Once upon a time, there was a stable (and it still stands today) which housed horses, not knowing that one day it was destined to house Habonim. There in Prefontaine, many haverim spent wonderful summers at Kvutza and at seminars.
Who can forget whitewashing the kitchen (to cover last summer's soot) and dining room until it was sparkling in the sunlight; those who suffered afterwards from lime burn; trudging through the swamp connecting the pipeline bringing water to camp; digging a new garbage pit, and then off to another direction for another pit for another purpose; the little creek behind the kitchen that was our ice box; the haverim who went to Ste. Agathe to get axes sharpened, and sort of forgot to come back; or the famous soups that we had in those days which couldn't be had in the Waldorf Astoria; chasing hornets; the great baseball games at the playing field near the tents; and then a swim in the North River?
Who can forget washing the dishes in that quaint sink and lugging hot water from the old stove; those who got many blisters chopping firewood to keep the stove going red hot all summer; the many times the smoke stack shifted a bit and smoke was heavy and thick? Who can forget the overnight hikes; the day one haver climbed over a fence and stepped into a hornet's nest; the many cases of poison ivy?
Years have come and gone. Haverim who were at Kvutza in those days have traveled and settled in various parts of the world. Camp Kvutza has changed places, not any more in Prefontaine, but many miles further in the mountains, at a place called Lac Quenoilles. Times have changed and so has Kvutza-not like the old camp, but new and sparkling and full of Habonim, having the same wonderful time.
Cocoa Cheifetz, 1957