The Usems are Camp People!
October 31, 2010 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Letters from Alumni.
By Mark Usem
Herzl Camp… It’s been a family “thing” since my sister Cookie was the first Usem to attend Herzl in 1966, then Linda, and finally me in 1972. Of course, there were other Usems that have attended Herzl back then, my cousins Michael, Jeffrey, and David… and all of us from Red Wing, MN, a small town 50 miles southeast of St. Paul with no Jews other than those in our immediate family. Our summers at Herzl Camp were some of the first truly positive Jewish experiences we all had with other kids, and it came to define a lot of who and what we were to become as adults. From Herzl camper, to Ozo, to Madrich, it was all good stuff!
If it wasn’t for Herzl, I wouldn’t have met my wife. OK, I didn’t meet my wife at Herzl, though Lynn could just as easily have been a Herzl person. I met her while working at OSRUI (Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute …yea… another Jewish Camp in Wisconsin). I still loved Herzl Camp, but it was time to try something new …and the reason I started working at OSRUI was because another ex-Herzl staff member, Anita Saltzman, who knew me from my days staffing Herzl Camp, came up to me at a Jewish Camp Fair at the University of Michigan in 1980, and convinced me to work there. And after some new experiences, one girlfriend (now my wife), and 4 kids later, all-in-all, it was a great move.
Round-about, I’ve come to understand that “camp people” are “camp people”, and they’re a different type of person than other “non-camp people” who don’t quite understand how you can send your children away for a good part of the summer. I believe most don’t understand simply because they have never had the opportunity to experience the profound life-changing experiences that a camp like Herzl can provide. I believe there’s truly a philosophy about Jewish summer camping that extends much beyond camp.
When our children (Sam, Dan, Jessica, and Sidney) were old enough to attend camp, they went to camp… it really was never in question. We never quite understood other people who asked their kids if they wanted to attend camp… we never asked… our children just did… we expected it… we planned on it… to us it was what you did as a Jewish kid in the summer… it was how you explored and defined who you were as a Jewish kid in our society today. Our children have now become Herzl campers, Herzl Ozos, and Herzl Staff members. Of course, they have made friendships that will last a lifetime, but even more important they have learned what it means to explore their Judaism and live a Jewish life in a way that includes a variety of experiences much different and more profound than we could provide at home, and they could do so in an inclusive community with a degree of freedom and an intensity that is unmatched in other environments.
We’re proud of our children, and proud of the decisions they’ve made in life. We’re proud of the people they’ve become. And though today you’ll find a variety of ways they express their Judaism and the degree to which they practice traditional Jewish rituals and customs, I feel they have all made conscious decisions on how to live their lives not on ignorance of Judaic practice and thought, but on deep understanding of Judaism and thoughtful reflection, due in great part to the influence of Herzl Camp in their lives.