Counselors had entirely different reasons for attending camp. Some had been counselors at other camps, as Nancy and Tricia Sautter had, before their years at Maqua (1968-70), but many had never been to camp. A summer job on a lake was enticing, but also utilized skills and talents they possessed that were geared toward camping jobs. Many of the counselors had been campers, not only at Maqua, but other Michigan camps and had the previous experience of how a camp day progressed.

Nancy and Tricia were recruited for their waterfront skills. The sisters were naturals in a pool of athletic friends at Western Michigan University. “I was hired a package deal”, laughed Tricia, who said if Nancy was going, she was going.

Others like Linda Doering, a first time counselor in 1967, had water safety certification and was hired by fellow physical education major and director Barbara Haggart to be the waterfront director. Sue Wiegand was a physical education major at Western also, “stewing about a summer job” when she was hired as a counselor. Sue had never been a camper, but had talents for skits, and worked as activity and program directors.

Bonnie Schlatter saw an ad in the Bay City Times and lived fairly close to the YWCA. “I lived on a farm and I was always busy. That summer (1976) I thought, maybe I can take off for a bit and try something different My Dad was not happy. He needed the help on the farm, but I liked the experience. It helped me get out of my shell. I was quiet. It was good to get out and work with young people”, said Bonnie who felt like her fun summer helped her gain more confidence.

Sharon William’s family cottage sat directly next to the camp and she watched the girls swimming, sailing and canoeing. “I loved our cottage and felt like we had the best of both worlds. We could look out the window and watch the ceremonies or sit in the boat and see the girls crying on the last day”, she said. It was during her years as a physical education major at Eastern Michigan University that she decided to apply for a job as a counselor, where she taught riflery in the early seventies.

“Our family never took trips or holidays or had a summer home. I looked forward to being outside with friends, in the woods, or swimming. I had an older brother who went to Camp Iroquois, and for a few years my older brother and myself were at Camp Huntington, but it was great to return to Maqua”, said Sue Schiller, camper in 1947-48, who returned in 1960 soon after high school and became the waterfront director.

Carol Wahl was the riding counselor in 1974 and 1975 and had taken her horse with her to college to teach a student who was a part-time draftsman for an architectural firm in Bay City. “His boss’s wife was on the board of the YWCA and that is how I found out about the job for the camp”, said Carol, who did not teach when she was pregnant with her first child and ended up in 1977 at another camp.

“We did not take family vacations, but we would go to the lake and my Dad would commute to work”, said Karen Cox, who had never been exposed to camp when she was growing up. Her parent’s cottage was outside Ann Arbor and they felt like she didn’t need camp. She was the swimming instructor in 1967, with years of experience teaching.”

If you had been a counselor at Maqua, were you new to camping or was this an extension of your years as a seasoned camper? How were you recruited and who found you?