Cabin Life

Care Packages–

Published on by Kathy Baker

“There were rules about getting food.,” said Margot Homburger (1946-52). “The camp did not want you to have food in your cabin and I remember one of my friends jumped into my bed because there was a mouse in there. If you got a package, you had to open it at the lodge. My friend and I walked up and her Dad had sent her a package, so she opened it up and it was a man’s shirt, which was in style back then. Neatly tucked in the folds of this shirt in this shirt box was a flat box of candy instead of cardboard. You could eat a candy bar in your cabin, because they knew you would eat the whole thing and not save it,” she said.

“We always looked forward to mail, “said Judy Rowden (1949). “I think my parents were way more lonesome than I was. I used to get care packages from home, but they did not come through the mail like my letters did. The milkman who delivered the milk to Maqua was a friend of my family and he used to bring me the package!”

It was much more fun to get the packages than mail, according to Holly Foss (1966-72), who looked forward to mail call, hoping she would get a package. Lois Levine’s homesickness was eased in the forties by the care packages her Dad packed lovingly from home and Carol Requadt shared the cookies in 1945 sent by her parents.

Sarah Smith (1968-70) always celebrated her birthdays at camp, and her Mom was the type to send care packages. “I didn’t need a thing.  I actually liked the food at camp. But, she never missed my birthday and would send me a care package for my day. Usually there was not much in it unless it was my birthday.”

Read More

Mail Call!

Published on by Kathy Baker

“Mail was a big thing and I saved the funny letters and postcards that I wrote and my parents, brothers and grandparents wrote to me with encouragement,” said Gail Schultheiss (1966) l, who said she begged for a Maqua sweatshirt and tee shirt in every piece of mail, which her family still laughs about to this day.

Sandy Indianer (1967+) said forming relationships was easy for her, but said if the internet had been invented back then, she probably would have stayed in touch with some of her cabin mates. The way she stayed in touch with family in those days was the weekly letter home—“not long or involved”, but she recalled asking her Mom to have her Dad PRINT her a letter, since he was a doctor and his writing was atrocious. And, he did!

Kim Wynne-Parry (1963-68) also loved getting mail from her parents and grandparents and loved sending postcards home. “I’m pretty sure I wrote in huge letters, so there could not have been much on those cards, but I threw them out a few years ago.”

Her sister Vicki also wrote home to her parents and still has her letter on birchbark. Kay Alcorn also wrote postcards on birch bark once a week.  “I don’t think anyone told us this was not a real good thing for the stately birch trees,” said Kay, who camped in the late forties.

“Basically, I told my Mom I was having a good time and the weather was great,” said sixties camper Deb Wilkinson, who bought her postcards at the same time she bought her ice cream and candy at the camp store.

Read More

Happy Mail!

Published on by Kathy Baker

The mail and packages created as many memories as the camping experiences and many of the girls saved their letters from home. Some, like Janet Dixon (1951-52) had a surprise waiting for her in 1991, after cleaning out her parent’s home. Her father had just died and she came across an envelope marked “Camp Maqua 1951”.

“It was in a fireproof file box where we kept important papers like insurance policies and tax records,” wrote Janet. “In the envelope were letters I had written home from camp. I was amazed that they meant so much to my mother that she had chosen to save them in this way. I am also amazed at how clearly I can remember my experiences there.”

Janet was ten the first year of camp and eleven the second year, with her birthday in September. “That (year) maturity is actually visible in my handwriting in the letters I sent home from camp—my handwriting in the letters from the first year was very childlike, with carefully controlled letter formation and uneven slant. In the second year, the letter formation is very fluid and the slant consistent. Very adult. It is hard to believe these letters were written by the same person.”

In the early years, the little camp store was located inside the lodge on the right as you entered the door. Beverley Schlatter (1944-49) remembered it was just a counter with storage shelves, where the girls could purchase stamps and postcards, as well as bathing caps, tee shirts and other items. Receiving mail was a huge deal, and the girls waited expectantly for their letters and packages from loved ones.

Read More

What Is “IT”?

Published on by Kathy Baker

“After a lot of patient waiting and guessing we found out what “IT” was”, wrote the author of the “What Is It?” column in a copy of the “Loon” from 1952. “A real western day. We were all called down to the waterfront by a fire drill. Nan came riding down on her horse to tell us about it. It started off with a chuck wagon dinner. It ended with a wonderful counselors’ show and a hoedown for all. We all agreed that “IT” turned out swell.”

Tales of spaghetti in bags that felt like worms from blindfolded campers and popping balloons tied around ankles of fellow cabin mates brought laughter. Square dancing with a director as the caller, or talent shows entertained happy faces in the evenings.”Roasting” counselors, learning Morse Code, tossing the frisbee, or washing the camp truck also entertained the girls.

“The counselors and the kids always got along fantastic together”,  said Rhonda Thayer, business manager from 1974-77. “During meals there was always some entertainment. Mine was using that paddle with the ball on the string and I could do that blindfolded. The girls would count to 1,000 and I would still be bouncing that ball without missing. One counselor could tell stories and she would mime opening a jar of peanut butter and pretend like she was eating it and eventually it appeared she could not talk with all the peanut butter in her mouth. One girl sang “Camelot” really well, and there was one black counselor who would faint and we couldn’t wake her, so we would leave her. We would tease her about being so dark that we couldn’t see her bruises. What talent we all had!”

Read More

Cabin Days and Themed Events

Published on by Kathy Baker

The daily activity schedules were usually confined to Mondays through Fridays, allowing the weekends for schedules planned by campers and counselors. It is unclear when this format began, but it was a great way to expose campers to as many activities as possible. The first week was all the different activities (in the sixties’), and the second week campers chose which activity they wanted and would sign up in advance.

On Saturdays, campers had “Cabin Day” where staff and campers carried out  the plans that their cabins had pre-planned on Wednesay. Some cabins took alpine hikes, had cookouts in Primitive, picked strawberries or made dinner in Hale Park. Some elected to sleep in, skip breakfast, go to Lumberman’s Monument or take an overnight canoe trip.

The evening programs were always popular and a paragraph from the “Loon” in 1966 read: “The 4th dawned dark and dreary this year. Classes went on as usual. For the evening meal, we dressed up in patriotic costumes and had a picnic on the volleyball court. We ate tasty hot dogs, smothered with mustard, ketchup and dill pickles. Costumes were judged in categories of the prettiest, funniest and most original.”

There was Gypsy Night, Christmas in July, Western Day, camp fairs, and Circus Nights with counselors as ringmasters for the circus acts. “I remember someone making a wanted poster during the western event, and she was wanted for taking a bath,” laughed fifties’ camper Janet Dixon, who felt like those events encouraged the girls to be very creative.

Read More

Pow-Wows and Events Under Toni Young

Published on by Kathy Baker

1609788_10202732001933034_204850777022464540_nSpecial events included Worldwide Fellowship, which was celebrated in the first session in conjunction with the 4th of July. On Sunday at the Chapel Hill vespers and services, the series would begin. It was a day set aside for friendship and fellowship on a state and local level.

There was a traditional picnic, but the girls dressed as colonial or famous Americans, which challenged their creativity. Prizes were given for prettiest, most original and funniest. In the evening, the girls were divided into teams in preparation for International Night, which was a Tuesday. France, the Congo, the Netherlands, USA, Argentina, Mexico and Thailand were represented and each “country” dressed accordingly with tables decorated. (The Y sent blue and white placemats.) They made up a song and had an accusation from the World Court, which was similar to the Kangaroo Court. Toni then asked if the girls could share something of themselves, so a fellowship offering was taken up and it was usually the price of an ice cream or candy bar the girls were giving up and donated.

A circus was held second period and each cabin was given a special part. Clowns, acrobats, horses and riders, elephants and trainer, poodles, a circus band, lions, tigers and trainer, tightrope walker and jugglers were represented with costumes. They had Monday night to invent and create and presented their performances on Tuesday with popcorn and punch for snacks.

Read More