Row, Row, Row Your Boat–

Published on June 19, 2017June 1, 2017 by Kathy Baker

Going to camp gave many young girls the chance to attempt boating activities they would have not given a thought to at home. Boating was one of those exciting choices that gave the girls new skills and confidence in themselves, and it also gave way to adventures on the lake and rivers surrounding the area.

There was a level of swimming proficiency that had to be met before the young girls could climb into the rowboats and tests to pass before they could sail or canoe.

A caption under a photo of canoes on Loon Lake, featuring Ann Gunn as the instructor, appeared on August 11, 1957 in the Bay City Times and read: “ Canoeing is a popular sport engaged in by many women, both for short periods on inland lakes, as well as for overnight tirps down the AuSable River.”

Pat Rehmus (1962-65) had been swimming since she was four at the Bay City Country Club with her family. The first summer at camp, she and a friend had to take a swim test in order to get into the canoes. “We were keen to get those canoes out. For some reason, we were not good enough,” said Pat.

But, the girls improved and they knew they had one last opportunity to run and launch that canoe, so they ran to shore and took off in the canoe, amidst yelling from the counselors to get back to shore.

“We were paddling away with that taste of freedom after working so hard to pass the test. The next year we took lessons to paddle properly, but you know at eight, we just ignored authority,” she laughed.

Just Add Water!

Published on June 14, 2017June 12, 2017 by Kathy Baker

Docks, floats, rafts and boathouse took on many shapes and forms to create swimming and boating areas on Loon Lake over the course of fifty-four years at Camp Maqua. Floats were made with drums fitted to them (donated by Imperial Oil) in 1933, according to notes in a ledger book

“Removed front half of the platform (ruined by lake ice) and moved it up to shore”, read committee notes in 1951 from the YWCA. A new raft was also built, 100 ft. of permanent dock was installed and six new rowboats, several paddles, a new job for the Snipe and new buoys completed the list of boathouse needs.

In other years, supports were added to the boathouse and pavilion that once graced the formidable structure. A wall of piles at the end of the pavilion served as a protection against the ice moving the supports during the cold winters.

In the early years there were boat competitions, according to Meg Dahlem (1925), where the winner received the Bracken Fern Award. Rowboats, sailboats, and canoes turned into parade floats. In the later years, kayaks were added to the boating fleet, and water skiing was taught.

Swimming Tests–

Published on June 12, 2017June 12, 2017 by Kathy Baker

“Swimming was always the main outdoor sport. Beginners advanced to red caps and once they could swim fifty yards, jump into the water over their heads, float on their backs and fronts and complete a dive kneeling from the raft, they earned a green cap. A blue cap was earned when the girls could swim every stroke, surface dive and swim 125 yards,” stated a news article in 1937 about the swim program at camp.

“Red caps at 9:30. Green caps at 10:30. Boating and canoeing at 3:00 and general swim at 4:00. This is how we run our waterfront,” said Nan Lipsett, the 1949 waterfront director in an article in the “Loon” Julie Ford, Helen Hasty, Jerre Johnson, Bertie Van Welt and Dee Weinberg all assisted on the waterfront that summer.

“As always, swimming is the bright spot in everyone’s day at Camp Maqua,” the article continued. “Many beginners passed into the ranks of green cap this period and more passed from green to blue.”

On her first day at the waterfront, Debbie Pennington (1961-62) was forced into the boathouse by the weather as she waited her turn for her swim test. “It was freezing and raining and we had our towels wrapped around us, shivering. I know it had to be nerves and I could feel it coming. I threw up all over the girl in front of me. I know she had to be floored and I was so embarrassed.”

Synchronized Swimming, Water Ballet and Activities

Published on June 7, 2017June 6, 2017 by Kathy Baker

Swimming was a large part of Molly Olson’s growing up years at camp in the forties and she learned at her grandmother’s pool club. She excelled at synchronized swimming at camp and it remained a part of her high school career, as well as performing on the swim team. She was proficient enough to swim across the lake and received her lifesaving certificate.

Amy Falk (1971-74) knew how to swim before camp, but learned the basics of synchronized swimming while she was there. “I remember we would roll over and lie on our backs and do our routines. My friends and I just did this at a lake a few weeks ago,” she admitted with a laugh during her interview.

“Anybody who was in the advanced swim class could be part of the synchronized swimming,” said Shelley Harris (1965-75), who had experience in her Flint high school. “When we had days that the swim teachers could do whatever they wanted, we would play music (Beatles was my favorite), and head to the deep end to do circus dives, water ballet and pageantry out by the raft.”

Swimming Across Loon Lake

Published on June 5, 2017June 5, 2017 by Kathy Baker

In August of 1929, an article entitled “Maqua Leader Swims Length of Loon Lake” appeared in a local paper. “Kathryn Gudscheinsky, a Camp Maqua counselor, swam two miles in fifty-one minutes to the opposite shore, but the high waves made the journey longer for her return. Without a pause on that shore, she made it back in one hour and fourteen minutes.”

Edna Young, who remembered her one-piece wool bathing suit in 1932 at camp, swam the entire length of the lake at age twelve “camp to camp”. As a junior counselor, she taught swimming and said many of the girls used to swim the lake, but very carefully. “I always wanted to swim and I knew how to swim and had great instructors. I got my junior lifesaving certification through the Red Cross program, ” said Edna.

Camper Marsha Immerman (1947-53) remembered the older girls swimming across the lake, accompanied by a rowboat. Still worrying about the weeds in the middle of the lake and the leeches, she managed to swim the length despite her fears.

“I learned to swim at the high school and I could walk there, so I was a good swimmer and I was always proud of that,” said Carolyn Stanton (1947). “I couldn’t see because I was nearsighted, but I didn’t need to see to swim. I think I got glasses around the sixth grade because I remember I was the tallest girl in the class and I had to sit in the front row to see the board. I never got any leeches on me, but I do remember I swam across the lake with another girl and a counselor rowing beside me.”

Lifesaving Drills and Certification

Published on May 31, 2017May 31, 2017 by Kathy Baker

There were always extensive waterfront activities with qualified safety and life-saving instructors for swimming and boating. The Dept. of Social Serivces for the state inspected the camp yearly. In 1971 their report listed eleven water safety instructors and four lifesavers, which meant the camp was under excellent supervision. It noted a human chain was formed, in case of a lost swimmer, where runners are sent to the units.

Julie Bernard was one of the counselors in training that summer. “I was one of the CIT’s that yelled line up and dive, as we formed the line out in the water for the Red Cross Cerification drills. We had to swim under the dock and find whatever was hidden to recreate a body rescue. There was an emergency bell that rang and we would all run to the waterfront, stripping our clothes off as we ran, using our eyes and arms in the murky water of Loon Lake to find it.”

“I remember taking a junior lifesaving from a, shall we say, rather large counselor,” said Carolyn Waits (1955-57). “When I was taking the final test, where I had to dive down, turn her around in the water, then come up for a lifesaving hold, she managed to turn around while I was on my way up and grab me around the neck. I found out later that she had supposedly had greased her body, sho that our hold wouldn’t take! Oh, the stories we believed,” laughed Carolyn.

Debra Osher admitted that her personal stories were sometimes negative at the time, but her senior lifesaving story from 1960’s was laughable now. She was instructed to run down the hill when she heard the “victim” screaming for help, fully clothed. As she ran, she was to shed her clothes. She recalled how anxious she was, but she did as she was instructed.

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