Long after the young girls left camp, the smells of the lodge and cabins, the fresh smell of the piney woods, the sound of the Loons and the lap of the waves on the lake left an indelible mark in their minds. So much so that the great outdoors called to them in many ways.
Judy Sherman felt like camp was all about enjoying the outdoors and it still gives her good memories to this day, even though she camped in the forties. Sixties camper/ staffer Karen Magidisohn continues to camp and kayak to this day.
Nurse Kathleen Clements said, “I learned to love the outdoors and it rounded me out. I had experiences I would never have had and I still love to fish and be on the water. If given the chance, I head to a lake before I will go anywhere else. I have such a respect for nature, animals and the environment. I had to watch out for critters at camp. I would rather be outside than anywhere and I have this thing for animals and wolves—maybe because I heard wolves howling at camp.”
“I first went to Camp Maqua in 1925 as an almost-thirteen-year-old for two weeks, and I went back for five consecutive years—mostly for two weeks”, wrote Harriet Crumb. “The one year I hired out as a Kitchen Aid when my two weeks was up and stayed for two more. You can see how I loved it. In 1929 I went for one week—to take and pass the tests for my American Red Cross Life Saving Badge. I was a big girl then, of course, and the next summer when I couldn’t go at all, I thought the world had come to an end. Other girls seem to be able to take or leave it, but from the first, I was hooked and in some form have enjoyed camping ever since.”
“I ended up at MSU with a degree in Environmental Science and then my master’s degree and at thirty-one, I got my law degree and practiced family law with spousal, domestic and child abuse. I think the thing that helped me with the diversity of people in my profession was the caring and acceptance I found at Maqua, “ said Chris Lambert. “That stayed with me for the rest of my life. I was in legal aid for a while and I wanted to reach out to people. Camp helped me to become more responsible and my college years were wilder, with my active part in the Vietnam War demonstrations and a trip to the big gay pride demonstration in Washington in the sixties, but my job as a sports director helped me with organization, because I had a responsibility for an area and I found I liked it. My father was an attorney and my parents were affirming and encouraged me to become the person I was meant to be, but Maqua brought me friendships and closeness and those close relationships at camp, which followed into college when I roomed with many Maqua girls, was tremendously important.”
“Maqua was a loving cocoon,” ended Chris. “It was a spiritual, warm and loving place. The best I could hope for would be the preservation of that spirit. To this day my partner and I still love outdoor activities. My parent’s idea of camping was a room at the Holiday Inn, but I have taken survival classes, hiked the Appalachian Trail, camp, kayak, still love to canoe and have hiked in the Colorado Mountains for two weeks. I owe the start of all this to my activities at Maqua, which contributed to my love for the outdoors. I have to admit, I do have a motor home now, so I can have a real bed and bathroom.”
Friendships, the music, campfires and the ceremonies were a large part of Karen Kaiser’s (photo above) memories at camp (1959-62). “It was a chance to become who we were. Karen met her husband at WMU and both were both successful athletes. She went to college on a sports scholarship, but due to an injury on her ACL after a fall, was in danger of losing her scholarship Every year she had to be voted back into the program and sign letter of liability release, so she could stay in the program and compete. Her husband began a camp for underprivileged kids and they became co-directors and now works full time at Van Buren Youth Camp. She said they both have a long tradition of camping in their family. Karen is the author of many books and is a motivational speaker and is pictured above.
Karen Cox, below, a swimming instructor in the late sixties at camp, had never been exposed to camp when she was growing up, but her parents had a cottage on a lake outside Ann Arbor, so they never felt the need to send her. “We did not take family vacations, but we would go to the lake and my Dad would commute to work. I really didn’t know what to expect when I took the job.”
Karen studied Physics and Comparative Religion in college, but left college for a short time and worked teaching swimming and canoeing at a parks and recreation facility. She eventually returned to college and finished up, working along the way for Bell Telephone and as an engineering tech and CAD drafter. She has traveled every state except Hawaii and Alaska and says she has canoed and backpacked a river in each state.
Camping remained a part of fifties girl Judy Crissey’s life with her husband and two daughters. Although her daughters never camped, she made sure they knew how to swim and canoe and as a family, they tent camped in the Upper Peninsula many times. “I prefer to camp in a tent, not into the chilly wind with dew on the ground outside these days, but I had a fantastic time as a camper and counselor at Maqua!”
“I enjoyed camp and always liked the outdoors. In the winter I loved ice -skating in Petoskey, “ said forties camper Cynthia Behan. “We have just celebrated our 60thwedding anniversary with our six children in Pittsburg. We had always camped with them growing up—tents and pop-ups, then on to trailers and later when they were gone, we took a motorhome and traveled the country for six years.”
Julie Richardson, who camped in the sixties, was married with two children, and never had a desire to go to camp, but also never needed to, as the family lived on their sailboat in the summer. They had camp on other boats and did a little tent camping, but traveled a lot by boat up through the north channel into Canada.
Jodi Tripp still enjoys the outdoors and camping, which was instilled from her camp sessions in the fifties and Bonnie Kessler loves walking the woods and did so while raising children in Massachusetts. “I can still see the Queen Anne’s lace and the wildflowers on those hikes in Maqua,” said Bonnie with the nostalgia of a forties camper.