Those Lazy, Crazy, Hazy Days Of Summer

with lyrics by Charles Tobias. #5 in 1963. What an awful song.

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Those days of soda and pretzels and beer
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Dust off the sun and moon and sing a song of cheer
Just fill your basket full of sandwiches and weenies
Then lock the house up, now you're set
And on the beach you'll see the girls in their bikinis
As cute as ever but they never get 'em wet
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Those days of soda and pretzels and beer
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
You'll wish that summer could always be here
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Those days of soda and pretzels and beer
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Dust off the sun and moon and sing a song of cheer
Don't hafta tell a girl and fella about a drive-in
Or some romantic movie seen
Right from the moment that those lovers start arrivin'
You'll see more kissin' in the cars than on the screen
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Those days of soda and pretzels and beer
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
You'll wish that summer could always be here
You'll wish that summer could always be here
You'll wish that summer could always be here

KV Play On a Summer's Day

Jazz On A Summer's Day: 1958

from Alan Kurtz

Looking like a grande dame in Vogue, singing like a dame outa Down Beat, Anita O'Day walked away with Jazz on a Summer's Day (1960). The documentary of 1958's Newport Jazz Festival should have been called Jazz on a Summer's O'Day."I was scheduled for 5 o'clock in the afternoon," Miss O'Day recounts in her autobiography, "and I asked myself what to wear. 'It's teatime,' I told the Italian lady who ran a dress shop in Greenwich Village. She brought out this black dress, trimmed with white. We both knew it was right, but I asked what I could wear on my head. She went into the back room and came out with a black cartwheel, trimmed with white feathers. Both went with my see-through, plastic pumps and for a fun touch I added short white gloves."After flicking mud from an earlier rain off her shoe, a tightly hemmed Anita wriggled on stage and squinted at the crowd. "Performing in the afternoon was a bonus," she recalled, "because I could see the audience. I spotted Chris Connor out there." Like O'Day, Connor had served a stretch as Stan Kenton's vocalist. "That was good," Anita thought, "because I can make my performance the way I want it to be when I know some of the audience digs what I'm doing and I can relate to them." She related with what amounts to a clinic on jazz singing, in particular wowing the crowd with her up-tempo take on the 1925 chestnut "Tea for Two." Blazing through the lyrics, Anita treats both melody and rhythm to a complete makeover, exercising the unbridled flair of an interior decorator given carte blanche by a client with deep pockets. Following a short piano solo, Anita switches to scat, trading fours with Poole's wire-brushed drums. To conclude, Anita amuses the audience by exchanging wordless quotes with her trio from "Flip Top," a favorite '50s TV jingle. "You get a lot to like with a Marlboro," the original assured. "Filter, flavor, flip-top box." In those halcyon days, cigarette jingles were considered harmless fun. Fifty years later, coffin-nail jingles are thankfully a thing of the past. Anita O'Day, though, is as much fun as ever.

A Hudson River Boat Ride: August 1958

That's my little "bro" Jeff Nathanson on my left. My dad scrubbed his Julius look and my mother started turning gray at a rapid rate since the picture from about 2 and a half years earlier.

Rowdies Sink Bathouse: September 16, 1923

Boy Scout Troop 111 Of St. Joseph's And Ten Mile River Camp: Part 2

From Joseph Barone

I forgot one more KVer who was a part of Troop 111 and worked at Summer Camp: Paul Grillo. Paul lived at 20 Monroe St. I probably forgot because he did not work at Camp Keowa, which was for Manhattan Scouts, but at Camp Kernochan, which was mainly for Scouts from Queens.

Paul is in the phot above, #21

Camp Madison Felicia Then And Now

Com Be
A report from Sarah on her visit

Sorry for the delay in getting to the good stuff that is happening at and on the land that was once (and some think will always be) Camp Madison Felicia. First you all should know more about Scott Robichaud. He fell into this connection to Camp but he seems to have fallen in love with it and it is something to see and be around. He refreshes and reminds me of how I felt about the place and it's fun to be around that enthusiasm again. He was not hired specifically to work on Camp Combe stuff but had they looked nobody better could have been found.
The improvements to many of the structures we know so well are fun to see. Knowing how the lower unit bunks and the Pavilion/Open Shed were used, I immediately approved. Other things made me think of Jerry's building projects and these new additions capture that spirit of his 'projects'. Where is Jerry?

Here's what I saw as I saw it.
1)There's now a water slide that runs on the ground, down the incline from Peekskill Hollow along what I think is the camp's property line. It's set apart from but in the area of the pool. Pool seems in good shape, no more diving board or slide. The new slide is tempting; it has this big corrigated vent you slide through. I resisted, but I did jump the fence and into the pool. It was hot and felt very good. The changing areas are the same we used; need and will be replaced.
2) As you walk up the hill from the pool to the rear of the barn and side of the dining hall, you notice that a lot of tiering has been done that stabilizes the incline; prevents erosion from the global warming rains we seem to be experiencing.
3) Walk on the path behind the dining hall, toward the side of the Pav/OpSh and the brige over the creek, the big tree on the left is even bigger and now is encased in a wooden, climbable scaffolding/decking that goes way up. Fun, huh?
4) The Open Shed, which is what it was called in the 60s/70s was called the Pavilion when I was a camper. On the side facing the field, the floor has been extended to create a really nice front porch. It could also serve as a stage, I think, with the audience sitting on the grass, backs to the road. 5) The bridge over the creek has been rebuilt and the railings on either side incorporate benches. 6) The one room library that stood on stilts to the right is gone - but get this, the part of the path to the lower unit that was always the muddiest has been BOARDWALKED! So now, we can tell the younguns how we walked to and from, 3X a day at least through the mud and how easy they have it! And then you get to the Lower Unit and it's a revelation...
5. Big Lower Unit changes to the bunks. Since camp is now days only, each lower unit bunk houses an activity like Nature, Arts and Crafts. So campers can be sheltered on a rainy day and not be cooped up inside, a large semi-covered deck has been built around each bunk. The spooky shower house is gone! The Arts and Crafts hut when I was a counselor is now for the youngest kids' that attend - pre-schoolers. When I was a camper, arts and crafts happened in the garage attached to the barn opening onto the parking area. I remember that soon after we arrived, a big ceder tree would be cut down and carried in. Each kid, counselor and every staff member would be given a pocket sized piece of the wood and a few sheets of sand paper. Everyone worked on their wood at every chance; carried it around with them all the time. It was a camp wide, continuous, walking around project that yielded a good luck piece for home. I still love the smell of cedar.

Boy Scout Troop 111 Of St. Joseph's And Ten Mile River Camp

Ten Mile Camp
From Joseph Barone:

Reading the story about summer camp, and having just attended my first summer one in over 20 years, reminded me that the Boy Scouts of Troop 111 (sponsored by St. Joseph), would each year go to Ten Mile River Scout Camp. TMR as it was commonly called, was located near Monticello and Max Yesgur's Farm.
I know of at least two KVer's (Troop 111) who served on staff over the years at TMR.
First, Richard Galasso (parents still live in KV) served on staff at Camp Davis Lake in 1969. He reminded me a number of times of how they all gathered around a couple of transistors to listen to the Landing on the moon. (Richard is # 10 in slide 1).
And yes, the second one was yours truly at Camp Keowa in 1978 at a Counselor in Training. (Joseph is #32 in slide 2)
Although, the next person was not a KVer, he did live on the LES and was very well known in Scouting during the 1950s thru the 1970s: Julius "Julie Y" Yavarkovsky. "Julie Y" owned a paper good business on Ludlow St.

The pdf file above has pictures of Richie Galasso, Joseph Barone and Julie Yavarkovsky.
Julie passed away over 30 years ago. Ten Mile River Camp was an excellent site/museum that the pictures above come from

High Feather And Camp Madison Felicia: Episode 1, Part 3

There are more episodes available from youtube user sanman2004

High Feather And Camp Madison Felicia: Episode 1, Part 2

High Feather And Camp Madison Felicia: Episode 1, Part 1

above from episode 1

High Feather is a 10-episode educational television show which ran on PBS in the 1980s; each episode was 30 minutes long. The program's name came from the Old English expression "High Fettle", meaning enjoying life and cheerfully doing the tasks of living. The heartfelt spirit of the show was captured in the lyrics to its theme song: "I'm in High Feather. Feel like the sun is shining on me. High Feather. I'm as free as I can be..."
The series, produced by the New York State Education Department in 1980, followed eight teenagers (four boys and four girls) at the High Feather Summer Camp, where they learn values of honesty, sportsmanship, nutrition, physical fitness, and getting along with others. The series was filmed at Camp Madison-Felicia and Camp Minisink.
Some of the most memorable episodes included "Ballerina", where Leslie, an anorexic, starves herself to the point of exhaustion to achieve a dancer's body, and "Swim Test", where Tom was afraid to go shirtless in the lake because of his obesity.
The cast was comprised of an ethnically and racially diverse group of teens:
* Jacqueline Allen (Leslie)
* Brian Goldberg (Stan)
* Virgil Hayes (Leo)
* Richard Levey (Tom)
* Cindy O'Neal (Suzanne)
* Emily Wagner (Cathy)
* Tasha Washington (Ann)
* Tino Zaldivar (Domingo)
* Robert Y R Chung (Kim)
Most of the show's young cast were not professional actors. Emily Wagner, who played Cathy, went on to appear as the character Doris Pickman on the long-running series "ER"
Adults
* Barbara Brown (Mrs. Riggs)
* Ramona Brito (Nurse)
* Powell McGill (Swim Coach)
Episode Titles
1. "Deep Water Test"
2. "Stan's Secret"
3. "Swifty"
4. "A Nose for News"
5. "Ballerina"
6. "Lost in the Woods"
7. "Going Home"
8. "The County Fair"
9. "Saved from the Pound"
10. "Food Follies"

Revisiting Camp Madison Felicia

At The YMCA Camp Combe in Putnam County on July 12, 2009. It's formerly the site of Camp Madison Felicia where many KVers, Al Smith kids and other Lower East Side children and teens went to camp in the 1950's-70's
There's a facebook group for the camp
The camp's current website
The generous ownership at Combe Inc. provided the finances to save the camp and many of the company employees as well as former campers and camper families volunteer their time and talents to continually improve the site
I doubt this might have been a Camp Madison Felicia song, but I needed a soundtrack

(Leader)
We're going on a bear hunt!
(Group)
We're going on a bear hunt!
We're gonna catch a big one!
We're gonna catch a big one!
I'm not afraid!
I'm not afraid!
Are you?
Are you?
Not me!
Not me!
Here comes the gate
" " (Group Echos)
Now we're on a bear hunt " "
We're gonna catch a big one " "
I'm not afraid " "
Are you? " " Not me! " "
We're coming to a tall mountain " "
It sure is high " "
It sure is wide " "
Let's climb up it " "
Well, there's nothing over there " "
Nothing over there " "
Nothing back there " "
Hey! Wait! I think I see something
Quick! Everybody run down!
We're going on a bear hunt!
We're going on a bear hunt!
We're gonna catch a big one!
We're gonna catch a big one!
I'm not afraid!
I'm not afraid!
Are you?
Are you?
Not me!
Not me!
We're going thru the tall grass " "
We're going thru the short grass " "
Hey! Look! There's a little tree " "
Well, let's shinny on up it
Whoa! It gets a little skinny up here at the top
See anything over that way? " "
Anything over that way?, Uh, oh!,
Oh, no! Whoa! Agh! let's get down!
We're going on a bear hunt!
We're going on a bear hunt!
We're gonna catch a big one!
We're gonna catch a big one!
I'm not afraid!
I'm not afraid!
Are you?
Are you?
Not me!
Not me!
Oh, no! " "
It's a big puddle of mud " "
Can't go around it " "
Gotta go right thru it " "
Yeuk! " "
Well, let's go.
Squish, Sqwish, Blaaahh.
We're going on a bear hunt!
We're going on a bear hunt!
We're gonna catch a big one!
We're gonna catch a big one!
I'm not afraid!
I'm not afraid!
Are you?
Are you?
Not me!
Not me!
We're coming to a wide river " "
And there's no bridge going over it " "
No tunnel going under it " "
It's just plain old water " "
And we're gonna have to swim " "
All right, dive in!
Start swimming
Do the back stroke
Do the side stroke
Do the doggie paddle
Try the little cat paddle
OK Jump out, shake yourself off
We're going on a bear hunt!
We're going on a bear hunt!
We're gonna catch a big one!
We're gonna catch a big one!
I'm not afraid!
I'm not afraid!
Are you?
Are you?
Not me!
Not me!
Shhh, it's a cave " "
Looks like the kind of cave that B-bears live in " "
I don't know if I want to go in there
You think we oughta go in?
Are you nuts?
There's probably a bear in there
All right I'll go in, You stay here,
And if I find a bear, I'll come out and get you
And we'll all go in and grab him together
Now, quiet, don't make a sound while I'm in that cave,
Cuz if you wake him up, I'll be in trouble
Bears are awful ornery when they first wake up, you know
OK, I'm going on in
Oooo, It's dark in here
It's really dark in here
I can't see a thing
Agh, there's spiders webs
Ooo, what was that???
What's this??.... it's soft, uh oh,it's kind of fuzzy
Ahg!!!!!!!!! Run! Everybody run!!
I saw a bear!!!!
Jump in the water! Swim fast!!
Do the backstroke!
The sidestroke, the doggie paddle
Jump out of the water
Run through the mud!
Forget the tree!!
Go through the tall grass
The short grass
Quick! Go up the mountain
Down the other side
Go thru the gate
Into the house, under the bed
Under the pillow
Hide!!!!!
Uh, it's awful quiet around here
I'm not afraid
I'm not afraid
Are you?
Are you?

Coney Island Memories

A Knickerbocker Village type baby boomer site about growing up in Coney Island and beyond

myconeyisland - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: myconeyisland

The Knish Man Of Summer

A remembrance of Ruby, one of those classic knish men of summer... as well as other seasons
from brooklynonline

Ruby The Knishman - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: Ruby The Knishman

KV Alumni: Summer of 2008

from Son Of Seth: I am listening to the audio book of "Striver's Row" - I'm about a third of the way through if anyone should ask. Some fabulous scenes. Also a number of excellent word choices and a veritable concatenation of aural peregrinations. I'm sure you agree with me on that score.

KV Alumni: Summer Exploits of 66

The picture below is from 6/23/63:"When New York Mets Jimmy Piersall, hits his 100th HR, he circles bases backwards."

again from Howie:

From Shatzkin's knishes to C & C soda to Yankee Stadium. Only, it was the '66 season (not '67). The vendor's locker room was directly opposite the visiting team's and both doors were always wide open. Piersall was one of the few players on the Angels that we recognized and he was in no mood to wear a towel, maybe because (see Milesones bottom) it was Jimmy's 1700th game that day. I got stuck selling scorecards in the bleachers for the first 7 innings of game one. What sealed the deal for me that this was the day we saw Jimmy P's P was that after the games we hung out for autographs - I still have the ball signed by umpires Tom Haller and Emitte Ashford (first black umpire in majors), who were part of the crew that day.

The game day statistics

New York Yankees 4   California Angels 1
 Date: July 24, 1966
    Stadium: Yankee Stadium (New York,NY)
          CAL: 52-46 Prev Game (NYA) Next Game (WS2)
          NYA: 45-52 Prev Game (CAL) Next Game (MIN)
    Game Notes:
     California Angels Career   Pos AB R H BI BB SO AVG
                1.  Jose Cardenal cr  cf 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .290
                2.  Tom Satriano cr  c-3b 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 .250
                3.  Jim Fregosi cr  ss 4 1 2 1 0 1 0 .237
                4.  Rick Reichardt cr  lf 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 .282
                5.  Frank Malzone cr  3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .240
                      Paul Schaal cr  3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .223
                      Bob Rodgers cr  ph-c 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .227
                6.  Bobby Knoop cr  2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .228
                7.  Jim Piersall cr  rf 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .205
                8.  Ed Kirkpatrick cr  1b 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .203
                9.  Dean Chance cr  p 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .021
                       Norm Siebern cr  ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .271
                       J. Hernandez cr  pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .059
                Totals - 14 players 30 1 7 1 4 6 0 .234
         New York Yankees Career  Pos AB R H BI BB SO AVG
                1.  Horace Clarke cr  ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .229
                2.  Bobby Richardson cr 2b 4 1 1 1 0 2 0 .255
                3.  Mickey Mantle cr  cf 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 .287
                      Ray Barker cr  pr-1b 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .210
                4.  Joe Pepitone cr  1b-cf 4 1 0 0 0 1 0 .257
                5.  Roger Maris cr  rf 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 .239
                6.  Jake Gibbs cr  c 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 .268
                7.  Roy White cr  lf 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .229
                8.  Clete Boyer cr  3b 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 .234
                9.  Steve Hamilton cr  p 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
                       Hal Reniff cr p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
                       Tom Tresh cr  ph 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .219
                       Dooley Womack cr p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
                         Pedro Ramos cr p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .111
                Totals - 14 players 31 4 7 4 0 7 0 .236
          E:  Tom Satriano (3)
          2B:  Bobby Knoop (15)
          3B:  None
          HR:  Jim Fregosi (7)
          RBI:  Jim Fregosi (34)
          SB:  Jose Cardenal 2(17)
          CS:  Tom Satriano (1)
          S:  Dean Chance (3)
          SF:  None
          HP:  None
          IBB: None
          GDP: Ed Kirkpatrick (2) E:  None
          2B:  Clete Boyer (13), Roger Maris (6)
          3B:  Bobby Richardson (3)
          HR:  Tom Tresh (13)
          RBI: Ray Barker (12), Jake Gibbs (16), Bobby Richardson (26), Tom Tresh (39)
          SB:  Joe Pepitone (2)
          CS:  None
          S:   None
          SF:  None
          HP:  None
          IBB:  None
          GDP:  None
                CAL Pitchers Car IP H R ER BB SO HR PIT/Str ERA
               Dean Chance L (7-12) cr  7 4 2 2 0 7 1 0-0 3.41
               Jack Sanford cr   1 3 2 2 0 0 0 0-0 3.73
                Totals - 2 pitcher(s) 8 7 4 4 0 7 1 -- 3.51
          WP:  None
          BK:  None
          TBF:  Dean Chance 25, Jack Sanford 6
          GB/FB:  Dean Chance 7-7, Jack Sanford 1-2
         NYA Pitchers Car IP H R ER BB SO HR PIT/Str ERA
                Steve Hamilton cr   5 5 1 1 0 4 1 0-0 2.54
                Hal Reniff cr   1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0-0 2.10
                Dooley Womack W (3-3)  1.2 2 0 0 3 0 0 0-0 4.18
                Pedro Ramos SV (13) cr  1.1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0-0 3.50
                Totals - 4 pitcher(s) 9 7 1 1 4 6 1 -- 3.41
          WP:  None
          BK:  None
          TBF:  Steve Hamilton 20, Hal Reniff 3, Dooley Womack 8, Pedro Ramos 4
          GB/FB:  Steve Hamilton 5-6, Hal Reniff 0-2, Dooley Womack 3-0, Pedro Ramos 1-1
          Umpires: H: hallb901 1B: ashfe901 2B: stevj901 3B: stewb902
          Time of game: 2:29
          Attendance: 23,534
          Temperature: 82 degrees F - 0
          Wind: -1 mph -
       Streaks in Progress: Jose Cardenal 5, Jim Fregosi 3, Ed Kirkpatrick 1, Bobby Knoop 4, Jim Piersall 1, Tom Satriano 1, Norm Siebern 2
         Streaks in Progress: Ray Barker 1, Clete Boyer 2, Jake Gibbs 1, Mickey Mantle 3, Roger Maris 1, Bobby Richardson 1, Tom Tresh 6
          Milestones
          Jim Piersall played in his 1700th career major league game.
         Milestones
          Tom Tresh hit his 100th career home run.

KV Alumni: Summer Exploits of 65

image above from Captain Bob's Coney Island site
from Howie Silverstein

C & C soda and Brighton Beach, Summer of '65:  Bruce Bueller., David Aaronson and I schlepped cans of C&C soda on ice in large igloos across the Brighton Beach sand around Bay 8th street. We eventually got wise to the idea that as long as we were willing to peddle soda for a few cents a can, we may as well catch a big league game at the same time which is how we all wound up as vendors at Yankee Stadium the next summer.

KV Summers

Many KVer's of yesteryear spent summers in bungalow colonies. I found this really funny bungalow themed video on youtube, here's its description:
"I created this video with the help of my family....to accompany the parody song "500 Miles" by Gershon Veroba."
About Gershon Veroba, who after hearing him here I think is terrific:
"No one else can do what he can do... definitely the most talented guy in Jewish music. One of my favorite guests."- Nachum Segal, Radio Host, WFMU, NJ
"He's a walking American cultural library of music. He's incredibly talented and really cares about music. Crowds just love him and I've become a big fan of his."
- Andy Statman, Klezmer Performer.
Some KV bungalow recollections from Al:
"One of the things that Sam & Yetta did really great was get us out of the city during the summer and up to the Broscht Belt. For that reason I learned to play real softball. I remember the Bellels visiting us and I'm sure the Nathansons and Kupersteins must've shown up a few times. The Bungalow colonies were great for telling dirty jokes (Jackie Mason, Joey Bishop, etc) on Saturday nights, playing cards, making lasting friendships (and love affairs: where's Linda Moses?) and most of all playing softball. Believe me when I say that Big Ricky (machine gun and all) and that whole Bensonhurst/Bath Beach crowd, wouldn't have lasted a minute in a hotly contested bungalow colony softball game. Attached is an article from today's NY Times about an orthodox softball league that plays in the Monticello area. Since I always went to a colony for "non-jews" (conservatives) these guys could never have competed with us "goyim". If you remember the movie The Chosen, where Robby Benson plays a great hasidic softball player, this article will take you back. It certainly did for me: Elvis, the death of Marilyn Monroe, the Mets first season (ha! ha!); and of course The Beatles. Enjoy it guys.