39 th. FRIENDSHIP LOYALTY SERVICE 6th Annual Presentation ORDER OF THE LEAF LIFETIME PASSION ACHIEVEMENT AWARD SEPTEMBER 12, 2009

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1 CAMP AIRY Since 1924 order of the leaf Since th Year 75th Year 39 th annual order of the leaf alumni reunion 1960: Mollie, Ben & Jerry Goran, Senior Camp Counselor Photo FRIENDSHIP LOYALTY SERVICE 6th Annual Presentation ORDER OF THE LEAF LIFETIME PASSION ACHIEVEMENT AWARD SEPTEMBER 12, 2009 CAMP AIRy - thurmont, maryland

2 camp airy 0rder of the leaf celebration of passion Greetings Review of the Summer of 2009 Evening Program Campus Chapter - News?????? Reading of the Leaf Charter Alumni by Decades Sixth Annual Presentation: Order of the Leaf Lifetime Passion Achievement Award Acceptance Speech Slide Show on Vietnam, 9 p.m. Art Drager President Order of the Leaf Alumni, Inc. Rick Frankle Director Camp Airy Larry Polen Executive Committee Order of the Leaf Stan Mazer Executive Committee Order of the Leaf Introduction By: Burt Hochberg Jerry Goran Irv Dent At 10:00 p.m., please join us for a Make Your Own Sundae snack with entertainment by our own Larry Polen. 2 camp airy 0rder of the leaf september 12, 2009

3 PASSION ACHIEVEMENT AWARD The Order of the Leaf Lifetime Passion Achievement Award was established in 2004 as we celebrated Camp Airy s 80th birthday. This award honors individuals who demonstrate their Airy passion by embracing the guiding principles of the Order of the Leaf friendship, loyalty and service during and following their active participation on the Camp Airy staff. Tonight, on the 39th Alumni Reunion Weekend, we honor Mollie, Ben and Jerry Goran as the 2009 recipients of the Passion Achievement Award. Mollie, Ben and Jerry sought to give back so that succeeding generations may realize the joy and opportunities of the Airy Tradition. camp airy - order of the leaf lifetime passion achievement award recipients for 2009: mollie, ben & jerry goran In p r e s e n t i n g Mollie, Ben, a n d Jerry Goran with the 2009 Order of the Leaf Lifetime Passion Achievement Award we honor three special individuals who for many years helped establish and preserve the Airy legacy. This marks the first time the award has been conferred to an entire family. Tonight, Jerry will accept the award as well as represent his beloved parents, of blessed memory. The Goran family s arrival at Camp Airy in 1946 was a chance happening. Mollie was teaching arts and crafts at the Hebrew Institute of Borough Park in New York and a friend in the neighborhood mentioned that her son was at Airy. This led to an interview and a job offer from Ida Sharogrodsky, the longtime Executive Director of Camp Airy & Camp Louise. The rest is a love affair between Airy and the Goran family that continues to this day. For almost a quarter of a century, Mollie led the junior arts and crafts program and was fiercely devoted in making art an integral and creative expression in the development of young campers. Along with the traditional lanyard key chains, clay, and ceramic projects, Mollie introduced other art forms from some of the Hebrew schools at which she served. With her warm smile, encouraging style, and a knack 3

4 CELEBRATING A LIFE for using limited resources, Mollie gave hundreds of campers their first exposure to the world of art. She also took delight in making the Airy Carnival extra fun with her poster and costume designs and was the make-up artist for some of Airy s memorable dramatic and musical productions. In addition to connecting with the campers, Mollie enjoyed special ties with Ethel Mom Smith and her daughters Dorothy ( Dolly ), Madeline, and Betty ( Honey ), all who worked for years in the kitchen pantry. They corresponded regularly until Mollie s passing in 2005 (at the age of 97) and Jerry continued writing Dolly until her death in January. Ben Goran would use his job vacation days to join the family during a portion of each camp season and was Airy s number one substitute helping out wherever needed. Remembered as a kind and considerate gentleman, Ben was a former basketball player at the City College of New York when the team was coached by the legendary Nat Holman, the only basketball coach to win both the NIT and NCAA tournaments. Ben loved Airy and the surrounding Catoctin Mountains, a stark contrast from his brick and mortar New York City upbringing. During free time, Ben and Mollie would often hike to Thurmont and visit the historic sites in Frederick. Jerry recalls the family dinners at the stately Francis Scott Key Hotel and at the very different country style Peter Pan Inn, where Airy also held its yearend counselor banquets. Sometimes the family would take the open air trolley, which for many years connected Thurmont and Frederick. Mollie and Ben also enjoyed the summer stock shows at Totem Pole in the Caledonia State Park and sometimes were accompanied by Grete Mannheim and Morris and Ida Alman. Following his parents lead, Jerry reached out to experience what he calls the extraordinary joys and opportunities offered at Airy. Here, he benefitted from another role model, Danny Framm, his first counselor in the downhill senior camp and the 2006 recipient of the Lifetime Passion Achievement Award. A camper for eight seasons, Jerry excelled in sports, especially basketball, and once played a highly contested table tennis match against Clark Goldstein, who was then the reigning national junior champion. But Jerry made it his business to explore other areas like hiking, nature, and predictably, arts and crafts. Jerry later ran the camp post office and game room when he was just sixteen (earning $25 for what was then a nine 4

5 TIME OF PASSION week camp season) before going on to become a counselor, crafts instructor, and head of the Athletics Staff. Now that the Airy statute of limitations has expired, Jerry is at liberty to speak about the clandestine card games that he helped orchestrate in the downhill counselor cubbies. In order to disguise their card playing, Burt Hochberg, Marv Rosenstein, Mike Folb, and Jerry would begin their ball games (their code word for card games) after lights out and continue well past midnight. A trunk covered with a towel was placed between two beds (each shared by two players) while two upended trash cans provided additional seating if more players showed up. Jerry savors the Airy of his era and his eyes light up when revisiting the associated people, events, and places. Just getting to Airy was an experience in the 1940 s requiring a long train trip from New York to Baltimore, where you then connected with the old Western Maryland Railroad, stopping in many towns along the way to the Thurmont station. A connoisseur of good food, he never forgot the great Airy chefs Jacob Lee, Jimmy Reynolds, and Lewis Jefferson especially their southern friend chicken lunch on Sunday. He loved the vibrant spirit in the old downhill bunks, when you had to be alert for the outbreak of water fights and never back down in the heated competitions, especially during the Airy Olympics. At the Tuesday weekly general bunk clean-ups, mattresses were tossed on the floor and counselors often would wrestle with the campers. Jerry appreciated the field trips to Gettysburg, Washington, D.C., Hershey Park (which then allowed visitors to go through the chocolate factory), Cunningham Falls and some of the nearby underground caverns. He will spend hours regaling us with stories about Bollinger s, Wally s and the shirt mill in Waynesboro where you could get designer clothes at bargain basement prices; and the treacherous back road to Hagerstown where Jerry, Steve Reichstein, and Ben Schwab were once caught in a heavy rainstorm. His rewarding experience working with campers helped Jerry in deciding to become an industrial arts teacher, a position he held for 38 years in a school district just outside Anaheim, California. He also borrowed on his Airy leadership background while serving as a faculty representative on the local teacher s association and negotiating to improve working conditions. Today, Jerry is part of the Orange County Woodworkers, which last year made Continued on page 6 5

6 CELEBRATING A LIFETIME OF PASSION and distributed over 4,500 toys to 40 youth organizations. Jerry s passion for Airy continued despite relocating to California in Going across the country and Canada in 1968 on an extended honeymoon with Karen, his talented and lovely wife, Jerry made it a point to stop off at Airy so that his new bride could share his treasured roots. He returned for a number of our Reunions, which he virtually equates to a holy pilgrimage. At his last Reunion, Jerry did a photo shoot of Frederick County s three covered bridges at Loys Station, Roddy Creek, and Utica Mills and later shared his excellent pictures. He remains in contact with many of the alumni and often sends us articles on the history of Thurmont and the surrounding area. And he proudly proclaims that Camp Airy is in the blood of the Goran family. Jerry s vision is that Camp Airy and the Leaf Alumni continue our noble tradition allowing campers, counselors, and staff to develop their full potential and lasting relationships that he and his parents so deeply cherished. With this award Mollie, Ben, and Jerry Goran now take their place among Airy s very best. Mollie Goran Head of Junior Arts and Crafts Staff: Exceptional Contributions: Making art integral in development of campers Preserving Airy Legacy: Continued association with kitchen support staff Ben Goran Airy s Number One Substitute: Exceptional Contributions: Sharing his love for Airy and the Catoctin Mountains Jerry Goran Camper: Head of Post Office and Game Room: 1954 Counselor: Exceptional Contributions: Head of Athletics Staff Airy was in our blood. 6

7 order of the leaf White House, Jerry Goran playing volleyball, Staff picture, front to back, Mollie, Ben, Jules Heitner, Leon Lerner, Mollie Goran dressing camper for show, Mollie instructing arts and crafts. Old Down Hill Social Hall, Reunion Photo. Row 3, Top: Rusty Wolff. Row 2, L to R: Ethan Seidel, Jimmy Richter, Artie Besner, Tommy Rosenblatt, Joe Band. Row 1, L to R: Eddie Besner, Irv Dent, Larry Cantor, Jerry Goran. Ben Goran dressing camper for show,

8 order of the leaf charter Be it known to all on this 29th day of August in the year 1934, the Brotherhood of the Order of the Leaf has been duly organized by the senior members of the counselor staff of Camp Airy for the purpose of promoting the spirit of friendship among each other and of loyalty to the institution of which they are a part. Grand Patron: Aaron Straus Grand Councilor: William Pargman High Councilor: David Lovett High Council: Jerome Cohen, Jerome Feldman, Donald Frankel, Julius Halpern, Morton Kramer, Hy Lichtenstein, Leo Platt, Ben B. Rosenberg Original Post Office Building, Gone are the old cinder block bunks, charter members: Morris Bohrer Joseph Cahn Jerome Cohen Jerome Feldman Donald Frankel Herbert Friedberg Charles Friedman Nathan Goldman Richard Hahn Julius Halpern Morton Kramer Hy Lichtenstein Aaron Levin David Lovett William Pargman Leo Platt Ben B. Rosenberg Leonard Sackerman Herb Schmidt Milton Seidman Jack Shapiro Aaron Straus George Weinstein Hugo Weisgal Samuel Woal Jerry Goran, Postmaster returning to what was the Post Office. Cunningham Falls State Park, L to R: Jerry Goran, Barry Young, Bruce Cherkis and Phil Eisenberg program: written by artie besner produced by stan mazer printed by kohn creative