Pictorial: Aladdin Homes – Bay City, Michigan : Bay-Journal
The Aladdin Company from Bay City was the primary builder of the huts or cabins, but it is unclear whether the lodge was built by the same company.
Founded by brothers W.J. Sovereign, O.E. Sovereign and Charles Munro in 1906, it was a pioneer for mail order pre-cut kit homes. Their best years were around the time the camp decided to build the lodge in 1924. Many of the huts were donated by the Aladdin Company, featuring their summer cottage style.
In 1937 the plans for the new counselor’s cabin were shown to Mr.Paul Thompson, president of the Rotary Club, with the suggestion the club may want to build it for the camp that year.
In 1955 the concerns of the camp committee revolved around different housing arrangements for the cook and whether two more tents (which would house eight each) should be procured, since camp leaders had determined it would be more economical to set up for one hundred girls. A staff cabin was also needed as soon as possible to “free up rooms used for sleeping in the lodge” for a nature room, music room and library.
A letter addressed to Mr. Carl Weber, who was chairman of the budget committee for the United Community Services in Bay City in 1957, relayed information about a special meeting. The Aladdin Company had planned to gift $4,000 to purchase a house for Camp Maqua.
“The Board, upon recommendation of Trustee Paul Thompson, felt that to turn down this offer would be most unwise and place the Y.W. in an embarrassing situation”, so the gift was accepted and it was suggested a building committee be established to continue the study of the type of building that would best suited and the means to finance the building.
In October 1957 the camp committee met to discuss a winterized caretaker’s cottage. (Tom “Pops” Watson was the caretaker at the time.) They discussed the reality that the money that they had in the bank was to cover expenses at camp, so a building fund was not feasible at that time.
The final discussion surrounded the needs for a caretaker’s cottage and a building for the staff and agreed if there were sufficient funds and Mr.Paul Thompson from the Community Chest agreed, then two styles would be recommended. (The St. Lawrence and The Deer Lodge.)
In February 1957, the committee called a meeting and considered putting a mortgage on the camp property in order to build the caretaker’s cottage. They sent a letter to Mr. Robert Nimergood, who sat on the board of trustees for the YWCA, and requested a meeting with him and the board.
“We need a winterized cottage for our caretaker and his wife, that we may keep him in our employ. He is a fine person, very skilful with building and repair work and very conscientious in keeping good care of our property. We are convinced that he has saved us many times his salary in the care and preparation he has given this campsite. He is an older man and both he and his wife should have the protection of a comfortable home,” the letter stated.“One enters into something like this with fear and trembling, for we do not know how long an interest in camping will continue”, the letter continued. The committee suggested stretching the payments over fifteen years.
A( letter was in the files from Tom “Pops” Watson, caretaker, urging haste on the decision with the contractors to complete the house by season.)
The committee began looking for a cheap (no more than $200) trailer for the cook, so she could rest during the evening programs “free of noise”. During some of the seasons the cook had her own place, aptly called “Cook’s Cabin”.
In April of 1958 the committee met to talk predominantly about the building and they had questions whether to enclose the office or the hostess porch, whether to build the Deer Lodge style or the summer type cottage. The summer type cottage, which was 16×20 and cost $911.00 with no screened windows or doors, was considered to be more useful. A day was to be scheduled to select a site for the council hut, to inspect the caretaker’s cottage and decide what to do to improve the conditions. The committee voted to build the Deer Lodge immediately.
By May, the camp committee decided to fix up existing caretaker’s cottage by lining the walls with wallboard to keep out the flies and mosquitoes, which would also “moderate the temperature on hot days”. They decided if the cottage was not used for the caretaker, it could be used for another purpose.
In May the Deer Lodge was under discussion again. If it was to be for the girls, they wanted to locate it behind huts six and seven, where the games were played. Suggestions were also made to divide the general office, use the hostess porch, take over one of the bedrooms in the lodge and soundproof it. The final decision involved the inside bedroom, usually used by the business manager or the waterfront director. It was to be used as a private office for the camp director and the door would have glass in it.
Three members of the camp committee met with the Aladdin Company in 1959 to discuss two more huts. One was to be a nine camper minimum one story and the other was to be an eighteen camper minimum.
What do you recall about the construction and sturdiness of the structures at Camp Maqua? Was there ever a cabin that housed eighteen girls?