Activities and Sports

Calling All River Rats!

Published on by Kathy Baker

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Elanie Engibous (1961-63), decked out in her prescription sunglasses, loved the canoe trips down the AuSable River. “I can remember eating red licorice and making Kiltie laugh so hard she would pee in the boat and we would have to stop and clean it out! There was a “hi-low-eenie-meenie” song that we hollered to connect to each other,” laughed Elaine.

“We would spend the night and would be so sore from paddling, and then we would sleep on the ground, but loved it. We were always so hysterical. We would be gone from camp for three days and wonder what we missed, but it was clear when we heard the other girls describe the canoe trips that we had to go. It was awesome. We had the food up in the trees to keep the bears out and we would get so burnt on the rivers—some girls would even blister.”

“The canoe trip were another level of independence, “said Doris Engibous. “I remember coming around the bend in the river on one trip and we were young and we spotted older kids skinny-dipping. It was the first time I had seen breasts and genitalia out in the open!”

The  famous boat call. Valerie Monto (1964-68) remembered it and also had several versions of the call and the answer; “high-low-eany-meany-i-ki-oo-chow-chow-pea-wa-wa” or “hi-lo-eenie-meenie-caw-caw-um-chaw-chaw-e-waw-waw”, followed by “eany-einy-ony-ony-you-ho” or “hecta-minika-anika-zanika-boom-de-ada-yoo-hoo”.

Jeanne Kiltie (1966-71) loved the three-day canoe trips. “No showers, but bathing in the river. I can remember one girl was sick and they had to come get us, but another trip it poured like crazy and we took our sleeping bags and all crammed into the bathroom and slept there! How crazy was that? And I can also remember them telling us all to prop our aluminum canoes against the tree with a tarp over us! It was lightning and we were under a metal boat! When I look back, I wonder sometimes,” she laughed. “Then there were the raccoons that broke into our food and counselors were all yelling for us to save it all. As an adult now in a boat, there is no tipping in my boat!”

Kim Moore became an expert canoeist at Maqua (1967-72) and felt like she knew what she was doing and felt very confident. She packed for trips as a kitchen aide, “even though I am left-brained and not very organized. Someone would inevitably come to my rescue to help me pack in an organized way. I would say, somebody help me and I think Cindy Knapp was the one.”

The second year Sue West (1976) took thirty girls on a canoe trip on the AuSable for five days with counselor Gail Savage. The girls had received a week of intensive canoe lessons before the trip. “We put in the water on a beautiful sunny day, but it poured down river a few miles. We slept in puddles that night. We went back on the river the next day, still soaking wet, but we had to stop and call camp to come get us. Our sleeping bags were like baggies holding the water in.”

“My whole life I dreamed of going back and drifting down the river again, so I took a vacation one year with a friend, and it was just the same dream I remembered,” said one of the sixties’ campers whose memories of the river still cause deep nostalgia.

Do you remember the boat call? What is the version you recall?

 

 

 

 

Take Me To The River!

Published on by Kathy Baker

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The trip scheduling was not always perfect since there was lack of transportation and conflicts with canoe areas, according to notes left by the program director Toni Young in 1966 (for canoe overnight trips), but those trips remained the epitome of fun and adventure for girls of every decade.

A sample sheet was attached in the report with Gayla and “Squirt” from cabin seven leaving at 5:15 for Rollways, followed by dinner there, a clean up and explore time at 7:30, snacks at 8:45, taps at 9:30 and pick up and returned to Maqua at 8:15 the following morning.

There were near drought conditions that summer with a fire ban in place. Combined with “not too enthusiastic or inexperienced staff, very few cookouts were taken and just as few sleepouts,” wrote Toni. “Most of the cookouts were taken in conjunction with overnights, thus killing two birds with one stone.”

Four firebowls were available in camp in Senior Village, waterfront, and primitive. The one in primitive was only used when they were gone on a trip and the one between the lodge and the archery field wasn’t used at all that year.

Anne Obey was the campcraft packer, so the counselors were only responsible for the cooking utensils, tarps and hatchets from the campcraft hut and first aid kit from the nurse. Ann had impressed her director very much with her mature manner and how well she handled her responsibilities. “I could not have asked for anyone who gave willingly and actually showed loyalty and love for Maqua and its campers as Anne” she wrote in her report in 1966.

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Overnight Camping-

Published on by Kathy Baker

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“What Is An Overnight?” The “Loon” issue from 1965 had an article that attempted to answer that question by an unknown author—“Some people can hardly wait for an overnight at camp. They have never been on one and wonder what it is going to be like. But, we experienced campers know. First, you are all excited because you want to ride in the truck. After you are on your way, your foot goes to sleep. You can’t move because you are so crowded. So, you just sit and grit your teeth. Then when you turn a corner, everyone piles into one corner. When you hit a bump someone’s foot goes into your stomach. Finally, you get to your destination and hurry to get out. When you try to stand up straight, you feel stiff from being cramped in one position for so long. Now, it’s time for supper, “ and the article heads into the direction of the actual campout. (We will return to the ending later–to be continued.)

An early twenties camper, Meg Dahlem, recalled her truck trip to the AuSable, where they would sleep on the ground on a hill. Nancy Michelson had a similar campout in the sixties when they trucked somewhere not far from Maqua. “We slept outside on the ground with tarps. I remember waking up to the dew and loving it, despite the wetness and coldness. I loved sleeping under the stars.”

Lucille Greenwald (1947-50) did not share the feelings of excitement for her campouts. “I never understood the overnight camping trips,” she said. “Inevitably, it would rain, and there we were sleeping on sticks and stones with soggy bedding in the woods. Then, back we would go to our huts with sopping wet bedding.”

Another camper shared an entry with the “Loon” in 1947 and it read; “Last night I went on an overnight hike, but I waited till today to tell you about it. Boy, did we have troubles. First of all, it rained the day before, so the wood was wet. Then, after we got the fire going, the pop was warm. And on top of all that, the bed was hard, the mosquitoes bit, and we practically froze to death when we woke up in the morning. I was taken back to camp wrapped in a blanket. P.S. I’m all tired out.”

“I took two overnight trips,” said Missy Plambeck (1968-78). “We walked into a big clearing with our sleeping bags and would sleep on top of plastic outside. One trip, where we had many younger kids, it rained and rained. I was a junior counselor and our tents would not stay up. I slept in the outhouse, which wasn’t as bad as it sounds, since it was fairly new and had space for my feet in the gravel. We were soaking wet. When it wasn’t raining, it was fun to look at the stars.”

Minette Immerman (1938-41) remembered the campout when she slept on the sand at Lake Huron in blankets and counselors cooked breakfast over a barrel with a grate. “One morning when I was waking up, I lifted my blanket up to ants. I did not like that one bit.”

Some girls happened to get lucky, like counselor Sue West (1975), who hiked for three days and was totally dry. The eight girls slept on the ground near some power lines and plotted their trails using compasses.

What kind of overnight camping experience did you have that did not involve a canoe trip?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waterfront Scares

Published on by Kathy Baker

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There are no statistics or mentions anywhere in the archives of any deaths or drownings associated with the camp. The director selected her water safety instructors, boating instructors and directors for the waterfront with a careful eye on experience and maturity. But, incidents happen and that was where drills and safety procedures came into play at camp. Weather was one factor that could change procedures in an instant.

One night Margot Homburger (1946-48) took the canoe out with a friend and the water got choppy, (Although she was never a great swimmer, she had achieved the level needed to canoe.) “I think we were thirteen or fourteen. We could not paddle back, so we left the canoes, took the paddles with us and hiked back. Believe me, there was a welcoming committee for us when we got back,” she laughed. “The next day we went back without the counselor and paddles to get the canoes and ended up paddling all the way back with our hands!”

Janet Gehres, the camp nurse in 1961, had a similar experience. “One of the gals who worked in the camp took me out on a sailboat and we had a nice time until the wind died down. Then we had to paddle back.”

“I think I had to have a blue cap to canoe, so I decided to take a rowboat out. Everyone on the shore was in sheer panic when they realized I could not get back. I kept rowing in circles and someone finally had to come get me,” said fifties camper Jan Bateson.

Ann Carney (1968-72) had an unsettling incident on the lake one summer. “The winds came up on a perfectly beautiful day. It was scary, since all the canoes were on the lake and the girls were scattered all over. I can’t remember how we got them all back, but I think the girls all went to different shores and different families took them in and called from the homes around the lake. I think Dorthe and Mert went to pick them up. Linda Doering was supposed to be on the waterfront and I think she was sailing and it was one of those dicey situations that was very serious and a huge lesson. It made such an impact on me. I got it.”

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Gunnell Pumping!

Published on by Kathy Baker

332664065_640Many of the girls felt like bobbing the canoes or “gunnell pumping” was one of the highlights of their camping experiences with the canoes. “It was a blast,” said Cindy Morrison (1960), “whether we went bow to stern or side to side. I can also remember making a sailboat out of the canoe somewhere on the lake. We would put the paddle up and let the wind catch the top of the paddle, while water ran down our arms.”

“I can stil remember the gunnell pumping that we did for fun on the canoes,” said Laurie Cone (1962-68), who was part of the waterfront staff. “We would teeter-totter and bounce off. I know it had to be dangerous, because if you weren’t careful the canoe could turn back on you. We loved going over to “Turtle Cove” where all the lily pads were. (We always emphasized DO NOT PICK THE LILIES BECAUSE IT IS ILLEGAL, but they were so beautiful.) We would row or paddle across the lake, but there was always that time factor. You could really only do it when there was a double period or you had no time pressure, like on your days off. We liked to be able to go see the boys at camp,” she laughed.

Mimi loved the waterfront and although she regrets never having a chance to sail at camp, she has fond memories of “bobbing” on the canoes. “Why we have any teeth left is beyond me,” laughed Minette Jacques (1955). “The dock was fairly far out and floated. I had already taken the Red Cross swimming lessons at the “Y” before camp, so I was happy I passed the test. But, a pool and a lake are two different things. There was a girl who wasn’t a very good swimmer and we were supposed to have a buddy at the lake, so I chose her and told her not to worry about a thing, that I would save her. I did get my junior lifesaving certificate.”

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Sail, Sail Away–

Published on by Kathy Baker

IMG_0014The camp was desperate to find someone to take over the canoeing and sailing in the mid-fifties, so sisters Nancy, Judy and Pat O’Tool took over the job. “The three of us took the sailboat called “Snipe” out on the lake and instead of laying on its side, it would totally capsize. Over and over and over it rolled,” said Pat. “It pitched Judy into the water. We had a heck of a time righting it and getting back to shore!”

“I always thought sailing was so cool,”said Holly Foss (1966-72), “ but not many people advanced to that level. It was such a joy to be on that sailboat. It had two sails and it was very challenging, but we had to tip it over and right it for our Red Cross certification.”

Mary Lou Goggin (1950-61) was not old enough to sail when she arrived, but learned some skills as a C.I.T. There were no instructors for sailing, so during her free time at lunch, she had her friends help her assemble the smaller sailboat, so she could take it out on Loon Lake. Camp and sailing influenced her and to this day she sails on San Francisco Bay and has boated to Mexico on a trip of a lifetime.

Dorthe Balaskas, director, gave permission in 1964 for her sailboat to be used at camp, but according to Cara Prieskorn (1966-71), “–the coolest thing was the Kiltie sisters, who brought up their own sailboat to camp”. Despite the fact there never seemed to be enough wind and the rigging was difficult to hoist, Cara was both envious and looked up to the girls who were a few years older.

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