January 27, 2012

Tribute to WBT Camps Appears in Jewish Journal

Read Camp alumnus Gerald Freisleben's moving account of his experiences at Wilshire Boulevard Temple Camps.

"In the classic male-bonding film 'Stand By Me,' based on a Stephen King novella, there is a line of dialogue at the end that I have never forgotten: 'I never had friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12 … does anyone?'

In my case, however, five of the friendships that remain mainstays in my life and that I continue to cherish 'later on' are precisely the ones I had nearly 40 years ago, going back to the time when I was 12.

My relationships with these fellows — along with many of the values that define our respective Jewish identities — were forged during idyllic summers spent as campers, and later counselors, at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple Camps in Malibu — Hess Kramer and Hilltop. The camps turn 60 this year and, over that time 45,000 others have enjoyed the same experiences as my friends and I, including most of our group’s own children, who have followed us, l’dor v’dor (from generation to generation), as campers and counselors. I am not so naïve as to think that mine is the only nucleus of life-long friendship to emanate from Hess Kramer and Hilltop. I am personally aware of countless others from our camps, in addition to extended webs of connections and acquaintances, which continue to endure."

Continue reading "summers spent in paradise."