Kutsher's Camp Anawana
| Established | 1921 |
|---|---|
| Defunct | 1992 |
| Type | Jewish summer camp |
| Location | |
Key people | Jerry Parker, executive director (1960-1992)[1] |
Formerly called | Camp Anawana |
Camp Anawana, later known as Kutsher's Camp Anawana, was a summer sleepaway camp overlooking Anawana Lake in Monticello, New York.
History
[edit]Camp Anawana was originally owned by Mrs. Anna Kahn.[citation needed] The camp's main building was destroyed by a fire on June 29, 1946.[2]
In 1955, the camp partnered with Clair Bee to host Kutsher's National All-Sports Camp, associated with the nearby Kutsher's Hotel.[3] After the development of a sports-focused sleepaway camp, Kutsher's Sports Academy, the Kutsher family purchased Camp Anawana.[4] Kutsher's Camp Anawana operated through the summer of 1992. Following the end of the summer camp program, the camp has been used by the hotel as Club Anawana, offering water sports and beach activities.[5]
Programs
[edit]Activities at Camp Anawana included drama, Girls' Sing, intercamp sports, and color war. Later in the camp's history, Monday nights were movie nights. The last three days of a camp session included an awards night, a camp prom, and a banquet followed by a lakeside candlelight ceremony.
The camp's sports focus included sponsoring the Anawana Invitational Tournament for both basketball and volleyball, and a Biddy Basketball Tournament for younger boys Another favorite event was to attend the Maurice Stokes Game, an annual exhibition of professional basketball players held by Milt Kutsher.[6]
Notable alumni
[edit]- Matisyahu, musician[7][8]
- Neal Shusterman, author[9]
Notable staff
[edit]- John Beake, NFL coach[10]
References
[edit]- ^ "People in Business". The Press of Atlantic City. 27 December 1992. p. F4.
Parker also most recently completed 32 years of service as Executive Director of Kutscher's Camp Anawana, Monticello, N.Y.
- ^ "Camp Building Ruined by Fire". Middletown Times Herald. 1 July 1946. p. 12. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ Haynes, Roy. "Pro Athletes Cashing In on Sports Camps". Los Angeles Times. pp. 1, 3, 29.
Bee, in 1955, joined with one of the camps willing to change. It was Kutsher's on Anawana Lake near Monticello which had catered to the Jewish families of New York City. Kutsher's, a complex of camps including a country club, added sports to its other activities. Today it has the nation's biggest sports camp.
- ^ "Sullivan County Historical Society History Maker Award 2008 kutsher2The Kutsher Family". Sullivan County Historical Society. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
- ^ McEnery, Mary Anne (2 April 1995). "Resorts Preserve Catskills' Family Values". The Record. Hackensack, NJ. p. T1.
This summer, he said, Kutsher's is planning "Club Anawana," named after the resort's lake, which will be "a vacation within a vacation," complete with water sports and barbecues.
- ^ Carter, Bob. "Stokes' life a tale of tragedy and friendship". ESPN Classic.
- ^ Friedman, Gabe (28 February 2016). "9 famous Jews who attended Jewish summer camp". Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
- ^ "Music and Movies in the Catskill Mountains". Museyon.
- ^ Shusterman, Neal (21 June 2010). "How I Spent My Summer Vacation". Neal Shusterman's Blog.
- ^ Pepe, Phil (25 June 1970). "Beake: H.S. Grid Coach Becomes Super Chief". New York Daily News. p. 129. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
In the summer of 1964, right out of Penn State grad school, Beake . . . went to work at Kutsher's Camp Anawana, working with kid high school players.
External links
[edit]- Kutsher's Camp Anawana Alumni
- Bessen, Jeff; Parker, Elysa (21 October 2015). "Remembering their summers at Camp Anawana". Long Island Herald.