Camping Life

GETTING READY !

Published on by Kathy Baker

From sunny Florida to blue skies and no humidity in Michigan, we are unpacked and ready to roll for the big 100-year celebration of Camp Maqua on the Loon Lake property. We have closed the ticket sales, but between the residents and campers/staff, there will be approximately 70 attendees enjoying a day at camp.

For those who sent in your payment, apologies for not responding, but our treasurer is still a working girl! Our event team each had their responsibilities, which included souvenirs, food, cake, tent, tables, chairs, parking, and publicity. We all have much work left to do, not only on our personal properties, but the association property, which includes the craft hut, boat house, Brownie, and beachfront. We also have the property being sprayed for mosquitoes!

The day will begin with check-in by volunteers from the Plainfield Township Historical Commission, followed by a tour of the lodge. You can walk about the property and reminisce with your friends. The Craft Hut will house the archives with two more volunteers. Boat rides, a dip in the lake if it’s warm enough, followed by dinner. A special cake will delight you, as will the sing-song and trivia game. Hopefully, the weather permits a nice campfire with guitars and more singing.

If you are local, bring a chair for the campfire, as we only have 16. Also, water will be provided, but bring your own beverages! If you are interested in the book “Camp Maqua”, it will be on sale for $20. Extra souvenirs can also be purchased if you have friends who could not attend. BRING CASH since my PayPal was compromised.

We are excited to spend the day with you. There will be many golf carts to ferry you from your cars to the lodge, and back and forth from the beach to the Brownie if needed.

Camp Developed Independence–

Published on by Kathy Baker

Independence—we all long for that feeling that we can do it on our own. Camp was the perfect place to try out new activities, learn new skills, and to leave home and enter a safe, nurturing environment.

“I wasn’t a girlie girl,” said seventies camper Helen McLogan,” and I was a rule-follower. I think going to camp made me much more independent. I was afraid to go at first and was unwilling to branch out of my comfortable world, but I have a strong memory of loving to master the skills and levels at camp. And when I worked in the kitchen, it was good for me. I think I was hysterical at the closing ceremony that first summer, even though I had not wanted to go to camp. Two weeks up there was just perfect for me.”

“I think Camp Maqua was a classic camp and the responsibilities helped build my character. When I send my kids to camp, I want them to go to the kind without air conditioning, with mosquitoes, and I want them to enjoy rustic camping. There was a very different tone to the camp when the boys were there. I was a little sentimental about just having all girls.”

 Mary Beth Morton (1974-75) was off to General Motors Institute when she graduated. “I paid my own way and I was very independent. That experience at camp, I would have to say, helped me to become myself. At home, I just did not make waves, but I was biding my time. Somehow I had the insight to know I did not have to live like that. I became an engineer in the auto industry, which gave me a lot of security. Camp taught me that I was accepted and well regarded. It was an eye-opening time and it allowed me to become more confident.”

For fifties girl Jan Bateson (pictured above at the 2016 reunion with Marsha Immerman), camp gave her a sense of leaving home, but able to return with virtually nothing changed. “I found independence, bravery, and courage. It definitely influenced me. It reinforced my love of being outside with space to roam. To not know anybody at camp and to be okay, to be connected to other girls from other groups and different places after coming from the mostly Polish-German town of Salzburg was wonderful. I had never had a conversation with so many girls!”

Her love of camp also influenced her family and life. Jan’s family camped and canoed in Canada, she ran a Girl Scout troop, sent her daughters to Girl Scout camp, as well as becoming involved with kids in crisis in another camp.

“The whole experience solidified my values, “ said Nancy Neumyer (1975-78)- “I was a person of great faith and I place great value on family and children. It helped me to become a better Mom. I loved being surrounded by like-minded girls, which reinforced my values. It gave me a sense of independence. I enjoyed that time and was not easily homesick. I did have a summer with my sister there, but she was in a neighboring cabin, and there were always returnees. It was such a welcoming and nurturing place. It was a way for me to have something of my own since I was one of nine kids. I didn’t have to compete and the experience allowed me to be me. I was never jealous or competitive. There is a joke in my family that I raised myself.”

“I think camp helped me become more independent, “ said Debbie Hawkins, who camped in the sixties. “It was the first time away without my parents, except for nights at friend’s homes. I realized I could live by myself without my parents, and at that time it was a long time for a young person to be away. I just remember the deepness of the friendships I made at camp. I also remember my counselors Beanie and Frenchie. Beanie was funny as all get out.”

Sue West, back row in the middle, is seen below with her siblings at a family reunion in Maqua last summer and was a  counselor in Primitive camping. Her brother Bill West (second from left) owns the home directly to the right of the campfire pit. She was the second youngest of eight kids and started at Camp Maqua in 1975. Her Mom had died two years earlier and she had gone to live with some of her siblings at aged seventeen. “Camp impacted my character. It made me stronger, more independent. I was always amazed that I got the job. I always knew I wanted to be a Home Ec. teacher because I loved working with kids. I knew it from this experience. I grew up camping and would summer in Canada with cousins and with five kids between my husband and me–we have camped, backpacked and hiked because we love the outdoors.”

 

 

 

Camp Shaped Lives–

Published on by Kathy Baker

Priscilla Johns, (above) (1968+) loved all the activities at camp—the arts and crafts, the horseback riding and nature. “I remember the first summer as I got on my horse and walked through the woods, I thought I would rather be galloping,” she said. “I learned to pick up a snake and not be afraid, even after the little garter snake bit me. I can still build a great fire from learning at camp and I know the girls used to say, call Cilla because she will get the fire started right away. And to swim in a lake or jump of the dock is simply amazing,” said Cilla. “There is nothing like a Michigan summer. Hot during the day, but you could swim and then throw on a sweatshirt and jeans at night. Ah—the fresh air! I think this is why I got into dentistry with children. I work a lot with special needs patients and I was drawn to it from my Maqua days. I always loved being silly, so I threw myself into a profession that would accommodate my personality!”

“I loved the campfires and the friendship circles and the bonding with others. Just being in nature and yet having a routine was great,”  said Laya Rose (1937-48)  “ I came from a home where my parents both worked and I was on my own a great deal. I realized that everyone needed something and everyone brought a gift to camp. My needs were met there. I think my gift was listening to others with kindness and connecting to people. I had enthusiasm for living and camping—maybe because I am not a low-key type of person. I was a people person then and I am still a people person now.”

Jenifer Penzien (1969-71) recalled the movie “The Parent Trap”, starring Hailey Mills as twins separated who find each other at camp, which aired around the time she thought about going to camp. She attributed her camping experiences for her love of horseback riding, canoeing, and kayaking—all of which she continues to do to this day.

Sue Robson’s career as a “User Experience Counselor” with web page design involves observing people using software and she feels as if her observer tendencies as a child have come in handy with her work. She also volunteers at an art center and it always reminds her of the arts and crafts of her camp days in the seventies. Barb Ballor expressed how camp fostered kindness to others, which encouraged her into the nurturing profession of nursing, as well as to send her boys to camp.

Sometimes, it was just the little things that camp taught the girls that meant the most.  For Karen Kaiser (1959-62), it was simply music, campfires, the ceremonies and “ the chance to become who we were” and for Judy Kessler, her love for the outdoors began at camp in 1946 and it was always just a magical place.

Three women, Kathy Butsch (1968-74), Randi Wynne-Parry (1969-73) and Beth Taylor (1966+) were influenced to become involved with the Girl Scouts, either as a leader or member of a troop. All three drew on their experiences at camp and to this day they all enjoy the outdoors.

For Sue Purdue(1964-68), shown on the right of this photo with fellow staff member Anne Pennington, the realization of how important the camp experience did not occur until she was older.“Who knew they would be such formative years. We had instincts and urgings of vulnerability but since it was a girl’s camp, it was instrumental in my self-esteem.  I believed in myself and I felt like I could do anything. I felt like I could speak my mind. Camp was a culmination and a big part of who I am. I always knew I wanted to work with kids after that and earned a Masters degree in guidance and counseling after my undergrad degree in physical education. I believe I came into my own and look back at the fact that I was in charge of such young kids at a young age, but Dorthe did a great job as a director with seriousness and responsibility. We had fun, we made a few bad decisions, but we were all searching for acceptance and now look………all the close friendships are being re-consummated!”

 

 

 

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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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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Camp Friendships–

Published on by Kathy Baker


The friendships of camp often began before sessions even started!. Many knew friends from school or had cousins who attended at the same time and numerous women stayed in touch their whole lives after meeting new friends at camp.

Young girls Helen Hasty (1943-50) met at Camp Maqua would go on to become some of the best friends of her life, including Bernie Van Pelt. They shared the same sorority and Helen stood up at Bernie’s wedding. “It was truly a remarkable place. I am so happy my Mom had the foresight to send me there. It enriched my life and played a large part of my growing up years. It was a happy, peaceful place and everyone seemed to get along”,

“Everybody I talked to about camp thought it was special,” said Audrey Graff, who began in 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. It was a wonderful way to spend the summer. I made idyllic friendships and I think the wonderful spirit at Maqua came from the top down. There was always such a spiritual feeling. The whole atmosphere at camp was positive. I had a sister who died of degenerative disease at eight and it had been an agonizing few years. Maybe camp made a difference–to be with happy people, happy counselors—it just added to me having a good time.”

“In sixth grade, Mardi Jo Link and I became inseparable friends, “ said Michele Patterson (1971-76). “ I am mentioned in her book “The Drummond Girls” as Mike, not Michele. I camped every year with her. One parent would drive us up and another parent would pick us up.”

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