Camp Airy is a Jewish sleep away summer camp located in Thurmont, Maryland at the edge of the Catoctin Mountain Park. Boys between the ages of 7 and 17 attend for one to seven weeks, depending on their age and interest. Airy is a fully accredited member of the American Camp Association. Camp Airy is the brother camp to Camp Louise.HistoryCamp Airy was founded in 1924 by Aaron and Lilly Straus, philanthropists from Baltimore. One of the early figures in the camp history was Sidney Chernak, who started as a counselor and continued as director of Airy and executive director of Airy and Louise. In 1990, Sid Chernak retired after 63 summers spent at camp Airy. Edwin "Ed" Cohen took over as director of Camp Airy. Ed, who referred to Mr. Chernak as "a father," created the legacy of a "camp family" that will insure he is always a part of camp. On June 21, 2014, Ed died.Religious aspectsCamp Airy is a camp for Jewish boys. The meals are kosher style, meaning that milk and meat are not served at the same time and nothing that is explicitly non-kosher (such as pork) is served. Each meal begins with the recitation of Ha'motzi - The prayer over bread. Traditional grace after meals is also recited on Saturdays.Shabbat is observed at camp with short services on Friday night and Saturday morning. A special day is created to provide a change of pace during the remainder of Saturday. This “day of rest” creates a certain rhythm that helps punctuate the camp experience. Shabbat concludes with a Havdallah service at night.
