Written by Shlomit Ovadia of JCC Denver
Having grown up barely with any exposure to Judaism, Indiana native Dick Hasket spent a summer working at JCC Ranch Camp in the 60s, which transformed his outlook on life. Following the events of October 7 and rise in antisemitism, Dick recently wrote us a letter about his experience and how he hopes to inspire tolerance and acceptance for a happier and more inclusive world.
“I grew up in Kokomo, Indiana and was involved in boy scouts all my growing up years. I worked at their summer camp in Wisconsin,” he says of his previous experiences. Before transferring from his local college to Purdue University, Dick decided to have “one final grand summer adventure,” by searching the American Camping Association’s directory for other counselor jobs.
After resigning from his main workplace and accepting a summer counselor gig, Dick recalls his former boss approaching him, saying, “so you’re gonna go work for a Jew camp?” Dick was confused, only to later discover the camp he applied to work at, J Bar Ranch Camp, was in fact, a Jewish camp.
“I called Abe Wagner [the camp director at the time] and said, ‘look, I’m a midwestern kid whose never been west of Illinois, and am a practicing Roman Catholic, I’m not sure I’m a good fit.’” To which Abe Wagner responded: “Actually, we’d like to have you, please give it a try.’”
As someone whose home state was once a hotbed for the Klu Klux Klan in the 20s, Dick says, “I had some sense of oppression and knew that was part of the history of the Jewish peoples,” but scarcely anything beyond that. “The only Jew I knew was a kid in my high school class.”
The summer of 1964 was Dick’s first immersive experience with Jewish culture and traditions.
From taking kids out on overnight camping adventures where he first learned about the Jewish prayers over food, to participating in Shabbat songs, Dick’s experience at Ranch Camp was the adventure he did not know he needed.
As part of the camp training, a rabbi came to speak with the staff and asked if anyone had never met a rabbi before. “I was the only one who raised my hand,” Dick recalls.
Ranch Camp campus
“The kosher kitchen has always been fascinating for me because I absolutely had no idea when I came to camp,” he adds about teaching children how to cook outdoors using separate utensils for meat and dairy. “My backpack had to have twice as many pots and pans.”
“When we gathered around the campfire before eating, I reached up and took my hat off, and said ‘hats off’ before grace. I got this blank look from the boys. Finally, someone winked at me. I put my hat back on,” realizing the Jewish practice of covering one’s head before making a blessing.
In another instance, a female counselor hitched a ride with Dick in his Volkswagen on their day off from work and headed into Denver. When they arrived at her parent’s house, Dick remembers her father looking angry while standing on the porch. After going to talk with her father, Dick’s friend returned to the car and said, ‘let’s go.’ “I said what, and she said, ‘My father is angry about your car. It’s Hitler’s car.’”
From all his experiences, Dick says, “Jews are good people, they simply believe differently,” he currently identifies as a Unitarian and does not follow one creed.
“The world situation particularly in the Middle East seems to be making the world angrier. What I wanted the JCC Denver community to know is that their tolerance of me as a practicing Catholic among them, that summer gave me a sense that people can get along.”
Something that stood out to Dick during his time working at Ranch Camp were the Jewish songs, the songbook of which he still holds dear. “My family often gets together and every so often someone will just burst out from one of the JCC Ranch Camp songbooks, and everyone chimes in.”
While at Ranch Camp, Dick met his first wife, and they share one child together. Five years ago, Dick was invited to his first seder. “The gentleman began with the opening words of, ‘Baruch Ata Hashem,’ and as he said those words, I thought, ‘yeah I remember those’ and suddenly I was speaking them again.”
“We are different in many ways, but we are better when we accept. The opportunities camps provide by exposing kids and counselors to differences is a very valuable thing for all of society,” Dick adds.
Ranch Camp registration opens next month. Check our website for updates.