on your drive or print them out. I have achieved my main purpose of restarting the community and also having some fun at everyone's expense, but I'm wondering whether there is enough interest to sustain the work. I've noticed that there hasn't been a new message for weeks nor have I met up with anyone in the chat room. Whatever happens, the message board is inexpensive enough that I can leave it up so people will be able to catch up with each other. I'm open to keeping going or shutting down. Please let me know what you think.

November 21, 2005 - It's late, but I'm getting on a plane in a few hours, bound for the land of white shoes and polyester — or what's left of it anyway in the wake of the latest hurricane courtesy of Mr. Bush's pro-global warming crusade. I didn't want to leave without uploading a few pictures. Since we've been adding to the 50s pages of late, our crack staff on crack thought it appropriate to turn to the 1970s, where they have uncovered a shocking scandal that will certainly create dismay throughout the entire Everett community? What are we talking about, well click on the 70s page to find out. If anyone out there wants to confess, drop me an email. In the meantime, I hope everyone out there has a happy thanksgiving.

November 18, 2004 - This being the 39th anniversay of Sandy Koufax's retirement, I thought I'd take off work and put up some photos. The new pictures, which you can find in bunks and '50s, are all from the Carole Toporek collection. Feel free to fill me in on the captions by dropping me an email or two.

November 9, 2005 - Or is it 2006? Let me just say that rumors which have been spreading (that Scooter, he's such a card) of my death were greatly exaggerated. I did appreciate all the kind words, but the person who asked Sue out on a date was a little out of line. I did put in my will that if and when I do pop off, that my ashes are to be sprinkled in Twin Lakes, so for eternity I can be dutz. Anyway, my book is in; my leg is healing (WARNING: CLICK AT YOUR OWN RISK, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'VE EATEN HAMBURGER IN THE LAST TWO HOURS), and as for the rest of me, who knows.

I've uploaded a bunch of shots from the Marge Rubin Levin collection. They're in 50s and bunks, even though some of them were taken in the 60s and the bunks aren't always bunks. Among the items is a love poem to Marge. As someone who never once inspired such regurgitation of words — just regurgitation — from a prom date, I was highly impressed that a Camp Everett love affair could inspire such a raft of metaphors. As for the photos, I have no idea who is in any of them (although I'm assuming Marge is), so I'll leave it up to you to drop me a line and fill in the captions for me.

October 12, 2005 - Just to note to say that due to some unexpected health issues and a very tight book deadline, I've had to take a bit of a hiatus from adding new material to the site. I expect the break will continue for another week or so. In the meantime, there's the forum, the chatroom and all the goodies on the download page. See you soon.

September 29, 2005 - The forum is back up. Please don't blame me. Apparently the mouse on the wheel which powers up the outfit that supplies the forum, died, and they had to find another one. I'm sorry for the lack of updates the past week. I did scan a bunch of old shots that were given to me at the reunion, and they'll be up soon. Mostly, though, I'm trying to deal with a heavy workload. I've just resold my 60s book to a new publisher. They want an intro in three weeks so the book can be published next fall, and my internal mouse is slowing down as well. Ok, the taskmaster is standing over me with a whip. Back to work (except for the sox-yanks tonight). Updates soon.

September 18, 2005 - This is just a quick note about the forum. Please use it. It's the best place for us to communicate with each other. However, it's important that when using the forum not to open a new item with every comment that you make. For example, if you want to post a comment about Paul's health, please do it in the item that has already been opened for that (and that goes for Paul too. Paul, you know how thrilled I am to hear that you are doing better, but if you keep doing it, I'm going to come over your house and hit you in the head). I'm not saying don't open a new item, but do so only if you are introducing an entirely new topic. Check the other topics first to see if something you want to comment about or query about might fit there. The little envelopes on the left side of the screen will tell everyone that a new reply has been posted in that topic, so your post won't be missed.

There are several reasons for this. One, we could max out the board, which would cause me several weeks of work migrating to another board and two, it gets confusing if there are a bunch of items up there relating to the same topic and three, to keep the board organized I've got to copy, paste and delete over and over again, and this takes time, hurts my wrists, and makes me cranky, which causes all kinds of troubles around the house.

And again, the board is buggy. If you get an error message when trying to post, hit your back button or reload button, and it will appear. I'm trying to get the folks who manage the board to figure this one out, but so far no luck.

Ok, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Employees are requested to wash their hands before leaving the bathroom.

Thank you, The Management.

September 17, 2005 - The first page of photos from the reunion is up. Click here or on the reunion 2005 button above. At the bottom is a link to a second page. This has a selection of the group photos. Make sure to turn on your sound for a true multimedia experience when viewing this page.

September 16, 2005 - I've gotten some email from people who couldn't open the videos. If you couldn't please let me know, and maybe I can walk you through the process. Also, Carole Toporek wrote to say that the type on the address list is small. For the far sighted folk out there, the file is a pdf, and you should be able to zoom it for better viewing. Spent another few hours on the reunion pics tonight, but they're still not ready. Tonight, Sue and I are going to be doing something we haven't done in months (no, not that), we're going out to a movie, so the photos won't be up until Saturday. In the meantime, let me leave you with at least one of my favorites from the day, this shot of Carole, which I think perfectly captured the afternoon fun:

September 14, 2005 - Well, I had the reunion photo page all ready to go tonight, well almost ready to go, and then Jonathan Kaskel fucked it up by sending me a batch of just terrific photos, so now I've got to toss the page in the trash and start from scratch. It should take a day or so to be ready, but now I can honestly say it will be well worth the wait. John is a terrific photographer. Hire him for your high school reunion, wedding, bar mitzvah or bris. I did sort of finish the video page, which has half a dozen video scraps on it, including a priceless gem from the nonpareil Frank Bass. By the way, you Frank Bass fans out there can now see him on DVD. Don't miss his great film, "The Boys of Second Street Park," which was given a two thumbs way up (and you know where) by the Camp Everett.com Web site. Anyway, click here for the reunion video page and enjoy.

Those who can't access the video probably need to go the Apple quicktime site download the free file.

September 13, 2005 - I just sent out the corrected address list. If you haven't received one, please let me know. As for the reunion photos, our newly hired crack team on crack is working on them. I suspect it ill be one more day or two, so please stop sending the threatening and harrassing emails. This afternoon I received one of the foulest notes I ever read. It left me totally depressed that someone would say those things to me. Then I looked at the return address and saw I had sent it to myself.

People are also suggesting that I organize high school reunions, college reunions, funerals. That's fine, but I draw the line at brisses, mostly because they offered to pay me in tips. Thank you, thank you, ladies and germs.

Margie Zeitz doesn't remember the prom. Please go to the forum and remind her what it was like.

Ok, I couldn't resist posting this, one of my favorite moments from the reunion and what will certainly be the first single to be released from the Camp Everett's greatest hits Cd. Listen carefully and you'll hear a few voices proudly proclaiming their loyalty to the green and white. Here it is.

September 12, 2005 - Last night I sent out a list of email addresses of everyone from camp in my address book. Typical of my work, it was chockful of mistakes (now you understand why it has so far taken me 30 years to exonerate Alger Hiss). To make sure it doesn't happen again, two members of our crack staff on crack who were responsible for the errors have been fired and deported. Meanwhile, a corrected version will go out tomorrow night, but I wanted to give people a day to send me more corrections. Please email me if you know of any more mistakes, or if you have an additions or if you want to lodge a complaint against anyone who was included.

So I'm still glowing from Saturday, and in the spirit of my glow, it occurred to me that we have already given out t-shirts, an address list, so to further enhance the site's reputation for community service and add to the glow, we thought we'd post the following picture from Saturday which can be downloaded, printed out and pasted on the wall above your bed to be used as a night reading light.

So I'm starting to get to the pictures. They'll start to appear on these pages over the next few days and weeks and months. I figure I'll have them all posted by the time the next reunion rolls around in 2011. People also entrusted me with their valuable pictures, which are now sitting by my feet. Those that don't get eaten by the dog will be posted as well.

September 11, 2005 - Just received email informing me of all the typos in the previous post. I could say it was on account of all the crack cocaine that the '50s crowd was circulating at the reunion, but I won't. Instead, I'll blame it on my own illuteracy.

September 10, 2005- To borrow from nearly every article ever published in the Everett Echoes. "A good time was had by all." Photos, videos and rude comments will be posted when I get off deadline tomorrow night or Monday. In the meantime, the forum is open for comments. For those still not used to posting there, remember you might get an error message when trying to access it or posting a message. Just click your reload button and it will appear. It occurs to me that people on our mailing list might enjoy having a list of everyone else's email address. I'll send that out also in a day or so.

September 8, 2005 - The reunion list has been adjusted with more additions and subtractions. I've also added a couple of pictures to the photos now page.

September 7, 2005 - Add some more names and removed a few (sniff, sniff). Two names had to be removed from the list. I'm sorry, but they had to be punished. Email has been sent out, announcing the meal hours. To repeat: Lunch cookout will be served from 12:30-2:30. Dessert will be served from 3:30 to 4:30. Also, feel free to bring sneakers, shorts, t-shirts, bathing suits for free play.

September 6, 2005 - Just added a couple of new names to the reunion list — new to the list that is. for them, I'm sure they're old names which they have had since birth.

September 5, 2005 - Some more names have been added to the reunion list. A group email has also gone out. It's chock full of important information. If you did not receive it, please drop me a line or write me an email. One thing I forgot to include: on the Reunion 2005 page is a link to the hotel. On he hotel site is a page that will give you driving directions. Click here to get to the page. Or feel free to drive to my place, and we'll squeeze you all in in the back seat of my Civic.

September 3, 2005 - Some names have been added to the reunion list.

September 2, 2005 - Gary Karshmer has made an excellent suggestion that if there is any money left over from the reunion, that it be donated to a worthy charity for relief of the hurricane victims. Feel free to email me any comments or suggestions about this idea.

September 2, 2005 - We've added a few more names of folks who say they've sent in checks or are about to for the reunion.

You can also go to the download page, scroll to the bottom and see part three of our most excellent 1958 movie. Would you like to own a dvd of this xciting, Academy Award winning film. Well now you can. Send $15 to me: Jeff Kisseloff, 20 Calvin Boulevard, New Paltz, New York 12561. All funds will be used toward professionally processing (as opposed to the amateurish job done by some slob in this office) the other films on the site. Any extra will be used to send George Bush on a four-day vacation in the Louisiana Superdome.

And let's get those reunion checks in.

How to Help Relief Information

A partial list of relief organizations and other information available on the Web:

Relief Organizations:
Charity Navigator: charitynavigator.org

Information on various charities and ways to donate to the relief effort.
Red Cross: 1-800-HELP-NOW or www.redcross.org
AmeriCares:americares.org
Episcopal Relief & Development: 1-800-334-7626 or www.er-d.org
United Methodist Committee on Relief: 1-800-554-8583 or gbgm-umc.org/umcor/emergency/hurricanes/2005
Salvation Army: 1-800-SAL-ARMY or www.salvationarmyusa.org
Catholic Charities: 1-800-919-9338 or www.catholiccharitiesusa.org
FEMA Charity tips: www.fema.gov/rrr/help2.shtm
National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster: www.nvoad.org
Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: www.la-spca.org
Operation Blessing: 1-800-436-6348 or www.ob.org
America's Second Harvest: 1-800-344-8070 or www.secondharvest.org
Adventist Community Services: 1-800-381-7171 or www.adventist.communityservices.org
Christian Disaster Response: 1-941-956-5183 or 1-941-551-9554 or www.cdresponse.org/cdrhome.html
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee: 1-800-848-5818 or www.crwrc.org
Church World Service: 1-800-297-1516 or www.churchworldservice.org
Convoy of Hope: 1-417-823-8998 or www.convoyofhope.org
Lutheran Disaster Response: 1-800-638-3522 or www.elca.org/disaster
Mennonite Disaster Service: 1-717-859-2210 or www.mds.mennonite.net
Nazarene Disaster Response: 1-888-256-5886 or www.nazarenedisasterresponse.org
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance: 1-800-872-3283 or www.pcusa.org/pda
Southern Baptist Convention - Disaster Relief: 1-800-462-8657, ext. 6440 or www.namb.net

Other Information:
Federal Emergency Management Agency: 1-800-621-FEMA; www.fema.gov
Louisiana Homeland Security: www.ohsep.louisiana.gov
City of New Orleans: www.cityofno.com/portal.aspx
Louisiana Governor's Office: www.gov.state.la.us/
Mississippi Emergency Management: www.msema.org
National Hurricane Center: www.nhc.noaa.gov
National Weather Service: iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/graphicsversion/bigmain.html
Hydrologic Information Center (river flooding): www.nws.noaa.gov/oh/hic/index.html

September 1, 2005 - A couple of names have been added to the reunion list.

August 30, 2005 - The second third of the 1958 film is posted. Mosey over (how come people don't mosey anymore. Let's start a movement to get people to start moseying again) to the download page, scroll down, and click on the second 1958 film. I don't have all the bugs out yet, so it will take a minute to load. During that time, you will see a blue "Q" on the screen. Feel free to stare at it, or take that minute of down time to pull out your check book and write us a check and a note, signaling that you're coming to the reunion.

Speaking of the reunion, our genuine reproduction Camp Everett t-shirts arrived today. So you can see what they look like (they do have a slightly altered font) we hired a famous supermodel to try on what certainly will soon be considered the latest in haute couture. Here's the young lady in gray:

And now green. Alas, when she refused to cooperate, we had to chop off her arms.

Every attendee will receive a shirt of their choice. Those who do not attend, but wish to purchase one will be able to do so through this Web site. The money will go back to those who paid for them, and any extra will be used to send the 8mm film to quality processing. Anything left over after that will be used to purchase internet porn, illegal drugs and sex paraphernalia.

Oh, the reunion list has been updated. Ten days to go!

August 29, 2005 - For years after Rudolph Valentino died, a mysterious "Lady in Black" would emerge on the anniversary of his death, elegantsly dressed in a black dress, her faced hidden behind a veil to publicly mourn the former silent screen star (I actually once interviewed a fellow who claimed to be Valentino's last lover. "Actually, we were lusters," he said to me, but that's another story), and nobody knew who she was. I always thought it was Eleanor Roosevelt, but I'm willing to concede that I am probably wrong. So what does this have to do with Camp Everett? Not much, except that our chat room also has a mysterious guest, who comes and goes, although I have no idea if she's dressed in black when she logs in. This person is named Wendy, and every night like clockwork, she clicks into the chatroom and just as quickly leaves. Of course, she must do this after seeing my name there, but while I've insulted so many people in my life, I don't recall ever being rude to someone named Wendy who went to EV. So Wendy, whoever you are, whoever are you? Who are you looking for? Why do you torture me this way?

On a more interesting note, I came home Sunday night to 18 Camp Everett emails in my box, quite a few from folks who say they will be attending the shindig. I'll update the list in a day or two.

On an even more interesting note, I've been able to upload the first third of the Everett '58 film. Go to the download page and scroll down. When you click on the link, you will have to wait about thirty seconds or a minute before the Blue Q disappears and the film starts, so be patient. If you don't have Quicktime on your computer, click here. It's a free download from Apple. The film will be quite jumpy in the beginning, and parts of it run a bit fast, but you may be able to slow it down a bit by using your Quicktime controls. Let me know if you recognize anyone. Again, this is only the first third. I'll load the next section in a day or two, and I'll keep working at sharpening the film and speeding up the download time.

August 27, 2005 - Another email has gone out about the reunion, updating the list of those attending and may be attending and may not be attending but who knows, maybe they will. I have also received from the film lab a digitized version of that great 16mm film from 1958, which I was able to have processed thanks to the generosity of Beth Fishman, Joel Brenner and Meryl Novor. If it's not up tonight, it should be by Monday night. I have got some new Where are They Now news. If you're curious at all about Susan and Wendy Wolf, Jimmy Suffin, Penny Suffin and Ricky Powsner, click here.

Carole Clarin has begun an item in the forum about staging an Apache Relay (age suitable, which means lots of Ben-gay on hand). If you have any thoughts, click on the item. Remember, the forum is still a bit of a mess to access. If you click once and you get an error message, click your reload button and it should come up.

August 21, 2005 - Only good things happen when people team up while on the trail of lost alumnises. On Friday, I happened to mention to Meryl Novor that one of the people on my search list was Lori Wiener. Meryl had no idea where she was, but she offered up a clue — that Lori and Meryl had been at the NYU School of Social Work together. An hour later, I got email from our Lori Wiener. Then, with help from Steve Gollomp, I was able to track down Gil Rosenthal, who sounded wonderful despite a second go around of chemo therapy. Go to the Where Are They Now page to read about two of our most illustrious former camppersons. Anyway, Meryl and Steve's help points out how easy it is to find people with a little teamwork. There are a few lists of people posted in the 2005 reunion item, and there are also a couple of forum items dedicated finding former campers who so far have eluded our grasp. If you have any clues, or if there is anyone you would like us to find before the reunion, email me, or post the name in the reunion item, and maybe someone will come forward with a helpful hint or two and that person will be added to our list of attendees.

Several people have asked me if I intend to write a book about this site and the experience of reconstituting our little group. Really, I have no intention of doing so, but that didn't prevent me from coming up with a great title if I do. Of course, any book on Everett would have to be a racy volume to make it worth my while, so if I do, it will be called "Valley of the Debs." Do you have a better title, email me and I'll post it.

Steve Gollomp said he's giving up on a weekend conference on bioterrorism (featuring talks from two former Camp Everett chefs) to come to the reunion. Some others who have recently said they intend to come but have yet in checks are: Peter Leepson, Steve Milim, Alan Kisseloff, Kenny Handler, Margie Zeitz, Marty Litwer, Gil Rosenthal and quite a few more.

I've also added a few entries to our '60s photos and '70s photos. The reunion paid list has been updated.

August 18, 2005 - Just made a few additions to the reunion list.

August 16, 2005 - One of everyone's favorite campers/counselors, Mark Goldstein, has sent in his check. Our numbers are good enough that I can eat again, although Paulie Walnuts has been kept on retainer. I've updated the Where Are They Now column with news from Steve Gollomp, Michael (Morty) Keisman, Howard Pogolowitz, Vickie Valiant and Billy Lerner, who didn't yell at me once during our conversation. When I had called his office and spoke to his secretary, I explained who I was, and she asked me if I knew any secrets about him that they could use on him. I told her that she and colleagues should start chanting, "Bill has a bad temper" over and over and then duck for cover.

The reunion list has also been updated with a few more names.

August 14, 2005 - Now that we have over thirty checks, it seems a good time to update our list of folks who committed to attend (or should be committed). This is not by an means a complete list of those who are attending. I have been told several times this weekend that checks are in the mail, and there are many who have said they will be coming but just haven't yet had the opportunity to rob their local bank. I'm willing to believe the former. I've also put up the remaining photos from the Gary Karshmer collection. They are in Old Photos: 50s and in Bunks. I've also made some additions to the captions. The updated reunion list can be found in the 2005 Reunion page.

August 11, 2005 - Big reunion news folks. As a premium, all attendees will receive one, 100 percent cotton, all reproduction, Camp Everett t-shirt. It's our way of saying thanks and welcome back to the camp. But they come with a warning: those choosing not to wear them will be subject to noogies and/or wedgies. The fellow who is supplying them chooses to remain anonymous, and I'll respect that, but I'll also say I'll never make fun of Scott Cantor on this site again. We've had a small influx of checks. That doesn't mean Debbie Davidoff's postman is complaining of a back ache from all the mail though. Please send yours in, and now you can even specify your shirt size.

Gary Karshmer has sent in a bunch of vintage photos. I put a few of them up tonight on the bunks page. The others will go up tomorrow or Saturday. There's also a nice couple of pictures of Gary and his wife on the old fogies page.

Have I asked you yet to send in your checks and maybe even volunteer to make some calls? We need your help.

August 8, 2005 - Seeing as tomorrow is the 31st anniversary of Richard Nixon's resignation, I will be taking tomorrow off (as I assume all of you will be as well), so I did want to do some quick updates tonight. With a month left before the reunion, Sue took this picture of me as I heard the latest news about the dearth of checks being sent to Debbie Davidoff. People used to describe me as being all skin and bones. Now, they're only half right.

Hey, at least I still have my hair. Could you please send checks and put me out of my misery?

I did have some wonderful chats over the weekend with Barbara Rosenbaum, Beth Fishman and David Nadelman. To find out what these folks are up to, head over to the Where Are They Now page. Now that reunion planning is in the home stretch, I've dug out my Sherlock Holmes hat. Is there someone you're looking for, drop me a line, and I'll find 'em. In the meantime, we'll publish an updated list of confirmed attendees in the next couple of days.

August 2, 2005 - One of the great Everett legends, even greater than the Cropsy Maniac is about why Bobby Colomby, who went from being an Everett counselor to much lesser glory as the drummer of Blood, Sweat and Tears, was fired in 1963. All of us who weren't at Everett in 1963 and never met him of course knew the true story in the same way that the cool kids a few years older than us knew the "real" lyrics to "Louie, Louie." He was sent home for playing his drums too loud in the rec hall. Anyway, I've been chasing down this story since I put up the site. I had been trying to find Bobby himself but had been unsuccessful. Apparently, he's left orders that he be unfound, especially by the likes of me. I did speak to Bernard Colomby though, who told me he was not related but that he and Bobby shared the same tailor once in Brooklyn. He had no idea where Bobby was, but was sure that he had been fired for playing his drums in the rec hall. Now, months ago, one of the 50s folk suggested I find Gary Karshmer, who was one of their campmates. I did and called him in December. He called me right back, and I finally got around to returning his call last week (I'm busy, what can I say). Well, I had I shown any manners at all and returned his call, it would have saved me the months I put into running the story down, because Gary knows it. If you go to the forum, you can read it for yourself.

Next mystery: the chemical composition of dutz.

Speaking of my brilliant detective work, this afternoon, Sue found herself sitting in front of her computer, bored and decided to google me, me her husband. Lo and behold, amidts the hundreds of sites that curse my very name, she found this recent link from the Washington Post. Feel free to give it a read and be amazed and overwhelmed that I have deigned to be associated with all of you. What can I say, except it is important to me not to lose touch with the little people. Anyway, click here to see what all the fuss is about. I will be signing autographs at the reunion.

That's the story, except for one more new picture via Carole Clarin's travels. This one is of the Newirth gang. You can find it on the old fogies page.

Once again, if the forum doesn't come up on the first click, hit your reload button.

Twice again, we need your checks.

August 1, 2005 - For those of you who haven't sent in their checks, this is what I'm looking like these days. My debonair good looks are gone. I'm reduced to wear a bath towel stolen from the Holiday Inn

How much more can this go on? Please get those checks in. Everybody I pass on the street is looking like a big french fry (excuse me freedom fry) to me. If you read Rick Silverblatt's wonderful post in the forum, you know that he and Carole Clarin and Janet Zeller and Judy Levy took a visit to the camp. Three of their photos are posted. There are a bunch of others, but they look similar to those already posted on the camp tour, so the trio of wonderful snapshots will suffice. You can find them on the Old Fogies page. We haven't had a lot of current shots. Feel free to scan anything current from the family collection for use on the site. It might be you, the family dog or the neighbor's dog. It doesn't matter. We're desperate here for any kind of entertainment.

But seriously, ladies and germs. It's six weeks before the reunion. If you think you're going to come or even if you're sure you won't be there, please send in your check.

July 29, 2005 - Two more checks in. Thank goodness they go directly to Debbie Davidoff. Otherwise, I would eat them. Last night I dreamed about Louis the dog. He was wrapped up in a bun. We need checks. If not for the reunion, for Louis.

July 26, 2005 - Oy, could I use a bagel.

July 25, 2005: Thanks to the efforts of Paulie Walnuts, the number of of reunion  checks we have received has quintupled. That may sound impressive but the reality is that it means we have received five checks. This is bad, so bad in fact that I've decided that desperate times call for desperate measures and as of now I am on a hunger strike until we reach our preliminary goal. What's frustrating about this is I have communicated with so many people who say they are going to send a check, but apparently  hardly anyone in our group knows where either their checkbooks or their mailboxes are. Now, I never really had a nickname at camp, but for a while some people called me "Mahatma,"  and not because I had a fondness for bovine creatures or great inner peace and wisdom. I haven't added a lot of meat on my bones since those days, which means that that I'm probably not going to last real long. So if you don't want it on your conscience that I might leave behind a young wife and daughter and 5,000 pages of FBI files on the Alger Hiss case, please send in a check. 

While I still have some strength, I've added some new photos to the 50s pages, 60s pages, bunks and Old Fogies. There is also a new "where are they now" entry. Enjoy them and don't worry about me. I'll be fine, a little hungry, but fine. My stomach is only growling a little right now.

PS: The forum remains a buggy operation. It's there. If you click on it and receive an error message, either click again on that button or on your reload button. For those who are new to the site, we hope you'll stop by the forum, select and approrpriate item and say hello to us.

July 19 - Ok, reunion checks are not exactly pouring in, so we've decided to hire someone to go knocking on doors to collect money from recalcitrant attendees. Here he is:

Or you can send your check in to Debra Dubin 8 Laura Lane, Plainview, NY 11803 payable to her, not to Mr. Walnuts, who has generously allowed to keep 14 percent of what he collects.

Oh, we have finally located one of the camp's greatest veteranarians, David Ascher, who wins the award for the most responsive Everetteer. Within hours of our conversation, he had sent a half dozen shots. I have uploaded only one so far (hey, I gotta work!), but it's a doozy. Head to the '60s photo page; scroll to the bottom and see how many of the folks you can recognize in the newest shot. Of course, the identity of the one especially handsome fellow with the sharply intelligent eyes and jaunty smile whose head is peeking out near the center of the shot should be obvious to everyone.

July 17, 2005 - Our little corner of the Web has been a busy place all week. The phone calls are bringing lots of newcomers and oldcomers. It was great to see Joel Brenner and Billy Livingston on the forum in the "Taking the Plunge" item. If any of their contemporaries are reading this, please click on the forum button above and say hello to them. I've done a bit of site cleanup this weekend. The download page looks a bit better. I've also added an Everett Echoes from 1953 and boosted the size and download speed of some of the films. If you have trouble downloading them, make sure you have Quicktime on your Mac or PC. Macs are usually loaded with Quicktime, but if you own a PC and don't have it, it's a free download from Apple here. There are also some new 50s bunk photos courtesy of Terry Newirth, and I've done some caption and typo fixing around the site. Feel free to send me an email with any corrections, comments and curses, but please understand that due to the enormous volume of mail I receive every hour, I can't personally respond to every request. As Randy Newman said, "It's lonely at the top." He should have added "busy" too.

The answers to the photo quiz below? Let's not always see the same hands, please. They are Beth Fishman and Elliot Ames. Beth is on the left and Elliot the right. Both are quite the successes. Beth is a real estate agent in California, while Elliot, who by virture of his asking if I was Jeff Kisseloff the author will never once be made fun of on this site, is a hand surgeon in New Jersey.

July 15, 2005 - A few months ago, the incredibly lovely and magnificent (she has not aged a day since 1971) Ellen Glasser, daughter of Gerald and Renee Glasser, sister of Wendy Glasser, aunt of Jared Kisseloff and former like-a-relative to Jeff Kisseloff, said Web master, found in her lovely basement a 16mm promotional film from 1958 that was used by the Goldsteins, Scheiners and later the Glassers to help sell potential suckers campers on Everett. I was able to find a 16mm projector, but running and converting the film has proven to be a dicey proposition. The film itself is beyond lovely. It's crystal clear and the colors are bright, but alas because the film is a bit dry, it snaps or jumps off the track every few minutes or so. I've been able to pull the first five minutes or so from the film, but because of the poor transfer system I have you can only get a vague sense of its quality. The colors on the film are truly much brighter than anything you will see on the screen.

But here's the story.

I checked into companies that repair and restore films like this one. The cost would be between $150 and $200. I could pay for it, but what with web server costs every month, this site has long ago eaten a large hole in my wallet. The site would be free if it accepted advertising, but I don't want to subject anyone to that. I could also solicit money from the people who enjoy it, but I much prefer my editorial freedom to do that, but maybe with this film I'll put this proposition out there. If you would like to help toward the processing of this film, send me a small donation, five dollars, ten dollars. If I get enough in the way of donations, I'll send the film in to be processed. If I get more than the cost, I'll have the 8mm films processed in a way that improves their quality too. As a bonus, I'll burn a cd or dvd for anyone who sends in a donation. If I can't get enough to cover it, I'll simply hold on to the film until there's enough extra money in the Kisseloff till to cover it. So, this is my address: 20 Calvin Boulevard, New Paltz, NY 12561 if you'd care to send a donation. In the meantime, click here to enjoy a five-minute preview of the film, which in itse entirety runs nearly 20 or 25 minutes. Remember, the colors are washed out by the transfer, not on the actual film, and after a while it will jump around quite a bit. Still, I think it's worth a look. Click here to see it.

July 14, 2005 - Well, the phone is ringing and the email is buzzing. Even Karl Rove just called (on double secret background) to out Robert Carter Stein as a CIA agent. It's been amazing how many people have been heard from during the past week. Here's just a few: Terry and Jill Newirth, Laurie Benson, Hope Weisman, Milt Field, Artie Gang, Joel Brenner, Jerry Shulman, Susan Litwer, Marty Litwer, Stephen Solarz, Judy Levy, Kenny Traub and more. To find out what they are up to, go to the Where Are They Now Page (my guess is they're probably in bed). Terry Newirth has sent in some great shots of her bunkmates in the 1950s. The pictures should have gone into bunk shots, but my software is acting up, so you can find them in the 50s photos.

I even found these alums by trolling the Net. Who are they?

Oh, and a posse has been sent out to find people actually willing to volunteer to make calls.

July 13 - I've enjoyed lots of wonderful conversations with Everett alumni the last couple of days and have even received some photos. I'd fill you all in on the latest reunion news, but I'm tired. It can't just be four of us at this. We need help, if not for Everett, if not for yourself, think of an adorable six year old who might face the next year without any teeth in her mouth. This would be a tragedy and you'd have no one to blame but for yourself.

Come up with lists, post them and make calls.

July 11 - Well, my serious talk has had some impact. There's definitely movement on the reunion front but not enough. If you are reading this, we need your help. Yes you. Help. And here's the thing. If I have to start pulling teeth, I will. In fact....

I pulled one. If more lists aren't posted, we pull some more. It's up to you. We're serious people here. I better start seeing some lists or the kid gets it.

The good news is that a couple of lists have been posted and we're starting to get a nice response. But please, if you are making calls, please post your lists, so others can be encouraged to post lists and also so the rest of us can help you find the people on your lists. I have to say it's the 50s and early 60s folk that are really shining. They are putting the rest of us to shame. Are you late 60s and early 70s people just going to sit there and let the old folk dominate the reunion? Are you? Are you?

And again, just list anyone you want to contact. Once people see your list, they will not duplicate your calls. In the meantime, I've heard from a bunch of alumni. Go to the "Where Are They Now" page for the news.

July 7 - No new photos tonight, just some frank talk. The reunion effort has stalled. A lot of folks have expressed interest in coming, but we need more and no one has stepped forward to seriously coordinate the effort, understandably so, as it's a lot of work, and we're all busy with family, friends and white-collar crimes. Last night, Terri Rossman and I hatched an idea, and we think it might work. For want of a better name for it, let's just call it "Terri and Jeff's Amazingly Simple But Brilliant Idea" or, for short, Ten Calls. We are asking everyone who wants to help to identify ten people they will hunt down and phone and let them know about the site, and more importantly, the reunion. The key is to post your list in the 2005 Reunion Item in the Forum. This way others will see your list and as they compile their ten, they will not duplicate any of the names on yours. Also, once you begin the process, post the names of any people you can't find, this way others who might have a helpful hint or two will see it and pass on the word.

Also important: once you make contact, ask that person if he or she is in contact with anyone or knows where someone (preferably someone who went to Everett) might be living or was living. Add that person to your list or post the name and any pertinent info in the Reunion item. Most importantly: if the person you've found is excited about the reunion, ask he or she to make ten calls. This way our network will grow. Now, the calls don't all have to be made in a night. Space them out, but remember the reunion is in September and time is growing short. Grab a few Echoes from the download page to get the names of your fellow campers or counselors you'd like to reach.

So, how do you get a phone number or address for someone on your list? Well, assuming they're not in the witness protection program, it's not too difficult. Finding women, alas, is more difficult than locating men due to a tendency to adopt the last name of spices upon marriage. Still, there are ways. Here are just a few:

• Make your list and post it in the reunion item. One of us may already have a phone number, email or snailmail address.
• Look up the name on www.switchboard.com. There may be four results, but one or two may be more likely possibilities, and the worst thing is you call someone, it turns out to be wrong number and you've wasted all of a minute. Maybe the wrong number person might want to come to the reunion anyway and could turn out to be more interesting than the person you were trying to reach.
• Try google. A search there might turn up the name and/or professional listing. Do you know where the person went to college? Email their alumni office. They won't give you the email address, but they will forward an email.
• Do you know where the person went to high school? Email me. I've set up a membership classmates.com. If the person has registered there (and many have) I'll be able to plug in their school and find them.
• Try finding their parents who may still be alive. If they don't have Alzheimers, they may know where their kids are.
• Locate any of their camp friends.
• Is the person a doctor, use the Net to get a list of them in the state. For example, someone told me that Henry Levine was a specialist in Florida. I forget the specialty. Let's say proctology. I did a search for "Proctologists" "Florida" and on the list was Henry's name. In two minutes, we were on the phone while he had his hand up someone's rectum.
• Maybe you or someone knows the company the person worked for. Kenny Handler works for a large financial company. I called the company's headquarters and asked if they had a person named Kenny Handler. The next thing I knew the phone was ringing and The Fuhrer was on the other end of the line.
• It's easy. It's fun. Worse comes to worse, submit their name and photo to your local dairy. See if it can be placed on a milk carton. Remember though, once you reach someone that Everett was a family camp. Everyone you reach will know another name or how to reach someone else. Don't forget to ask, and either add the person to your list or post it.
• The other option when you really get stuck is ask me. I've been hunting down people professionally for the last thirty years (I do loansharking on the side). Remember, much to my everlasting regret in some cases, I found all of you folks and I can find more.

We already have email addresses and phone numbers of people who have come to the site. It's easy for me to write and threaten those people with eternal guilt if they don't come. The best thing is to concentrate on those who don't know about the reunion or the site and would be likely to come if they did.

I'll start things off by posting my ten tonight in the Reunion item. (by the way, the forum is still acting weirdly. If you click on it and get a message that say it can't find the page, simply click on your reload button and it will pop up.

I think this plan will work (in large part because once you start you'll realize how much fine it is to contact people you've avoided for thirty years) but it depends on your cooperation and interest. If there's no interest, well then there's little point in having a reunion, but judging by my email there's a lot of interest in the reunion and a lot of interest in helping out, and this is a way to do it cooperatively in a way which can work and also do my old socialistic heart good at the same time. Again, you don't have to do all the calling and searching in one night, and lean on our combined knowledge to make your work easier by posting your list and checking the others to make sure there are no duplication. Another reason to post the list is that we can make sure we cover all the generations are covered.

That's it, except at this point maybe I should tell you about the Gipperwitz. You remember him, laying on his death bed after consuming three veal chops one August night. "Jeff," he said, "don't forget me and the sacrifice I made for you. If I hadn't eaten those hockey pucks and weighed them down with that piss that you call punch, someone else would be in my place. After one more chorus of Adon Olam, I'm off to that upper ballfield, if you know what I mean. I know it's a better place. I hear the lake has no dutz, there are socials every week and they don't make you wear our Everett t-shirt on field trips. But remember, Jeff, one day, when it's reunion time, and the checks aren't coming in, tell them about me, the Gipperwitz and the sacrifice I made for you. Tell them we need everyone to pull together so that what I did today won't be forgotten, that Camp Everett and the wonderful memories we had will stay alive forever, and most importantly, that you or someone else find the cook who made this shit and hunt him down and shoot him like a dog."

Ok, that's it. Ladies and gentlemen, mouses and pencils out, fire up those lists and post 'em.

..... and get those checks to Debbie Davidoff Dubin now, that means you.

July 4 - I hope everyone out there has been out celebrating their independence by doing something independent today. I independently took a swim and later independently went to the store and now I'm independently sitting at my computer. Independence day is a great holiday! Of course, in three hours it will all be over and I go back to being dependent again, but it was great while it lasted. So, I've posted a few new shots, they're in 60s photos, 70s photos and bunk photos. There are also some brief new notes on the Where are They Now Page? Where is everyone now. I bet if you're reading this you are also at your computer. Reunion news is continuing to dribble in. It seems the reunion will even take on an international flavor, as a Canadian alumnus has said she will be attending, but I think we're getting to the point where the phone calls need to begin. To that end, there will be a meeting in the forum Wednesday night at nine for anyone who has expressed an interest in volunteering. Please be there. THIS IS YOUR REUNION, PEOPLE. It will not work without your attendence, but before that without your help. We need you.

June 24 - Just a quick hello note here and a little reunion news. The Roth sisters have declared their intentions to go, as has Terri Rossman and Lisa Kronenberg Scher and Corey Kronenberg Scher. Yours truly has also just sent in his check. So not only do you get to see some old friends, you also get to berate me for heaping so much abuse on your warm memories. Go ahead, sign up. I can take it. Speaking of memories, here's a little visual quiz. Sue and I took a one-day honeymoon and found ourselves in front of this historic site. Can you name it? The first person to do so, gets his or her own Camp Everett green and gray pencil. Here's a hint: Norm Winer should get it. Here's a warning. I'm starting to run out of pictures to upload. Next week, if I don't start seeing some good ones from you folks out there, I start uploading my wedding pictures. Anyway, here's the quiz. Send me your guesses (only one entry per family, please, relatives of the Web master are not eligible unless expensive bribes are offered) The clock is ticking.......

June 14 - Happy flag day everyone. Hope everyone took the day off and celebrated. Maybe it was the invitations, or maybe just karma, but the site has heard from two more ex-campers this week. Head over to the where are they now page to learn about what Sara Sprung and Larry Epstein are up to. I've added a couple of bunk shots and also a few 70s shots. As usual life is busy around here, and I'm still playing around with the 16mm in my spare time. It breaks every ten seconds when I run it. The damn thing has more patches than a convention of pirates. Also, a bit busy around the house. Sue and I made a decision to join the establishment and make our union legal. That's happening this weekend. My folks, who split a few years ago, will be in the same room witnessing the event. I suspect the place will look like downtown Fallujah by the time they stop hurling bombs at each other. Anyway, it takes a long time to install metal detectors. Hence, there's not been much work on the site. There is reunion news, however. Debbie Davidoff reports that checks have begun to come in. Please send them. Hope the folks who volunteered to coordinate are coordinated. Please watch the reunion page for updates.

May 27 - Somehow, one of the movies I had got lost in the shuffle, but it has now been found in the shuffle. Go to the download page and scroll down to the last film. I've also fixed number five (I hope). They're still taking their time loading, but that will have to be address sometime in the future. In the meantime, enjoy this latest masterpiece from the oeuvre of the great unknown photographer. Oh, I just took another look at this battered but beautiful 16mm film from the Glasser collection. I have no idea what year it was done, but there is a hint on the film. The Olympic teams that year were India and Holland? Can anyone tell me? Email me if you know.

May 26 - I bumped up the size of the fifth film on the download page. It still takes too long to load, but give it a minute and you will be justly rewarded. Who is going to be the first person to sign up for the reunion? A free Camp Everett pencil to to the winner!

May 25 - Damn, has it been that long since an update? The big news is that there is now a reunion page. Visit it, read it, memorize it and then destroy the evidence. The reunion is coming. All the information you need (we almost, anyway) is there. The page will be continually updated with info, as will the official reunion item in the forum. We're hoping you can make it. In fact, we're counting on it. As for the site, it's not as if I haven't been working behind the scenes. I've fussed and fussed with the film, trying to improve it so you can actually recognize a human face when you view it. I think I'm almost there. As for photos, I have quite a few more, but not that many that I can make hilarious fun of, so I need more, especially current shots. Believe me, it's better to post them here in the next few months then to have people go, "Who the heck are you?" at the reunion. If we post them here, at least you'll have a caption under your face. We're trying to avoid requiring name tags at the reunion.

Ok, just to prove that I wasn't lying. You can go to the download page (click the button above) and go to the fourth film. It is now twice the size. Alas, it also takes ten times longer to load, but let me know if you think it's worth it. Click on the link and you'll see the Quicktime "Q" symblol. Sing the Everett alma mater backward in pig latin. By the time you get to the end (or the beginning, actually) if you have a fast internet connection, the film will have started. If it hasn't, you need to study your pig latin.

April 27 - It has been a horrendously busy week in this household, so nothing new has been uploaded, but I did want to offer a brief update. Ellen Glasser, who refuses to come onto the site because like her sister Wendy has complete and utter contempt for each and every one of you, has located some amazing film footage, 16mm from the early 60s. The clarity of the film is by far the best yet, but alas the film is in such delicate condition it will have to be sent out for processing. That will have to wait a couple of days as I am scheduled for knee surgery number seven tomorrow. I blame the hilly fields of Everett for my woes. Anyway, the film will be worth the wait. I guarantee it. We are also about to put up a reunion page, which will keep us updated on the big pow wow on September 10 in Rye Brook. As Pete Leepson would say, "Get your green and whites cleaned and ready for the big day."

April 19 - I just uploaded another film, this one from 1968. I'm not at all satisfied with the quality of the transfer— basically it sucks — but I thought I'd put it up there instead of just having it sit there uselessly on my hard drive. In the meantime, I'll work at improving it. If there are any Web experts out there who want to offer any hints about improving the compression, please drop me a line and save all of us a needless trip to Lenscrafters. As for the film itself, it's probably the most bizarre of the batch. It features some kind of Asian cultural festival that would have gotten us picketed had the Asian Anti-Defamation League been aware of it. One of the more bizarre sights is of Richard Parrott in some kind of Asian disguise. It's amazing to me that the ki didn't go on a murderous rampage during the festival. If he had, it clearly would have been justifiable homicide. There's also a long sequence of Ira Beckoff in his Ernie Kovacs get-up acting as Emcee, for what I have no idea, but he seems amused. Since it's silent footage, you get to supply your own captions. The final third of the film has some wonderful closeups, covers that afternoon's carnival festival. My favorite is Fern Malamud charming the camera and the dunk Faye Brenner booth. It's fun to run the film frame by frame and pick out the faces in both the foreground and background. Click here and scroll down to film #5 and enjoy. Oh, it might take a while to load, because one of our crack staff members on crack screwed up the coding. If it does create a problem for you, please send me an email.

Black smoke tonight in the Vatican, which means that apparently I'm still in the running. I'm running on the platform of "free condoms for all priests" and a guaranteed parking spot in heaven for anyone who drives a hybrid. Actually, from what I heard they had made their choice but then Simon Cowell gave him the thumbs down because he didn't like his version of "I've Got You Under My Robe."

April 15 - This is my first note as a 50 year old. The first thing I did today was check the obits. Fortunately, I wasn't listed. Yesterday, I got a letter from the AARP saying that according to their records I now qualify for membership. If I get an ad from Cialis, then I'm getting out the noose (plus, with my medicial luck, I'd be one of the guys with the four hours). My office is now a film studio. Yesterday, I found a way to enlarge the film that I uploaded so that in case of the fourth film, you don't have to look at it through a microscope. Today, I'll work on the rest. Screw work, who cares about Alger Hiss any more anyway? Please drop me a line if you have trouble with seeing the film. At some point, I'm also going to reprocess it to restore the right side of the frame before Karl Rove sees it as an another example of the liberal media trampling foisting the leftist view on our citizens.

April 14 - This just in: new film! Head to the download page and scroll down to see the fourth film, another Academy Award-worthy effort, this one also from 1969. Watch the full range of Henry Levine's emotions, all the way from anger and disgust to blind fury. The guy can do it all. This one has some great tugs of war, featuring lots of screaming counselors (I'll add an approrpriate soundtrack soon). Look carefully, and you can see Muskie again in his football referee's outfits. There are shots of the reclusive Al Hecht and the effusive Lynn Zager (who along with Joan Resnick, as evidenced by the basketball game caught on film were the Jordan and Pippen of their time). Watch the stirring pitching duel between Lisa Kronenberg and Jayne Kolber and catcher Sally Meyers in a titanic wrestling match with the vicissitudes of the pitched softball. Understand her struggle, and you'll never see life the same way again.

April 5 - I know it's been a long time since the last update. I'm not neglecting the site. In fact, I was up to about two last night piecing together another old projector in the hope of getting the rest of the film up on the site. Unfortunately, while I got it to work, it's such a pain in the butt to do so, that I've decided to try and find another one. But mostly, I've been dealing with some post trip illness, additional work that has to be done on deadline to finish a book, more maxed out pages on the site, taxes, the start of baseball season, Whittaker Chambers and a family that is starting to forget who I am, despite the name tag I am now forced to wear around the house. It will be a few more days, unless, of course, if I'm elected Pope. (I did submit my resume but haven't yet heard back, so I guess it's still a possibility.) So please bear with me. There's lots of good stuff coming. Oh, Terri has called a chat meeting for reunion volunteers. Check the forum item, but I believe it's 9:30 Wednesday night. We really, really need help to pull this off, so please even if you just have a little time, please check in and offer your services.

In the meantime, I'm off to study my Latin.

March 20 - I don't know how this happened, but it seems I am about to turn 50, and to celebrate (if that's the proper word for it) that occasion, I'm being hauled off to Mexico for four days. Actually, my birthday isn't until April 15, so you still have plenty of time to buy me a present. I have registered at oldfogies.com. I see the walker, the cane that doubles as a portable toilet and the year's supply of Polident is still available. In the meantime, I have left a few new presents of my own in the 60s photos page, the 70s photos page and the bunks page. The new bunks photos have been inserted near the bottom (problems with the page). I'll be back on Friday in case anyone is worried. My projector is laying around my office in about 50 pieces still waiting for parts. When they arrive, I promise I'll have the rest of the film up in a jiffy. Please play nice in my absence. Sign up to be either a green and gray or a green and white in the forum where battle lines are being drawn. So far it seems to be me and the Gurians against everyone.

March 14 - To keep from having to pay the staff overtime, I uploaded a bunch of bunk photos without the captions. Send me the names and I'll add them. The problem is, however, that in putting up the latest bunk photos I have again used up all of my bytes for that page. This means more reorganization. Pretty soon this site will have more categories than the Yellow Pages. I'm told my projector bulb is on the way. As soon as it arrives, we'll have some more film. Sue and I also visited the Gates in Central Park. For those who like the color orange, you can see a couple of shots on the photosnow page.

By the way, though he was bereft of any red hair, the little Jond that I met last week did turn out to be the son of our Jamie Jond. Amazingly, at eight years old, he was already quite a bit more mature than his dad. The kids in Mr. Mancuso's class were a terrific bunch who didn't heckle me too much. The only problem was when I suggested we talk baseball, they said they preferred instead to discuss Marx's critique of a political economy. Fortunately for me, they were referring to Groucho and not Karl. I guess I was a hit, because afterward they all lined up for my autograph and not one of them uttered a word of protest when I charged them ten bucks a piece for my John Hancock.

March 8 - A quick note between sneezes to say I've uploaded a few shots to the 60s photos page and the 50s photos page. I've got to get a good night's sleep as tomorrow is the first gig I've gotten from this Web site. I'll be in Rye Brook, lecturing Mr. Mancuso's class at the Ridge Elementary School on how to write clever captions for your summer camp's Web site. One of the students is Michael Jond, who is allegedly the son of James. I guess I'll find out tomorrow if the rumor is true.

March 3 - As a journalist, I learned early on that it is better to be disliked than it is to be irrelevant. That's why it was so disturbing to find out this evening that no one with the exception of Karen Scheiner noticed that none of the new pictures had loaded. Hate mail I can handle. No mail makes me miserable. The problem, as it turned out, was the old photos page had pretty much maxed out, so that page has now been subdivided paramecium-like into three pages: 50s photos, 60s photos and 70s photos. It's very possible that some of the pictures have been incorrectly consigned to the wrong decade, and since people didn't stop attending camp when the decade ended, if you're a 50s person you might still enjoy the 60s photos, and if you were a 60s camper, well you get my drift. If we get any photos from the 40s, I'll make a 40s photos page. Incidentally, there is a 20s photo in existence. I had an Uncle Roger who married my Aunt Arlene. Uncle Roger was famous for three thing,s besides having the questionable judgment of marrying my Aunt Arlene, a retired gym teacher who would break the hands of any man who dared come near her 1) he was a notorious dirty old man — think "Hound Dog" only not quite as discriminating hence the relationship with my aunt 2) on his death bed he awoke from a coma to correctly answer the final Jeopardy question before he checked out for good, leaving us to believe his death was simply the ultimate effort on his part to escape my Aunt's company and 3) he attended Camp Everett the first year of its existence, which I believe was 1920 or 1921. I've seen the photo. It may still exist in my aunt's home in Florida, but getting it would involve calling her, and while I love everybody connected to this site dearly, I don't love you that much.

In honor of the new pages, there are some wonderful group shots from the 1950s courtesy of Marc Newberg. And if you haven't seen them, a bunch of 60s photos on that page. My projector should be ready in a couple of days, so get ready for some more film.

And please, if a link is dead, drop me a line. Drop me a line even if a link isn't dead. With the exception of screeds from my Aunt Arlene, who has only gotten more mean and bitter with age, if such a thing is possible, it's always good to get email. And speaking of dead things, there hasn't been an update to the where are they now page in ages. Have you taken any recent vacation shots? Been arrested since you last checked in? If so, we'd love to have a mug shot or two. Let your friends know what's going on with you. Important people want to know, so tell us.

February 28 - Lots of new shots on the old photos page, and with many thanks to Eric Schultz, there's now a 1970 Everett Echoes (note the sly marijuana references in the various lists) on the download page. We're still missing a bunch of Echoes. If you have one or two, drop me a line. If you have three or four, drop me two lines. A reunion sheet will soon be on its way via email. Please pass it around to anyone you know, although my guess is that those who never attended Everett are not likely to be interested in attending. We hope you will be though.

February 22 - Well, it turns out that I shouldn't have been kidding about that ditch. Heading back home up the New Jersey Turnpike with Bruce blasting on the Ipod I found myself being pulled over by the state pork who approached my side door in a crouch. After I rolled down my window, I explained to him that I would have to reach into my backpack for my wallet, and at that he went for his holster. "Do you know what it means when you are pulled over by a state trooper and you reach into your bag?" he demanded to know, screaming at the top of his lungs. "Yeah, it means if I was black, I'd be dead now." Clearly, this was a semi-hysteric, Napoleonic fascist moron, in other words an ideal state trooper. I'm sure he graduated first in his class. Anyway, I'm here. I survived another day to post a 1957 Everett Echoes on the download page.

I'm glad to see so many volunteers for our reunion. We will need more.

February 18 - I'm off to Washington for a few days to see a KGB General who says he knows the secret of the Alger Hiss case. This could be one of those Karen Silkwood deals where I end up turned over in a ditch alongside I95. If so, it's been fun. To all those I was mean to, let me just say now that I meant every word. I leave you all with a few more entrees on the photos then page. Sue knows where the cans of film are in my office, and there are plenty of pictures left, so the site will continue, although the captions will be written by a six-year-old, (who you may have thought was doing them already).

We've also gotten a few volunteers to help out with the reunion. Many thanks to those who have offered. You will be hearing from us. But we need more, mostly to pull those who have yet to show up on the site out of the wood work. We know they're out there, but we need you to help find them.

The film, by the way, is proving to be enormously popular, if my page stats are correct. If they are not correct, the film is not proving to be enormously popular. If your folks took movies on visiting day, I've got a veritable conversion studion set up in my office, so send it in. I'll even put it on a DVD for you. How's that for a deal? That's, of course, if I don't end up in a ditch along I95.

February 16 - New Paltz, New York is rapidly being turned into the East Coast Hollywood, what with the next film rolling off the projector and onto your screen. This, the third in the series is from 1970. It opens with several exciting tugs of war, with lots of shots (or maybe its another film) of Henry Levine in various stages of frothing-at-the-mouth hysteria. Until I saw the film, I'd forgotten that Henry was a screamer. Ironically, he's now a gastronenterologist, so after years of causing stomach aches now he cures them. Who knew that all that screaming was just his way of drumming up business? The film also shows the visit to the camp by the NBA's Tom and Dick Van Arsdale. That was truly a memorable day at camp. Playing ball with them was one of the highlights of my youth, well, that and some heavy breathing on a raid during my last night at camp in 1971. What with salaries the way they are today, the days of NBA stars making a tour of summer camps to pick up a few bucks are long gone. We were lucky to attend camp at a time when athletes were still treated like serfs. Look carefully at the film to see pick out some faces. This film has been streamed, so it should download instantly. I've also redone the previous film, so that should be an instant view as well. There are four more movies to go (unless someone wants to send me more), and I should be able to get them up as soon as I fix the projector. Click here to go to the download page to see the film.

We've gotten a couple of responses so far for volunteers to help make calls for the reunion. We need more. Many more.

February 14 - It may seem like all has quiet on the Everettland Web site, but behind the scenes our staff has been working hard on your behalf. And today, as a Valentine to all our wonderful fans, we offer these two special gifts. First, if you go to the download page and scroll toward the bottom, you will see a link to our second film. This one hails from 1969, the year of Woodstock, Neil Armstrong and the Miracle Mets. There's no question that the intense energy of that year is reflected in the celluloid tidbits recorded by Norm Gurian's 8mm camera, as hailed by film critics everywhere. The critical praise was typified by Rex Reed who said, "The vicissitudes of athletic camp competition are illuminated brilliantly in this startling drama of Red vs. Blue." (and who could overlook the brilliant foresight of cutting-edge Everett costumers who employed color to prophesize contemporary political divisions in the US). A note on the film: this is a Quicktime conversion, so you will have to install that on your machine. It's free and if you don't have Quicktime already, simply go to the Apple site for it. There is a link to Quicktime on our download page just before the link to this amazing little drama, which if it had been submitted, would no doubt have been an Academy Award contender. Our staff had a choice of reproducing the film either fuzzy and large or sharp and small. After considerable debate and not a few fisticuffs, the latter option was chosen, which means you may need to watch the film with your nose about an inch from the screen. On the other hand, this way you will actually be able to recognize a few faces, including, possibly, your own. Please let me know via email if you can't download the film.

The second gift is a true Valentine's Day announcement — a reunion site and date has been chosen. It will be at the Doral Arrowood in Rye Brook, NY (a half hour or so from NYC) on September 10. An email announcement will be sent out. The announcement will have all the details as to costs, exact time and propering offerings to be made to the Web master. The date and time was chosen like the film quality after much debate and not a few fisticuffs by a staff of volunteers who tabulated the polls and promptly ignored them. Actually, the numbers were split between having the reunion in the Berkshires and closer to NYC. A lovely place in the Berkshires called The Seven Stones was the first choice, but prices, minimum stay requirements and other issues forced us to look elsewhere. Terri Rossman first proposed the Arrowood, which is also convenient to James Jond's house (he has invited everyone to camp out in his living room), and it turned out to be the perfect place for our reunion. For those who were hoping to see the camp again, I'll be glad to organize a caravan. Let's storm the gates and reclaim the plaques! Power to the Ex-campers!

An official reunion item is about to be started in the forum. But! We need a team of volunteers to act as group leaders to sign up people for the reunion. This won't involve a lot of time, but it will involve some. Each squad leader will be assigned the folks of his or her generation. Use the Echoes that we've posted or check your memory. Create lists of names, and then start locating the folks on your list (I have access to a number of commercial search sites and will help locate those who have yet to sign on to the site, but I will need names from the leaders). Once they are found, we hope the leaders will use any means necessary — including threats to personal safety — to get former campers to come to the reunion so we can make fun of them again. If we don't get enough commitments (and these need to be backed up with checks) early enough we will lose the space. If you want to volunteer your time as a group leader (and believe me it's great fun contacting old prom dates and bunk mates), send email to Terri.

And as always, this is your reunion. It isn't going to happen if you don't get involved. That means you, and you and you and you and you and you and you and you too, all of you. So volunteer to help out. We need you. Your camp needs you. Your country needs you.

February 7- Another apology for the delay between updates. There's just been too much work and too little sleep. Fortunately, it's good work, so I'm not complaining, but the site suffers, and again many apologies from your humble servant. I have been doing a little off site work for our cause. I've been working on digitizing the film I have. It's going to be a little while longer before I get the hang of it, but I'm sure you will see how worthwhile the effort will be. I still get chills every time I see it — although maybe not from watching what seems like an hour and a half of Heidi Gurian playing newcomb. That's doesn't mean it's not a match that puts yesterday's Super Bowl to shame, it's just that it could use a little editing. I did put up a few new Echoes on the downloads page. The news issues are a three-pager from the early 60s. Perhaps someone can fill me in on the exact year, and three wintertime Echoes from the mid-60s. I'll try to get some photos up in the next few days.

February 1 - Bet you didn't think I'd be back so soon. I couldn't stay away. Anyway, two, four, six, eight, who do we appreciate, Ann Halperin Risch, Ann Halperin Risch. Yeah, Ann Halperin Risch. One, three, five, nine, who do we think is mighty fine, Ann Halperin Risch, Ann Halperin Risch. Yea, Ann Halperin Risch. One, two, three, four, we don't want your fucking war. Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today? Sorry, I got carried away with the latter two. Feel free to fill in your own contemporary reference. Anyway, to get back to matters at hand, Louis the dog

and I took our regular jaunt to the mailbox yesterday. When we got there, we found a large, overstuffed envelope crammed into the box from the aforecredited Ms. Risch. To our great delight, inside the envelope was a treasure trove of Everett documents. There were a bunch of Echoes, Olympic programs, winter updates, offshore bank account books, WMD plans (who would have guessed that Robert Carter Stein designed an atomic weapon in arts and crafts from lanyards, clay and leftover desserts) and more. I've posted four new items tonight. You can download them from the download page. There's also an item to discuss some of the great stuff you've read in the forum. See you there.

January 31 - Sorry, it's been a while since the last update. The workload is heavy these days, and it leaves very little time for pleasure. I'm hoping it will lighten up sometime around Spring, 2007. I have been spending some time preparing the film for uploading. I've also recently located a 16mm projector, so if anyone from the '50s has some film of that size and wants to see it online, I can now copy film and return it. That reminds of me a story though. It's a cautionary tale about properly labeling film. Sometime in the late 1960s, my mother was given a box of 16mm reels that she said were home movies taken by her father when she was a little girl. We got all excited at the prospect of seeing them, but it took a while before we could locate a 16mm projector. Finally, one was rented from the library, and the big night came. We sat eagerly in our den as my father threaded the camera, and when he turned off the lights we could hardly wait to see what would appear on the screen. Well, as the film came into focus, it was apparent after a few seconds that instead of a home movie of my mother, what we were seeing was some of the foulest porn that anyone had ever taken in the 1930s. My brother and I still laugh at the memory of my father snapping off the camera and telling us "Get upstairs, now." We protested but to no avail. I do remember hearing the camera running as my parents were probably trying to make sure that it wasn't my grandmother performing for the camera. A few years later, my brother and I did get to see the films. One depicted "The Virgin and the Salesman," at least that's what it said on the sign board at the start of the movie. It was a remarkable film, consisting of a couple screwing in the missionary position with all their clothes off except their shoes. When they were done, the woman sat on the bed and smoked a cigarette, and, after nodding to the cameraman put the cigarette in a location where she would have had difficulty inhaling. That was it. I think I asked my grandfather about it, but he denied knowing anything. On the other hand, he owned a home electronics store in the 1930s and 1940s, and I had a feeling we had stumbled on his unique sales pitch that was no doubt conducted in the back room of the shop.

Anyway, if you do send me a camp movie, take a look at a few frames in the light to make sure that's what it is. You never know.

There are a few new old pictures and a couple of bunk shots. I'll be in the chat room Wednesday night at ten to talk reunion. We hope to make a where and when decision then.

January 25 - While Robert Redford and the his independent film exec cohorts meet in Park City for their Sundance Film Festival, across the country, two people and a bored dog gathered last night for the first Camp Everett film festival. I had intended to update the site with some great photos and my sparkling wit last n ight, but thanks to the arrival of the UPS truck carrying an 8mm projector courtesy of Ebay, I was finally able to preview the movies so generously donated to the site by Heidi Gurian. Of course, all it took was half a reel to understand why. Fully three quarters of the footage is devoted to the first daughter. There she is tossing a ball. There she is waiting on line. There she is yelling at a teammate in a hotly contested newcomb match. You'd think her parents owned the damned place.

Occasionally, we did get some footage of other campers, and lot of it is truly wonderful: a long sequence from a carnival day in 1968, where you can watch Faye Brenner in a shower cap getting dunked by gleeful campers; Ira Beckoff delivering some kind of monologue (these are silent films) while dressed in a clown outfit. Closeups of Beth Fishman, Mindy Golub, Frank Bass, Joel Pitagorsky, Fern Malamud, Meryl Novor and many more. There is also square dance night, and an embarassing skit featuring a bunch of campers pretending to be Chinese, which if put on the Net will no doubt have the Asian Defense League up in arms. A lot of the film, which covered the years 1968-1973, was shot during Olympic competition. There was Nadia Comeneci earning her perfect 10s. Oops, I'm confusing my Olympics. There was Lynn Zager running down the basketball court for a layup (and surprisingly not stopping halfway down the court to light up a joint); Eric Schultz opening an Apache relay by unmaking and making a bed -- with hospital corners! There is Jeff Kisseloff missing the garbage can toss not once, but twice; Randi Roth excelling in dodge ball; Ernie Schultz swaying to his own interior muse at first base; Alan Kisseloff running back a touchdown; Henry Levine screaming at anybody within screaming distance; Eliot Hecht doing the high jump, an impeccably dressed Robert Carter Stein participating in a softball throw; Cindy Heller scratching a mosquito bite; Karen Scheiner in the broad jump; Larry Isreal, Jayne Kolber and Lisa Kronenberg on the mound, Joan Resnick on first, Sally Meyers at the plate, Connie Resnick playing defense; Billy Lerner, Sharon Gallub, Joan Zwiefach, in fact all the Zweifachs, Ellen Glasser grabbing a rebound; Ira Lippel snatching a touchdown out of the hands of Eliot Gurian, who is also featured in a rough and tumble basketball game as well as some post-Woodstock era mud sliding. The latter was fascinating, because by virture of its inclusion meant that mud sliding (which landed a group of us docked when we inaugurated the activity a week after the first Woodstock festival in 1969) had become some kind of officially sanctioned activity. I found this somewhat depressing. As the 1973 makes it crystal clear when Al Hecht and Pete Berland have long hair, and Pete is dressed in Robert Plant's striped pants, the 60s were over. Enough of that: there's great swimming action, girls and boys basketball, and even footage of the Van Arsdale twins of NBA fame putting on a clinic. I was astounded to see them repeatedly bounce the ball into the basket from below and spin the ball in such a way that it flew from the backboard right into their hands. Then I realized the film was running backwards.

It just gets better. There's a rumble with Berkshire Hills, x-rated footage from the linen shack and explicit photos of food that was actually prepared and served by the kitchen staff. Oh, the horror. So what's gonna be with this footage? Give me a couple of weeks, and I should have it posted on the download page. In the meantime, I'll post the schedule and ticket prices for the upcoming shows.

There are a couple of new shots posted in bunks and old photos. I'll be in the chatroom Wednesday at ten to discuss the poll results with anyone who cares to know.

Oh, I've noticed I haven't posted any new notes about anyone for a while. Isn't anyone doing anything interesting? Today, I got up. I showered and brushed my teeth. I walked Elizabeth to the bus. I had my bagel and coffee. I read and scanned FBI files. I did some research. I ate oatmeal. I took Louis for a walk. I brought in some firewood. I shot up some heroin. I worked some more. I made dinner. I worked. I watched Scrubs, and now here I am. I can't believe I'm the only one who leads such an exciting and fascinating life. We need to hear about yours!

January 20 - The polls continue to arrive but at a slower pace. If they truly are an indicator of interest, our summer reunion will be held in a McDonald's at 37th and Tenth. Those polls truly are our best way of gauging what you want, so please send them in as soon as possible, or don't, and see if I care. Nyah, nyah, nyah. We did get a good laugh at this comment by Pete Leepson at the bottom of his ballot: "We owe a lot to Jeff Kisselof for the Camp Everett Website. However the Bush Administration is investigating to see whether there is a connection between the Website and Alger Hiss. There is also a question whether Mr. Kisseloff did a DH in his pants while reading contemporary Norwegian literature. We should consider having the reunion in Bagdhad where we could have a scavenger hunt looking for weapons of mass destruction."

Again, send in your ballots. I did have a colonoscopy recently. If you think the pictures of my knee were nasty, let me warn you I'm not above posting a few glimpses of the interior of my posterior. In the meantime, there are some new old shots and a couple of bunk shots.

January 19 - Some 20 polls have been returned as of this writing. It's a good return for the first day, but we need more. Please send them back. The easiest way to do it is to click here. Fill out the form and click submit. Once another couple of dozen are returned, we'll begin tabulating the results. Barring a challenge from Ohio, Price Waterhouse says we should have a good sense of where we stand by the end of the week. Some of the comments have been helpful and fascinating. But let me say quickly in response that no, Alger Hiss was not guilty, the DH is not good for baseball and this site will not fit in the place where someone kindly suggested I put it.

I have posted a passel (word of the day toilet paper makes a great chanukah present) of new old photographs. I have heard from a few people that that page is starting to take a long time to load. Please let me know if you are having trouble with it and I'll crack down on my team of crack designers on crack to make sure they come up with a crackerjack of a new page.

January 18 - Sorry for the lack of updates. It's not for lack of interest, but I'm trying to finish up a book (writing one not reading one), and until I do, which should be another two or three weeks, the updates will occur every two or three days. The other problem is I tend to squat in the chat room while working just in case anyone comes by for a visit. Lately, the the late night chats have been so much fun that I've gotten little work done.

The big change here, as you can already see is that I've reveresed the order of my little blog, so that you no longer have to scroll to the bottom to see the latest news. It's all right there on top. That's just one more way that we here at campeverett.com hope to serve you better. The other major news is that in about five minutes I'm going to be sending out a poll via email. The same poll can also be found here for those who did not receive the email. Simply make your choices and click submit. Having it in two places will give those who wish to stuff the ballot box (and we'll know who you are) a chance to do so. Whether you fill it out by email or online, please send the poll back as soon as you can, so we can begin to get an idea of what most people want and also so that we can ignore all your wishes and do whatever the hell our elite clique feels like doing.

January 12 - Great progress was made last night toward finalizing a reunion site. We will be sending out a questionnaire to get your opinion as to where, when, how, why and what for sometime in the next few days. We are hoping for a better response than we got with my Twenty Questions, so this one will only have five questions. Once the talent portion of our evening is over, and our judges tabulate your a