What is camp without a lake, swimming, and boating instruction and fun? Wet towels, sand in bathing suits, leeches on limbs and tests to determine swimming and boating abilities were part of the waterfront rites of passage. But, prior to any waterfront activites, there was work to be done at pre-camp to set up the area for all the water action.
Nancy Sautter was the waterfront director in 1969 and left wonderful notes in her report that illustrated perfectly what she and her staff had to do to prepare for camp, which began with the previous year’s inventory, which helped to locate the equipment.
“Our family had a cottage on a lake near Horton when we were growing up and that is how I learned to swim. I also took swim lessons at camp and lifesaving at a YMCA in Jackson, where I earned my water safety instructors certification. I was strictly on the waterfront at Maqua,” said Nancy. “Once I was down there I couldn’t leave while I had kids there. The cabin counselors would bring them to us and you did not leave until lunch and then everything had to be locked up.”
“On the first nice day, the buoy lines should be run,” she wrote, along with instructions for stringing the red and white “lemons”. She would re-whip the unraveled ends of nylon rope by melting the ends over a candle, while spacing them and anchoring them.
There were diagrams to indicate where the lines were run and blocks were anchored with Clorox bottles. There were directions for de-weeding the lines, fixing loose lines and how to postion the swimming rafts with chains, anchors and ladders.
Nancy wrote of the roll of canvas in the boathouse that was nailed to hinge the cracks of the swimming rafts, so the girls would not pinch their feet—also where to place the raft with the diving board, so diving was in view of the lifeguards at the beach.
The reaching poles were also located in the boathouse and the sharp ends had to be covered with tape. Six cork ring buoys were also stored.
Another priority was beach cleanup, which included mowing and raking from the canoes to the rowboats on shore. The campfire bowl had to be re-dug with all the ash removed; weeds, poisonous plants and stones had to be removed.
Only three counselors had keys to the boathouse—waterfront, boating and camp director—and it had to be locked at all times when not in use. The waterfront director’s job was to open the boathouse before the 9:30 class began, and a cabin was assigned daily to help with the beach chores. (Sweep the boathouse and dock, bail out boats, rake the beach, pick up debris, rake the fire circle, etc.)
The lifeboat was always equipped with a set of oars and two cork ring buoys, faced bow out and ready to go at all times. There were also two Styrofoam ring buoys that hung on the end of the dock, with aluminum poles also ready and on hand.
Joni Bernard wrote a little paragraph in the August 9 issue of the “Loon” in 1975 about the three rafts that broke loose and drifted into shore. It was saved by Anne, Chuck and other counselors in underpants and bras, who had the raft back in place within a half hour.
Those reports made it easy for any incoming waterfront director to know exactly what procedure was used to ready for a summer of fun.
What do you remember about the waterfront?