Back At The King's Wall- The Flanders Camp Alumni Podcast with Mikey Hersh

Wrapping it up with a love fest!  Some bonus audio magic and special guests for the fans!!! I'm spreading the love with words of appreciation and thanks to many while planting the seeds for the hopeful 50 year reunion celebration.  We need to get back to the wall for one game and photo opp!!!!

After so many great reunions and conversations with Flanders alumni as we celebrate 50 years of Flanders,  Back At The King's Wall comes to it's probable but not definite conclusion.  And what better way to do so than with Mikey and Scott  candidly sharing their memories of their counselor days.   It's another very raw conversation about their care-free CIT experiences, not quite understanding the rules of being a junior counselor as they wanted to see what they could get away with, and of course the end of their run in 1995 when the whole experience might have run it's course and times were changing!!!  But a sweet and happy ending as well with updates on what's going on now with the Hersh twins.... And be sure to listen all the way past the end music for a very sweet finale!

Twin powers activate!  As we head to the finish of Back At The King's Wall, it only makes sense for Mikey to be joined by his partner in crime and twin brother, Scott,  to go through their first act of Flanders as campers. As they go year by year dropping names, places, and key events that shaped their camper experience, it becomes a very candid, personal, and funny conversation that might surprise a lot of their old camp friends, counselors, and campers.  If you are late to the game and haven't listened yet, this should be the episode that hooks you as it pretty much was no holds barred!!!  

For the first time in 25 years, Mikey Hersh reconnects with his favorite camper from his days as a counselor at Flanders, Lewis Feintuch.  And he is honored and proud to find out Lewis has grown up to be just like him if not crazier!!!  A great conversation between the teacher and the student who had such a very strong relationship during a magical time in both of their lives and hope to create new experiences together once this pandemic ends!

Mikey chats with one the of the legendary Frost sisters, Staci, to reminisce about the good old days at Flanders.  This conversation can be considered Mike's "Wonder Years" episode as he catches up with his first "camp crush"!!!!   Those who are familiar with the classic 80's sit-com and listen will get the reference!  A sweet conversation and some great memories from Staci who also represents her sisters Lori and Carrie. 

Two for One Special!  Mikey catches up separately with two all-time Flanders legends who happened to also be two of his favorite counselors ever, Damon Krytzer and Jon Alper.  Great back and forth conversation with Damon and Jon about their memories which like always they claimed they would need some help recovering.  But once the record button got pressed and I worked my powers of engagement, their memories just kept flowing!!!!

Deja Vu back at the wall!  As Mikey begins his interview with one of his greatest unit heads of all time from the magical summer of 1989, another special guest who just happened to be his first ever CIT joins in as well.  A trip down memory lane begins with "Shelly" Butensky-Scheinthal and her sister-in-law, Lisa Scheinthal-Marx. Add in another cameo appearance, and it's another great episode of Back At The King's wall with amazing stories and sweet memories.

It's been a long time, but Mikey connects with the other set of twins that set Flanders on fire who also happened to be Kallus kids, Sam and Stephan.  For an hour, Mikey and the twins go back in time and reflect on those golden days at Flanders and get very deep.  It's like a father reuniting with his long-lost sons, as Mikey truly adored these guys back in the day, and it feels like no time has gone by as they reunite and share stories while having a lot of laughs.**** As I was suffering a bad head cold when recording, you might hear a lot of sniffles from me on here. I used a program to try and reduce the sound, but noticed that program only enhanced the sound of the sniffles instead of lowering em. The conversation was so good , I didn't want to schedule a rehash convo.  Most people probably won't notice, but just an FYI!

To begin the third and final season, Mikey Hersh figures that if Leslie Kallus was the first guest ever on the podcast and it generated big ratings, why not try and duplicate with her kids?  He has a sweet conversation with the eldest Kallus kid, Arielle, and the youngest Kallus kid, Richard about their memories of Flanders.  And away we go.....

Mikey Hersh continues his amazing chat with Oren Warshavsky including the Jolt Cola incident in 1990, becoming a unit head in Chalutzim, meeting his wife Pam, and sharing how much this camp meant to him when he was younger and how it shaped him to the man he is today.  A sweet finishing touch to the second season of Back At The King's Wall that you don't want to miss!

A conversation so heartfelt and amazing that it had to be broken into two parts.  Mikey Hersh thought his memory was good, but it's not even close to the memory of his guest, Oren Warshavsky.  Oren was a staple at Flanders in the 80's and 90's and pretty much did it all at camp.  Camper, CIT, Counselor, Unit Head, and even meeting his future wife.  Oren shares vivid stories about his run at the camp and shared experiences with Mr. Hersh during those golden days.  And the conversation ends on a nice little cliffhanger setting up the final episode of Season 2 of Back At The King's Wall!!!!

Mikey Hersh has a sweet conversation catching up with Ilana Cohn reflecting on Flanders memories, catching up on her creative talents in Hollywood, and really digging into the magic and the meaning of "The Littlest Worm"!

Mikey Hersh connects with his old friend, Jeremy Knapp, whose memory about his days at Flanders was mind-blowing and does a great job of telling stories.  A great conversation with two amigos about their memories at Flanders as campers in the 80's.

Mikey Hersh prepares for an amazing chat with Marci Blank before another guest decides to surprise us and the two of them together steal the show reflecting on their amazing memories working at Flanders.  A personal favorite conversation that truly reveals what the camp was like way back when and how these two guests really made an impact at this magical place.

The Bad Boy of Flanders returns!  Mikey Hersh connects with one of his favorite people from his JCC Day Camp history, Marc Sachs, to reflect on those golden days of Flanders.  Marc shares his memories and his love for this place that shaped his childhood and high school days.

The second round of Back At The Kings Wall is here!  Mikey Hersh gets an awesome history lesson about Flanders with Stephanie Bonder ie Zimmer who was there as a camper in the 70's, counselor and unit head in the 80's & 90's, and a camp mom in the 2010's.  She also speaks about her experiences and memories, being an identical twin but wanting Flanders to be her place to be an individual, and reveals a possible spot should a reunion ever happen.  Welcome back, Flanders alumni, as we celebrate 50 years.  Shabbat Shalom!

Michael "Mikey" Hersh reconnects with his old friend, Jeff Davidson, who went to the camp in the 80's and 90's. They reflect on shared personal memories, how the camp influenced their lives, and catch up on what's going on today with hints at a possible full blown reunion thirty years in the making at the King's Wall.

Michael "Mikey" Hersh catches up with his former camper, Jared Lowy, who also had a very long run at the camp spanning three decades from 1989 to the early 2000's.  His life would be impacted with such an amazing circumstance because of this magical place. Download to listen and find out why!!!

Michael "Mikey" Hersh speaks with his life-long amiga, Robin Gold, whose enthusiasm for the camp inspired him to finally go ahead and try this project to truly connect and engage camp alumni.  This was the first demo produced, short but sweet!  And a special added bonus  guest joins in at the end of the episode indicating the importance of the game where you hit a red kickball against a wall.

Michael "Mikey" Hersh has an amazing conversation with the legendary camp director of the JCC Day Camp from 1985-1996, Leslie Kallus.  As we needed to get this project started on a high note, Leslie was the only choice to be the 1st guest as she was a staple of anyone's childhood who went to the camp during this period and she was absolutely the best!

Michael "Mikey" Hersh gets the tease on as he prepares to engage alumni with a new podcast to celebrate the 50 Year Anniversary of the Flanders Day Camp.