Directors, Counselors, Staff

Camp Formed Character–

Published on by Kathy Baker

The word independence was mentioned more than any other word when talking to the women who camped and counseled at Maqua. (Besides the word happy.)  Forties camper Kay Alcorn, along with many other women, was saddened by the closure of the camp, hoping that their children and grandchildren could have camped at a place that promoted their independence.

“I learned independence and it was the first time I cared for myself and the first time I made my own way,” said Susie Utter, who camped in the fifties. “Even the songs were special. My cousin Polly Vliet died of pancreatic cancer and I helped nurse her during her last days. The first thing she wanted me to do when I came to her was to sing those Maqua songs—-“High On Chapel Hill” and “Sail, Sail Wishing Boat”.

“I loved the people and very few went away at that age, but it was an exciting part of my growing up. It made me more independent.,” said Barb Krohn (1970-72). “My sisters and I all went to prep school before college, and it was a natural transition. It was a privilege to go, but when you were young, you took it for granted. It was a natural part of my summers, and my parents must have known since both went. Even my husband went to camp, so we sent our daughter off at eight she loved it, too.”

“ I think going to camp is an untapped asset for children who do not go, “ said Doris Engibous (9167-70). ”It is a gift to be able to go away. It is another level of independence. My parents expected us to go to college, and I got my degree in Chemical Engineering, which was pretty unusual for girls back then, but my parents had already established that independence by sending us to camp.”

Michele Butsch went to Stevens College, which was all women, Her parents had also gone to camp, as did her children. “When I was in high school, I was not a leader, but I formed strong relationships at camp and college and became a leader in college. I was President of my sorority,” said Michele, who is married with three children and a director of PDP. (Prescription Drug Plan.)

Fifties camper Katie Harris said,” The leadership and character building were lasting. You did it all by yourself. You survived and became independent. I told my kids and grandchildren it was the greatest experience of my growing up years. It was great being on my own, and I’m sure I missed my parents a little, but I loved being with other girls, becoming responsible and the whole gamut. I am a nature person. It is the crux of me. I loved it.”(She told her grandchildren to go to real camp camps, ones with rafts to dive off and not the camps for single interests.)

“I loved being outdoors. Even when I came home from camp, I would build my fort in the woods out of sticks and branches. It would be a place I could go where no one bothered me. Years later, my son, who became an Eagle Scout, told me he had built a fort in the woods. It was my fort he had fixed! “said sixties camper Cindy Rose.“I think camp made me very independent. I can travel and associate with anyone and anybody. It gave me freedom. I don’t have to be part of a group, even though I like to. I taught young children arts and crafts, gymnastics and baton as a community education teacher when I was fifteen. Camp was one of my influences.”

“The lodge was always the spiritual heart of the camp and the experience of having a sense of family and being close and all inclusive was wonderful,” said Maureen Moore (1968-70), who is a nurse at McLaren.” I have the personality of loving everybody and my Mom wasn’t like that. Camp heightened my compassion, made me try new things and believe that anything was possible. I was never a joiner, but I became very independent and the experience appealed to my sensibilities. I always wanted a big family and one that was non-judgemental.”

Three girls from different times, Cathy Hawkins (1962), Kathleen Dworman (1966) and Carol Requadt (1945), all expressed their influence of independence, self-reliance and the ability to make choices. Cathy still dreams of driving up the road to camp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Camp As A Courage Builder–

Published on by Kathy Baker

Meeting new friends from diverse states and countries, other religions, different ethnicities plus the great canoe trips and hanging with staff members helped Sarah Smith’s (1968-70) independent formation. Sarah is the development director for the Center for Women and Families in  Connecticut and works with domestic assault and crisis cases.

“For me camp gave me a wonderful sense of independence, just being part of a group and being able to express myself as a person,” said forties camper Suzanne Ruterbusch. “Many kids never got that chance and working there was just an extension of that independence. I have always been a huge lover of being in the woods. My first husband and I built a cabin in the woods in Grayling on the AuSable and before that, we took the kids camping in a trailer. I always felt closest to God when I was in the woods and it started at Maqua.”

The independence she gained at camp was the direct result of her days at Maqua (and other camps later), which gave Andrea Gale, pictured left, (1970+) the confidence to travel by herself. “My stepfather ended up working in Saudi Arabia and I went to a boarding school in northern California. I flew there by myself for three weeks, traveling for two days to get there with no fear. Later I went on trips by myself just to explore. Camp gave me the courage to do things in life.”

Kerry Weber also traveled post camping years in the fifties. “I think it was easy for me to go off to college. Attending camp at an early age allowed me to become very independent. I traveled to Europe at aged sixteen and six of us from Bay City also went to Finland and met up in Amsterdam. I summered one year with a family in Virginia, and I attended Sweetbriar Women’s College there.  I truly loved going to Camp Maqua.”

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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 Strengthened Young Women–

Published on by Kathy Baker

Ask Cindy Knapp, shown above, (1968-71)— there was no question that her time at Maqua influenced who she was as a person.  ‘I loved my summers there, treasure the memories and friendships that were formed, and am grateful to have had the opportunity. Maqua helped give me confidence and taught me a lot about leadership.  I had always wanted to be a teacher and I know some of that desire is from the modeling of teaching that I watched at Maqua.  We learned to be friendly, kind, loyal, curious, confident, respectful, responsible, trustworthy, fair, and strong.  That’s pretty good character building, if you ask me.”

“I became a teacher and there is no question that my camp experiences have influenced my career.  When I taught sixth grade for several years, it was a tradition to go to a nearby Y camp for three days.  I recreated a lot of the program, using my Maqua experience as a model.  (Prior to that, it was kind of just school in a different place and I was having none of that!). I always sang the old songs with my kids.   I have been teaching preschool for the last 12 years and the Maqua songs are especially fun with them!”

Tally Cone (1960-65) became a teacher and had always wanted to teach the younger kids, but after her Mastes degree, she taught math to middle school kids. “Maybe, I ended up being drawn to the age that I actually was at camp. I love middle school kids. One day, they are wanting a sticker on their work, and the next they are crying over a break-up of a boyfriend or girlfriend.”

She and her husband retired early, after raising two daughters. Both girls went to camp, but they never camped as a family. Instead, as teachers, they were able to take the summers off and visit the U.S. “Now when I see a birch tree or even smell “S’Mores” or a campfire, I think of Camp Maqua.”

Carol  Wahl used her camp counseling experience for years on her resume, until her resume filled up with the many jobs she had. Many of her years have been spent in education as a science teacher for adjudicated teens. “I use the lab as hands-on for the kids as much as possible, and many have returned to say it was their favorite class. When I was at camp and saw the bad behaviors in the girls, I made sure I taught mine better. Camp was a wonderful experience for campers and counselors. I still have rocks from camp painted with “Camp Maqua 1974” and a piece of driftwood somewhere.”

“When I think of camp, I think of home,” said Sharon Williams, a counselor in the seventies. “It was my summer home. We were just a group of people working together having a great time. We were open and accepting of each other. You came into your own at eighteen and nineteen and there were many changes and time to develop. Those times really helped to shape and reaffirm my career choice in physical education. My first job in teaching was junior high level in Plymouth Middle School.”

Pat  O’Tool l (1944-52) loved arts and crafts and went on to become an art teacher, convinced that the arts she learned to enjoy at camp influenced her career choice. “The leadership and supervision and forever directing something as a kid influenced me to teach, To this day, she still teaches art and still remembers the postcard from Camp Maqua featuring the girls in front of the craft hut.”

When Sue Michelson (1963-73) was not at camp, she was babysitting or volunteering with children at home—always involved in the community in some way. Her camping days and love of children helped to make the career choice of becoming a K-12 principal. As a teacher, responsible for children and talking to parents, her roots with writing reports as a camp director gave her great experience.“Camp Maqua was so influential in my life“ Part of the reason I went to Michigan State was due to many of my counselor friends going there. Half of us went to Michigan and the other half to Western. It was more than a summer experience. It was a huge part of my life. I had always wanted to be a teacher, and I looked up to those counselors.

Others were influenced to attend a certain college, Betsy Falvey, (1968-75) said, “I do feel like camp influenced my choice of college. I chose a small college and I was active in my sorority and my major was history, but my minor was in music. Everyone was singing and playing guitars at camp, including me, so I was in a band in college. I think I am the only one I know with a liberal arts degree that has made it work in my life.”

“I think camp guided me into teaching,” said Carolyn Stanton (below) (1947+). “ I was a waitress at Camp Sherwood and Huntingdon later, so I liked camps. I ended up as a reading specialist and got my Masters in the eighties. I had good values already, but camp strengthened them.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Camp Influenced Many Lives—

Published on by Kathy Baker

 

 

With so many girls gaining many experiences, each unique to their personalities, their home life, their own skills and interest, it is not surprising how many different answers came to the question, “How did Camp Maqua influence your life?”

Jan Schrieber (left)(1962-70), now a Psychologist in San Francisco, was the creator of the Camp Maqua Alumni page on Facebook in 2010, following the death of her mother. She was extremely close to her Mom, who she described as creative, funny and truly wonderful. “I started thinking about the things that made ME! How much of life has passed now and that was just a nugget of experience, but I stayed connected to many of those girls.”

What began as a page with about six members has grown to 250 members in the eight-year period and has been a tremendous networking forum for those who treasured their times at camp. It has also been a feeder platform for obtaining the history for the book “Camp Maqua” and the blogs on www.girlsofcampmaqua.com

“I’m an oncology nurse now and manage a research department,” said Debi Gottlieb (!968+). “I cannot imagine that going to camp did not affect me in my life. It was a place where girls could be themselves and get to know other girls without their parents,  and the usual rules. It was just a fun place to be!”

Camp transported Nancy Weber away from home in the sixties and influenced her future career. “I was the youngest child of older parents. By the time I was ten, my brother was in high school and my sister was in college. I look back and realize camp made me comfortable with my eccentricities. You can take me anywhere and I fit in. Whether it is camping, raising coonhounds, or with the gentry, I cherish that I can fit in.  It didn’t show up at camp but did later—my comfort with myself. And fifty years later, I can still fold a flag perfectly!”

“I have memories of my sister’s time at camp, and I knew all the songs before I went to camp, but it was a different time and a different experience. I have a degree in teaching and counseling and I am now a public speaker, but I sang songs to my kids when I was teaching that made me a hit.”

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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.”