1 - When I was 12 years old I came to Montreal to attend Camp Gan Israel in Lanthier (the second year.) My oldest brother Menachem was a staff member and went up to camp a few days earlier, to help prepare the campsite. He left me for those few days in the yeshiva dormitory (when the yeshiva was still on Park Ave.) with the bochurim. In middle of one night, I woke up (it had to be in the wee hours of the morning,) Reb Volf had come into the room and noticed that one of the sleeping bochurim had his bare feet sticking out from under the blanket. Reb Volf woke him up and said "shtek tzurik deine chazor fiselech!" At the time, I thought that it was funny as well as weird. He could have just as easily just covered him without disturbing the bachur's sleep. Only years later did I appreciate that he wanted the bachur to be aware that he is always responsible for his actions, even when asleep. As the Rebbe Rashab said, "That is chinuch!"
2 - Besides farbrengens that the mashpi'im would organize, there were those times when bochurim would farbreng between themselves. There was one such farbrengen where the mood was just right. We were farbrengen intensely all night and one of the older bochurim (I believe it was Yerachmiel Stillman) was working on one of the younger bochurim "to straighten out his act." Nobody noticed that it was already 7:30 a.m. time for morning seder hachasidus. I noticed that Reb Volf had quietly come in, and was standing behind a partition (where only from where I was standing could I see him) and he was listening into the farbrengen. Rebb Itche Meir Gurary (then in his first or second year as mashpia) came in and was about to break up the farbrengen - after all seder is seder. From my position, I was able to see and hear Reb Volf quickly intercept him and tell him, leave them be, "a farbrengen like this, is better (or can accomplish more) than seder chasidus."
3 - I was driving a car from Montreal to New York for one of the yoma depagra. There were 4 or 5 bachurim and Reb Volf as well. As I was then quite a young bachur (not yet 20) I wasn't that mindful of keeping to the speed limit. I was doing well over 70 miles per hour, when the front wheel had a blowout. B"H, it was in the early hours of morning and there were no other cars on the road. So although the car was weaving from one end of the road to the other I was slowly trying to get the car under control. Unfortunately, the bachur sleeping next to me woke up with a start and panicking grabbed for the wheel. So with the car careening again out of control I had to use my right hand to fight off the bachur from grabbing the wheel while with my left hand trying to once again get control of the car. It was a scary few minutes until B"H I was able to stop the car on the side of the road, with no bad effects. The tire had to be changed, but I was too shaken up, so I asked a couple of the other bachurim to change the tire while I stood off to the side to try and get back my composure. Reb Volf, with a sparkle in his eye, came over to me and said, "a molike tzeiten hot der ferd gefired dem vogen fun derosen, heint firt der ferd fun innevegen." I burst out laughing and was back to myself.
4- As a yeshiva bachur in Montreal (on Westbury) my seder on Shabbos day was a pretty hectic one. I would wake up 5:00 a.m. go to the mikva and then walk 1&1/2 hours to run a junior congregation. I then would return to yeshiva, daven shachris and musaf, eat seudas Shabbos and then walk another 1 &1/2 hours to the old yeshiva (on Park Ave.) to run the Mesibos Shabbos. Then I would walk another 45 minutes (further) where I would give over a sicha in a shul between Mincha and Maariv. After Maariv, I would walk back to Park Ave. where Rabbi Greenhut would give me carfare to be able to return to yeshiva. This was my schedule every Shabbos. During spring seder the Hanhola exempted me from seder chasidus Shabbos afternoon because of my peulos. One Shabbos, I was informed (before Shabbos) that the Mesibos Shabbos was cancelled for that week. The shul where I usually spoke, was also cancelled. Thus I only had the junior congregation to take care of. After I returned from the Junior congregation (a mere three hour walk) I davened, ate and I had an hour to spare before seder chasidus would begin at 4 p.m. So I laid down to take a nap. I overslept and the next thing I know Reb Volf was standing at my bed and he says "Itche Meyer, Itche Meyer, Shabbos kumt in gantzen ein mol a voch, vi kenst du dos avek shlofin?!?" After that, for 20 years I could not go lie down in bed Shabbos afternoon!
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