When it comes to sports, I excel at … attendance

My athletic fate was probably sealed by 1955, when I turned 7.  At summer camp in Los Angeles, I received two awards: “Excellence in Checkers” and “Excellent Conduct on the Bus.”

Can I blame my parents for my lack of athletic prowess?  Well, yes and no.

Like many other kids, I wanted to play in Little League, but games were always held on Saturday mornings.  From kindergarten through Confirmation, this is when my brother, sister and I were sent to religious school.

Growing up in Southern California, we could play outdoors almost every day.  My twin, Theo, and I often enjoyed playing Ping-Pong on our backyard table.  We also had our own tetherball pole.  After our sister, Betty, was born, we got a swing set.  But one day, when jumping off a moving swing, I fell and broke my right wrist.  Good thing I am left-handed!

Our paternal grandmother taught us to ride bikes, but Theo and I were fascinated by the new idea of skateboarding.  So, around 1960, we built our own from used roller skates.

We Goodwin kids always loved going to the beach in Santa Monica, and we could swim in outdoor pools much of the year.  Theo and I also took some tennis lessons, but we spent most of our time picking up balls.

My maternal grandfather, George, was on the baseball team when he attended Cornell (Class of 1913), and he loved to play catch with Theo and me.  Mom had become a Reds fan while a child in Cincinnati, so baseball always meant a great deal to her.  Indeed, for three years our family attended Dodgers games in the L.A. Coliseum, before the team built its own stadium.

Perhaps I also owed some of my athletic prowess to Dad, since he had managed the track team while a student at UCLA.

In elementary school, Theo and I had belonged to a boys’ youth group, similar to Cub Scouts, known as Woodcraft Rangers.  It revolved around the study of Indian lore.  I can still recite many of Woodcraft’s laws and speeches, including “The Omaha Tribal Prayer.”

So what were some of the Rangers’ favorite sports?  Mine was sandpainting.

I also enjoyed other arts and crafts.  After my junior and senior years of high school, I taught these skills as a counselor at one of the Rangers’ summer camps.

But I’m getting ahead of my saga.  Our Reform temple had its own coed summer camp, Hess Kramer (named after its major donor), near the beach in Malibu.  Mom and Dad thought that Theo and I should give it a try.

Yes, there was a large outdoor swimming pool, and we walked back and forth to the dining hall and outdoor services.  But perhaps my favorite activity was writing for the camp newspaper.

My cabin mate, Joel, took daily clean-ups quite seriously.  As a result, we won a special award, “Cleanest Among Men.”

But Theo and I sought a far greater challenge, so the following summer we were sent to a boys’ camp, Grizzly Lodge, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, northwest of Reno, Nevada.  It enrolled a few Jewish kids from L.A. and San Francisco, but we too were expected to recite “The Lord’s Prayer” and attend Sunday services in “The Church of the Wildwood.”

There were all kinds of outdoor adventures at Grizzly Lodge, but I received honors in arts and crafts.  Indeed, a counselor wrote a letter to my parents, proclaiming that I was one of the most notable potters and rock polishers he had ever encountered!   Theo and I also won marksmanship awards from the National Rifle Association.

After we attended Grizzly Lodge for a second summer, Mom and Dad thought that we needed a greater, more peaceful challenge.  So they suggested that we find another camp for the summer following our B’nai Mitzvah.

Our choice was discovered in a classified advertisement in Holiday magazine.

Summer Camp Afloat was truly an extraordinary experience, since it was located on Grand Bahama Island.  In 1961, Theo and I flew by ourselves to Miami, took a cab to dinner in Miami Beach, and then spent a night at an airport hotel.  The next morning, we flew to Fort Lauderdale to meet the 25 other campers and a few counselors before departing on miniature planes to Freeport.

Wow, what an extraordinary adventure based in a sprawling resort!  We always ate together, at our own table in the main dining room.  Two or three campers shared a bedroom. Campers were allowed to enjoy the resort’s nightclub, but we were encouraged to leave by 10 p.m.  The rum drinks were much too strong!

So what did we do all day?  Essentially, whatever we wanted as long as we didn’t bother other guests.  Sunbathing, Scrabble, Ping-Pong, bowling, sailing, fishing, swimming in an enormous outdoor pool or in the ocean, snorkeling and scuba diving – but no deeper than 90 feet.  And this is where Theo and I also learned to shoot trap and skeet – but we never told our parents.

There were more than a few Jewish kids from the Northeast and Midwest at the camp, but it was also probably the first place where we suffered some antisemitic insults, from fellow campers.

Nevertheless, Theo and I had so much fun that we returned for a highly enjoyable second summer.

An article in Sports Illustrated about America’s most unusual summer camps resulted in a slightly higher enrollment, but our camp closed within another year or two.  Indeed, whenever I tell stories about Summer Camp Afloat, listeners can hardly believe that it ever existed!

They also can’t believe that I went on to even greater athletic triumphs.  For example, I’m about to receive an award at the East Side YMCA’s aerobics class for seniors.  It’s for excellent attendance!

GEORGE M. GOODWIN, of Providence, is the editor of Rhode Island Jewish Historical Notes.