Favorite Herzl Cabins
April 8, 2010 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Top 10 Lists.
By Alex Locke
Everyone has a favorite cabin at Herzl Camp. So… what is yours? I will tell you mine, but first… the cabins I was in that are not my favorite.
It was 1987… I was at Herzl camp for the first time through a program of Camp Butwin. Essentially, this was where Taste of Herzl began. When I got there, I found out I was in cabin 8. How cool is that?!?! I don’t know why it was cool, but it was. Work with me people!
Well, if cabin 8 was cool in 1987, imagine how cool it was when I was in it again in 1988. This time I was there for a full session, and I was the only person in my cabin that had ever been in it before. So I gave everyone the grand tour… there’s the door… that’s a closet… windows on both sides… counselor rooms… okay, the grand tour was complete. But, I was still cool being the only person who was in this cabin for the second year in a row. That said… cabin 8 was not my favorite.
Next up, was cabin 9 in 1989. Not much can be said for cabin 9 other than SMALL!! Definitely NOT my favorite cabin.
New decade, new cabin. This time I was in cabin 6. For those of you who remember the configurations of the old cabins, I was pretty much in a triangle for my first four years at Herzl. This cabin was fun, but I never really liked having people on the other side of the wall. So again, not my favorite.
Finally, I made it to the north end of camp. I was in Kadimah in 1991 and now I was in cabin 28. Looking back… it was all of us St. Paul boys under one roof (literally 6 of the 8 campers were from St. Paul). We had an ocean view (okay fine… we could see Devil’s Lake through some trees), but still, I had not arrived at my favorite cabin.
1992 was my final summer as a camper. I was a Deaver and felt like we ruled Herzl Camp. I was in cabin Bet! Ah ha… now I was finally in a “letter” cabin. I loved the time we spent there, and if I had a second favorite cabin, it would likely be Bet. But again… not my favorite.
In 1994, I was an Ozo. The guys lived in cabin 14, which is MUCH bigger on the inside than in looks on the outside. I believe it is also the only cabin without a back door. Cool cabin, not my favorite. While I lived in 14, I was Ozo for cabin 25, both first and second sessions. I rank that right up there with cabin 28… a fair cabin despite the ocean view. And finally that summer, I was in cabin 7. I was now on the other side of the cabin I was in as a camper, but this time I was an Ozo. Still, I did not like people on the other side of our wall. (Side note… 7 is way better than 6).
In 1995 I was a Kadimah counselor in cabin Vav. This was pretty awesome to be a staff member in a “new” cabin, and my campers were awesome too. This does rank up there for awesome cabins, but not quite the top. Third session I was a Machaneh counselor in cabin 20. Granted… this was an awesome cabin (despite rumors of it being haunted), and Danny Soshnik was my Ozo, but I still had not come to my favorite.
We’ll skip 1996 for a moment… I have to end the blog on my favorite cabin you know.
In 1997 I was Papa Ozo. Me and the guys stayed in cabin 13. No thanks!!! Loved my guys, did not love the cabin!!
Okay, 1996. This summer I was a Kadimah and B’Yachad counselor. First came the news that I was single bunked (no co-counselor) with 12 campers. Then they told me I was in cabin 17. For those of you who have ever stepped foot in cabin 17, you know it rocks, and the two counselor rooms are pretty sweet too. Needless to say I loved being in there for Kadimah. As Kadimah was winding down and it was time to get ready for B’Yachad, David Breifstein asked me if I want to move to cabin Hey or stay in 17. Ummmm…. Let me think… new cabin with a shared room or old cabin and not have to move plus I get my own room again. Yup… I am staying put. That cabin of boys was my all-time favorite group. Danny Soshnik was my co-counselor (you can’t split up rock star teams), and we had an AWESOME group of campers.
So… to make a short story really long… cabin 17 is definitely my favorite cabin ever. Now that I have bored you to tears… what is your favorite cabin? Please let us know by leaving a comment below!!