The music was really good. Well, mostly that's true. The friendships forged at Bronco Junction were very special. Again, mostly that's true.
The atmosphere created by too little adult supervision of children who in their "normal" environment lived generally under close scruitny of over protective parents and a society that viewed childhood asthma as a handicap is something Matthew Mintz and I have discussed. I think there is something special here, but I think all children who go to camp gain the benefit of living in an environment where they must take greater responsibility for their choices, precisely because there can never be enough adult supervision at summer camp. The economics don't work.
So, I'm left wondering if part of my fascination is in part driven by the incompleteness of our last experience together.
There was always supposed to be a next summer. Part of me is still waiting for it.
I cried a lot when my mom told me there wouldn't be a 1983. I can't imagine how John France must have felt. To go on his honeymoon and come back to find his camp closed.
There are those nagging questions I have never resolved: like what is Randy (Qualls) doing now? What happened to the property? I read that it was vandalized.
Then there are things I wish I didn't know. The same technology that brought us together again virtually gave me the news that Jeff Meadows is in prison for murdering someone. I find myself not knowing if I should write him or not.
The music quest I launched the other day floods me with other wonderful memories.
A long way of saying:
Thank you for the wonderful memories.
We really ought to find a way to get together next summer. Perhaps we could all meet at Camp...
6 comments:
I think the other aspect that made camp a particularly special period of time was being with peers who had the same disease you had. Chronic diseases like asthma can make children in particular feel like outcasts. This was the first time for most of us that having a special diet or interrupting your day to take medications was not abnormal. Another important aspect of that time period for me personally was realizing that there were other children who had asthma just as bad and in some cases much worse then I did. Definitely felt less sorry for myself after going to camp.
Finally, I like Alex's idea of burning questions. Maybe we could generate a list, and maybe some of you have answers.
Here's a few of mine:
1. Whatever became of Jeff McDade, David Dignazzio and Gary Carter?
2. Who actually owned the camp, and what the story behind the transition of medical directorship from Dr. Scheer to Dr. Kumar?
3. What were the actual reasons the camp closed? Who owns the property now, and what is it used for?
4. Now that I am involved in medical research, I realize that many studies were done on us. Some were obvious, like use of helium and biofeedback, but I have a feeling that there may have been other things examined that were less obvious. I don't remember consenting for this research, but I am sure my parents must have signed something. Whatever became of this research? (I have tried to look in medical journals, but can't find).
5. Bob Smith left camp and did not return. What was the full story with this? (A favorite memory of mine was the Bob Smith Memorial concert the following year. "Rip Roaring Good Times"
6. It's been well over 10 years. Did any of the "Ten years from now" ever come close to becomming true?
7. Satellite pictures of camp on the internet show the property without bunk cars. Where did they go? What became of Bernie? Is he at some kiddie park in WVA?
I can answer some of your questions, as my mother was on the Board of Directors for the ten years or more I was a camper. BJ was a non-profit organization offically called Allergy Rehabilitation Foundation ran started by Dr. Scherr in the mid 1960's. It was his life long dream for all of us to live in the world we did at camp and experience that normal life for a little while. He was a very caring man and I was fortunate enough to have his as my personal doctor. He was very strict though. I can remember sitting in his office any time of the day or night when my mother called him and him pushing the fluids, doing breathing exercises with me to keep me out of the hospital. You don't get care like that any more.
Back to the point, as my memories take me away. Dr. Scherrs wife, Lois, had severe lung problems and so they moved to Arizona, turning the foundation along with his practice over to Dr. Kumar. Therefore, the records of everything went to Dr. Kumar. After this many years he has probably destroyed them.
As to why it closed, I can only speculate and tell my opinion. That I won't do but lets say Dr. Kumar didn't care enough to run it. It wasn't high on his list.
Camp was such a special place for me. I was at BJ from the time I was 5 until I was 15 years old so I pretty much experienced every part of growing up there. I remember not being able to wait until school was out so I could hurry back. It was like that was where I felt normal. And gosh! was I a hyper, onry kid at times! (I want to blame it on the meds!) Everyone of you shaped my life, made me the person I am. I've had alot of health problems over the years and I always remember the strength we learned back then.
I still live in the area of camp. Picture Christina's map only off a few degree's! It's a wonderful place to live. I haven't had as exciting life as it seems some of you had but its been good. I've been married(to the same man which is unusual these days) for 26 years. We have a great son, Marshall, who is 21.
My mother is the accountant for some car dealerships in the area and I am her assistant. It keeps us really busy doing 5 corporations ourselves but we like it.
Thanks for the site guys. I've really enjoyed readinging about your lives. Keep it up!
P. S. I'm not sure sure where Bernie went.
Lisa Weinstein (Hirschhorn) said...
Just wanted to expand a bit on what Tammy Anderson wrote regarding the camp switching ownership from Dr. Scherr to Dr. Kumar. Since I also attended camp during the summers of 1976 and 1977 I had the privilege of being there for 3 years under Dr. Scherr's leadership. He did alot of publicity for the camp and put it on the radar map among asthma specialists in the U.S. In regard to publicity, he brought alot of local and not so local celebrities to the camp including Miss West Virginia, Don King, the boxing promoter with the crazy hairdo, and some heavyweight boxing contenders. Barbra Streisand and Elliot Gould had a son together named Jason Gould and he attended the camp at one time, not when I was there though. Elliot Gould would come to visit the camp and play basketball and stuff with the campers during the summer. So you see, under Dr. Scherr's leadership his goal was to raise public awareness of the camp's existence, importance, and need for financial contributions. He was a great PR guy, as well as, Medical Director. Second, he recruited physicians to volunteer their time at the camp. My allergist in Chicago, IL knew about the camp and volunteered his time there in the mid 1970's, pretty impressive. This camp was very expensive to run. The medical staff alone were not cheap and I know he depended alot on volunteers, especially physicians. Recuitment was another job description on Dr. Scherr's plate.
Whether or not Dr. Kumar knew what it took to run a camp of this scope, does not matter. He did not rise to the occasion. The recruitment of medical staff, counselors, publicity for the camp, and, of course, fundraising were all job descriptions of the camp Medical Director and proved too much for Dr. Kumar to handle, in my humble opinion. I Hope this helps.
My sweet brother Jeffrey died after coming home from Bronco Junction having been overmedicated all summer that place ruined my mother's life and I cannot forgive them
My sweet brother Jeffrey died after coming home from Bronco Junction having been overmedicated all summer that place ruined my mother's life and I cannot forgive them
I remember having a scary bad attack once, and I was given a pill (Isoprel) that melted under my tongue. By the time it melted, the attack was gone - no epi needle! That was miraculous to me. Too bad that the drug was eventually banned due to side effects.
The camp taught me independence in a way I had not experienced before. I believe I was there in 1978, and saw Muhammad Ali, Elliott Gould, and the Boxing Kangaroo. I learned not to panic when my lips were turning blue and it serves me well even now. It turned out that I have autoimmune issues that aggravated my asthma: APS which causes clots wherever WBC’s go, chronic anemia, and the MTHFR genetic mutation. I have often wondered how many of us also had autoimmune conditions that aggravated our asthma.
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