Kamp Kohut in Oxford, Maine

Kamp Kohut Alumni Page

Welcome to those of you searching for Kamp Kohut.  Lately, more people have been looking for this page.  Maybe you were inspired by the recent 100th Birthday Reunion that took place in August 2006 on the shores of Thompson Lake.

Here you will find information that was originally gathered for the "Kamp Kohut Alumni Page" that was hosted on the servers of George Washington University during 1997 to 1999. The bulk of this information was gathered in 1997 and 1998, and between 1999 and November 2004, it was not available on the Internet. Now it's back. It is current as of February 2, 2009. If you'd like it updated, click on the "comments" link at the bottom of the page, or send an e-mail using the link at the upper right of the page. 

A Brief History of Kamp Kohut
(through 1998)

Kamp Kohut was founded in 1907 by G.A. Kohut on Lake Sebago, in Maine. In 1911, Kamp Kohut moved to its current location on the shores of Thompson Lake in Oxford, Maine. Kamp Kohut became a successful boys summer camp. In 1931, G.A. Kohut died. When World War II began, Kohut served as a training camp of some sort. Also, as we remember from the plaque in the dining hall, at some point in the 1930s it was "herewith recorded that a hail storm of unusual destructive force caused much damage and alarm."

We're not clear on what happened to camp after G.A. Kohut's death, but in the 1940s and 50s, Kohut was owned by Harry Reeder and Harry Kugel. Then, around 1956, the camp was sold to Benny Friedman, who was once an all-American college football player. The end-of-the-summer tradition of College Days had already been begun at this point.

In 1968, Benny sold Kohut to Ed Trenner. Ed and his wife Noreen were beloved, and Kohut prospered under their leadership.

In 1978, a tall, bald man named Malcolm Itkin, who had previously been the waterfront director at Camp Takajo, came on board as co-director and began to buy the camp from Ed on an installment basis. Eventually, Malcolm became the sole director. 

Following the controversial summer of 1982, European car stereo tycoon Jay Bauer bought Kohut as a Bar Mitzvah present for their son Sasha (who subsequently changed his name to Stephen). Malcolm remained director.  (We know the most about this time, because that's when we were at camp.)

Jay Bauer put a lot of his resources into Kohut. New tennis courts were built, the baseball diamond was redone, the lodge was renovated, and the exterior of the theater was redone. Also, all the staff got light blue sweaters, polo shirts, and new watches. Alas, it was not to continue for long.

In 1985, Bauer sold his son's present to the infamous Fred Greenberg, owner of many camps in the mid-Atlantic region which were rumored to be poorly run. Greenberg also owned Camp Mataponi, a nearby girls camp which became Kohut's sister camp. Greenberg left Malcolm in command. Enrollment soared while resources declined. In 1986, enrollment peaked at 180 and it rained almost all the time. By 1987, enrollment was down to a more reasonable 150.

At the end of the summer of 1989, Malcolm announced his resignation as "head counselor," a title he had kept for himself while he was director. Joe Long and Jeff Clowes were to be the new head counselors. For reasons that remain unknown to us, during the summers of 1991 and 1992, everything collapsed. It seemed that at the end of the summer of 1992, Kohut was closing for good. If you can explain what happened to us, please e-mail or comment.

Fortunately, however, during the subsequent winter, Kohut was purchased by Lisa Tripler, the daughter of Trip Tripler who had been waterfront head under Ed. Lisa, a former head counselor at nearby Camp Fernwood, made Kohut a co-ed camp. We spoke to Lisa at that time, and she struck us as very friendly and enthusiastic.

In 1998, a camper found an earlier version of this site and gave us the following information:

Today Kohut remains a co-ed camp, although all activities are non-coed. Boys and girls only interact at dances, theater productions, and mealtimes. Naturally, romances develop under the Thompson Lake sunsets, but this is discourage it Last summer there were 130 campers, 95 of whom stayed for all eight weeks. Girls live on the Fairfield-Noble side of the camp, and boys are on the Andover-Exeter side. Senior area is still open for boys. College Days continues, though now there are only two teams each summer. Each team has three captains, two girls and a boy or two boys and a girl. College Days still "breaks" in spectacular ways. Several years ago, the "break" occurred when the captains emerged from a sea plane. In 1997, the Oxford fire department hosed the whole camp down with soapy bubbles. Joe and Jeff are the head counsellors at Kohut today. Everyone at camp wears uniforms (even Joe).

We recently received several e-mails from current Kohut campers assuring us that they still have the time of their lives at camp. We're glad. It seems that Lisa has done a great job of rescuing Kohut from the oblivion it faced in 1992.

In 2006, Kohut celebrated its Centential.  It remains a co-ed camp with four-week sessions (though we hope one day to send our children for eight!)

If you have any new information, please e-mail, and we'll post it.

Kamp Kohut Alumni News

Adam Brownstein graduated from Georgetown University and George Washington University Law School. He practices law in Philadelphia, where is lives with his lovely wife Erica.

David Lee graduated from Dartmouth College. He helped run Dick Swett's almost-successful campaign for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire and then worked for U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Cal.). He got his MBA from Dartmouth and new works in Washington.

Rob Lenner lives in Boca Raton, Florida. He ran an up-and-coming summer teen tour company.

Cliff Enten left New Orleans and moved out to Colorado. He's now one of Denver's most successful workmen's compensation attorneys. If you're injured on the job, call him. Also, he'd love to ski with you if you're out West.

We e-mailed Joe Long in 1998, and we were thrilled he responded. Joe still works at Kohut; when he wrote to us, he was "off to KK in two weeks time -- once more with feeling." He tells us that Mike Ward has been at Kohut for the past few summers. Josh Smiles, Elihu Selter, and Jon Greenberg have all dropped by in recent years. And, get this, Ira Platt is teaching riflery during the summer of 1998. Joe lives in Ireland.

Mike Nadel graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and George Washington University Law School. He practices constitutional law at McDermott Will & Emery LLP in Washington, D.C., where he is a partner.

Neal Cohen graduated from Swarthmore College. Sources told us that he was in Israel and was apparently considering becoming a rabbi. But now we hear he is a lawyer.

Jason Newmark graduated from Union College and went on to get his Masters in Health Administration from Washington University. Jason is now in Houston working as an administrative fellow at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. In 1998, Jason sent us news about a number of Kohut alumni. Doug Brown lives in Winter Park Colorado, where he works for the ski area. According to Jason, he has grown 8 inches and gained 30 pounds since we last saw him. Jared Selter also graduated from Union College, and he is now in medical school in New York City. Randy Pellish is in medical school at the University of Massachusetts. Jason is also in touch with Andy Gitelson, who says hello. Jason traveled to Europe with Andy Schneider, and they ran into Brian Schmier at a Dave Matthews concert. Jason Epstein also went to Union, and he now lives in California and has his own computer company.

Brian Newmark, Jason's brother, went to Penn State, which happens to be Malcolm Itkin's alma-mater. He is "loving school and is 100% different than when you last saw him . . . about 5'11" and 175 lbs." Brian is in charge of a huge fundraiser at Penn State called Dance Marathon.

In late 1997, We had dinner with Drew Zimmerman and his lovely then-fiance Patti Holtry. Drew lives in Caldwell, New Jersey. He was working as a night dispatcher at a trucking company while he studied at Caldwell College to be a social studies teacher.

Josh Greene graduated from Harvard. In 1997 he began working towards his Ph.D. in philosophy at Princeton, which he has since completed. "I get to contemplate 'The Good' and have assorted deep thoughts," he wrote.

Danny Greene goes by "Dan" now, but he'll always be "Danny" to us. He went to Columbia University, where he majors in Urban Studies. In early 1998, he got together with Josh Zemel and Eli Cohen. They had a great time reminiscing about Kohut memories. Josh went to Dartmouth. He visited Kohut during the summer of 1997 on his way back from seeing Phish in northern Maine. Eli went to Colby College. He was thinking of becoming an English teacher.

Dan Barash graduated from the University of Rochester. He went to law school and became a public defender. Tragically, Dan passed away in 2004.  He loved Kohut and even earned a five year jacket.

Dave Barash lives in Rockville, Maryland, with his wife Shari, and his two young children Seth and Leah.  He earned an MBA from George Washington University and works for the federal government writing compensation policies on pay and leave. 

February 1998 brought e-mail from Brian London, who was at Kohut from 1986-1991. In May 1998, Brian graduated from the University of Miami, where he majored in broadcasting and political science and minored in philosophy. His hoped to get into sports broadcasting. Brian wrote: "When I was a second year senior, we realized that the Kamp in its then present form wasn't going to be there much longer. We -- along with David Peterson -- buried a time capsule under a big tree root in senior area.....I would love to see if it is still there." Brian would love to hear from Scott Rubin, Sean Elias, Stuart Greenfield, David Sawyer, Mike Zarren, and Ira Platt. We remember all of them and would love to hear from them too.

Dave Weights returned to the east coast in 1998 after spending six years in California. He thinks of his three summers at Kohut often.

Adam Budnick graduated from Penn. He got his MBA from Columbia. On May 10, 1998, he married Heather Fava. They own a home in Belmont, Massachusetts.

"Leo Canoe" Wertin remembers "rocketing across the country in the old '51 Chevy" to enjoy "the fabulous summer of '68 when [he] held forth on the waterfront." After Kohut, Leo served in Vietnam. He remembers Stewart Rosenthal and Billy Weiner.

Grant Epstein recalls that in the 1960s recalls membership in "the Kohut Pines. It was an elite membership of campers. One would be 'tapped' into it: someone would tap another of the shoulder if they were chosen for membership." He lives in Miami Beach, where he is in real estate.

Back in the 1950s, Jim Golanty spent several years at Kohut. Today he lives with his wife in Denver, where he works at Norwest Bank. Jim remembers that the staff back then included Mac McCormack, Bill Nigel, Leon Sherkur, Frank Musinsky. His bunkmates included Ken Luchs, Brad Schwartz, Don Hootstein, Mike Sherman, Ozzie Jacobson, Richard Rosenthal, Micky Slotkin, and Bob Shaye. He adds, "I guess I'll never forget Boris Zigelbaum from Caracas." He fondly recalls dances at Tripp Lake, golf at Poland Springs, bus trips to Bar Harbour and something called "The House of Lords."

Aaron Finkle, whose brothers Steven Finkle and Richard Finkle also went to Kohut, lives in New York City with his new bride. He is the managing editor of Telecom Financing Week. He is still in touch with Kohut alumni David Faber and Eric Schaffer, and he writes, "I also took a Tango class with Danny Trenner's partner and hear Ed is doing great.

John McDonald, who was a counselor and administrator from 1973 to 1982, lives in Lawrenceville, Georgia, with his wife Cindy, his dog Bonnie, and his "enormous black-and-white cat named Kuhkuh." He is a highschool German teacher, and he is active in community theater.

Jeff Kuskin graduated from Dartmouth and then got his Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Stanford. He now works for Silicon Graphics designing high-end computer systems. He visited Kohut in October 1996 and found it pretty much as he'd left it fifteen years earlier. He writes, "I'd be pleased to hear from other Kohut folks."

Andrew Turner found our site. He worked at Kohut for four summers back in the 1970s. He still e-mails with Lenny Cole, who is teaching in Maine. He also gets Christmas cards from Ed & Noreen Trenner. (How come we don't?) Andrew is hoping to track down Alan Henderson, a "mad Scotsman who was a legend in his years at Kohut."

Jon Fink lives in Boston where he works as a designer and representative for a contract furniture company. He writes, "I would love to hear from any staff or campers from the early 70's especially Jeff Poritzsky, Danny Cahn, Gary Simon, Gary Tover, Scott Tripler, Mike Blank (Canadian) etc."

John Lucker attended the University of Rochester. He is now an insurance executive. He lives in Simsbury, Connecticut, with his wife and his three boys. He sent us a great e-mail recounting many Kohut memories, including waterskiing on Thompson Lake, golfing at Poland Springs, hiking and canoeing around Maine, College Days (he was captain of the 1976 Oklahoma Sooners), and a tornado which he says destroyed part of the camp. He also tells us that Scott Tripler (Trip's son, Lisa's brother) attended college and medical school at the University of Rochester and is now a practicing physician.

We recently received e-mail from Carol Fleischer of New Zealand. Her father Henry Fleischer and his brothers George Fleischer and Richard Fleischer were at Kohut back in the 1920s. All three brothers have now passed away, but Carol is trying to research their personal histories.

Richard Neuman graduated from high school and college, and he in 1998 he lived and worked in Aspen, Colorado, where he rooms with David Martino.  His brother Marc Neuman married Beth Kallet in October 2004.  Her mother went to college with ours!

Jeff Clowes worked at Kohut in 1998. To our knowledge, Jeff lives in England with his wife Julie Archer-Clowes and their children Ben and Jessica. Sources tell us that Ben was a globally ranked tennis player.

According to the Martindale-Hubbell legal directory, Manfred Sternberg is CEO of an information technology company.

We also learned from Martindale-Hubbell that Geoff Harrison graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. He went on to the University of Chicago Law School, where he was an editor on Law Review. He is a partner with a law firm in Houston. We're impressed -- but not surprised.

Ken Levy is a physician in Philadelphia. Jon Levy lives in Los Vegas. We've heard he is involved in stadium construction. Both are married.

Dave Peterson lives and teaches in Maine. During the summer he works at hockey camp.

Ron Winot sent us Christmas cards every year, and one of our bunkmates sent him one every year.  In 2005 it was returned by his parents with the terrible news that he had passed away.

Malcolm Itkin lives in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, with Sue and their children. Is he plotting his comeback?

Comments

[Jonathan Levy]

Hi

Jonathan Levy here. So glad to have stumbled upon this site on 3/5/05.

I was a camper between 1972 to 1981 and a counselor between 1983-1985. Now I am 38 years old. I live in Los Angeles with my wife Nadine and two daughters Sarah (4) and Hannah (1). I guess Kohut going co-ed is a good thing at least for my family with girls only. I am an attorney who used to specialize in sports stadium/arena construction and now own my own construction management firm working on all types of projects from sports facilities to educational/college facilities to commercial offices and so on.

My brother, Dr. Kenneth Levy, is a neuropsychiatrist in Philadelphia and has a lovely wife Jenifer - no kids yet.

I remain very friendly with some of my past Kohutians from back in the day including Gary Nusbaum (living and working in New York City), Rob Lenner (living and working in Westin, Florida) and a few others. You really need to chat with Gary Nusbaum who appears to keep in contact or at least is aware of many, many alums.

In any event, very glad to see this site and would be more than excited about a 100 year anniversary reunion if possible.

Stay in touch.

Jonathan Levy

[jeff rattay]

Greetings. I was the head baseball counsellor at Kohut from 1972-77. A lot of great memories. These were my summers while a student at the University of Dayton and graduate school at the University of Cincinnati. I am presently living in Phoenix, Arizona. I am a 'retired' high school history teacher, where I taught for twenty years in Cincinnati before moving in 1996. I would love to hear from any of the former campers who remember me. I recently e-mailed John Levy. We had a lot of fun on the diamonds. Ed Trenner sent me a letter years ago telling me that Charlie Napoli passed away. I wonder what happened to Scott Messing who worked the theatre? Also Stuart from programming? I have a great memory if you want to know how wild you really were at camp. I remain very involved with baseball. I have coached teams to 7 World series titles in amateur baseball and have coached a lot of kids who have gone on to play in the pros. My nephew Tim Rattay, by the way, is the quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. Let me know how you're doing.

[David Caddick]

I found this site by accident!! I was theatre director 1976-78 - remeber Frisby on the Roof, Sandy in Wonderland etc. Great to see Jeff is still well - Scott Messing is Profess at Alma Mich, Stu Schwartz still in Philly. Hope to hear from some of you alumni who remeber the Trenner days at KK
David

[Jonathan Cohen]

Hi, I was at Kohut for one happy summer in 1967. I would love to hear from any of my camp contemporaries, especially Tony Ross, Richie Grossman, David Katz, Jim Reeves, or anyone who remembers me.

I live in Palo Alto, California. I'm married for 20+ years and have a 21-year old son who is a student at UC Davis. I've worked in the computer software business for 25 years.

regards,

Jonathan "Jon" Cohen

[Alan Greenberg]

My Name is Alan Greenberg and I was a kamper from 1970-1974. I vaguely remember Jeff Ratay (baseball was not my strong suit) but I do remember John Hopkins who ordered the kids baseball gloves from Finland. Orange, red, and oddly shaped. I remember such staff legends as Marc and Richie Grossman, Bart Wynam and the British invasion featuring Stuart Jardine, Alan Henderson and the Kennedy brothers Ian and Callum. Ed Trenner was the best and he helped me get my act together. My kamping career culminated with being a College Days Captain in 1974 (Villanova Wildcats). I have recently started visiting Kamp every summer with my family. I have learned of famous alums, David Faber (cnbc) and Peter Mehlman (Seinfeld). I remember Jon Fink as being on the tripping staff (not acid). I believe there is a 100 year anniversary being planned and I would love to hear from any kampers or counselors from the early 1970's. I remember WKKG 1220 on your am dial. I could go on and on, but Kohut brings back great memories.

Alan Greenberg

[Lisa Tripler]

Lisa Tripler would like to get access to these KK comments. How can she get connected?

[Larry Goldman]

I first started working on the kitchen crew in 1967. My dad knew Benny Friedman. The next year I ran the laundry, then headed the kitchen crew. My last two years at Kohut (early 70's) I was the counselor for the youngest boys. We bunked in Andover. I now live in Los Angeles, married with two grown kids and afer a long career in entertainment public relations and marketing, I am now in TV production. My years at Kohut were incredible and I will never forget them. I particularly remember the mornings around the flag pole and wondering what would be flying at the top before the flag went up.

[Dan Leav]

I stumbled across this site today. I was a camper (known then as "Danny")from 1976 to 1982. My younger brother Peter was a camper from 1979 to 1982.

I vividly recall the summer of 1982 - I was a second year senior and was disheartened to arrive at camp only to find out that there were less than 100 campers. The Kohut "group" that Ed Trenner had put together was mostly gone by then and Malcolm Itkin was trying to move the camp the forward. Later that summer after Malcolm defaulted on payments owed to Ed Trenner - Ed had Malcolm physically removed from the camp. Most of us were happy Ed was back, but recognized that the ggreat camp we knew was essentailly finished.

The only Kohut alumni who I have contact with now is Cliff Freeman - who was also a fraternity brother of mine at Lafayette College. I know that basketball coach Paul Coughter (1980, 1981?) is now the head coach for the Lebanese national basketball team soon to play in the World Championships in Europe.

I am married with two kids and live on Long Island with a law practice in Manhattan.

Great memories of Kohut....

[Caroline Boggs]

Hello! So glad to see a Kohut page in action! I am a former counselor (5 summers!) and am now planning our CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION happening this summer! The dates are August 18-20th and there are still open spots for the event! If you are interested, please visit the Kohut webpage and submit your information on the Centennial page! It should be great fun, and a great opportunity to see old friends!

[Buzz Tenenbom]

Kamper during Benny Friedman time -- I was a kamper (yes, with a K) and counselor from about 1956 to about 1964. (After Kohut, I worked at Camp Robin Hood for two years in New Hampshire -- didn't compare!) I was tapped to the "Kohut Pines" (We were hazed for one day to pass the initiation -- for example, I wasn't allowed to talk, others had to hop around in burlap sacks -- it was some sort of honor service club). I learned how to develop film and print, shoot a 22 rifle, water ski, and do judo while there. I also learned about snipe hunting late at night. We had dances with nearby girls camps such as Fernwood. As a counselor, I worked directly for Benny Friedman, who had played football and was my father's college roommate, at Univ of Michigan in the leather helmet days. We went to Old Orchard on our days off. My name is even on one of those boards in the Rec Hall, and I verified that about 20 years ago on a short visit there (impressed my girlfriend! - I always thought I got that honor so Benny could use me to recruit more Florida kids!). I still remember the boards in the Rec Hall telling about how the unusual Northern Lights were predicting bad times (WWI and WWII). While I was a counselor, I taught waterskiing and had a kind of secret girlfriend on the lake -- it was heaven! We had two boats, including an old classic wood inboard Chris Craft. I made a slalom course and we had tournaments with other camps. The camp was very sports minded, especially with Benny Friedman as owner, who has recently (last year) been elected posthumusly to the NFL Football Hall of Fame. (I'm glad for him -- he always felt unappreciated by Football, and died unhappily in NYC). I would love to hear from some of the guys from Boston, Jerry Sack and Jeff Kosow, who I met while there, or anyone else who might remember. I talk about the camp all the time to my kids, now 12 and 14, remembering especially how College Days "broke" -- especially one time, after the counselors were saying over and over that it was cancelled, that suddenly horses ran through the camp at dawn with someone blowing "charge" on an army bugle. I remember how always College Days came to be decided on the final night, on the song and cheer fest. Because of Kohut, I can still sing every college fight song there is!! Kinda' weird, but fun. I always thought I should buy the camp as I am really a camp kind of guy at heart. However, I am now an architect and builder in Seattle. Thanks.

[Thad Linton]

Danny Greene goes by "Dan" now, but he'll always be "Danny" to us. He went to Columbia University, where he majors in Urban Studies. In early 1998, he got together with Josh Zemel and Eli Cohen.

I was a counselor during the summer of 1988. Danny, Josh, and Eli were in my group. I was also in charge of the theater productions that summer.

I bombed the first four weeks with Treasure Island, then went out with a bang during the last four weeks by writing a 3 act play from scratch, and giving parts to about 50 boys. I gave lead roles to many who had never been on stage before.

I live in Indianapolis with my wife Debbie and our 8 year old son, Hunter.

I trade stocks and am active in church and community.

I would love to hear from anyone from the Summer of '88.

[Kevin E Perkins]

Yes,I stumbled onto this site looking up Malcolm Itkin and feeling a little bit nostaljic thinking about Kamp Kohut. I was a kitchen counselor during the summers of 84' and 85'.I now work at Central Maine Power as a Substation Technician.I live in Lewiston Maine with my wife Mary and Beautiful daughter Whitney.I really enjoyed the times spent at the kamp and getting to know the kids as well as the "Brits" couselors from over seas aswell as the locals. We had a lot of fun times at Just Friends when all of the camps counselors would get together to get toasted. I really enjoyed the fact the Kamp Kohut had such an extensive history. I saw that Jon Levy had found the site. Jon if you read this , Wasn't it you that listened to the Three Fat Boys? I would love to hear from anyone that was there during the summers of 84' and 85'.I was the one that was rushed of to the hospital with an allergic reaction to a bee sting,that was loads of fun I really wish that I could remember some of the kids names but if you remember my saying "Gucking Fumby" , for which I was spoken to by more then one parent and Malcolm for getting all of the kids to say it aswell. Malcolm NOW theres another story. I really liked Malcolm because he told you as it was and I thougfht that he was great to work for(even if he did crash my motorcycle). Take care all you ex kampers and kounselors. I will try to make it to the Centenial Celebration. All the best you Gucking Fumbys------Kevin E Perkins

[Manfred Sternberg]

Hi, Just went to the 100th year celebration at Kamp. I was a kamper from '68 to '74, and a counselor from '82-'85 and now a father from 2005 till. Would love to talk to anyone from kamp. Email me. manfred@msternberg.com

[Andy Hardt]

After 23 years I just met up again with Richard Liddington during his holiday in the States. For whatever reasons, I never thought of "Googling" Kamp Kohut all these years. The names of the Levy brothers, Jeff Clowes, Rob Lenner, and of course Malcom Itkin, who hired me for the summer of '83. It's difficult to think of Kohut as a co-ed camp, especially with fond memories of the British counselors down the shoreline at Fernwood. I recall the Gold Card Club (prestigious at the time), the Polar Bear Club, T.I.E. (Take It Easy), N.T.B. (Not Too Bright), a crazy Scotsman named Brian, and I think the infamous Sasha Bauer in my very own cabin. I was a waterski counselor (only skied once before camp unbeknownst to Malcom) until I put a hole in the new boat, a photography counselor with Richard, and a basketball counselor with or after a guy named Scott? Eventually I graduated from Grove City College (PA) with mediocre grades but ended up an Air Traffic Controller with the FAA. I live in Amherst, Ohio, and am married with two boys (15 & almost 12). Email me at hardt@eriecoast.com. Wow...the photos of Kohut look like the color slides I took 23 years ago :-) Andy

[Neil Gluckman]

Neil Gluckman here. I was a Kamper from 74-80 skipping only 1976. My brother Adam and I have meny memories of Kohut. While I took more trips he excelled in sports. I have always wondered what happened to my bunkmates Johnny Lidz, Mike Meyers, Greg Astrachan. I see Doug Besterman's name from time to time in the Theatre listings winning another Tony for Orchestration.

After Kohut I became heavily involed in theatre. I graduated in 1987 from Kenyon College with a degree in Drama and in 1992 I received my MFA from the Yale School of Drama in Technical Design and Production. In 94 I relocated to Atlanta where I worked on the Olympics at Centennial Park, the site of the 96 bombing. Currently I run the Atlanta Local of the Stagehands Union (IATSE). I am married to a lovely lawyer, Wendy and have two children, Eric (6) and Emily (1).

My mother, who passed in 94, saved many things from my childhood including the Kamp books that we got each summer with photos of our bunkmates, activities and counselors. I will see if I can dig thse out and, if there is interest, I can send those pictures along to post.

[Scott Rubin]

Hello to all my fellow Kamp Kohut alumni. Wow, it has been many years since I have been on the grounds of Oxford Maine, and miss them, oh so much. A little about what I have been up to... I recently got married in NYC on Nov. 4th 2006. I currently live in Manhattan and work as a Senior Relationship Manager for Julius Baer Investment Management, LLC. I graduated Magna Cum Laude from the U. of Albany in 1998 with a degree in Finance and earned my MBA from Fordham University this past August 2006.
Kohut was a big part of my childhood; I was a camper from 1983 - 1992. At the time, I was the youngest camper to attend for the full 8 week session at just 6 years old... Looking back, my parents must really have wanted to honeymoon in the summers. After my 10 year tenure, I was a counselor for 5 subsequent years at one of Fred Greenberg's other camps, Timber Ridge in West Virginia. It was a great time, but could not compare to the beautiful grounds at Kohut set on a lake like no other.
In reviewing the blogs above, I see there are many familiar names. It would be great if we could all meet up again.
It is great to see that Brian London is reaching out to us to dig up our time capsule!! I am curious if it is still there... Get this, I still talk to Sean Elias, he was at my wedding and is living in one of Trump's buildings in NYC. He is a Real Estate Developer and graduated from U. of Miami.

[Jason Rubin]

Wow, Kamp Kohut, those two words bring back so many memories: OOB, College Days, friends, counselors, and of course Malcolm. My brother Scott told me about this site because his father in-law, who coincidently was a Kohut camper, stumbled across it when he found out we all went there. It really is a small world. Has anyone heard from Stan Fenton? Anyway, it is great to see all the names of campers I remember. Well enough about nostalgia, here's a little personal info. I graduated St. John's University with a B.S. in Pharmacy in 1997. I moved to Sarasota Fl, met my wife, and married in 2000. We have two beautiful kids Cayla(4), and Garrett (6months). I am currently involved in a corporate training program with Walgreens and look to be promoted anytime soon. I would love to hear from other campers who went to Kohut from '83-'92. It would be great if we could put a together a reunion in the near future.

[Evan Nadel]

Evan Nadel here. I was a camper from about 1979 to 1984. Jon Levy was my counselor in Hopkins my last summer there. Josh Rifkin was in my bunk a few summers. Great kid. Made a mean tape mix. Anyone know what happened to him? Jared Selter was in that bunk too.
When I started, it was Malcolm's first year running the place wihout Ed. Everyone told me how much better it used to be when Ed was there. I vaguely remember Malcolm getting dragged out and a brief flicker of hope that Ed would come back for good and restore the old times. I also remember Sascha Bauer but never realized his dad bought him the place as a bar mitzvah gift. That year there was a South American camper named Pablo who cursed in Spanish that whole summer. I learned "mama la pinga" and other greats from him.
My brother Phil spent a summer or two at Kohut. He was in Penn with Jon Levy.
The last Kohut event I did was a Colorado ski trip led by Cliff Enten. Ted from Rye was there, as well as the two redheaded brothers from Rye--the Newmans? Great trip, except Cliff was done telling "Twilight Zone" stopries by then.
I'm bummer I missed the reunion.
Like everyone else, I went to Penn for college (94), then NYU for law school (97), and now practice in SF.

[Evan Nadel]

Addendum: I just remembered some other great Kohut experiences: morning camp assemblies and Charlie Napoli announcing a "red letter day"; later I think Johnny Aldridge, a great Brit counselor, led those assemblies; all-camp campfires behind the theater building and the unveiling of the Kohut theme song ("...oh, Kohut we hold very dear, to bring us back anbother year"); pizza day for lunch every other Wednesday (?) and getting a bottle of Coke instead of bug juice; lining up to go to "canteen" on Sunday nights and getting a candy bar; end of the summer trip to Old Orchard Beach; and figuring out that overnight camping and canoeing trips were the best way to get better food!

[Rick Friedman]

I just stumbled on this site. It has brought back so many great memories. I was at Kohut from 1972-1978. I can still getting up in the morning to the ringing of the bell. Red letter days, Charlie Napoli, Dave Tager, Ed and Noreen "Trailer", Kollege Days. Does anyone remember "War of the Worlds" or "Zork Days"? How about the "bubble"? I still have one of my old Kohut shirts, and my old camp address book is filled with names like Jon Fink, Fernando Carriquiri, Dave Baker,Rick Boles, Dave Baily, and campers named Jeff Morse, Itchy Warshaw, Rich Saperstein, and George Kotick(RIP).
I would love to connect with any Kohut alumni. I am living in Tucson, AZ with my wife Diana, and 2 kids, ages 6 & 3. My wife and I own a Personal Training business and I also work as a fitness instructor at the Canyon Ranch Health Resort.
Rick (Ricky) Friedman

[Gavin Boyd]

Hi just stumbled across this. I was an Arts & Craft Counsellor in the summer of 1975. Dan Yerman, Don Youtz a few names I remember after all this time. I was an student at Leeds College of Art in England at that time. Visited the US many times since then. Met up with Dan Yerman who was then living in Florida. Don Youtz the handsome tennis coach came to visit while I lived in London.
Now living in Newcastle, Ireland married to Angie a fellow Interior Designer and 2 sons aged 13 & 15. Would love to hear from any of the crew. What was the name of the pub we escaped to once a week? And what happened to Steve the Golf counsellor from UK. he had the best job in camp. Dan Murphy my fellow craft councellor I last saw when I went to Ann Arbour on a visit he was designing and living a art deco life.
Get in touch anyone who remembers me teaching to tie dye, make candles, draw and make pots.
Regards, slainte'

Gavin Boyd

[Dan Yerman]

Oh My God!! I guess the internet is good for something. I was the Radio Counselor in the summer of 75. I hadn't thought about Kamp Kohut in a long long time. I still have the Red Sweater with the Kamp Kohut - Staff printed on the front. A little worse for wear, but still in the drawer. Remember how cold it got in August!!August!! I remember the beautiful nighttime skies where you could star gaze practilly back to the begining of time. I remember heading out on one of our days off and going to the nearest Mountain and attempting to climb Mt. Washington. It was much colder at the top than the bottom. It was a very good time. I remeber Gavin and a few others. But, I haven't kept in touch. I live in florida now, and build set for some of the local theatres.

Dan Yerman

[Don Youtz]

I remember so much about my summers at Kohut that it startles me. I saw Gavin Boyd's kind and flattering comments about me. I remember fondly my visit to England, where I visited Gavin Boyd, Myles Collett, and Steve Laws. It was great to see them again in 1979.(all Alums from Kohut around 1974 and 1975.) It is so cool that Lisa Tripler has purchased Kohut. I have warm memories of Lisa and her parents. I promise to add more later. I would love to attend a reunion.

Don Youtz

[dean gitter]

I was a camper from 1940 through 1949! I was, at the time I began, the youngest camper in the history of Kohut, having not yet passed my sixth birthday. I see from the blogs on this site that there are few of us dinosaurs contributing to your alumni news.

Let me share some information with you. I began in Bunk D ( and moved on the next summer to the other side of this long structure, Bunk Doube D.

I recently met my 1941 bunkmate, Wally Sisson at a Harvard 50th reunion.I guess I've known him longer than anyone else on the planet.

Our counselor that first year was named Stanley Futterman. I remember him first for a perpetually silly grin. I remember also one morning when I was awake before reveille and started talking with the occupant of the next cot. We woke Futterman up and our punishment was to stand with our arms outstretched to the side, each weighted down with one of Futterman's enormous shoes until the bugle sounded. Though it was only for a few minutes it was excruciating.

The history of the camp was recorded and displayed on giant plaques hung near the ceiling in the rec hall. They began in 1911 and the latest was hung no more than two years after the close of the summer it recorded.

I was there for the entire Second World War, so I can attest that it was not in any way a "training camp." But, by 1942, when it was possible either that we would be invaded by Germany or that the war would go on for so long that we would eventually all be drafted, Mickie Contini and Packy Contini,his brother, who were head counselors for the intermediates and juniors respectively, built a rifle range in the woods west of camp almost to what we called Sandy Beach. Every camper, no matter his age, learned to shoot a rifle.

Other campers of that era whose names I remember were Burt and Hal Schneider whose family ran Columbia Pictures and provided us every year with a 16mm print of King Kong and other movies.Through them, there was a different film every Saturday night, but the annual showing of King Kong was always the season's highlight. Lee Rosenberg, who became a literary agent in Hollywood, Mickie Fugash, who also ended up in Hollywood; a fellow whose name I forget but who ended up as head of New York City's MTA.

Mac McCormick was a towering white-haired figure throughout my days at Kohut who served as head counselor. I man of infinite jest and warm spirits.

The camp in those days was somehow affiliated with the Columbia Grammar School, from whose faculty many of the senior counselors were drawn. My favorite was "Doc" Beane who ran the summer's drama program - which was splendid. There were two or three major productions every summer. Doc became my special friend and had me on a stage in my second summer at the age of six. It was a case of infant damnation and my love-affair with the theater lasted until I was almost thirty.

Doc never wore shoes from the first day of camp to the last; was the best horse-shoe pitcher in camp and a ferocious checkers player. I loved him as a father since my own was off for the duration in the Navy.
He taught English at Columbia Grammar and told me he was from Tennessee and had memorized the entire text of Scott's "Lady of the Lake" while following "the east end of a mule heading west" while plowing.

During the period when I was there, there was little doubt that Kohut was the finest Kamp in Maine and we were the luckiest campers on the east coast. Fernwood was our sister camp and we were allowed one dance per summer. It always took place at Fernwood and was minutely supervised. The idea of Kohut as a coed facility is too bizarre for me to contemplate.

I've gone on too long, but couldn't resist after I found the site, as my years at Kohut were more important for me than all the years I spent in grades K through 12.It was a very special place.

One word about Harry Kugel: he was a distant little man who seemed to serve no purpose all week long until Saturday mornings. At that point, he became a giant and single-handedly conducted the compulsory sabbath service in both English and Hebrew.
The experience, over the nine years I spent at Kohut, left me with a lifelong search for a way to connect with God. Thank you, Harry Kugel, wherever you are.