kingsmont, colang & shane

(Me at 15 years old with my sister Lea)

Sounds like a law firm, but in fact it’s a series of fat camps I attended in my youth.
Click here to view some camp photos >>

Summer of 1989, I remember most Karen Hart and Rachel Klein.  Loved Kate.  Rachel threw a shoe at my head.

I’m testing my memory here, for those fellow fat farmers who might google their own name… they hopefully will come across this page and leave me a note.  Share a memory… the power of blogs.

Rebecca Sharzer, Susan Longton, Carolyn Hiller, Bianca Strul, Sharon Listinger, Shiva Baum, Eric Fink, Adam Glick, Jon Plesset, Joeseph Schwartz, Danielle Leader, Chris Morro, Nicholas Miron, Jessica Heinz

Karen Hart, Kirsten Jensen, Jared Held, Juan JiJan, Devra Keating, Shelly Ricciardi, Becky Klein, Marc Manoli, Lizzy Steele, Stephanie DeMarco, Paul Gately, Aleeza Zeiger, Jeremy Pores (Wuba), Ron Ramsey, Chris Villano, Jessica Borer, Matty Catanzaro, Ike & Even Hasbrouck, Matthew Buckles

Casey Clark, Stacey Dunn, Deb Furst, Ira Katz, Laura Schwartz, Randy Carimeyer, Lauren Berger, Bonnie Cooper, Anthony Cicogna, Mindy Jones, Lisa Kalish, Ami Kastner, Nicole Klosty,  Ilana Kameros, Jenna Kronberg, Howie Marcus, Jayme Anker, Scott Wallach, Matthew Salzmon, Traci Stolman, Lara Scaff, Joanna Schecter, Tiffany Ajmo, Isa Bolton, Mia Talerico (Mia Tyler), Hillary Cohen

Click here to view some camp photos >>

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COMMENTS:

  1. hi,
    i was actually googling kingsmont people, and it seems you and i had all the same friends. i only went for 2 years but have such incredible memories of my time there. i lost touch with everyone and was wondering if there was any kind of alumni website/network? you look a little familiar to me. i was at camp in 1990-91 with lisa sabbeth, becky cardasis, jessica borer, ike hasbrouck, etc…anyway, thanks for your website and please be in touch.
    sincerely,
    jessica l

  2. Hey I was searching Tony Sparber LOL and came across this website. He is such a Dick head now. He now runs his camp out of Poconos, PA Called Camp Pocono Trails. $1,100 a week. He is basically a dick to the counclers and campers all so he pays $50 – $150 a week WHAT A RIP OFF. By the end of the summer if he dont need you he will fire you. I've seen counclers get fired for having food in the bunks (it is a weight loss camp) and fired for having weed in the bunks and the following year hired back. The oldest boys order food to the camp and meet the delivery guy up the block, also all the little girls and boys preforming the sex acts on each other. His camp has gotten out of hand.

  3. Hey I was searching Tony Sparber LOL and came across this website. He is such a D!ck head now. He now runs his camp out of Poconos, PA Called Camp Pocono Trails. $1,100 a week. He is basically a dick to the counclers and campers all so he pays $50 – $150 a week WHAT A RIP OFF. By the end of the summer if he dont need you he will fire you. I've seen counclers get fired for having food in the bunks (it is a weight loss camp) and fired for having weed in the bunks and the following year hired back. The oldest boys order food to the camp and meet the delivery guy up the block, also all the little girls and boys preforming the sex acts on each other. His camp has gotten out of hand.

  4. just missed you. I can top you camp shane from78-87 (yes NINE years) then Weight watcher although never colang for 3. I Win!!! At least at ww you got to eat. Shane you would leave the table starving. Can you say concentration camp???

  5. just missed you. I can top you camp shane from78-87 (yes NINE years) then Weight watcher although never colang for 3. I Win!!! At least at ww you got to eat. Shane you would leave the table starving. Can you say concentration camp???

  6. My Last Night At Colang.

    The summer girl. She was a Scarlet Begonia with rings on her fingers and belts on her shoes. I knew without asking she was into the blues. I had a crush on her and she liked an older kid. Never the Rico Suave type I let her remain a fat camp fantasy. On the last night before I left, with nothing at that point to risk, I found a song that made me think of her. I Guess Thats Why They Call It The Blues by Elton John. I loaded it up on my Walkman and ventured out that night pass the boundry between the boys and girls camp. I saw her through the screen window of her cabin. She was wearing a tie-dye with Greek letters on it and a white pair of shorts. I was nervous. Her counsler let me into the cabin. She was standing by her bed I told her that i wanted her to listen to this song. We layed down in her bed and I put the earphones on her. I hit play and for the next 3 1/2 minutes i lived in that perfect place where nothing felt real. I remember thinking about the line in the song that goes " between you and me, I can honestly say, that things can only get better." Everytime I hear that line those 3 1/2 minutes come roaring back and I am reminded of what being young and having a crush are all about. The smell of the cabin, the feeling of summer and the softness of her long flowing red hair. I often feel that in life you have a total of 45 pure minutes of real happiness. Its nice that those 3 1/2 minutes were spent with a Red head at Camp Colang that I had a crush on.

  7. i went to kingsmont for 2 years the first year i went there i lost 30 pouds and the second i lost 20.its the best i went to camp shane it was horable like boot camp to me. at kingsmont people were like family to me.color war is so fun at kingsmont from embarresing things to technically a pool full of lunch.on the last day of camp all the DLs (division leaders) took us to the boys cabins (donuts) to have candy and chips and we went back to our cabins to watch movies it was times to remember.mumbles

  8. Camp shane was boot camp.a whole week there was smelly rotten milk on the tablesand it was horable food. it was like sending you away with out any food. at which kingsmont fills you up with good food at the rite portions and you even was aloud to have a sald bar and in 2003 before it moved they let you work in the kitchen,CAMP KINGSMONT ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! mumbles

  9. i have been going to camp pocono trails for 3 years and there is nothing wrong with it. it has changed my life. tony sparber is a great man and i dont appreciate it that you go around bashing him. he knows what he is doing and is good at it

  10. OMG!! Okay so I didn't go when you went, but I was googling weight watchers camps trying to find a link to Camp Colang to add to one of my fat camp stories, and I happened upon your blog because you went to BOTH of the fat camps that I went to. I actually wrote my college entrance essay on going to fat camp so if you need a fun story…I've got one (or two)!

  11. Steph,

    So here I am. I love that you're writing a memoir of fat camp — good material!

    Weird that I found you today. I was at work, trying to cheer up a friend who's gone on J-Date and sees it as a personal low. So I sent him the article about fat camp and said now *there's* something to be ashamed of. And then I was looking through women on J-Date, trying to point out all the attractive people he'll meet. I saw a photo of a sexy red-head and then – the rest is history. How bizarre that those two things should happen in the same day!

    How are things?

  12. i went to camp colang too. tony was a dick, but he was also a good man. it was about the 6th night of camp, and a bunch of us got stoned. well, the next day, i see tony walking towards my bunk, and i just knew. i was in trouble. he looked through the entire bunk and demanded i give him the weed. i did. he pulled me by my shirt into his office, and started dialing my mom's number. all hell broke loose. i could hear my mother screaming even though i was 8 feet away from the phone attached to tony's ear. she said she was sending me to rehab, and to put me on the next plane out of there. tony replied with a very smooth "no, that's okay, i think i'll keep her here." my mom shouted some more, and he said "alright bonnie, i'll see you on parents visiting day, okay? okay! okay, alright, bye now!". my mother was still screaming as he hung up on her. he watched me like a hawk that summer, and i think he was stoned on a daily basis, but i appreciated his keen insight into my mother and choosing to keep me there. he and dale saved my life. so tony, thank you.
    this one's for you……
    Oh, the shark, babe,
    has such teeth, dear
    And it shows them pearly white
    Just a jackknife has old MacHeath, babe
    And he keeps it ah, out of sight…
    …………………………….. !

  13. I was at Camp Colang too… 87 was my first year, then in 88, i was Bob & Joanns (remember them?) babysitter for their son Andrew (their daughter was at another camp that year) My counselors were Meri and Heather..I was only 13 at the time….. Funny thing, actually… I was looking them up because I have these haunting memories of "Slimnastics" and "Swimnastics" … as much of a nightmare as it was… I so wish I could remember the slimnastics routine..cause it worked!! I lost 33 pounds one summer…. and I need to do it again 10 years later… Man oh man… after stumbling upon this website… I have to giggle about some of my memories… frozen diet cokes as popsicles…hangin out behind the "canteen" at the go carts field smokin butts…. damn, I was so cool….. Isn't it funny that Tony Sparber was the skinniest guy there??? How did he end up buying a fat camp?? I still love that I went there….

  14. OK… wait, wait… does anyone remember "Glamour and Poise" classes at Camp Colang…. ha ha ha… I bailed out of them every chance I got…..

  15. My daughter is at Camp Shane right now and we just got back from visiting day. She says its awful, food terrible, only water and its worse than boot camp. BUT – BUT – she has LOST WEIGHT and so has the rest of her cabin and that is what they are there for. I am still trying to find the lake that is prominent in all the brochures and the waterskiing. The only good food is on Saturdays – bbq and then they permanent marker your hands so you dont get more than one little hot dog. I am glad I sent her – but if there is a next time – only for 3 weeks – not six. Dont think its worth the money that I paid – even tho she has lost weight. Also they can CHEAT there – there is an underground for fat kids!

  16. This message is for Gayle. I was a camper at Camp Shane for 9 years. I went back this year as a counselor. I indeed quit because it was too stressful on my part. I would of liked to be a camper again. They do not starve you at Camp Shane. This year has some good food other than the previous years. The bbq is very good. Kids their intend to cheat, but those are the kids who have been there before or most likey the boys side of camp. The guy counselors bring back food for them to sell or just eat. Its called the Black Market. I thought the staff this year was not so good. I didnt like it. I can understand if your daughter hates it, it all depends on group leader/counselors behavior towards the children. What bunk is she in?

  17. i am a current camper at kingsmont, this year was my 8th year. i googled it, seeing as i just got home a few days ago from it, and miss it very much. thought i might fill you in. steph demarco and christy d'agness (d'ag) r both doin great, d'ag graduated from michigan, and steph demarco works at a small college near boston. Marc Manoli is now the owner of kingsmont. i highly suggest getting in touch with these people
    they r all great people. check out the camp website at http://www.campkinsmont.com

  18. I am a mom of a Camp Shane camper. She was sent home early at the request of the director, David. Does anyone have experience with that? All of the literature says don't rescue your kid they will be homesick!

  19. I am a parent of a Camp Shane ex-camper would came home early (which by the way, my child was left sitting alone outside the office waiting to be picked up…no one from the camp spoke to me). Boot camp seems harsh but they are guilty of false advertising, caring more about PR/TV then kids and they clearly do not expect return campers. Lats face it, David is a salesman who is good at selling an idea but they don't seem to care much about the kids themself.
    Alot of kids show up there with 'issues'…mine did not…however my child came home feeling worse then ever before. They seem to make child feel like being over weight deserves to be punished…so unfair!
    I will tell ANY paernt that asks…save some money and let your child go to a fun camp with friends (not focused on weight)…they WILL LOSS WIGHT just by being active all day.

  20. I am former Kingsmont camper. I am not sure if you remember me but I remember you and your sister Lea. For give me if the spelling is incorrect. I came across this site through a google search. I was interested in seeing who keeps in touch and how everyone is doing. I was especially interested in what has happened to a Ms. Jayme Anker, who I lost track of after she graduated from BU.

  21. I was a camper at Kingsmont for 3 yrs. (98-00') and returned as a counselor in 2003, where your sister LEA was my DL!!! I recently completed my third summer as a counselor at Kingsmont and was a general for the red team this past summer! I am returning next summer to be a Division Leader. I only have good things to say about Kingsmont…it's my home away from home, and my favorite place in the world. I made my best friends at Kingsmont as campers and we all returned as counselors. Despite being halfway through college and spread out around the country, we've still managed to keep in touch and visit and have remained best friends!

  22. Hi, I was just googling for Paul Gately actually and found this page. I went to Kingsmont from 94-98 and frankly lost interest in the direction the camp was headed once the "British Invasion" ended. My sister Kim stayed on until 2000 I think… can't quite remember. But while googling I also found lots of info on Paul and Pete Mackreth too, running the UK's first kid's fat camp. http://www.carnegieweightmanagement.com (that should work). And I also noticed that Pete and Kacy got married. I don't know if you remember Kacy, she was also a camp director at one point.

  23. Hi! I see that you have Adam Glick under Camp Colang, but I think you might mean me…Eden Glick. How did I come to this website? My wife & I happened to be watching 'Return to Fat Camp' on MTV and I see Tony's face and all these memories came rushing back. We googled Tony to see if the camp in the show was camp colang and we came across your blog. Shiva and Chris were in my bunk, so perhaps we know each other.

    From Stephanie: I have a photograph of Glick… he had red hair, wore it longish and believe he had something to do with Vermont. Lived there, or was going to go to college there. Is that you?

  24. Hi, I was a camper at Kingsmont for 6 years, I first started several years after you did. Kristi D'Agnes was my counselor actually. I'm going to be a counselor this summer. I feel like I know you even though I never met you. I'm studying Journalism right now at Indiana University and have the same career interests as you. I'm looking forward to reading your book.

  25. ok i worked at camp colang in 89-90, worked in the kitchen,, i loved it,the camp,the area,everything about it,,i had heard they closed up camp,,been wanting to travel back up there,,lost alot of pics in our flood, i look back at all the time i spent there and wish i was there,,,,about tony well he is a fair man,,anyone with infor on camp please email me,,,,thanks

  26. My daughter was 10 years old when she went to Camp Colang, owned and operated by Weight Watchers. She as well as many other female campers were molested by one of their female counselors. I took this bitch to court because I could not find any attorney willing to touch this case.
    SHAME ON WEIGHT WATCHERS FOR NOT DOING BACKGROUND CHECKS ON THEIR COUNSELORS!!! SHAME!!!!SHAME!!!!!!
    I have emailed Weight Watchers several times and have not recieved any response. The fact that WEIGHT WATCHERS IS ON THE NYSE AND DID NOT HAVE THE TIME TO DO BACKGROUND CHECKS ON THEIR COUNSELORS IS SOMETHING I WILL NEVER FORGET OR FORGIVE!!!!
    I WILL NEVER GIVE UP THIS FIGHT WITH THEM AND INTEND TO EXPOSE THEM FOR WHAT THEY HAVE DONE!!!!!!

  27. I was a camper at Kingsmont in 1982 and 1986. Anyone else from that time?

  28. Hi Anne! i was there in 80 or 81. memories of camp are all great. kind of sad to see it closed. probably still be in touch with some of them if had smart devices

  29. Thank you for this post. I was at Camp Shane for the summer of 1986 and it was an eye-opening and formative experience. I have gotten a lot of mileage from the stories of that summer. Take care and be well. Thanks again.

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