CAMP
Georgia’s Camps Span Generations Georgia’s three Jewish sleepaway camps, Camp Barney Medintz, URJ Camp Coleman and Camp Ramah Darom, each have their Eddie Samuels own history, and with that comes campers whose parents have also attended the camps. The AJT spoke to parents from each about their camp experience, why they sent their kids to the same camp as they attended and what’s changed since then. Ramah is the youngest of the three camps at just 24 years old, and director Geoff Menkowitz noted that their initial second-generation campers are just now hitting camp-going age. Rachel Miller attended Camp Ramah in New England, in Massachusetts, and later worked at Ramah Darom, where she met her husband when they were both counselors. Their daughter Dana attended Ramah Darom for the first time
24 | FEBRUARY 15, 2020 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES
Junior-in-Training (JIT) staff in 1996 at Camp Barney and again in 2016. D’Agostino is in the back row, on the right, in both photos.
last summer. “She went for two weeks for their taste of camp program, and this summer she’s planning to go for the full four weeks,” Miller said. “She had a great experience. She peripherally knew a few girls who were going to be in her cabin, but game back with a bunch of great friends and didn’t want to leave after
Camp Barney Director Jim Mittenthal with Mira, Elena and Sari D’Agostino.
Rachel and Ben Miller first met at Camp Ramah in 2000. They are pictured here that year at a staff bonfire.
experience [at camp] is still present as a those two weeks. Josh D’Agostino spent three years result. “There are not a ton of Jewish kids at Barney as a camper and five as a staff member, and now his three daughters, 14, there day in and day out, but we are members of The Temple and they see 12 and 10, are all campers there as well. “I knew how much fun I had there camp friends through Sunday school and and how much I connected with those Hebrew school, but camp is such a differpeople. And we live in Atlanta, but they ent place,” she said. “It’s not even really go to public school, so there’s rarely a a thought that you’re Jewish when you’re time outside of synagogue or services there; you’re just living it every day and it that they are surrounded by people who becomes a part of you.” All three were are all Jewish,” he asked whether they said. ever looked at other Jackie Dalton camp options when spent eight sumconsidering where mers at Coleman to send their kids, both as a camper but their answers and a counselor were eerily similar. while growing up in “It was always South Florida. Coleman, if I’m hon“My sisters and est,” Dalton said. “I I were really the never looked at othonly Jewish kids in er places.” our school until we D’Agostino got to high school, said, “It was all Barwhich sounds crazy ney the whole time.” when talking about Dalton’s children see their cousins And Miller said, South Florida,” she at camp each year: Gabbi Dalton, “Yeah, we didn’t said. “Camp was reMason Cooperman, Stella look at any other ally a place that reCooperman and Spencer Dalton. camps. It has always ally gave me a Jewish identity and gave me a sense of who been an important part of my life, … so we didn’t look anywhere else.” I am to this day.” As for what’s changed since they Now Dalton’s two children, Gabbi and Spencer, are both Coleman campers. were campers, Miller explained that “My husband converted when we got technology has enabled communication married, so camp was kind of foreign to with the outside world in new ways. “The quickness of email and being him, but he would ask me, ‘What if they don’t like camp?’” she said. “I would say, able to know within a day what’s going ‘It’s not an option; they’re going to love it,’ on with your kids. We definitely didn’t have that as campers, and as a staff memand thankfully they do.” Much like D’Agostino’s, Dalton’s ber we were using faxes,” she said. “It’s inkids attend public school, and she be- teresting from my perspective as a parent lieves that some of the magic of her own — you’re not waiting by your mailbox,