“I loved the riflery and still have my NRA diplomas and archery certificates from camp, “ said Diane “Dodo” Dudley (1957-63). “I still shoot and use my pellet guns to shoot at balloons or targets. I am not much for the rifles anymore, since they make too much noise, but I have been back and forth across the country about four times camping, so Maqua did influence me.”

Many of the girls learned new skills that came with these sports, bearing bruises as badges. Kathleen Clements (1961-62) decided after the welt on her forearm from archery, it was not for her, but it did not deter Chris Lambert (1958), who later taught the skills to others at camp.

“I loved riflery and my grandfather had given me a 22 when I was fairly young. I loved learning to shoot standing up, sitting down and laying down. I liked archery, but in the beginning my arm would be all black and blue, so I took an archery class before I taught it, so I could hold it the right way.”

Kim Wynne-Parry (1963-68) felt archery and riflery broadened her horizons and was pleased at how proud her Dad was when she came home from camp with her awards. Rosemary Orgren (1956-58) had to be encouraged to try archery and riflery, but loved that she could hit a target. “My Dad was a hunter and I had learned to shoot tin cans off a log, but the archery always bruised my arm.”

“I remember the archery, where I was good enough to win some awards, and the riflery, which my parents finally let me take, if I bought the bullets,” said Margot Homburger (1946-52). “I remember walking to the beach and the bullets all fell into the sand and I had to clean them all off before I used them. I didn’t want to tell anyone about that!”

Margot recalled the riflery instructor scared all the girls, but they ended up loving her. “She had such a responsible position and was not at all hard on the girls. It taught me not to judge a book by its cover,” she said.

Beverly Schlatter met Margot at camp and later they attended school together. She loved the outdoors and was her Dad’s bird hunting guide when he went hunting, which gave her Mom “fits”, she said, describing how she would flop on the ground when he shot a pheasant over her head. Although she took riflery at camp, she did not hunt as an adult.

Michigan, a hunter’s paradise, was a natural place for girls to be acquainted with hunters in their families. Veronica Burkhart (1952) said she was a good shot and had been raised around guns and hunted her entire life. Jan Bateson (1951-52) took riflery and was hooked. It was her first experience with a gun, despite growing up with brothers and fathers who hunted. Her Dad bought her a ten-gauge shotgun and she bird hunted with him, learning to appreciate a gun, but never wanted to shoot a deer.

Debra Osher (1963) saved her Maqua certificates and was proud of the fact that she could lie down, sit and stand for riflery for her sharpshooter marksman awards and recalled the days at the Williams Gun Range with her father shooting their rifles.

“I was not good at crafts, “ laughed Tally Cone (1960-65), “but who knew I could shoot a rifle? I came home with awards!” She recalled coming home with her awards and found her parents chuckling over their daughter from Birmingham having acquired this new skill.

Did you take riflery? Had you known how to shoot before camp or did you learn at camp?