Cabin Life

Camp As A Confidence Builder–

Published on by Kathy Baker

 

Whether it was gaining confidence, being nurtured for the first time, or learning new skills in activities unknown to young girls before their arrival at camp, Maqua always had a reputation for their incredible staff leadership from the top down.

“Camp was all about confidence in terms of getting along with people,” said Elaine Engibous (left). (1961-63) “I always wanted to go over my birthday because everyone sang to you and you were a very important person on that day— not just a” run of the mill” camper on your birthday, but special. The camping experience was the opening of an exciting time, where I never hesitated to take advantage of some new adventure. I learned to share. I learned that counselors knew what careers they wanted to do—architects, nurses, and it was all okay and you could do anything you wanted to. There were incredible personalities to follow—Beanie, and the counselors.”

“You know, years later I went to Girl’s State and the Lt. Governor’s wife got up to speak about how important politics were. She told us to hold hands with each other and that we would probably never see each other again. At Maqua, we were all treated well and at the wishing boat ceremony, never did we say out loud as we held hands that we would not see each other again. We would write and hope we might see each other and we might think it, but at Girl’s State, they already had us divided!”

For Susan Prieskorn (1966-72), all the exposure to new things at camp developed her confidence in her new skills. “I loved the swimming, camping outdoors, being able to cook outside and develop athleticism in an era when girls were doing more than cheerleading! It was cool to be athletic.”

Her sister Cara, (1966-71) paid little attention to the horses, as she had one at home, but “class-wise, I always loved archery, riflery, swimming, and all the waterfront activities. I know that when you did distance swimming, the miles would be posted on the board by the waterfront. I would swim for an hour and post a mile, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a mile. I worked hard for my sharpshooter badge. I still swim and shoot as an adult and I think camp taught me some practical things like how to start a fire, use an ax and identify poison ivy leaves.”

Connie Cruey (left) loved the camaraderie of the sleeping cabins in the fifties that helped her form new friendships away from her existing friends in other cabins. She loved being involved in everything from horseback riding to swimming. Her goal was to make it to the raft and she succeeded. She ended up working at camps in college, teaching others to swim, while she worked on her degree in Physical Education at C.M.U. To this day, she still does laps in the pool three days a week.”

Camp Maqua was a very positive leadership experience for Kathy Hall (1966-71). She retired from marketing, but during her career in non-profits working in the community, she felt that camp helped her develop her spirit and drive. “I liked giving back,” said Kathy, who earned the Athena award and many other international leadership awards, including the YWCA. “Maqua was a happy camp, which was a mind-altering experience for me.”

“Everybody I talked to about camp thought it was special,” said Audrey Graff (below) (1948). “It was life-changing and Maqua was not an ordinary camp. I was a counselor in college at another camp, but it was not the same experience.  There was something intangible about Maqua—a feeling of community and interrelationships.”

 

 

 

Camp As A Slice Of Life—

Published on by Kathy Baker

Learning to get along with people at camp was an integral part of the whole camping experience. Thrown together in a cabin with seven others, or working beside counselors of different walks of life and ages made for interesting and sometimes challenging dynamics. Camp was like a microcosm of the world and a great place to learn how diverse a group of women can be!

Carolyn Waits, pictured above, insisted all the skills she learned at camp in the mid-fifties in archery, riflery, swimming, and boating contributed to her confidence as a young woman, as well as relationship building. “When you are in a situation where you have to get along with a lot of people and especially an environment without your family, you learn. I had good lessons in getting along and put them to use when I worked with NASA as a manager on the Hubbell Telescope. When you have so many different people working on a project like that, you have to get along.”

“Camp Maqua taught me to get along with other people. There was never any competition among the girls. The counselors did a fabulous job making sure of that,” said Mary Hewes (1946). Patsy Walsh (1938), who was an only child, also felt camp taught her to be with other girls and older girls, as well as conformity to rules and regulations. Audrey Delcourt (1968-69) learned skills that helped her work with people, especially when she began to teach college kids.

“For a girl like me who was introverted, camp grounded me into a natural world.,” said Kim Wynne-Parry (1963+) “I had the ability to relate to other girls in life and meet girls from all over, not just Michigan. The college girls were role models and they must have chosen them wisely because they had much to offer and emulate. It was a unique experience that I could not duplicate for my daughter. I am so grateful for my parents, who sent me there, I am sure, to experience that.”

“I had the greatest childhood every at camp,” said sixties camper Dawn Sohigian.”I cherish the memories and friendships with girlfriends. I still do sleepovers and Kathy, Missy, Kim and I sing the camp songs and know all the words. Camp taught me to be a good person. I developed bonds with women and they made me a better person who thought of others. Patenge was the best. We looked up to all those girls.”

“When you go away for a summer, all of a sudden it teaches you to adjust to new situations and to get along. Just living with others, not having your family around, and even not having your parents there to protect you, it is a very rewarding experience,” admitted Susan. Kiltie (1960-68) “ Camp Maqua was a wonderful place to go in the summer.

Pamela Hartz  (1966-75) had two career paths after she left Maqua. One was teaching special education and the other was counseling older adults and working with marketing and communication. “It is fascinating that both my careers were primarily influenced by connections and the communications of being with women. I was always more comfortable relating to other women.”

Socially, camping in the sixties helped Cindy Morrison, who feels like she can now command control of a whole room in the restaurant business. Alternately, if she is put in a room with a few people, she develops stage fright. “I was always the last one to volunteer to do a skit in the lodge, but camp taught me to get along with everyone, which I still do.”

Pat Kula (!946) learned skills she didn’t know and eating and living together with other girls were new to her. Lucille Greenwald (1947-50) learned to get along and to do her share. “Even though I had always gotten along with people, we learned to take turns.”

Dorothy Bonnen (1942) felt her timidity was lessened by learning to live with other girls, which in turn allowed her to become more friendly. Jennifer Fenton (1971-78) now feels like a well-rounded person and although camp sometimes positioned her into situations that were not always comfortable for her, she developed into a team player at camp and in life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sadness For End Of Camp

Published on by Kathy Baker

 

 

 

Camp meant freedom from family, the chance to make new friends and the opportunity to learn new skills often not offered at home. For many girls who did not experience the pang of homesickness, leaving camp held true sadness.

For Harriet Crumb, it was the best experience! “You can see 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 seemed to be able to take it or leave it, but from the first I was hooked and in some form have enjoyed camping ever since.”

Sue Augustyniak lived in Bllomfield Hills and camped 1962-68 at Maqua. “Our parents wanted us to become independent and they encouraged up. We felt like we could do anything. We mastered skills. We expected to do well and we did. Saying goodbye on the last day was always a sad day.”

Kim Moore was nine years old when she attended Camp Maqua for the first time in 1967 and continued every summer until she turned fifteen when she ended her camp career as a kitchen aide. “It was a huge part of my life—one of the best parts of my life. I would cry at the end of the session because I didn’t want to go home. I felt so grown up at camp and so safe and independent.”

“There was a two-week block in July when I went to camp and loved it,” said Kathy Butsch, who was ten in 1968 when she first attended and camped until 1974. “I was always sad and depressed to leave camp because I was leaving all my new best friends”

“One cherished memory for me,” said Judith Moore, assistant director in 1970-71, “was the sight of the young campers making friends and bonding throughout the two-week period, so sad to leave each other at the end. They too had an experience for the first time and it was very emotional. There were those who waited so anxiously for their parents to arrive for pick up and it was always obvious to me which parents had a special bond with their girls. These young campers had an adventure that asked that they survive without their usual family support and develop these skills. Remarkable when I think about it.”

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Why I Did Not Return To Camp #4

Published on by Kathy Baker

Families members passed away and families moved, so those events affected the decisions of girls to return to camp. Others had to earn money instead of camping, and then some were fortunate enough to take advantage of other opportunities with travel.

Jane McKinley attended camp 1956, 1957, and 1959, but her parents moved to Portland, Oregon in 1958, so she missed that summer. She had her first flying experience when she returned the following summer, and it was the first time she had ever flown on her own. She stayed with the Utter family until she went to camp and to this day wishes her sister, who was ten years younger, had taken the opportunity to attend Camp Maqua.

“I was the youngest of five, but the only one to go to camp,” said Rosemary Orgren (1956-58). “My friends were at camp. They were my tribe. It was probably helpful because I was shy through high school and college. It was good to be in an environment where you either curled up in a ball or you were friendly. It was a good time for girls. It was good for me and I felt like all the experiences were also good. My parents moved me in the seventh grade to Detroit, and I don’t remember any particular reason why I didn’t go back. I guess I felt I had outgrown it.”

As one of the youngest campers in 1965 at the age of eight, Debbie Tweedie camped long enough to become a C.I.T. and left only when her family moved. Gretchen Jacques, attended as a young teen from 1952-55, and made it to C.I.T. status, but for some reason lost interest.

Kimela Peck was eight in 1966 and attended for eight more years and despite her desire to become a counselor, felt the need as an only child to earn money and go on to college. Her father died when she was six and her mother was raising her on her own.

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Why I Did Not Return To Camp #3

Published on by Kathy Baker

Camp was an escape from home on many levels for the girls who attended, but once they reached a certain age, other experiences, situations and relationships took precedence. Margot Homburger (1946-51) continued until she could no longer camp due to her age. For Nancy Keeler (1973-74, it was as simple as her friend Alice Pollock not wanting to return to camp for another year. Ann Meisel (1962-66),  felt the neighborhood kids became a more important activity.

“Camp was a very positive experience for me. I loved it and wanted to stay all summer. My father was an alcoholic and it was an escape for me and so wonderful to get away. It was a very happy thing for me, but my family didn’t support it. I cried so much when I left. They thought I was going to be a lesbian because I loved being with all the girls at camp. It was a remark that was thrown out and not talked about any further. I was desperate to go and wanted to go because I made such wonderful friendships. I did date and did have boyfriends later,” said Molly Olson (1946+), proving her parents wrong about the reasons for wanting to return each summer. She did not return when her Birmingham friends became more important to her.

Sharon Wilcox was born in 1936, but in the late forties and early fifties, she was a camper at Maqua in the second sessions. She reached a period in her life when she became more interested in boys, probably around the time she could have been a counselor. Wistful about never having had the chance to reside in Dutton, where the older girls stayed, she was always one of the youngest at camp.

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Why I Did Not Return To Camp #2

Published on by Kathy Baker

Camp Maqua had its own appeal, but some left to attend other camps for various reasons, and a few were disenchanted and returned to the happy camp. Marybeth Morton could not recall if it was finances or if she began babysitting, but she camped the summers of 1974-75, with all great memories.

Jeananne Jakobi came from a family that was not always financially able to afford Maqua, so she and her sister went to a Girl Scout camp. Sally Allen dreamt about becoming a counselor, but her mother was remarried to a man with children and it was cost prohibitive to send them all, although she did attend from 1968-73.

One camper attended Interlochen during her “piano phase” for one summer, but the distance and the cost for her parents prevented her from returning. She went back to Maqua for two weeks during the summer of 1961, a month in 1962 and finally as a kitchen aide in 1963.

When Sarah Smith was sixteen and seventeen, she had a hiatus from Maqua and attended Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, but came back to work as a waterfront counselor after high school graduation in 1974 and 1975. She was tired of being a camper and her swimming background and experience teaching swimming at the “Y” opened the door to her new role. Her family had beachfront property in Harbor Springs and she had grown up on the water.

Sue Schiller started at Maqua as an eight-year-old in 1946 and attended for two or three years, then attended another camp until she was twelve or thirteen, but her heart came back to Maqua. She ended up staying until she graduated from Michigan State in 1960.

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