16 | DECEMBER 3 • 2020 

S

ummer camp can be 
a lifeline for families. 
Children blossom in a 
child-centered environment 
that isn’t school, and parents 
relish the respite from every-
day childcare responsibilities.
So, in the summer of 2020, 
the closing of most camps 
due to the COVID-19 pan-
demic was devastating on 
many levels. Many of those 
described their decision to 
close as “heartbreaking.”
At least two camps serving 
the Detroit-area Jewish com-
munity did open last sum-
mer: Willoway Day Camp, 
a private camp in Milford, 
and Camp Gan Israel, an 
overnight camp in Kalkaska 
affiliated with the Chabad 
movement.
Others, forced to close last 
summer, are cautiously opti-
mistic that they will be able to 
operate at least a scaled-down 
program next summer.
Lorraine Fisher, who, with 
her husband, Arnie, has oper-
ated Willoway Day Camp 
since 1969, spoke for most of 
her colleagues when she said, 
“Kids need camp.”
Willoway’s assistant direc-
tor, Jonathon Koenigsberg, 
served on a committee 
appointed by Gov. Gretchen 
Whitmer to establish guide-
lines for opening camps, so 
he knew earlier than most 
what needed to be done.
Willoway cut back from its 
normal enrollment of more 
than 250 children to about 
150 per session. Pods of 10 
campers, aged 5-14, and two 
counselors did most of their 
activities together. For larger 
gatherings, everyone masked 
up and stayed socially dis-
tanced.
Every morning, parents 
completed a detailed health 

form, including the child’s 
temperature, and kept the 
child home if there was any 
hint of illness. When camp 
buses made pickups in syn-
agogue and shopping center 
parking lots, parents stayed in 
their cars. Siblings were the 
only ones allowed to share 
seats on the bus.
Sleepovers, previously a 
camp highlight, were can-
celed.
“We had to buy lots of 
equipment for sanitizing,” 
Fisher said. “Buses were san-
itized every day. Whenever 
we used a piece of equipment 
we sanitized it.” Children fre-
quently washed their hands, 
singing the camp song as 
they did to make sure they 
scrubbed long enough.
The children’s experience 
made the effort worthwhile. 
“If you could have seen 
those kids in the first week,” 
said Fisher. “[When schools 
closed] they had been home 
for three months. They 
learned to play again.”
Bentzion Shemtov and his 
wife, Simi, onsite directors 

of Camp Gan Israel, worked 
closely with state licensing 
officials and the Kalkaska 
County health department.
The camp serves more than 
500 campers, ages 7-13, in 
two sessions, one for boys 
and one for girls.
All were required to have 
a COVID test a week before 
camp and then to isolate at 
home until camp started. On 
the way to camp, all campers 
and staff were tested at a site 
set up by William Beaumont 
Hospital Troy, which prom-
ised fast results; no one tested 
positive.
Once they got to camp, the 
campers and staff operated as 
a “bubble,” with no one from 
the outside coming or going. 
Popular out-of-camp trips, to 
Michigan nature spots, water 
parks, Cedar Point and more, 
were canceled.
Anyone who had a fever or 
sniffles — inevitable in any 
community of hundreds of 
children — was tested imme-
diately, and no one tested 
positive, Shemtov said.
Camp Tanuga, also in 

Kalkaska, tried hard to open 
last summer but wasn’t able 
to pull it off. 
As late as the beginning of 
June, the managers still hoped 
to run a single five-week 
session starting in mid-July. 
They were waiting for writ-
ten guidelines from state and 
local health officials to nail 
down the details. Eventually 
time ran out.
“It takes us about 30 days 
to get up and running. That’s 
without COVID precautions,” 
said Mark Coden. He and his 
co-director, Sid Friedman, 
waited until the afternoon of 
June 11, about 36 hours past 
their deadline, before finally 
deciding to cancel the season. 
They are hoping to avoid a 
repeat next summer.
“We feel it’s more import-
ant than ever that parents 
find a safe program to send 
their children to,” Coden said. 
“Kids need a place to go to 
regain their childhood. Get 
them outdoors and screen-
free!”
He urged families to reg-

CAMP GUIDE

Camps “cautiously optimistic” 
about the summer of 2021.

BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

‘Kids Need 
Camp’

Camps “cautiously optimistic” 
Camps “cautiously optimistic” 

‘Kids Need 
‘Kids Need 
Camp
Camp’
‘Kids Need 
Camp’

continued on page 18

COURTESY OF CAMP WILLOWAY

COURTESY OF CAMP WILLOWAY

Jack Singer of 

Birmingham at 

Camp Willoway

Benji Schostak of 

West Bloomfield has 

fun in the pool at 

Camp Willoway.

