My name is Tamie Callahan (maiden name Tishberg). I am Harold's niece. I worked as assistant secretary and secretary at the camp the summers of 1969 - 1971. As I know you can relate, these were some of the most fun summers of my life.

I now live in Seattle, Washington. I'm married with three boys (ages 16, 12 and 6). I've been with my husband for over 23 years and we are very happy. No, he did not go to Camp Timberlane but he is quirky in his own way.

After my summers at Camp Timberlane, I spent several more years at school in Madison. I eventually graduated with a business degree in Marketing with a minor in Retailing. My future husband and I headed to New York City. We lived on the upper West Side for two years and then moved to Jackson Heights, Queens for one year. After several months of temporary secretarial work included a stint in the publicity department of Columbia Records where I met publicists who took care of David Bowie, Dolly Parton, Jefferson Airplane/Starship and the late Elvis (which was very fun), I worked in retailing at A & S in Brooklyn for a year and a half and another year at the Rego Park, Queens branch.

At the urging of my cousin, Gary Drapkin (a long time Timberlane camper/counselor), we drove sight unseen to Seattle, Washington in the summer of 1980. We immediately fell in love with the city and are forever grateful to Gary's generosity for having urged us to come.

After moving to Seattle, I worked as a buyer at a large department store called the Bon Marche (think Gimbels/Boston Store) for 10 years. In 1995, I retired to stay home with my wonderful children (after my husband had been home with them for the two previous years). The next year, I approached the principal at my son's elementary school to try to turn the school into a community center. We decided the best place to start was to create a before/after school daycare. So ... in Harold's shadow, I created the a very fun before and after school program. This is our fifth year and we have 140 children signed up (out of the school population of 500), 60 show up each day and a staff of 15. Harold is definitely my inspiration as I look for fun projects 'from a kid's point of view'. I even find myself doing things that I thought were unique to Harold such as asking children a series of unrelated questions and teasing in that silly, connecting way. I have tapped into a real love of working with children which has surprised and fulfilled me.

Harold takes great pride in having influenced me to not only be 'kid centered' but to be organized and dedicated enough to be successful. His influence was invaluable.

I'd like to include an update on Gary Drapkin. He moved to Seattle with his first wife in the late 80's after a vacation here. He worked at several jobs selling timber and construction products. He was at his last job at Builder's Hardware selling 'high end' hardware for twelve years. He and his first wife broke up before we moved here. In the early 80's he met and married Chris. They had a lovely daughter, Rebecca. They were divorced when Becca was about 5 years old (she is now 12 years old). Gary had his ups and downs maintaining bi-polar depression and diabetes. He had created a wonderful life for himself including many deeply rooted, long term friendships. He was a wonderful father to his daughter.

Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with cancer in March of 1998. After much invasive therapy, he passed away in March of 1999. There are no words to describe the sadness that this brought to those who knew and loved him. He will be forever missed.

I'd also like to include an update on Gary's older brother, Marty Drapkin (another long time camper/counselor). He lives outside of Madison, Wisconsin. He has continued his gentle ways by championing the causes of protecting animals. He has worked for the state for many years and travels extensively to teach his curriculum training jail staff in working with the mentally ill. He also speaks very fondly of his camp days and looks forward to hearing about his contemporaries.

Thank you for putting together your wonderful web site. I look forward to keeping up with old friends.

Sincerely,

Tamie Callahan