“In 1972, Michigan became one of the first states to experiment with lowering the drinking age to 18, following the 26th Amendment, which had lowered the national voting age to 18. However, following a rise in drunk driving accidents, Michigan also became the first state to move its drinking age back to 21 in 1978.” (study.com)

The sixties and seventies at camp were not exempt from the issues that faced teenagers of the entire country. Lowering the drinking age meant that counselors could legally frequent the bars around the camp, and by the time the camp had closed, the age requirement went up again.

One of the swimming instructors in the late sixties learned to drink beer with the cooks in the evening when she was off duty, since she did not have cabin responsibilities. Another remembered a “kegger” on the last night of camp.

“One counselor wanted to party in the woods with the other counselors one summer,” said Diane Dudley (1957-63). “I slept in the lodge, so I had to go do night watch in cabin 9 over the boathouse. They partied half the night and I fell asleep. I tiptoed into the lodge, but Alice Bishop heard me. “Dodo”, do you know what time it is?” I lied and said, no not really, and that I had fallen asleep on a rock on the path just looking at the stars.”

“I know the drinking age was eighteen so many of the counselors would go to the Hard Hat bar or Long Lake bar to have a few beers, but I never smoked, although many of the counselors did—in the cabin next to the lodge,” said Amy Falvey (1969-78). “That was the smoking cabin! My sister Betsy did come up that last summer I turned eighteen and I had my first (legal) drink at some bar in Tawas.”

The second summer Kathy Carney (1970-71) was a junior counselor and made $75, plus room and board. She taught a little swimming and arts and crafts but on her time off, she and other counselors would trek off to Tawas. The counselors had a rotating schedule, so it was more difficult to take their little adventures to each other’s cabins, so they would sometimes go to the beach or park. “I disappointed my sister Ann by drinking alcohol that summer and by smoking a few cigarettes. Even though she was smoking, she made me a promise that if I wouldn’t, she would stop.”

Kim Moore (1967-72) thought she was cool in between the session one summer. “I remember sitting around a bar or a restaurant and somebody gave us an alcoholic beverage and I looked over at Beanie and she was scowling, but I was feeling old and cool and having a blast.”

“We were partiers pretty young,” admitted Amy Johns (1967-78). “I think when I was on staff at age fourteen as a kitchen aide, we would all go into the bar in Hale and order Tequila Sunrises and Slo Gin Fizzes.”

“The summer I was a kitchen aide, I remember we could have a day off our hours off and one of the counselors dropped us off at the Tawas State Park,” said sister Priscilla Johns.” It was crazy because I think we were only fourteen, but we somehow got a hold of a bottle of Boone’s Farm Apple Wine. When Carney or one of the senior counselors came to pick us up at the pre-arranged time, we were drunk, I think at the end of the summer when we were all cleaning up, I did the same thing on beer or wine.”

The Hale Bar was the hangout for Jodi Tripp, who also recalled when summer ended, the staff would descend upon the bar and take their music with them. “The men in there loved it. I can still see Dorthe (Balaskas), sitting at the bar while we played our sixties music. I had never been in a bar like that, but I was eighteen and I think it was legal to drink in Michigan at that age.”

Dorthe had to have a “Come To Jesus” meeting with one of the campers in the late sixties, who had been a camper since age seven! According to Sue Wiegand, the drinking episodes were dealt with and were treated pretty seriously.

Was drinking legal when you were a counselor and what experiences did you have?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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