The Stage is Set
World War II was over. Millions of Americans put their hopes and energy into building lives of promise and opportunity throughout the United States. In the Middles East, Britain was responsible for the Palestinian Mandate. In Palestine, Zion was being rebuilt, but the state of Israel was still a dream.
In the United States, Jewish education and summer camps followed traditional forms, offering study and education, mainly in the form of day camps for city youth. In the Poconos Mountains of eastern Pennsylvania in the summer of 1945, the American Zionist Youth Commission sponsored Brandeis Camp, featuring a new approach to education.
That summer, a couple from St. Paul sent their daughter to Brandeis Camp. While they didn’t know it at the time, the experience, the approach and the opportunity suggested at Brandeis Camp germinated over the following winter.
Those parents, Harry and Rose Rosenthal, began to think about whether such an adventure with its Zionist philosophy could be organized in the Midwest. The Rosenthals became enthused by the idea and contacted lay community leaders and Rabbis from St. Paul and Minneapolis concerning their idea.
Attacking the goal of establishing a Zionist camp, the Rosenthals adopted the same can-do attitude that has characterized Herzl Camp for 50 years. They gathered a brave and visionary group to work to open a camp in the summer of 1946.
A New Regional Camp is Born
Herzl Camp’s first site was a camp site previously operated by the National Council of Jewish Women in White Bear Lake, outside St. Paul, Minnesota. From the very first summer, the intention was to make Herzl available to all Jewish youth wherever they lived and whatever their financial means, but especially from the Midwest.
In its first summer, Herzl welcomed 60 campers from Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin. Campers were selected on the basis of merit, personality , Jewish background, possibilities for leadership and general interests. For the camp to be successful, a strong leader was needed. Rabbi Walter Plaut and his wife Hadassah were chosen as Herzl’s first directors, coming to camp with backgrounds in camping and youth work.
The Herzl Camp we think about today bears a strong and singular relationship to the Herzl Camp molded by the Plauts. Our concepts of ruach, involvement, acceptance and learning about ourselves, Israel and Judaism in a fun environment are traditions introduced to Herzl by the Plauts.
In its first brochure, Herzl Camp’s aim was to bring a child closer to Jewish life and the Jewish people… to prepare the child to absorb the content and values of modern Palestine… to enlist the child’s interest and help in building of the Jewish national homeland. In its first year, camp sessions were offered for children ages 12 and above. From the beginning, athletics, waterfront activities, recreation, music, dancing, cultural and creative events were all components of the Herzl experience.
In the first summer, the vision of the founders was no longer a dream. The objectives of the original board had been met. Campers had a good time; they wanted to return to camp.
Going to Webster
Even though Herzl Camp’s first summer was successful programmatically and enjoyed full attendance at the White Bear Lake site, the board of directors had its hands full making sure camp would continue. The White Bear Lake campsite had been sold to developers and a new site had to be found. Harry and Rose Rosenthal and Irv and Celia Waldman spent winter weekends searching for another campsite.
Eventually, they found the site on Devil’s Lake in Webster, Wisconsin. The Log Cabin Inn, ironically a place that courted “gentiles only,” became the home of Herzl Camp. The farmhouse was converted into a dinning hall and kitchen. One of the larger fishing cabins became an activities building and a minimum of additional plumbing was added to make the site accessible to campers.
As the camp built its reputation, its regional character continued to grow. Children came to Herzl Camp from dozens of small communities where Jewish children had few role models and no readily available cultural institutions. At Herzl Camp, they learned what it meant to be Jewish, to practice cultural and religious traditions, to live a Jewish life with others of the same faith.
The Fifties: the Ulam Arrives
Camp continued to grow; 60 campers in 1946 was followed by 159 campers the next year. They came from 10 states and 40 cities. They included children from China and Yugoslavia, as well as Holocaust survivors. Herzl Camp was a success from almost its first minute. Local Twin Cities community members saw to it that there were adequate funds to modify the existing facility so that campers far and wide could attend.
In 1949, Mr. And Mrs. George Kaplan donated a new recreation building – the Ulam. The Kaplans also chaired a building campaign raising enough money to build three new cabins and purchase a walk-in freezer and cooler. The Camp’s archives record the fact that before the end of the 1940s, Herzl Camp was attracting campers from “coast to coast.” Herzl Camp was ready to enter the 1950s.
Except for some time off to go to Israel, Rabbi and Mrs. Plaut remained directors of the camp through 1953. That fantastic ruach seeped into Herzl campers. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, most staff, after just a few years, were being recruited from those who had been campers, for they had caught the magic and wanted to participate in passing it on.
In 1954, a new director was recruited. Rabbi Zvi Dershowitz and his wife Tovah came to Herzl Camp from Congregation Beth Shalom in Kansas City. Herzl Camp changed and still remained the same while he served as director.
Attendance, some 250 to 300 campers during Rabbi Dershowitz’s first summer as director, more than doubled by the time he spent his last summer at Herzl in 1961.
The physical camp site grew as well. In 1956, the board purchased an additional 60 acres immediately north of the existing camp facility. With this land came additional cabins, a staff residence house and double the available lakefront property.
The ever aggressive and caring board built a new dining hall in 1956, the tenth year and eleventh summer of Herzl camping.
Besides hosting and training young leaders on its own, Herzl Camp was the site of the young Judea training seminar during many of these years. It also hosted the Midwest Regional of United Synagogue Youth leadership training during many of these summers. By the mid 1950s, more than half of the staff were former Herzl campers.
Camper activities broadened as well. There were boat trips and camping trips, as well as a fantastic kibbutz building adventure, where campers would be awakened in the middle of the night to do the work that was done in Palestine to establish Jewish communities as quickly as possible. Campers would arrive at a site, some by truck, some on foot, some by boat, and would make campsites, cooking sites, resting accommodations, all in a spirit of cooperation, singing the songs of Israel.
Boat trips traveled far and wide in the Webster area. The Yellow River somehow managed to flow immediately to the south of camp, to the west of camp, and even a bit north of camp.
Bigger and Better; Modern, too… the First Ozrim
Keeping up with the time, Herzl Camp even had a cadre of trucks and two-way radios. Those charged with getting the campers to and from boat trips heard Zvi say with great authority many times, “16W3425 unit one to unit two, come in please.” Somewhere in Burnett County, the response would come back “16W3425 unit two to unit one, go ahead.”
The 1950s saw a camp doubled in size, doubled in population, modernized with radio gear, and far flung boat trips. Thanks to the generosity of a long time board member and philanthropist, 40 acres of land two miles south and west of Webster was donated to camp. Known as Klugman’s Forty, this became an off-site camping destination for overnights.
Besides going “high tech,” the board and Zvi had the vision to take the commitment to training leaders one step further.
In the mid 1950s the Ozer Program began, designed to specially train junior counselors in leadership and camp counseling skills. They would gain an understanding of Herzl Camp’s mission and return to the camp the following year as effective counselors. The dividend was that they returned to their home communities as leaders. Ozrim came from Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri and the Dakotas. The first group of Ozrim lived up to the promise the program intended.
The Sixties: New Directions… Expanding Programs
As the 1960s brought sweeping change to our nation and our world, Herzl Camp saw changes too. Singing in the chadar and friends remained. As new songs were learned, the old remained popular – those that motivated our people to build the State of Israel.
Rabbi Zvi Dershowitz was still at the helm when Herzl Camp entered the 1960s. In 1960 longtime caretaker Albert Kaatz and his workers built the Mercaz, adding a spiritual dimension, as it faced east and became the site for creative and inspirational daily and Shabbat services. But while1961 was Zvi’s last summer as director, it began the tenure of a charismatic and creative graduate student as program director. The program director, Moshe Dworkin, broadened Herzl Camp’s perspective as well. Taking over as director, Moshe recruited many friends and colleagues from Detroit and the East Coast to work at camp. The camp supported the Ivriah program introduced by the board in 1960 and designed to provide campers an intensive Hebrew speaking program. During the years Dworkin served as director, the Ivriah program grew and thrived.
This was a time of experimentation in society at large and at Herzl Camp. With the introduction of the Bogrim program, youth a year older than Ozrim took on tasks for modest pay. They served as assistant specialists and general helpers; maintenance and kitchen help. The belief was that if the State of Israel was a Jewish state for Jewish people where Jews performed all of the tasks required to run the country, the Herzl Camp would follow suit, employing Jewish people to fill all of the jobs needed to make the camp function.
After Moshe Dworkin’s tenure as director, Rabbi Ben Marcus became director. He was followed by Rabbi Sam Mendelowitz.
Then, in the summer of 1967, before camp even began, the Six Day War flared like a match in the Middle East, and just as quickly it was over. A new group of songs and a new attitude about Israel’s strength and spirit spread all the way to Webster, Wisconsin.
Herzl was fortunate to see the return of Rabbi Bill Horn, serving as director n the late 1960s. Bill and his wife Dina had been at Herzl Camp in the mid 1950s and their sunny faces and warm manner contributed greatly to the permanent culture of the camp as a warm, accepting place.
Into the Seventies: A Silver Decade
Herzl Camp was growing. In 1970, the camp boasted 60 modern buildings, 166 wooded acres, a spacious recreation hall, a fully equipped infirmary, a sandy beach, Klugman’s Forty for overnight camping and a modern dining room and kitchen serving Kosher food. Herzl Camp celebrated its silver anniversary under President Harvey Ansel. The camp was out of debt and had more than 700 campers each summer.
In 1970, the camp and the community paid tribute to Rose and Harry Rosenthal with a book titled Love Story. Its dedication reads, “Fame cannot be bought, it can only be earned with love, deeds, devotion, dedication, commitment, blood and sweat and tears.” In this way fame justly belongs to the Rosenthals whose names are synonymous with Herzl Camp.
Harvey Leviton ushered out the 1960s serving as director from 1969 to 1971. As a licensed psychologist, Harvey added a training component for the staff in addition to the already well defined Jewish and Zionist programming.
The contribution of Harvey and Donna Leviton to Herzl Camp did not culminate with Harvey’s service as director. Both of the Levitons remained on the Board of Directors for many years, and Donna served as President of the Board during the second half of the 1980s.
From Horses to Computers: MABA and Bogrim
As had happened before in 1956 and 1967, serious battle erupted in the Arab-Israeli War with the Yom Kippur attack on Israel. The summer of 1972 brought new Israeli songs to camp. Campers mourned the loss of former campers, both Americans who had made Aliyah and one of our Israeli scouts who died during the fighting. As new songs were sung, campers understood all the more why Bashanah Haba’ah was where Americans and Israelis alike placed their home.
In 1972, a Herzl trained camper and counselor decided it was time to try his hand as camp directing for a few years. Bruce Golob became director, leading camp for three years in the 1970s and then returned in the 1980s, staying on into the 1990s and still working behind the scenes today. Not only did the camp take in 700 campers during each summer of Bruce’s service, but long waiting lists began to develop.
After service by Ron Heiligman as director in 1975, Herzl had its first full time director in 1976, employing Josh Arnold. Josh came to Herzl Camp from the East Coast well experienced in Jewish camping. He had a vision for the camp which he forged for the next two years with the help of his wife, Janet.
Programs at camp expanded in the 1970s. An alliance with the Minneapolis Talmud Torah helped create MABA, an intensive experience for campers to experience Hebrew language first hand. Partially staffed by Talmud Torah faculty, MABA produced a camp newspaper and drama productions entirely in Hebrew.
Herzl actually had a horseback riding program in the late 1970s, and a computer session was sponsored. Although the computer camp was forward thinking, it did not last. The horses were fun while they lasted, too. Since the main trust of Herzl was its program, the added costs necessary to responsibly run a horse program made it unfeasible to maintain.
In the late 1970s, tragedy struck the camp. The “Peterson House” (also known as the Bet Am) burned down. Originally the residence of the camp’s property’s original owner, Monroe Peterson, the building had served as guest housing and staff quarters as well as a general meeting site. Fortunately, the Harold and Mickey Smith and Donald and Rhoda Mains families immediately stepped up to the task of rebuilding. Thanks to their generosity, a new infirmary was built on the site.
As the 1970s came to a close, Andy Halper, a young, energetic, infectious, charismatic former camper and staff member became the director. Andy brought energy to Herzl’s core program. Camp featured three aliyot lasting three weeks, a six week Kadimah program, senior citizen campers known as K’shishim, strong Ozer and Boger programs as well as MABA.
Into the Eighties: Growth and Expansion
Herzl thrived in the 1980s, which helped make the decade one of continuing change. The Board, recognizing the age of some of the facilities, launched into a capital improvement campaign. Once again, through the farsighted community people n the Midwest, Herzl began to be rejuvenated physically while the programs flourished.
A new, modern bath and shower house was added. Five new cabins, with space to accommodate campers of the 1980s and 1990s were built. The lakeshore was enhanced with a new boating area and campfire/cookout site. Older buildings were spruced up and the grounds manicured. New tennis courts with proper water drainage were added, as well as a new basketball court.
Bob Wolk served five summers as director, bringing both strong administrative and Judaic skills to Herzl.
One of the camp’s strongest traditions has become the stepping stones of Herzl life. Campers wanting to thrive in the orange atmosphere for longer than three weeks attended Kadimah became so great that during the 1980s it split into Kadimah Aleph and Kadimah Bet to better accommodate all the campers. Both sections had their own directors and staff.
While Kadimah had a song to call their own, in the late 1980s they decided to have their own regalia at camp as well. Borrowing the idea from the Ozrim, their shirts and other regalia became the name tags of the program they were proud to represent.
But what was a die-hard Herzl camper to do after ninth grade? They all knew exactly what they were going to do – become Ozrim. This popular counselor-in-training program became so popular that unfortunately, due to size limitation, a limited number of spots were available.
The selection process became extremely difficult, and potential Ozrim waited with bated breath at their mail boxes in anticipation of their Herzl letter. Unfortunately, not all applicants became Ozrim, but many returned to camp in later years as counselors.
In an attempt to offer more programming for older campers, the Board of Directors introduced the N’divim program in 1988. Intended to offer a deep and experienced camping experience for the summer between Kadimah and becoming staff, tenth graders were given a program of their own.
Many interesting “people” visited camp in the 1980s. King Faruke was often heard wandering through the boys’ cabins in the middle of the night; Forkman flew through the chadar.; Kermit the Frog sang wonderful renditions of Rainbow Connection; and during any Friday afternoon picnic, three chartreuse buzzards wrecked havoc on themselves and anything in their way.
The 1980s were also the decade of the kuntz. Counselors found their bedrooms set on top of the Ulam, the Bet Haks, the chadar and even on floating rafts. Wondering where their campers had gone, counselors found whole cabins switched. And campers were baffled when they thought they were going to be in big trouble and it turned out to be Bikkurim.
The Nineties: Moving Toward 50 years
As noted earlier, Bruce Golob returned to Herzl in the late 1980s and had a hand in guiding the camp into the 1990s. Mary Lou Allen, another former camper and staff member, became director in the early 1990s. During her tenure as director, camp continued to remain fully enrolled. In addition to the traditional program, campers could choose to attend Maba, Kadimah, or N’divim, which became B’yachad in 1995.
Reaching out to both ends of the age spectrum, young campers could experience a Taste of Herzl while senior citizens relieved their youth as Kishishim. Herzl Camp blossomed. Programs conceived by the Board of Directors took on the personality of the staff, yet carried on the hallmarks of the founders.
Feeling pressure to serve the needs of a generation searching for an identity, programs were reshuffled allowing Herzl Camp to grow to serve 750 campers a summer in the early 1990s. When Mary Lou left, Bruce Golob returned to direct camp once again, grooming others to take his place in the years to come. For the 49th and 50th summers in Webster, Debbie Minkin directed camp, continuing a fine tradition. Anna Simon followed Debbie and brought her own skills to a job which was growing too large as the camp continued to expand.
Heading to a New Millennium
In the Fall of 1998, Anna left Herzl and the Board of Directors began a national search for a new director. Sixty-eight candidates were identified and six finalists interviewed. Steve Mintz joined the camp as a full time professional director. His first summer was record breaking in terms of the number of campers and the size of the waiting list. In 1999, under Steve’s guidance, Herzl introduced three new programs, including Teva Trek, a high adventure program conceived two years previously by the Board of Directors. The new programs filled and the camp served more campers than it had ever served previously.
On this significant foundation, the Herzl Camp Board of Directors began its most daunting project yet; the completion of a new Chadar, which “opened for business” in the summer of 2000.
The new Chadar opened the door to so many opportunities for Herzl and the Jewish community at large. It represented not only the growing numbers of campers and staff, but a new generation of Jewish children who would find a wonderful way to blend the old traditions of Herzl with the new future visions of what Herzl could become. Former campers and staff of previous decades were now given proud tours of the Chadar by their children and grandchildren. Community groups, both Jewish and non-Jewish, found the new facility to be more than just a building to host their weekend retreats, but a wonderful home to reconnect with people and purpose. The new Chadar was home to Herzl staff reunions, youth group retreats, family camps and other events that just wouldn’t have felt the same in a Minneapolis hotel. And while the new Chadar brought so many positive changes to camp, there was one thing that remained the same – the RUACH. The Herzl community quickly learned that no matter where the Chadar was moved, or what it looked like, that RUACH would remain the strength of its foundation for years to come.
The new Chadar was appropriately named Bet Chai, or “house of life” and dedicated to Ben and Bernice Fiterman, longtime friends and supporters of Herzl Camp, who spent much of their lives working on philanthropic efforts for the Jewish community. Ben and Bernice, along with so many other pillar families in the community, took pride in what the Bet Chai represented, a legacy of positive Jewish camping for generations to come. In the summer of 2005, a dedication ceremony brought hundreds of families to camp to celebrate the Bet Chai. The community embraced the new Chadar as more than just a building, but a home that would protect and ensure Jewish continuity for generations to come.
In the fall of 2003, after 6 wonderful years of service, Steve Mintz left camping and moved on to another chapter in his life. Steve’s innovations and efforts were a key ingredient towards our success through 2003, and we will be forever grateful for all of his efforts.
In the winter of 2004, after an extensive search that involved the Herzl Board and the Herzl community, Sam Bloom was hired as Herzl’s new director. Sam had many years of camp directing experience, and the community was impressed by his strengths in the areas of camper/staff recruitment, leadership development, communication and public relations. Upon moving from their hometown in Pennsylvania, his wife Alona, and daughter Jordyn, immediately fit into the Herzl family. Sam’s visionary ideas coupled with a deep dedication to camp allowed Herzl to think outside of the box around programming, recruitment and staff development. Sam challenged the Board and Twin Cities community to recruit beyond just Minneapolis/St. Paul and welcome campers from across the country. Sam was well aware that in the new millennium, kids have so many wonderful choices for how to spend their summer, and he wanted to make sure that Herzl remained top of mind for campers and families, and headed up major efforts to achieve this goal. From focus groups, to camper/parent feedback, Sam was committed to continuous improvement at camp, and Herzl benefited greatly under his leadership.
For more than 60 years, the shores of Devils Lake have housed a place where care and concern are foremost. The goal of providing Jewish youth a sense of identity, teaching them to live Jewish lives and have fun at the same time has gone out to more than 27,500 young people.