Camp Shalom in Gravenhurst, Ont., was founded in 1948, the same year as the State of Israel. In its first summer, the camp had small cabins which each accommodated six people and one main building which served as the dining hall, recreation hall and infirmary, hosting 25 campers and a few volunteer staff.
The camp is part of the Young Judaea movement, which in 1948 was the youth arm of the Zionist Organization of Canada. At the time, the movement concluded that creating a Zionist and Jewish environment in the summer was a logical extension of its program. The camp’s first director was Harris Gulko who also identified the site to purchase for the camp which was formerly the Silver Birch Lodge.
One of the staff members that first summer was 17-year-old Bayla Appel, who just a few months earlier sang Hatikvah at a rally for Israel at Maple Leaf Gardens. In the early 1950s she compiled this songbook.
The book’s 40 pages include 105 Hebrew and Yiddish campfire classics such as the Palmach Song, Finjun (the Kettle), the Partisan Song and Havu Lanu Yayin (Bring Us Wine) which hopefully was sung only by staff and then only on days off. The spirit of the times is reflected in the lyrics of Song 104, Techezakna: “Strengthen the hands of our comrades building the land of our fathers with the sweat of their brow.”
Bayla was married to Dr. Leo Chaikof for 70 years and was a beloved teacher and school administrator at both United Synagogue Day School (now Robbins Hebrew Academy) and Bialik Hebrew Day School. She influenced generations of students by sharing her love for Israel and for the Jewish people.
Her first yahrzeit will be observed on Friday, March 21. May her memory be for a blessing.
(David Matlow has many friends who attended Camp Shalom in the 1970s. He is currently suing the Toronto Zionist Council, which owns the camp.)
