Dorthe Balaskas, despite her director status, was the target of many pranks, but was on the giving end of many reprimands. In 1965, the “Loon” chronicled the prank that was played on her on July 5th around the flagpole.“Bathing Suits Billows In The Balmy Breeze” was the title of the article that described the swimsuit that proudly flew over Camp Maqua.
“It was reverently lowered and duly returned to its owner, but do you know the tale of passion and cruelty behind it? This job was pulled off by those two long known criminals at camp, Mary Gay Obey and Melba Slaba Slaght. As they idly sat in the retreat after dinner Wednesday, they spied Dorthe’s swimsuit fluttering from the clothesline. They stared at it, and stared, then suddenly their crafty little heads filled with maliciously mischievous thoughts. Equipped with needle and thread, Obey and Mel stole the suit and sewed the legs together in the comfort of their hideout. Later, under cover of darkness, they sneaked out and impudently raised the swimsuit on the flagpole. But, what of the victim of the miserable joke, of poor Dorthe and her sewn-up swimsuit? As yet, she is still too stunned to avenge herself on those heartless practical jokers. But our advice to her to make the counselors take some of their own medicine. 1. Make them undo what they’ve done. 2. Take away their store and town privileges and 3. Make them do calisthenics all through the night, before our camp criminals really start acting up.”
Poor Dorthe happened to be headlines again on July 19th—“What Happened To Reveille?” Dorthe found her records gone, her rope tied up to the bell she usually rang and the ladder missing to take the flag down. Betsy (Elizabeth Pollard) used a broom to untie the robe and bells were used in place for taps and reveille.
Sometimes there were paybacks. Chris Lambert, as self-professed prankish kind of person, who camped in the late fifties, got hers back from “Beanie” for some prank she had played on her. “She chased me around the dining room, actually picked me up and set me in the dishwater! The kids were screaming, laughing and clapping.”
Alice Bishop, director in 1961, pulled a fast one on everyone and didn’t ring the bell until nine. Sue Purdue paid Barb Rehmus (1965-76) back one summer by short-sheeting not only her bed, but all the beds in the cabin!
Then there were some more risky pranks involving toxic substances. Leslie Gilleo of Senior Village poured “6-12” insect repellent into some Kool-Aid in 1961. Judy Engibous had the memory of “Jujubes” covered in “Off” repellent during the mid-seventies.
“One of my cabin mates decided to spray some of the candy with the repellent, for whatever reason. I happened to get one and spit it out immediately. In the middle of the night, I woke up and threw up in my sleeping bag. In my ten-year old logic, I didn’t wake up my counselor, for fear I would get in trouble,” said Judy. “Instead, I walked down the hill in the dark to my sister’s cabin, pounded on the screen door and groaned loud enough for my sister Doris to wake up. She brought me back to my cabin and counselor, and of course, the sleeping bag had to be cleaned, but I thought how convenient it was to have a big sister at camp.”
“Laurie was always the party girl and I was the “goodie-two-shoes”, said Tally Cone (1960-65). “I was not a rule breaker, but my sister was the rebel. I can remember at camp that I respected everyone’s personal space and belongings. I felt everyone wanted and needed to have their own bed, footlocker, and their own things. Somebody wanted to pour “bubbles” in a girl’s water, so she would drink bubbles, but I didn’t think that was right, They put shaving cream in someone’s footlocker, and wanted to write on the walls. We were in some cabins that were fairly new and the staff didn’t want us to write on the walls.” (Tally learned during that time that some girls were more malicious with their pranks.)
Do you recall any malicious pranks that may have backfired?
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