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ABOUT THE COVER We are pleased to be continuing our new tradition of having pictures on four pages of the Spirit! In addition to the front and back covers, the alternate sides of these pages capture even more of what was special in 2014. Enjoy all ten pictures! The top picture on the front cover displays the two High Senior Captains of the White Rumble and the Blue Frontier (left to right): Brendan Delaney, Jack Lesser, Sam Shapiro, and Patrick O’Toole. Sam is holding this year’s Color War plaque after an exciting competition. The middle picture is of the Blue Frontier coaches in authentic black and white mode: left to right Zach Chason, Ian Finn, Jeremy Zucker, Joey Cohen, Jonah Rappaport, and Todd Zucker. The bottom picture shows Brendan, Sam, and the coaches of the victorious “600 Club” White team. The Rumble coaches are Mitchell Lesser, Jordy Cohen, Steven Price, Barrett Wilson, Jarrid McElligott, and Zach Leppo. The inside of the front cover shows the “Color War Is Now” sign that was creatively rigged on the roof of the dining hall. This unfurled at the exact right moment to start Color War in a most spectacular manner! The bottom picture depicts Team China, this year’s West End World Cup Champion, whose flag is now hanging in the dining hall for the entire year. Team members are from left to right Brandon Marino, Austin Dodes, Oudom Seang, Ben Kaplan, Liam Ross, Donte Barboza, Nick Akerstein, Luke Moriarty, and Coach Joey Cohen. The inside of the back cover depicts the climactic scene from this year’s Desert War. You see all the members of the Gold (Lightning) Team as they are about to paint Desert War Rock gold to celebrate their victory. The next two pictures come from our full, fun, and successful intercamp sports slate. Sam Shapiro is winning the tap to start the 15 and under basketball team on its way to a convincing victory over Camp Winaukee. The bottom picture shows all members of West End House Camp’s 11 and under soccer team which had a great performance. Bottom row left to right: Nursik Issatayev, Alex Hallion, Rodrigo Cuesta, Ben Shocket, Nico Martinez, Antonio Agard, and Riley Bloch. Top row left to right: Coach Joey Cohen, Christopher Chun, Liam Rowland, Griffin Yas, Josh Wolf, Corey Perkins, Will Burger, Zack Waxman, and Coach Craig Beberman. The top of the back cover shows the entire camp arm in arm singing The House Song at the conclusion of the closing ceremonies on the last night of the 2014 season. The bottom picture shows one of our many spectacular sunsets over Long Pond, providing a beautiful end to another terrific day and summer at West End House Camp! Special credit and thanks go out to outstanding photographers Brian Bartlett and Jack Donaldson, who should take great pride in these cover photos and the couple of thousand pictures they took during the season. Thanks also to Bryna Leeder and Ramie Lepler who lent their time and talents to our photographic efforts all summer. DEDICATION In October 1971 the West End House Boys Club, which had relocated from the old West End of Boston, opened its doors in the Allston-Brighton area. Soon thereafter a large number of boys from the newly constructed Charlesview Apartments (also known as Stadium Way) joined the Club; many of them also attended the camp. Charlesview, Inc., the sponsoring agency, is a nonprofit organization which is comprised of three area religious institutions: Congregation Kadimah Toras-Moshe, St. Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church, and Brighton Community United Methodist Church. The apartments were located in the North Allston neighborhood, next to Harvard University. Recently, through a real estate agreement with Harvard, Charlesview, Inc. and its partners redeveloped the apartment complex less than a half mile from its original location. One of the founding members of Charlesview, Inc. was Rabbi Abraham Halbfinger, a man who was as deeply devoted to the well-being of individuals and families of all faiths as he was to the principles of his religion. He remained active with the Charlesview program until his death in 2012. In 2013 The Rabbi Abraham Halbfinger and Charlesview Charitable Fund was created to strengthen, deepen and grow relationships among low and moderate income individuals who live in Allston and Brighton. West End House Camp is fortunate to be a recipient in 2014 of support from this fund to be used for the 2015 camp season. Rabbi Halbfinger was a well known and highly respected leader both in the Jewish community and in the social work community. He was very familiar with the West End House and had been a guest at many of our functions. We are proud and honored to be the recipient of support in his memory and to work with Charlesview, Inc. to fulfill the mission of the Fund. It is with deepest respect and sincere appreciation that the 2014 Spirit is dedicated to The Rabbi Abraham Halbfinger and Charlesview Charitable Fund. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are many people whose donation of time and services during this past year has been invaluable to us. We would like to acknowledge the following individuals and institutions that contributed to the success of the season: ·Michael Berger, President of West End House Camp, for his tireless efforts on our behalf. ·Past Presidents Henry Barr and Marty Jacobs for their continued assistance. ·Members of the Camp Corporation, who oversee the operation and whose committees meet regularly to ensure that West End House Camp is the very best it can possibly be. These great people are listed elsewhere in the Spirit, and each has been tremendous in his or her own support of the Camp. Special thanks to Adam Barr for his work on the website, to Bill Swiecicki and Bob Goober for their superb work regarding the maintenance and property management aspect of our facility, and to Jim Stoller for his guidance and support. ·Aaron Leppo (Full Line Graphics) – thank you for your patience and generosity in arranging for the printing of the 2014 Spirit! What a classy publication! ·Bert and Esther Wynn for their presence and help at the Breakfast every year since its inception. ·Tony Goroshko for loading and transporting campers’ luggage in his truck on the last day of camp. ·Sasha Corken of Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton for arranging the donation of medical supplies. · Mark Dutra and the fine folks at Franciscan Children’s Hospital in Brighton – we thank you for the use of your parking lot for bus departures and arrivals. It is an ideal meeting space! ·Sincere gratitude to the staff at the West End House Boys & Girls Club, especially Executive Director Andrea Howard, Kristin Rhuda, Mark DaCruz, and Jenny Nute ·Ken Kandler for his donation each summer of hand sanitizers and other health-related products, as well as his generous contribution of prizes for the Camp Breakfast raffle. ·Brien Wong for meeting the returning buses at Franciscan Hospital and making sure that campers and luggage are always accounted for. ·Bob Kessin for his generous donation of staff shirts. ·Dave Early and Bill Mills from Boston College for their assistance in arranging the Annual Breakfast. ·Kenny Klapman for helping at the buses each year. ·Special recognition to Tom Randall, whose musical talents, driving expertise, and laid back personality added so much to the camp during his stay in the first half of the season. MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Congratulations to everyone on a most successful summer! Another great season has ended and we are looking forward to all of the same – and then some- for 2015! Although WEH Camp is open ten weeks each summer (one week for staff training, eight weeks for campers, and one week for the alumni) the task of directing it encompasses a full 52 weeks each year. Camp Director Steve Lepler, as he has done every year, puts all of his energy into efforts to ensure that each season is the best it possibly can be - his dedication, energy, creativity, concern, and organizational skills are unmatched, and the success of these tireless efforts can be seen on the happy faces of the campers each day. His fervent determination to ensure that West End House Camp remains the very best among all camps is evident. Thank you, Steve, for all you have done and will continue to do! Ryan Wilensky has been an indispensable addition since he became Director of Operations in October 2007. His dedication and work are in the true “Spirit of the House,” and he continues to play an extremely important and positive role in the lives of the youngsters we serve. Also, thank you, Ryan, for coordinating the efforts to publish the Spirit each year – not an easy (and often a frustrating) task! Special hello to Rachel, Whitney, and Wesley! Our gratitude to Mike Ruzycky for tending to the medical needs of campers in a calm, competent, and careful manner. It is a pleasure to have him on board. He needs improvement only in his chess playing! Under the expert care of Property Managers John Fredette and Steve Chamberlain our facility remains in excellent “up to date” shape. They are amazing and very talented people; we are so very fortunate to have them. On a personal basis, I am grateful for their attention and concern when “Bill’s” new cabin was being built – and afterwards, too. Ramie Lepler, as always, was ready and willing to lend a helping hand, especially when it came to driving the boat or taking pictures. Thank you, Ramie, for all that you do for us – and for the special food treat you bring on Friday evenings! Special thanks to Danny Walsh for his efforts both on and off the waterfront! In his calm, unruffled manner he gets the job done and is willing to help wherever and whenever needed.

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