Camp Akiba. It sounds so good to talk about it in the present and future tense. Yes, after 25 years, it is back.

It is difficult to memorialize or explain to someone what the overnight camp experience is unless you have lived it personally. Finding the right words to describe the emotions, memories, and firsts seems nearly impossible. Camp friendships and experiences resonate with you for your entire life. Akiba forever.

My family acquired Camp Akiba in 1999, but my Akiba roots date back further. My sister and I joined the Akiba family in 1980. I was hired by Lenny Gordon and Howard Batterman as a “specialist” and cabin counselor while my sister was a camper. Uncle Lenny left an indelible mark on both of us, as he did with everyone he encountered.

During Camp Akiba’s sabbatical, our facility was host to a very successful children’s health and wellness camp. Our health and wellness camp became one of the largest and most successful in the industry. It has always been my desire to return the facility back to its origins. As we approached our 100th year anniversary as an overnight camp, we brought Camp Akiba out of hibernation!

Prior to our reopening, I attended a Camp Akiba reunion in 2018, and it was so special to see so many Alumni return to reconnect and reunite in our treasured summer home. On display in Alumni Hall were many of the bunk plaques, color day plaques and camp mementos. Close to a hundred years of memorabilia. While scanning the names and years one by one, I stumbled across my father’s bunk plaque from 1944. Bunk 13. It simply made me smile. A few years later, I found pictures of my father in front of that cabin with his counselors and bunk mates. That plaque and those photos still sit in my office today.