Camp and summer romances go hand in hand, and once in a while those early relationships actually go the distance. We’re rounding up some great stories of young love that blossomed into real life marriage and delivering them to you in a monthly series called Summer Lovin’.
MARSHALL CARROLL and SHARON CHISVIN
When/how/where at camp did you meet?
We met at Camp Massad in Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba, Canada in 1981. I was a cabin counsellor and she was in charge of the counsellor-in-training program. As I unloaded mattresses off the camp van during training session, Sharon said to a friend “That’s the guy I am going to marry.”
Was it love right away?
I certainly noticed Sharon right away and during Israeli dancing, I would try to be paired up with her. She also took my hat during the “hat song.” At the second Rock & Roll Dance, we danced to
Don’t You Want Me
(by The Human League) together. We were then chosen to work together as Rosheem (heads) for Maccabia (color war). Even though our team, Ochel (Food) lost, we won!
What happened between you when camp ended that summer?
We continued dating and got married four years later on June 6, 1985.
Will/did you send your kids to your camp?
We did. All three of our children attended Camp Massad for many years. Our eldest, Samara, was the Menahelet (camp director) for the past two years. Our middle child, Niri, was also on the senior administration. Our youngest, Gilad, is on the senior administration this year.
Marshall Carroll, 50, and Sharon Chisvin, 53, were both born in Winnipeg, Canada and have lived there most of their lives. He is a high school science teacher and sessional university lecturer. He went to Camp Massad from 1972-1984 (excluding 1983 when he volunteered on a Kibbutz). He is currently a lifetime Massad board member and the webmaster for the camp’s website. He is also a songwriter, actor and icebreaker workshop leader as well as Canada’s 4th Smartest Person. Sharon is a journalist, oral historian, and fiction writer. Her published work includes the children’s picture book “The Girl Who Cannot Eat Peanut Butter” and the social history “Our Musical Heritage: A Century of Jewish Music in Winnipeg.” She attended Camp Massad from 1969-1976, and 1981-1982 and is the past president of the camp’s board of directors.
