Camp Influences

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 Developed Leaders–

Published on by Kathy Baker

Camp Maqua developed some amazing leaders, not only on the camp grounds but later in life. Women in leadership roles influenced young girls at camp, whether they were aware or not. The young girls looked up to the counselors, who were in college attaining degrees in fields that women of the past dare not dream about as a career.

Cheryl  Short was twelve years old in 1964 and the second oldest in a family of seven in Bay City when she first attended Camp Maqua. A self-described driven and in charge person, Cheryl said she was always the giver and not the taker. “I was a nurturer. A lot of the values and qualities that were instilled in us at camp, I already had. I was not shy either. It was one week out of one year in my life. I already knew who I was as a child. I just enjoyed that time just being a kid, being free to be me for a whole week with no dishes, no chores, and no responsibilities.”

“When I became a Mom, we worked to get our kids into the special camps they wanted to attend, so they could share those values. It was one part of my life I wanted my son and daughter to share,” said Cheryl. “ I was President of the “Special Days” Cancer Camp and now sit on the board. I have been involved for many years. Those times reminded me of my camp experience and it was fun to see kids who had cancer having fun because I don’t remember ever really being a kid.”

Cheryl’s position is one with large responsibilities now—President of McLaren Bay Special Care, with a great many initials behind her name!

In 1967 Lin Harris had just graduated from college and sent out twelve postcards looking for jobs. Eleven of them replied. With credentials in water safety instruction, she was just what Dorthe Balaskas needed for Camp Maqua, plus Dorthe was curious who would apply for a job by postcard.

Her Mom died when she was fourteen in 1957, and she had attended Indian Beach Camp in Grand Traverse Bay. It changed her life and she said her heart was there. That camp allowed her to see strong women in leadership positions running the camp. Even as a swimming instructor at the “Y” in Flint, she realized that women were not given the same opportunities, despite the fact that she felt like she was doing something positive teaching women a skill.

“Up until then, girls were just teachers or airline stewardesses or nurses. Women were not given the opportunity. I did not have many women role models until then. I realized I could do anything I wanted to.”

She and a friend took 14 girls on a primitive trip to Manitou Island. Jennifer McLogan and Laurie Cullen were two of the girls from Maqua that were on that trip. Lin was amazed later to find out many of the girls on that trip became doctors.

Lin taught physical education in high school, mainly swimming. “Maqua meant the whole world to some people and provided opportunities they may not have had. It also filled in empty spaces for staff and campers alike.”

Karen Selby’s friend Rene Baker was the daughter of her father’s law partner in Bay City and had camped at Maqua for a few years. Rene’s Mom had invited Karen and her Mom, who had been on the board, to attend the camp rally or jamboree at the “Y” when she was about twelve or thirteen in the early seventies. “I was interested since Rene was my older and more mischievous friend, so I thought it would be fun.”

Karen then returned as a counselor and spent the last three years (1976-1978) as an arts counselor with some huge changes taking place at the camp. Unbeknownst to her, she spent the last year of her camping days in a camp that would close that last summer, as she donned her pale blue shirt to distinguish herself from the campers.

“As a human being, going to camp began to teach me the value of service and the understanding that I had many opportunities and how many I had been given. Those were invaluable things. It also taught me to be self-assured and confident in my competence. It taught me to be willing to walk out on a limb and to have faith in what I was doing—that failure was alright and that I was not made by my failures. It was up to me to decide what to do with my failures. Part of being able to go so far in my profession (Ph.D. Professor at U of D Mercy in research, literacy, and education) was pushing the envelope. I didn’t wait to be given permission to succeed and that if I failed, I was not my failure.”

“My teaching style was cemented as a camp staffer. I am still today who I was when I arrived at camp. I have trust and faith in my students and their ability to bring their brilliance to the table. I recognize it in others and myself.”

 

 

 

 

 

Camp Envy–The Next Generation

Published on by Kathy Baker

Spring has thawed the ice on the lake and our photographic friend, Carole Elizabeth Wilson, is famous for getting up early for her daily sunrise photo to share. She is the weather girl on the lake, letting us all know when the loons are out or nesting, what the temps. are and what incredible sunrises and sunsets we enjoy. I am in Florida awaiting the journey north to escape the Florida heat and humidity that is just around the corner.

This year our summer home is even more meaningful to us, after selling our home of 38 years with all its memories tucked in each corner. The house was built with love by an uncle of my husband, who is from Hale, and his brother, who was my husband’s father. Various family members helped to build this first home we ever owned, and a Hale stonemason created the Michigan fieldstone fireplace that held our many stockings at Christmas and even a few fires!

Our four children had mixed feelings about the sale of the home they grew up in but had one thing to say. “Do not ever sell the lodge!” For all the memories that were stored in their childhood home, none could compare to their relaxing and carefree summers on Loon Lake. It is where they learned to ski, build campfires, play in treehouses, hike trails, and enjoy the out of doors. Their happy times included making new summer friendships, driving the boat, fishing, catching fireflies and camping in the bunkhouse next to the lodge with their cousins. For all of you who camped and worked here, those were memories that are relatable.

This summer the entire family will gather in July and for the first time ever we hope to have every one of our children, spouses, and grandchildren all in one place. It will be a new experience for this growing family, who we manage to see on a regular basis, but not as a huge unit. With the new loft and extra space, we have room for everyone on the east side. The importance of the lodge as a gathering place will be cemented by the new memories made by the next generations.

With our life in transition and retirement just around the corner, the lodge gives us a sense of permanence and a place for future projects and reunions. It will always be our summer happy place. Our hearts remain in Florida where our children were born and raised, but our Michigan souls remain at Maqua. As the blogs come to an end in June, the transition of this website will turn to stories from the existing residents and perhaps a laugh or two. Thank you for all your special memories that have helped to keep the history of this magical place alive.

Camp Developed Professional Women–

Published on by Kathy Baker

Three women with three different experiences were shaped and influenced by their camping years at Maqua. Each one continued their careers as leaders and attributed many of their skills and successes to experiences at camp.

Carol Hulett, pictured left, was the “Camp Health Director” (or nurse) during the time when it was impossible to find a nurse. After her junior and senior years at Albion College, where she majored in Biology, Carol trained under the American Camping Association and came to Maqua for summers 1973 and 1974, where she ‘learned to be a nurse at camp. Carol always knew she wanted to be a doctor and had a private practice as an Orthopedic Surgeon in Mt. Clemens until 2008.

Carol’s view of camp remains to this day one of well-adjusted, homogenous and mostly white middle class. There had been kids from difficult homes who had problems, but most were happy and enjoyed taking advantage of the activities that camp offered. She had been a camper since the age of eight and had been in camp every year until she was twenty-one.

The only child of second marriage, she felt even though her family had been influential in her values and character, camp was more influential.“I was the youngest in the family and the “bossy brat” at home, but at camp it was okay to be a tomboy and be understood for who I was. In terms of the outdoors, I still canoe and if I have the opportunity, I am outside.”

Kim  Moore, pictured below right with Sheryl Biesman, was nine or ten years old in 1967 or 1968 when she attended Camp Maqua for the first time and went every summer until she turned fifteen when she ended her “career” there as a kitchen aid. Kim helped start a Charter School (DaVinci Institute in Jackson, Mich.), which is a non-traditional school that serves an at-risk population, as there is a prison there with many transitional families. “It is the hardest job I have ever loved, as it is attached to a high school and I started the K-8 section and was principal and now a curriculum coordinator, but those little things from Maqua helped me. Just weaving the plastic lanyards in the craft hut meant I could do that with my students here and I can trace relationship building back to Maqua. The sense of community, being open to meeting new people, and building relationships that I learned at camp have all been put to good use here.”

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Judith Moore– Camp Influence

Published on by Kathy Baker

Judith Moore’s (center front row) stay at Maqua was only two years—1970 and 1971, as an assistant director to Barb Haggart, “catching, fielding, and doing whatever had to be done for Beanie.” She had played sports at Western Michigan University with Sue Wiegand, Nancy Sautter, and Barb and was recruited from the physical education pool. That first summer was a summer she knew she didn’t have to make much money, since she had just been hired on as a physical education teacher in Sarnia, Ontario for a real job in the fall.

“My experience is short, relative to others, just two years and they were the years immediately upon my undergraduate attainment from WMU. I had a teaching job in the upcoming fall, so was talked into going to camp, with no prior experience as a camper or counselor. But, the PE degree would help. It was an amazing experience for me personally as I grew tremendously as a person. So, camp for me was about friendships and personal growth.”

“At camp I honed my leadership and organizational skills, learned to assume responsibility, learned to work with young campers and all their needs for being away from home. I learned that risk management skills were essential to all and came to understand the HUGE responsibility that had been entrusted to the leadership for about 100 campers and 30 counselors. (A very scary thought as I look back.)”

“Facilitating the counselors and their roles, planning and coordinating programs, and finding new enthusiasm after a long hot day for all was essential. Camp management was very integrated and required daily management skills that I was learning on the fly. Really, there was no support system to assist those of us who led—none! We were young 20-25-year-olds making it happen.  Just the quality of the people that were there, despite no directives from the “Y”, made me realize there were enough traditions and foundations to build upon.”

“I have one daughter that went to camp for about 6-8 years as a camper and later as a counselor. She still laughs and talks about it. It is a special time for the young campers for sure. I am bound that I will pay for the camping experience for any grandchildren that I may have, it is that important to me.”

“There is another part of this experience that was valuable. As a young woman graduate, the opportunities for me were not the same as young men at that time. This was pre Title Nine. All the counselors had on the job training for leadership as a result of Maqua. I am only guessing but would think that they are or have been leaders in their lives. They gained confidence, honed management, and organizational skills, learned empath, developed a work ethic and actually felt responsibility. These are very important skills in life. Mentoring was alive!”

Judy found her niche in athletics as the Director of Physical Education for the University of Waterloo and through her sports, brought her field hockey teams to six different Olympics. She coached field hockey, continuing the leadership role as a mentor in sports, as well as commentating for the broadcasts.

Maqua remained a cornerstone for her growth. “What a playground it was for me to practice my leadership skills. I attribute my introduction to my career to the leadership and savvy experiences I gained at Maqua,” said Judy. “It turned out being at camp was everything it could be for me. It was rich, meaningful fun. It was a rich group of like-minded people feeding each other and it was very empowering.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.