range
that alum
that every alum
stepping back into camp for the first time in years or joining us o from afar—felt welcomed and connected. Their partnership allow to strengthen the bonds that tie our alumni community together made this summer particularly memorable.
stepping back into camp for the first time years or joining us o from afar felt welcomed and connected Their partnership allow to strengthen the bonds that tie our alumni community together made this summer particularly memorable.
By: Gabby Spear
Happy Fall, Eisner Camp!
And what a glorious fall it is. The weather is cooling, the leaves are changing and our families in Israel are being reunited. Life is feeling pretty good!
This summer was amazing! It could have been because I wasn’t working and spending more time at camp, the place I love, but it was probably because everyone in my family was in their happy place too.
Molly (and Andy) had another stellar summer – Olim ’25 definitely kept The Hill alive! Between the Olim play and Olim buddy, I’m not sure Molly could pick a favorite! And it occurs to me that she is now officially an Eisner alum! Now she can come to camp and talk about her time ‘long ago ’ in K’Tanim and her favorite spots and activities on camp.
Even though she’s barely an alum, she has so many stories to tell and my hope is she continues to create more of those memories to share with the next generation. Same as I did when I dropped her and Emma off for their first summers. I’m sure they got tired of hearing about hanging out in cross-roads or going crazy for Ya’abud on Friday night! We all have memories to share with each other and the next group of eager campers.
I hope we as an alumni community have the opportunity to come together and share (and maintain) our connection to our past and future.
So as we all move towards the colder months, may we keep the warmth of the summer memories in our hearts and let it sustain us until we meet in person again.
With Love, Gabby, Andy, Molly, Emma (and Bailey)
By: Paul Goldsmith and Jon Sambur
Jon mentioned he was interested in seeing the school where I teach, since we were nearby I decided to give him a tour. This was enlivened by being able to introduce him not only to some kids I teach but also to my daughter Ellie, who might still one day work at Eisner. To make that connection 30 years later was very special.
In the 1990s there was no Facebook, little email, and so keeping in touch in between Camp was really hard. It meant that I felt very distant from the place during the year. But going back for the 50th in 2008 reconnected me to a lot of people and those who get in touch when they come to London…it means a lot.
By: Mindy Miner Holland
I first joined the Eisnerverse as a Machon in 1984. I was one of the first to live in KKC (Kivie Kaplan Center). The building was brand new and our next-door neighbor was just the opposite. Manor House had history – a lot of history. Long-time Eisnerstaff members wasted no opportunity to share tales of Gertrude the Ghost.
According to legend, wheelchair-bound Gertrude was not able toleave the estate, so her loving parents brought the world to her. Each building on the property was built in a different style. The grounds in front of Manor House was named Universal Lawn because Gertrude’s parents planted trees from all over the worldso that Gertrude, who was secluded to the estate, could sit and enjoy them.
This charming story outlasted the marble garden that once graced the backyard, and the marble dock that was still in the ‘lake’ in 1984. All campers know the end of the story, Gertrude died in Manor House, as a child or perhaps a teenager. Legends say she passed from an illness or maybe something more nefarious. Either way, it was said that poor Gertrude died and her ghost haunts the place to this day. Some retellings have Gertrude as a benevolent spirit while other versions cast Gertrude as a malevolent haunt.
Forty years later, I am a librarian, an aspiring writer, a grandmother, and, like everyone else, a Google user. I decided to dig into the Gertrude ghost story Was any of it true? Here’s what I found:
Italian gardens are famous throughout the East and originally c $250,000 to build Miss Walker made this beautifully landscap available to the public one afternoon a week throughout the s Gertrude donated an organ to a local church and was involved to benefit children She died on December 17, 1942, at the ag Gertrude was never a child in the manor house, nor was she con property But at least one aspect of the legend is accurate Gert wheelchair user The Great Barrington Historical Society Archi evidence in a book by Bernard Drew, Great Barrington, Great T History, when Gertrude donated the organ, she “paid for alter accommodate the instrument” (for a wheelchair) If it wasn’t for a ghost story, Gertrude Walker's name might hav history. The legend has allowed this philanthropic woman ’ s nam through generations of Eisnerites.
For more historical information about Eisner or Gertrude, chec articles below:
Eisner Camp History
https://eisnercamp.org/about-us/mission-vision/
PBS Article about William Walker
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/keyeastmans-life/
Berkshire Eagle Obit
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4850599/miss-gertrude-dudl died-dec/
NY Times obit
https://www.nytimes.com/1942/12/18/archives/gertrude-dudle
daughter-of-late-eastman-kodak-official.html
