Camp Chicopee

Ziggy and Ricky

2005-12-26T13:38:00.000-05:00

Well, I am new at blogs and message boards, and most of all, scanning old photos. This one here is Ziggy and Ricky, that is Steve Seigel and Rick Stark, probably around 1964. Steve was my best friend back then, and even though we are far away, we are still best friends today. Zig, thanks for sending.

Our First Raid ( Part 1)

2005-12-24T19:19:00.000-05:00

It was in 1964 when we were old enough to think that we could pull off our first raid. Exactly what going on a raid meant, some if not most of us were unsure. We had a great bunk that year, and were in Bunk 8. This meant that one side of the bunk faced the woods, and it could be easier to sneak out after dark and go to the girl’s campus.

This year, our bunk had; Mitch and Howie Korn, Ricky Spivak, Steve Seigel, Jimmy Borkow and me, Ricky Stark. Our counselors were Richie Weinberg, and Jim the nature counselor. Old bunk mates who read this, please feel free to comment if I make errors. It’s not easy to remember every detail from over 40 years ago.

Well, anyway, we wanted to be mature guys and go to the girl’s campus, so we planned the go out after taps when everything quieted down. We made plans and picked a time, and someone had to stay awake to get everyone else up. There were a number of failures since the ‘lookout’ fell asleep several times. It may have been me that got things going. I remember taking a wet washcloth and putting it on Ricky Spivak’s face to wake him. After that we got everyone up to go, except I think Jimmy Borkow did not go. We put on dark clothes. Made our beds look like there was someone in them, and then made sure no OD’s were around. This was probably Mitch Korn’s or Ricky Spivak’s planning. They were much smarter than me.

Next we quietly went down the stairs, and walked past the path towards the woods, and then silently walked to the girl’s side. We passed the infirmary, the house were the Doctor lived, and then the dining hall. It was so easy. Now what we were going to do when we got to our destination, I don’t know. The idea was probably just to get to the girl’s side and back without being caught. As we passed the dining hall area and just began to arrive near the campus, it took only a split second for someone to recognize that Inter boys were out and about where they should not be. It now became a mad rush to help each other and ourselves to get back to bunk 8 before it could be determined which campers were breaking the rules.

The Zaremba Hig Dig a Dig Song

2005-12-24T18:43:00.000-05:00

Here is a reprint of an e-mail received from Alan Zaremba a few years ago when I asked him how the song went, and the origin.

From: a.zaremba@neu.edu

Date: 07/30/04 11:11:02

To: rick@rstark.com

Subject: Re: Rick Stark

Rick,

The hig dig a digga dig song started, if I have this correctly, during the

first summer our family went to Camp.

As the legend goes, or as my fuzzy recollection of it goes, singing that

was the antidote to rain. How and why hig dig a digadig, is beyond me.

However, when I speak to my folks next I will ask.

Alan

Alan Zaremba Ph.D.

Head Adviser and Associate Professor

Department of Communication Studies--Northeastern University

Organizational Communication: Foundations for Business and

Management--Thomson/South-Western 2003