“Old Timers week is the only time in your life, that feels like you can go backwards in life. John “Parks” Parker grew up in Newton. His uncle lived next door to Camp Director Allie Coles. In those days you needed to know someone to get into camp. The interview consisted of one question, “do you wet your bed.” John’s father was a traveling salesman. His parents were excited about the prospect of getting their ten-year-old son out of town for the summer. “I was mischievous and continued that way through my camp career.”
In 1961, John went to camp for two weeks, with the option to stay longer. He ended up remaining for the eight weeks. He was part of the first group of campers to live in the newly built 5s cabins, with Bill Margolin as his Junior counselor. Who could forget Bucky Carren as the Senior Counselor. John didn’t know a soul at first and cried for the first two days, until he finally settled into the rhythm of camp life. Some of his bunkmates, and later lifelong friends, included Michael Berger, Michael Gordon, Allan Shapiro, Joel Saperstein, Stan Wyzansky, Joe Petrocelli, Skippy Steans, and years later, Keith Sherman. John was a camper through Gottlieb year, in 1965, and then became a CIT in 2A. He felt he was clearly doing his fair share as a new member of the staff, a sentiment captured by his Spirit saying: “Why do I have to do all the work?”
John enjoyed most of the activities at camp. “I just liked to play, I wasn’t a great athlete. I loved basketball, flag football and Capture the Flag,” he said. One of his proudest moments was finally getting up on the waterskis after seven tries. “They were very patient with me,” John recalled. He also credited the camp staff as great teachers, learning the proper way to play basketball, boxing out, setting screens, and moving without the ball, from counselors like Bobby Gordon.
John also enjoyed painting trails in the woods for other campers to follow. When I asked if it was part of a wilderness class, he laughed. “No, it was just crazy kids in the woods.” Another favorite activity was Watermelon Softball. John earned his swimmer’s card five times. I did not want to take Junior Life saving because “I was scared that Jerry Feld (Waterfront Director) would drown me.”
There was boxing too, of course, but after thirty seconds you couldn’t hurt anyone, the gloves were to heavy and your arms were very tired. “It toughened us up.” When it came to intercamp competition, he remembered playing basketball against Robin Hood and other camps. “I’m pretty sure we went undefeated.” His favorite sport was probably flag football. “I was on the defensive line during Color War against Allan Shapiro, who weighed 90 pounds and earned the nickname X-Ray. He couldn’t block me, so I was a star defenseman.”
As for the daily routines of camp, John , like most campers of his era, looked forward to tuna fish and fries on Fridays. When I asked why it was such a popular meal, he answered bluntly: “Because the rest of the food sucked.” Not the case anymore. Like all West Enders, though, he did enjoy cake and milk. Laundry was another matter. Campers had the option of mailing it home, but “it took forever to get it back,” so John chose to wash his clothes on the “Wash Rock” near what is today Bill’s Cabin. He was not a fan of the mandatory morning swim first thing in the morning, to wash up. “Never could I understand why they made us do that. We had showers in the cabins. The environmentalists would not allow you to wash up in the lake in the morning, and wash our clothes in the lake.”
Kennards had a store in those days. “They sold candy to us. We’d sneak behind Gottlieb, and a game of hide-and-seek would break out with the counselors. If you got caught, they took your candy.”
John often reflects on his time at camp as one of the best experiences of his life. “If I had to list five of the most important things in my life, West End House camp is one of them,” he said. “The experience taught us that the world wasn’t just suburban kids. The kids from the West End would come up with torn paper bags (for luggage), while we had fancy trunks. A real eye opener.
”John made close friends with campers from the West End and learned how to adapt. “We used to have pillow fights, and the West Enders would put shoes in their pillows.”
Having Bill Margolin in his life, beginning as his junior counselor, left a lasting impression on John. “He was amazing. He was the least athletic of all the counselors. Everyone thought they were superjocks, and yet here was Billy running the place. Goes along with the uniqueness of camp. Bill remembered everyone’s zip code,” John said. He was especially grateful that Bill stuck with him, even after once he jokingly told John that he “would’ve voted me the least likely camper to succeed. “Bill should’ve thrown me out several times,” he added, “but he stuck with me.”
John has been attending Old Timers’ Week since his late twenties. “When I first went, I got to see some of my counselors and fellow campers and learn where their lives had taken them. We tell the same stories with the same people every summer.”
The independence and confidence he gained at camp stayed with him as he navigated college and his early career. For once, Bill was wrong, John Parker became very successful. He eventually stopped coming to camp and initially took a job at Newton College, now BC Law, as a maintenance man. “I couldn’t fix anything,” he admitted. Later, he went to UMass Amherst for business and earned his MBA at night from Babson College. “I speculated on commodities to get enough money to get through Babson, and I’ve been doing that ever since. I have one skill: buying and selling.” John described. Babson was the most practical education he could have received, with experience programming computers and reading financial statements.
After college, John took a job as a salesman at Crocker and Windsor Seafood. “It was a major importer of frozen seafood. We sold to companies like Sysco,” he said. Over time, he took on increasing responsibilities, and eventually, he bought the company. One of the all time great leverage buyouts. Under his leadership, the business thrived, and John had the opportunity to travel the world.
The seafood industry seems to be a natural fit for West Enders, perhaps inspired by their early love of the water from years spent on the shores of Long Pond. John was approached by a younger alumnus, Jared Auerbach, who wanted to pick his brain as he was starting in the industry. “Two people from West End asked if I could meet with him. I wanted to hire him. He had bigger sights,” John said. Today, Jared owns the highly successful Red’s Best in Boston’s Seaport District. When I asked Jared about that encounter years ago, he said, “We met when I was considering getting into the seafood industry, and his advice helped me get started on what eventually became Red’s Best.” Recently, another West Ender, Tom Kandler, bought a seafood market in Bellingham called the Seafood Peddler. Maybe the camp’s fishing program should add a sales component.
John was happy that his son, Max, attended camp for many years. Convincing his wife wasn’t easy, after all the years of John telling stories about the crazy counselors from his era. “The counselors were nuts,” he recalled. “My wife was very hesitant to let him go to camp.” Max Parker became one of only four campers ever to be named Color War captain twice. Max was an outstanding athlete. He was an All Scholastic volleyball player and a excellent soccer player at Needham High School. “He was a better athlete than me,” John admitted proudly. Max is set to be married over Labor Day weekend in 2026. John also has a daughter, who has five sons. “They have visited camp a couple of times. The boys range in age from nine months to nine years old. Hopefully some of them will keep the family tradition alive.
These days, John splits his time between Kennebunkport (Goose Rock Beach) and downtown Boston. He was a longtime member of the camp’s Board of Directors and a Trustee, serving as a key member of the Finance Committee, and has remained highly involved with the West End House Boys and Girls Club in Allston as well. Giving back is clearly important to John, as he has been extremely generous with his time and donations. Bryna Leeder texted me in delight because at the recent Margolin Scholarship Award event, at the club recently (January 16, 2026), she was pleasantly shocked by the incredibly generous pledge Johnny is committing too for 3 years towards the fund.
“You put a ten-year-old at camp by himself, and you learn to survive. It’s how you develop as a person, tremendous self-confidence, learning to deal with all kinds of people, and opening your eyes to the rest of the world. We would go to the West End House Club on Blossom Street in Boston to play basketball during the winter.”
“Lifelong relationships were formed, some of the best friends I’ve ever had,” John reflected. Clearly, John appreciates how camp helped him grow, gain a broader understanding of people, and form deep, lasting friendships. Thank you, John Parker, for sharing how you became “One of the Boys.”
