FAMILY TIES
BY GINA GALLUCCI-WHITE
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amp has always been a family
experience for Ellen Sheridan.

From fourth to ninth grade,
Sheridan went to Camp Harlam in
the Poconos, a camp that continues to
provide recreational and educational
activities for Reform Jewish youth
today. Both of Sheridan’s older sisters
also attended, so when she was old
enough, she begged her parents
to go. “It was a great, wonderful
experience,” she recalls.

Most adults can only remember their
camp adventures, but Sheridan is one
of many former Maryland campers who
returns to volunteer, or in some cases,
to oversee a summer camp, making the
experience truly a family aff air.

This summer, Sheridan and her son,
Ethan, will enter their eighth year
at Camp Airy in Thurmont. He is a
camper, and she works for a week
as a nurse to earn reduced tuition.

The all-boys camp, which has a sister
camp, Camp Louise, for girls, is a
Jewish-focused overnight camp. “We
both love it,” she says. “Every year he
goes, he likes it more and has just an
incredible life-changing experience.”
32 February 2018
washingtonFAMILY.com Sheridan’s older sister Donna also
continues to work as a nurse there,
even though her two boys have aged
out. The camp has fi ve nurses and two
physicians on staff each week. This
will be the fourth year the sisters have
worked together. “Not many people get
to say they can work with their sibling
side by side, even if it is only for a week,
so that is a neat kind of bonding thing
for us,” she says. “It’s a busy week but it
is a healthy, fun week.”
Sheridan’s mother also att ended Camp
Louise one year, but her experience was
cut short after a camper was suspected
of having polio, and all the campers
were sent home as a precaution.

Sheridan enjoys the friendships with
staff members and being around the
campers. “It’s a fun week,” she says.

“The kids are fun. They are a really
good group of kids. They are very
appreciative of what we do. They are a
little bit homesick, so you are a parent
figure (to them) for a little while.”
Alicia Berlin first went to Camp
Louise at age 10 with her best friend,
whose mother also worked as a nurse
at the facility. She became extremely
homesick. But after a phone call with
her mother, she realized she had a
choice: Be miserable or make the most
of the situation. She chose the latter
and has pretty much been at the camp
ever since as a camper, counselor, unit
leader, assistant director and now as
camp director.

“It is pretty amazing when you
think about the impact that camp
has on campers; not only while they
are there, but for years afterward,”
Berlin says. “People will often think
back to their camp days with such
fond memories. The fact that I am in
charge of camp and am the director;
it is a big responsibility to create this
amazing community. People are going
to not only enjoy in the summer, but
have these memories they hold onto
forever. I don’t take that lightly at all.

I want to make sure we continue to
provide the amazing experience and
community for our kids.”
Compass: unanaranja/iStock / Getty Images Plus; Photo frame: voinSveta/iStock / Getty Images Plus; wSheridan photos: provided
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