Not every young camper who packed off to camp loved the idea of time away from their parents, sharing a room with sometimes seven strangers and spiders, or eating food that was not cooked by Mom, but for the majority of girls those summers were the days that memories were made of.

Cara Prieskorn’s accounts of her years at Camp Maqua from 1966-71 (as a ten year old and oldest of five) included the fact she was so happy to get away from home. “I was around city kids for the first time”, said Cara, who was from the small town of Cass City. “I went the first time I could go and I had no idea what I was getting into. I used to go to the Maqua Jamborees at the “Y” and hated it, since I didn’t know anyone. They would sing, introduce the counselors who showed up and sometimes divide the girls up by age. Later when I knew more girls, it wasn’t so bad.”

Marsha Immerman was one of the little Bay City girls that attended “Stay-At-Home” camp and also hated it. “It was inside, it was boring and I had to go home at the end of each day”, she said. She had heard about Maqua and was excited by the idea of going away from home, but did not realize until much later in life how different home and camp life were until she experienced her years there from 1947-53.

Sisters Betsy and Amy Falvey’s mother Marjorie was always involved in the Bay City YWCA and Betsey felt like she practically grew up there, attending day camp and taking swim lessons until her first year as a camper at Maqua in 1968 at the age of ten. Their mother played a huge role in fund raising for the camp and was on the camp committee for years. “My parents stayed home and played golf and loved it that we were up there. We saw them when they came to wash our clothes.”

The “Live Y-er” day camp from the YWCA, designed for future campers, was the feeder for many including a self-described precocious child who attended in the sixties. She had made a few friends (Ilene Zacher and Melissa Perry), and loved the flexibility and nominal fees. Ruth Wiesen (1957-59) was never homesick, after spending time at the day camps.

Through brochures, flyers, PTA speakers, radio announcing, theatre clips and word of mouth, the YWCA Camp Committee did a tremendous job of recruiting. Edna Young, who attended as a nine year old in 1932, had her interest piqued when representatives from the “Y” promoted the camp that she registered.

Others participated in youth groups, swimming lessons and lived close enough to the YWCA to hear about camp. Karen Kaunitz had heard about it through the YWCA in 1945, as did Kathy Sullivan in 1961, when she joined her friends there. “We all clung together. Other than family vacations, this was basically the first time I was on my own. I was a little sheltered Catholic girl who stuck with the program and was quiet.”

Dorothy Bonnen (1942) had joined a girls club and the leader, Mrs. Burton, of the Mill End Store “made everything fun”. Mrs. Burton’s husband was in the service at the time and she just wanted a project. It was associated with the YWCA and she was the sponsor. “There were fifteen girls in our little club and she was always looking for things for us to do. She wanted us to go to camp. It was such a special camp to us. We helped with the dishes and learned to set the table, which all girls should know how to do. We were even able to go up to camp a week before it started and Mrs. Burton made all the arrangements.”

Anne Shutt’s mother was involved with the YWCA and she had memories of taking classes in the old building downtown, which led to her first camp experience in 1961. Pam Wintermute’s parents were friends with the bookkeeper (Jim Lesler) in 1955, which prompted them to send her as an eleven year old.

Karen Selby’s friend Rene was the daughter of her father’s law partner and had camped there for years. Rene’s mother invited Karen’s mother, who had been on the board, to attend the camp rally at the “Y” in the early seventies and it began her camping fun.

Kathy Hall’s mother’s association with the American Association of University Women in Bay City was the link to her camping at Maqua from 1966-71. Some girls, like Shelley Harris (1965-75) and Marsha Garber (1964-65), had reasons that were as simple as camp offering horseback riding!

What was the connection or link that drew you into the experience of going away from home to camp?