Fond Memories of Camp Coleman

What I love about summer, is that summer is camping season. I have so many beautiful memories of the joy I would see in the eyes of my children and the synagogue children as they prepared to go away to camp and a summer without parents, a summer of self-discovery, new independence, and a way to connect with Judaism in the backdrop of nature.

Sixty years ago this summer, I was given the best summer job I could ever have wished to have. I became the first program director of Camp Coleman, the URJ camp at Cleveland, Georgia that so many thousands of campers have experienced and loved over these many years. In 1964, it was a new camp with much to discover with 35 eager campers under our guidance.

I returned as program director in 1965, and this time I had movie camera tucked into my duffel bag. It was a wonderfully exciting time in my life. Myra and I were engaged to be married, and I was looking forward to finishing my studies and to be ordained as a rabbi. Myra drove by herself all the way from Cincinnati, Ohio to rural Appalachia to visit with me at camp.

As a special treat for my family, some years ago, I dug up the old family films and made this movie about our times at Camp Coleman in the summer of 1965. I hope you enjoy it and the two other films you will find in this post that were related to reunion events at Camp Coleman. Maybe, you will even see yourself in one of the videos.

For a child to experience, overnight camp is a gift that shapes lives. I think of the wonder parents have in noticing all of the ways their children have “changed” or grown through the opportunity to make new friends, experience the smell and feel of being in the woods and encountering wildlife, and pushing themselves to excel in water sports and hiking and then there is all of the silly stuff that is just plain fun, like singing at the top of their lungs, for no other reason that it feels right to do that in the great open spaces.

Camping has always been a greatly loved part of my life. As a young child, I was a Boy Scout, and went to Camp Laurie, in Pine Forest, Minnesota. It was here that I was able to set aside my frustrations with school and my troubles with the yet to be named problem I had with learning. That problem was later diagnosed as Dyslexia. But in those halcyon days of summer. I could sing with the best of them, tie all of the knots, set up a campfire and find my way through the woods with confidence and a sense of belonging. Being in the woods and in the water and meeting the challenges of being in nature filled me with happiness.

Early on, I set my goal to earn my way to being designated an Eagle Scout like my older brother, Harold. That honor was bestowed on me in July of 1954. I can still remember that moment as clear as day. And it was quite exciting to get a letter of congratulations from our Minnesota Senator, Hubert H. Humphrey.

photo by Sandi Altner

The skills I learned in scouting have served me through my entire life. Camping in the wilderness with limited resources taught me perseverance and determination, which helped me in academics and in my future to become a husband, father, and rabbi. 

Camping reminded me that I was stronger than any struggle I faced. As a camper who later became a rabbi, this is the very message I continue to teach and share: 

Challenges do not define you, but how you grow and prosper in conquering challenges will show you who you are, and what you are made of.

 photo by Merle E. Singer

Camp helped me grow. In scouting we put markers on our life to make sure we don’t lose our way. Nature teaches us the natural order of things and it teaches us how to look to see the smallest miracles in nature and to look inside, to see the miracles inside us. How we think, how we care, and how we lead others to keep them safe and secure. These are all things we learn when we challenge ourselves in the great outdoors. We also learn to overcome homesickness and to handle fear. For anyone who has had the experience of losing your way in the woods, you will understand the steadying feeling of trusting your instruments. 

Most importantly, we learn to be in the present. Camp helped me foster a new relationship with myself while maturing into a leader and teacher. As I reached my young adult years, I became a counselor at North Star Camp in Wisconsin, where I led services and nature hikes, later leading me to my work at Camp Coleman.

As our children grew, Myra and I were thrilled to have all four of our sons have their lives influenced by what they learned when they were Coleman Campers.

Photo by Merle E. Singer

In the lush mountains of Cleveland, Georgia, the landscape of Camp Colman connected with my soul. Mother nature is the sound of the buzzing insects, the smell of underbrush in the forest, and the sight of sunlight being filtered through the trees to dapple the forest floor.

This is the place to put down your cell phone, close your computer, and open your eyes and your heart. Treasure every moment in listening to the stories your children have to tell when they get home from camp. 

And maybe, plan a trip of your own into the woods to see what you might find there and what you might see in yourself when you do.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Merle E. Singer