Interview with R. Kaplan

8/9/2019 Interview with R. Kaplan

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THE TATTLER:

Hi Rob,

This is Zach Schonfeld and Adam Lauria from Camp Taconic (Teens '06 and '05,

respectively). We're currently Tattler Advisers, and Karen Adelman (Mandel) suggestedwe get in touch about some exciting bits of Taconic history. In particular, we've been

wondering for a while about the 1975 Waiters' production of "Richard"; the plaque is still

in the Rec Hall, with a dark outline of Nixon's face, apparently produced the summer after his resignation. What exactly was this play about Nixon? Any information you can

provide would be greatly appreciated.

Karen also mentioned that we've been inadvertently publishing both your "squib" and a photo of you (and others) from the 1986 Tattler. This is a fantastic coincidence -- we

actually discovered the 1986 Tattler lying in an abandoned cooler, flipped through it, and

were struck especially by the cleverness of that squib. We've been trying to incorporate

more Taconic history into The Tattler ; last summer we found a great note from a camper in the 1964 Tattler, contacted him, and invited him to write us a letter 45 years later,

which we printed. Any information or stories you can provide regarding either "Richard,"The Tattler , or camp stories in general (or how Taconic affected your life) would be

greatly appreciated, and we'd love to make a Tattler feature out of it.

Thanks so much,

--Zach and Adam

ROB K.:

Zach & Adam,

it's great to hear from Hinsdale. I miss my Taconic summers (I was around from 1972-1988), and have just started thinking about getting my 8 & 10 year old sons to Taconic in

a year or two.

In 1975 I was 16 and tattler adviser, not a waiter. But I do remember a few things about"Richard".

Back in those days, camp ended at 15. Waiters were 16, and there was a challenge of keeping them occupied and happy when they weren't working the dining room. The

Waiter Show, which I believe only lasted 2-3 years, was an attempt address the

challenge.

Nixon had resigned during the summer of 1974, my Teenage year. The resignation was a

big deal: Bob Kinoy felt it was an important enough event that he gathered everyone in

the playhouse and had a tv (a tv!) set up for Nixon's resignation speech. I'm not sure if I



was struck more by the actual resignation (expected) or the temporary presence of a

television set in the Playhouse (incongruous). But the summer of Watergate left a big

impression on everyone.

So during the following summer of 1975, Nixon was ripe for parody. I don't remember

names, but we had a very talented head waiter who pulled the show together.Unfortunately, there's no story about the show in the 1975 Final Tattler (yes, I still have

my copy...remember, I made the damn thing by hand), but it is mentioned in "Week-by-

Week":

Friday the 8th, everyone awoke again to another day of rain. By this time it was very wet in the Berkshires (which didn't seem so beautiful) and everyone, including the people

from Mohawk, was shouting, "ENOUGH!" That night a thing happened in the playhouse

that had not happened for many years at Taconic. Our waiters, who did such a great job

in the kitchen and dining hall, did another great job. "Richard" was the name of theoriginal play written, produced, and put on by the waiters. It was a very funny story

about Dick Nixon's running for president in '76, filled with familiar song tunes and very funny lines and lyrics.

I'm sure that this isn't a satisfying amount of info on "Richard", but it gives you an idea of

what was going on.

As for my history with Taconic, that's another and much longer email. If there's anythingin particular you would like to know, let me know.

I looked at a couple of the current Tattlers online and am very impressed. You guys aredoing a great job and should be proud.

A few random notes/thoughts:

"Tell the Tattler" used to be "Inquiring Reporter". Ask Karen Mandel Adelman, who got

her press card this way.

I love the Caption Contest.

Love that the Tattler Top Ten survives (Little-known but absolutely true: Tattler did topten before Letterman).

Think about a little more kid drawings/art -- it always makes kids, parents and ownershappy.

We had a fun feature called 'Interview - The Tattler Feature That Makes YouThink'...actually, we changed the tag line every time, I think. Anyway, it works like this:

Give two 11 year old girls (age and sex only representative) a clipboard, paper and

pencil and send them out to interview someone with an attitude. Kitchen and



maintenance employees tend to work well. Don't give them much direction, just tell

them to interview the subject. If you pick smart kids, you'll like what comes back.

Think about bringing back the Tattler push-up contest. We did it a few times, and it was

always fun because it is completely incongruous (what the hell does the tattler have to do

with pushups?). Just get a tattler advisor to challenge some jock. It's okay if youlose...and unlike the real world, at the Tattler staging news can be a virtue.

Back in the day, I also ran an annual Tattler overnight. I would only invite the kids whoworked hard on the paper and we'd head up to Greylock with a lot of food and have a

party. It was a good incentive for kids to participate during the summer leading up to the

overnight, good team building, and a fun trip.

That's it for now, guys. Let me know if you want more unsolicited advice.

Best,

Rob

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Interview with R. Kaplan