Activities and Sports

Finding Horses—

Published on by Kathy Baker

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The first mention of horseback riding at camp in the minutes came in June 1935, when lesson fees were posted. (Six lessons for $4.50, 10 for $7.25 and 15 for $10.50.) There was not another notation until March 1936, when the committee had secured Ted Callender, who furnished the horses and two weeks of riding for $5 for eight lessons.

In 1937, Bud Fortin was hired to handle Bud Demick’s horses at camp and served as the instructor, with eight lessons for $6. Not another mention from the committee about horses was noted until a short paragraph in the “Loon” on riding in 1949. Carol Husted wrote, “—happy to see Geri Fleming back as riding instructor for another year” and the list of levels of riding classes. The new horses were also listed—Silver, Vic, Trixie, Salt, Peanuts, Ena and Jip. Geri, the instructor, rode Gay.

There were concerns about obtaining horses for the summer season in the minutes of June 1955, but it appeared that none were found, as the following summer the minutes mentioned a reconsideration for horseback riding lessons, with conditions not mentioned, but occasional riding trips included. In 1957, the minutes mentioned that horseback riding was offered.

In May 1959, notes indicated that Mr. Matthew’s horses had been sold, which meant they had been used in 1958. The committee was looking for another source and if no horses could be found, horseback riding would not be offered.

By 1960, a new riding ring was being considered by the committee.The Dept. Of Social Services report from that summer listed the riding areas as extremely poor and hazardous, with temporary stakes in the ground and low wire.

By1961 the new riding ring was built next to the new softball diamond. Fifty-eight girls signed up that summer for the riding program, with fourteen horses. (About thirty-two to thirty-eight girls rode every day.)

During the interim, horses were not mentioned again until the March 1962 minutes, when Mert Webb informed the committee that he had sold his horses, but would be willing to handle the horses for an advance of $800 to secure them. He furnished them again in 1963, 1964, (presumably 1965?) and in 1966 a mention was made in Dorthe Balaskas’ directors report.

The horseback riding program had fifty-four riders in the first session, fifty-six in the second, sixty-one in the third and sixty-two in the fourth, which was up from the previous summer. (Mr. Webb provided four camperships to ride.)

“It was a tremendous load off my mind to have Ollie back as riding director and I sincerely appreciated the fine job she did,” wrote Dorthe. “We did not have a part-time staff assistant in riding, but Ollie found a lady in Hale to teach two classes and she worked out very well.”

And then there were years the “horse-riding program” used long-eared mules! Carla Wilhelm (1945-49) loved the horseback riding and the side trips they took, but said they saddled the mules like horses.

Were you ever part of the program when there were mules? Or were you there during a year when horseback riding was not offered?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beware and Be Aware!

Published on by Kathy Baker

lighteningThe elements, the wildlife, other campers on the river and unforeseen circumstances forced campers and counselors to remain on guard at all times. But, adventures were adventures, and unexpected incidents occurred, which were handled as they arose. Some were fun, some were funny and some were dangerous, but all were memorable.

“My most vivid memory of camp was in my last year (1962) of the overnight canoe trip,” said Ilene Zacher, who began attending Camp Maqua in 1959 at the age of ten. “I was with all my cohorts paddling the AuSable. I think they had bussed us to Grayling. It was a backpack type of trip. We embarked upon the river, pitched our tents, prepared our food, hiked the woods and learned about the flora and fauna. It was mostly about survival skills. We had to dig our own latrines, which was interesting and a first for me. I was awestruck by the AuSable and the high cliffs. The worst part of the trip was a thunderstorm with lightning. Our counselor would not let us stop. We were on schedule and she was going to stick to our schedule. Of course, no one got hit by lightning, but I just remember how scary it was.”

Anne Obey, (camper and counselor from 1960-70) had memories of a “heinously awful lightning storm” that sent everyone running to some stranger’s cabin, thankful that no one was home to see the campers trespassing and the raccoons that ate their breakfast.

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Floating Food and Bug Sandwiches–

Published on by Kathy Baker

10177426_10202732006813156_7359505230034526984_n“I can remember piling eight kids and two staff members into an open truck with all the food and supplies and they would drop us off at Rollways. I look back now that I am a Mom and think—there were no cellphones, no place to contact anyone in an emergency, “ said Laurie Cone, (1962-68) who figured there had to be a ranger station somehwhere—“and driving in an open truck with deer possibly jumping out in front of us? I guess times were different. It was not a litigious world. It was a simple time and we didn’t know any better.”

Tracy Topping (1962-63) also remembered piling into the pickup truck with a “gaggle of girls” singing “We Are The Girls Of Camp Maqua” on the way to the river. “I don’t think that water in the river ever got above our knees and it was slow moving, but if you had too much in the canoe, it would get stuck. I can still see the string of hot dogs all hooked together that came floating down the river. We tried to save the food. I guess one of the canoes had capsized.”

Her sister Randi was at the front of the canoe line, when her sister was at the back. “We all witnessed the giant sausage links floating by our canoes. We were quite impressed that they floated and we tried to catch them,” she laughed, recalling how they were careful to duck the giant tree limbs in the current as they tried to catch the lost food.

Many girls, like Sue Purdue (1964-68), were city girls and took very few trips growing up. “I was very rugged and would not have known camping was in my blood, had it not been for Maqua. One year I was on one of those three or four day camping trips, which I did every session. We didn’t have tents, just sleeping bags. My cousin Laurie was a kitchen aide at the time and had packed the food. There were thirteen of us and she packed enough for six. Also, since there were no coolers, we had something with sour cream and it was in our stew or some dish. All I remember is I threw up all night, but she didn’t know.”

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Keeping Safe and Dry—

Published on by Kathy Baker

23505_115400941820253_431725_n“I do remember spending a night at Rollways State Park. I was just too cold to sleep,” said Ann Meisel (1962-66). “Now I would just ask if there were any more blankets, which I’m sure were available, but I was too young and shy to know how to deal with grown-ups, so I just suffered.”

Ann later took a three-day canoe trip, where the girls were driven to Grayling. “It was truly a rough and hard adventure. We did not have good camping gear back then and it rained and my sleeping bag got soaking wet. We learned how to maneuver the canoes to sleep under them. There was also an accident with a canoe and three girls had to be rescued, which made people in charge quite frantic. I think they tipped in some rapids and some items were lost. One of the girls who was rescued later showed us her lace panties and said she did not know whose panties she had on,” laughed Ann.

The canoe rental place happened to be next door to a house that looked terribly familiar to Ann. She was certain that the people that cared for her father’s mother in her dying years lived there, and had taken her grandmother from Bay City to their retirement home on the AuSable in Grayling.
“I was frantic, ran up to the door and banged. An older lady answered and I shouted, “I’m Ann Mesiel and I think you took care of my grandmother! They remembered me, and still had one item from my grandmother. It was a gold bangle, oval shaped, with Matie inscribed on it. I wore it for the next twenty years,” said Ann, who considered those trips to be the coolest thing she ever did.

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It Was A Big Deal!

Published on by Kathy Baker

100_2259“I loved the canoe trips down the AuSable and made two or three trips as a camper. It was a real big deal to me,” said Priscilla Johns (1968+). “We took our backpacks, (which were considered cool back then), and our sleeping bags and would throw it all in the back of THE truck,” she laughed, as she recalled the girls standing up or bouncing down the highway. “We would camp overnight and on the river, if we lost sight of one of the canoes we had some chant we called back and forth between us. We even had some canoe songs we sang, like “my paddles flashing bright.”

It was a big deal to Dawn Sohigian (1966-74) who learned to canoe at camp. “I was excited when I was finally old enough to go on the canoe trips, which I loved. I kept thinking—when is it my turn—and then felt like such a big girl when I went on one.”

Kathy Butsch rembered the landmarks on the river– Steven’s Bridge, Jolly Redskin Canoe Livery, and coming out at Lucerne. “It was a big deal that we were older than our sisters and could go on the canoe trips. We were super close as siblings, but there was always this big drama as we left to go on the trip. The canoe trip was the highlight of the summer, but the trauma was trying to pass the swim test.”

“I loved the canoe trips, both as a camper and a counselor,” said Jodi Tripp (1957+). “We spent three nights on the AuSable, and then one year we were on the river up near Grayling. It was a faster section of the river. We got rained out the first night and we were all sopping wet. We ended up staying where they stored the canoes to dry out and had to stay an extra night–sleeping out in the open in our wet sleeping bags. We were freezing, but sang a lot by the campfire.”

Jane McKinley (1956-59) learned to canoe at camp and loved to swamp and bounce on them, but loved the three-day trips on the AuSable, despite getting totally soaked. It appeared that she was always close enough on the river to walk for hamburgers and milkshakes, which was a nice change from campfire food.

“One canoe trip down the AuSable as a C.I.T. was so much fun,” said forties’ camper Marsha Immerman, who loved the singing back and forth, the view of the canoes in a single file and the “bobbing” that pitched them into the water. The food was not to her liking, and she was not alone.

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It’s Not Just About The River–

Published on by Kathy Baker

f5y5n50hxvpz07z-mediumNan O’Tool wrote about a two-day trip in “O’Tool’s Activities” in the July 12-26,1950 issue of the “Loon” describing the canoe trip by Hut 7. “We left with the canoes hanging out of the back of the truck on Monday morning. Our counselors, Irene and Dickie and Betty accompanied us and showed us what to do almost every foot of the way. After going about three miles from Loud Dam across the AuSable River, we came to a small inlet. After looking around, we beached our canoes and made our camp, which we used for the next two days. “

“We were gifted with delicious food for every meal. Some of the outstanding foods were: cube steaks, smoked ham, sausages and eggs, and huge servings of ice cream. The fishing was good, but in the morning only. We caught seven Rock Bass all together. By mistake, the fish were left on the side of the canoe and some lovely water creatures ate all except one head. We, at least, had the enjoyment of catching them. The water was quite clean, so we all went swimming several times during our stay. It was a rather sad departure at first, but when it began to rain we agreed it would be good to get back to camp.”

Sister Pat O’Tool said some of her fondest camp memories were of the trips away. Her first overnight trip was to Rollways and sleeping bags were unheard of. She took blankets and rolled them with newspaper for insulation.“We took a number of canoe trips and normally it rained. We knew how to pack and we packed carefully. We would sleep in our tents in the rain. I can still remember the Angel Bread we made with sweetened condensed milk. We would dip two pieces of white bread in the milk, then dip them in coconut and roast them over the fire. We also used large cans to make stew with vegetables or sloppy joes over the fire. I think I tasted apple butter for the first time at camp and it was strange, but I liked it.”

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