Lisa & Stu
Camp Tel Yehudah
When/how/where at camp did you meet?
We met in the summer of 2000 at Camp Tel Yehudah. We were both older (27 and 29 respectively). Lisa was working as a Regional Director for Young Judaea and Stu had gone back to school to get a teaching degree and had the summer off before starting his first year as a teacher. During that summer, Stu was running the kitchen and Lisa was in charge of the campers who worked in support positions around camp.
Was it love right away?
Well, aren’t there always two sides to every story?
Stu’s version – “We met on the first day of orientation. I had just returned to camp from a friend’s wedding and I was still wearing my tuxedo from the night before. Lisa approached me and introduced herself, and I saw stars and heard bells. I say this because the banquet decorations from the previous summer’s “Night Under the Stars” were still up and I was right next to the phone.”
Lisa’s version – “We met in the kitchen. Stu asked me to leave because he doesn’t like people wandering through the kitchen.”
Either way, we were married three years later and Stu was wearing that same tuxedo.
What happened between you when camp ended that summer?
Stu was living in New York City at the time and Lisa was living in DC. At first we tried to make it work, but between the distance and the struggles of Stu being a first year teacher it became too difficult. We broke up that November. The next summer, we both found ourselves back at TY and the director put our rooms on opposite sides of the same hallway. By the middle of the summer, love had struck again – and this time it was for good. Lisa moved to New York in June and by July we were engaged.
Did you have any camp themed things at your wedding?
Just lots of camp people!
Do you find that your time at camp has influenced your relationship/marriage/family?
Absolutely! Luckily, Stu has continued to work at camp so we’re back all the time. Stu spent most of his life at camp so it influences everything he does. Lisa came to camping later in life, but now she’s pretty much in it for the long haul!
Will you send your kids to camp?
Will? We already do! Our daughter will be starting her sixth year at Sprout Lake this summer and our son will be starting his first. They’ve also grown up as staff kids at TY, where they have the run of the place. And yes, they’ve already been put to work in the kitchen!