1960’s

Someone Who Knew Someone—

Published on by Kathy Baker

Someone knew someone who knew someone who said Camp Maqua was the best. Either a mother, aunt, friend, cousin or sister would recruit future campers to enjoy the experiences they found to be so positive. Some would remain friends their entire lives and others lost touch.

“It was a huge part of our lives. We were all best friends all summer,” said Julie Bernard, who was eight years old in 1970 when she went off to camp, sharing the same cabin as Michele Plambeck and Michele Patterson. She stayed in touch with some of the girls and even stood up in Missy Plambeck’s wedding.

“I grew up at Maqua”, said Michele “Missy” Butsch of her many years at camp. “I was eight years old when I camped there for the first time in 1969 and although I was a little homesick, my sister, who was three years older, was there.”

Kim Sohigian and Michele were inseparable as young girls and shared the same cabin every summer at camp. “We are still close to this day,” said Michele. “I was shy, but I always had close friends, including Sue Williamson and Beth Hickner, who I stayed in touch all the way through high school. I was always in the middle of the group, which was popular, even though I wasn’t the most popular. We were always the screw-ups. Missy and Kim. If it could happen, it was us.”

Carol Wahl met Pam Moore at camp in 1972, the first year she was there. They ended up as college room-mates and Pam was in her wedding. While at Central she met many of the staff in her sorority, including Mary Toburen.

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Keeping In Touch–

Published on by Kathy Baker

“I did not get homesick until I got a letter from my Mom,” wrote Beth Phillips (1972-78). Her mom and her grandmother had both gone and knew what Camp Maqua was like, so her grandmother would enclose $2 for the camp store for Beth to spend. “We were always excited to buy a snack after a meal.i

JoAnn Kern sent a letter from the summer of 1953 on Camp Maqua stationary, which she had sent to her parents and sister in her girlish penmanship and delightful phonetic spelling.

“Dear Mom, Dad and Mimi-Today we were in line to eat “breckfest” and Virginia said she felt dizzy and (nausa?) she grabbed hold of me and fainted “thay” took her to the hospital and she stayed there till noon. I love camp and hope to go two weeks next year. We went horseback riding today “witch” is Thursday and learned the learned the lead a horse mount, dismount, know how to put on and take “of” a saddle, turn a horse both ways and ride. I had a horse named lightning that want to do nothing but eat. Did I ever have “troble”. (I won’t take him again!) We have a rest period from 2-3:30. I woke up 15 minutes to 6 (the other girls woke me up). At night we tell ghost stories till we run out. (the “constler” does to.) She is our teacher. You can write to me I found that out.  I am in “inormedeant” 1 in swimming. I ‘past” the swimming tst “wich” last 5 “minents” so I can take “canoing”. The girls are all so nice “ever” one helps one and other. The girls in our hut are putting on a play and I am in it. I can play tennis and it is fun. My duties are Thursday-dishes Friday—wastebasket and yard. Saturday cabin cleaning Sunday day off Monday big “Bronie” (bathrooms) Tuesday hopper (set table) “Wensday” dishes. Mom, when you “brout” me I was to eat at home and not here but they let me. My swimming class “teach” at Bay City ish ere. We didn’t have a basket so when we had the shame flag for having papers on the floor a girl told her by for now, Jo Ann PS to Marily I want a letter from you so be sure to write JoJo xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ooooooooooooo

Julie Hutchins was eleven years old when she sent the black and white campfire postcard from camp with the three-cent stamp on it in 1960. “Sorry I couldn’t write to you until I got your address, when you sent the letter. I got the return address, but I’m having lots of fun and a little home sick. You know who, Julie”

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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The Camp Store

Published on by Kathy Baker

The camp store, or trading post, was one of the highlights of the camping experience. Little girls looked forward to the time of day when they could line up to purchase items from the store with the feeling of independence. It was an event that most of the girls did not do in their daily lives.

“There was a little store, like a little shack, with a window that lifted up, and inside were candy bars, shampoo and items for sale,” said Caryl Sue Abendroth (1953-54). “You were given a certain amount of allowance to shop at the store by your parents. (If you didn’t know anyone, that was the place to meet new girls and have conversation.) I remember the sweatshirts with Camp Maqua on them and how comforting they were on a cold morning. It was so cozy to pull on a sweatshirt and it was such a luxury!”

A green and white camp tee shirt was the purchase Pat Rehmus (1962-65) bought and a brown Maqua tee shirt was recalled by Kim Hartwig in 1976. Cara Prieskorn used her money to buy a terry cloth tee shirt during her time at camp (1966-71). “My account would run out of money and I would worry about what my parents would say to me and if they would be mad when they picked me up because my money was all gone,” said Cara, who admitted they never got mad.

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