performance by Ron Coden and Josh White.
Throughout those many years are countless stories
of bashert.
If the Detroit Jewish community is a living body,
then Tamarack Camps surely is part of its central ner-
vous system, or even its heart.
Tens of thousands of boys and girls have grown up
Jewishly at Camp Tamarack. Ask a community mem-
ber anywhere about his summer, and chances are great
he has been touched by a Tamarack experience. It's a
campfire under a starry night; a friendship with a
camper or a counselor; it's a scary "Joe Krepsie" story
or an individual achievement never thought possible.
It's getting homesick and then crying on the last day
of camp.
It's that empty feeling that counselor Jill Bruss, 21,
gets when the August night brings with it a slight dif-
ference, a chill. It's a signal that another summer is
close to ending.
That chill was in the room when the Zaks and Barg
families met last month at the camp. They came to-
gether in a dank, empty auditorium. A couple of
maintenance workers came through, wearing a look
of "you're too soon, camp is few more weeks away."
The families spoke mostly of Michael, but syn-
onymously about their love of this camp.
"He reinfused Jewish content into the camp," said
Michael's brother, Jeffrey. "He made it kosher again.
He put Jewish programming back to life in the camp.
He started the family camp."
Michael, by the way, sent Jeffrey to Mio, Mich., to
stay in a rusted, old trailer while leading the out-
doors camp there.
Michael's sister, Elaine, fresh out of grad school in
New York and needing a job, started working for her
brother at Brighton. She had to put together a rainy-
day initiatives program with a guy named David
Barg. They met in the summer of 1979.
David and Elaine's son, Michael, named for his un-
cle, summed it all up: "I love the adventures you go
on here," the Eton student said. "Nobody forces you
to do what you can't. Instead, you are encouraged to
blend in with things."
Five years ago, Harvey Finkelberg took over as di-
rector of Tamarack. Fresh Air Society didn't want its
camp to "blend in" with the national trend of under-
enrollment and lost interests.
Tamarack was named after the Tamarack Hills
Farm, which occupied part of the site. That origi-
nal 600 acres of campsite are now 1,250 acres.
Ask him, "What is it about this camp?" Almost an
hour later, he's finishing his answer.
"It's our mission here to take children and give
them an informal Jewish education through camp-
ing programs. Camping is part of the Jewish culture.
And per capita, more Jewish kids are going to camp
than any other religious group."
Keeping them coming to Tamarack is the chal-
The outfits have changed for both boys and girls
over the years, but the experiences have
remained as fun and important as ever. Above:
Counselor Jill Bruss, 21, has been with the camp
since third grade. She shares a moment with
camper Marla Jablonski, 13, who is entering her
eighth summer at Tamarack.
Above: Allan Barg of Oak
Park, son David and
grandson Michael all have
experienced Tamarack
Camps.
Photos by Glenn Triest.
Camp photos courtesy of
Tamarack Camp.