Pripstein's Camp Mishmar

Pripstein's Camp Mishmar (Hebrew: מַחֲנֶה מִשְׁמָר‎) was a private co-educational summer camp in St. Adolphe d'Howard, Quebec, which operated from 1941 to 2014. Though not strictly a Jewish summer camp, Mishmar predominately catered to a middle- and upper-class Jewish clientele. In its seventy year history, the camp hosted a number of prominent future writers, businesspeople, and politicians.

Pripstein's Camp Mishmar
מחנה משמר
Location
1580 Chemin du Lac-des-Trois-Frères
St. Adolphe d'Howard, Quebec, J0T 2B0
Coordinates45.98310°N 74.35732°W / 45.98310; -74.35732
Information
TypePrivate summer camp
Established1941 (1941)
Closed2014 (2014)
Age range7–16
LanguageEnglish
Tuition$1000–$2000/wk[1]
Communities servedJewish and anglophone communities
AffiliationOntario Camping Association
Websitemishmar.com

History

Camp Mishmar was founded by Chaim Pripstein, a Hebrew teacher at United Talmud Torahs who had fled Poland to Canada before World War II.[2] A Hebrew teacher at United Talmud Torahs, Pripstein became a peddler in the Laurentians to supplement his income, acquiring land from a local farmer near St. Jerome in 1941. Pripstein decided to rent it out to local Jewish families during the summer, and soon left his job as a school teacher to run a modest Jewish country hotel on the land with his wife Pearl.[3] The hotel became known for its literary gatherings, hosting such writers as Isaac Bashevis Singer.[4]

As their business grew, the Pripsteins set up a residential camp for about ten children, which quickly grew into a proper summer camp complete with a playing field and tennis court.[5] The camp emphasized Jewish culture and physical fitness.[6] The camp relocated to the shore of Lac des Trois Frères in St. Adolphe d'Howard in 1954, after local authorities deemed the river running through the original site polluted.[6]

At its peak in the 1960s, the camp had an average of 240 campers each summer.[2] The camp was closed in 2014 because of declining enrolment and financial difficulties.[7]

Facilities

Camp Mishmar boasted top-quality sports facilities, including a covered pool, a covered basketball court, a 19,000-square-foot sports complex with an indoor roller rink, skate park and rock climbing centre, and an indoor ice rink.[3] Food at Camp Mishmar was 'kosher style', though the camp only served kosher meat in its early years. Jewish rituals such as lighting Shabbat candles were nonetheless maintained.[2]

Literary references

Leonard Cohen fictionalized Pripstein's Camp Mishmar in The Favourite Game (1963), which was based upon a journal he kept while working at the camp as a counsellor.[8] Sarah Mlynowski used her ten years at Pripstein's as inspiration for her novel Spells and Sleeping Bags (2007).[9]

Notable alumni
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References
  1. "Pripstein's Camp Mishmar". SummerCamp.com. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  2. Arnold, Janice (31 December 2014). "End of an era as Pripstein's camp closes in Quebec". The Canadian Jewish News. Montreal.
  3. Magder, Jason (5 January 2015). "Pripstein's Camp to close after nearly 75 years". Montreal Gazette. Montreal.
  4. Nadel, Ira B. (2011). Various Positions: A Life of Leonard Cohen. London: Plexus. OCLC 751520830.
  5. Graham, Joseph (4 June 2011). "Pripstein's camp was a symbol of simpler era". Montreal Gazette.
  6. Levy, Carmi (26 January 1989). "Many camping choices in Montreal". The Canadian Jewish News. Montreal. p. 45.
  7. Cohen, Mike (9 December 2014). "Camp Pripstein's is shutting its doors". The Suburban.
  8. Dueck, Nathan (August 2004). "When the World Is Made Flesh": Leonard Cohen Live in/and Performance (PDF) (Thesis). University of Manitoba. p. 40.
  9. Howarth, Ian (6 March 2010). "The lasting impact of summer camp". Montreal Gazette.
  10. Mlynowski, Sarah (2007). Spells and Sleeping Bags. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0-385-73387-8.
  11. Wisse, Ruth R. (2 August 2018). "Responsibility; or, My Brother and I (and Leonard Cohen) Go to Summer Camp". Mosaic. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
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