By: Madeline Waggoner, S’ganim Unit Head
When Loui came to me a few months ago with the idea of a hypothetical new unit I had absolutely no idea that I would be writing to you, now, as the Unit Head of S’ganim. With a new unit not only comes a new name, new cabins, new daily schedule, new activities, but new traditions as well.
Our theme for the summer has been all about creation: the creation of a new unit and of a brand new time in their lives as they are about to enter high school. This theme has carried over not only into our programming but into a space on K’far S’ganim that has found a special place in all of our hearts.
Seven benches built by Kibbutz ’07 are situated on land that had previously been dedicated to someone’s memory. Jason Felder was 15 when he died on March 25, 1988, only a few months before he was supposed to be on Kibbutz during the summer of ‘88. In honor of Jason, his friends decided that a space should be dedicated to him so that at least a part of Jason could be with them throughout that pivotal summer.
When my kids wandered upon that spot this summer it was overgrown and run down and once they heard of the importance of that spot from Jason’s sister, Jude Sloter who is the Bonim Unit Head this summer, they automatically knew what they had to do.
A select group of very special campers took it upon themselves with the immense help of Michelle Renfrow to transform those benches into our very own Beit S’kinneset each bench representing one day of God’s creation serving as a constant reminder of Jason’s memory as well as the first ever summer of S’ganim.
My daughter (Ellie) was part of this wonderful project….she said it was the highlight of yet another successful summer spent at GFC. Thank you GFC for makeing it more than just a camp…but life long memories!
Am over whelmed… the thoughtfulness, beauty and love displayed at the dedication to Jason’s memory warmed this old heart.. I thank God for you. I am 94 years old and know that
our Judaism is in good hands, yours! From generation to generation.
I was part of Kibbutz ’88 and am so proud of the S’ganim Campers for rededicating that special space (on the former Kibbutz) to Jason Felder. It was heart-breaking to lose him as a teenager. We were a very close group of friends and most of us have remained friends over 25 years later. We found some peace at the time by creating that specialsection to remember him. Jason was very fun, always smiling, easy to like and a good guy.
Jason had bright red hair that sometimes stiked in the middle (hey, it was the ’80s) so we affectionately called him, “Beaker” from the original Muppets. He was funny and it just kind of stuck. We, his friends, all referred to him as “Beaker.”
I’m so appreciative that he has not been forgotten. May his Memory be for a Blessing.
Sorry for the typos above. My auto-correct on my IPhone is out of control. I meant to write “spiked in the middle…” not “stiked.”