The directors during the fifties included Dorothy Jane Dickey (1950-52), Kathleen Geerlings (1953), Janet Adams (1954), Kathleen Dillinger (1955-58), and Shirley Rausch (1959). Unfortunately, no directors’ reports were found in the YWCA pertaining to their years on staff.

Often it was difficult to find staff that could leave their families behind if they were married. Betty McMonagle was the camp nurse from Bay City in 1953 and she brought her eight-year old daughter for the first session of camp.

In 1956, the camp cook and the nurse were told by the committee that they were able to bring their young daughters to camp with them. Mrs. Watson, who cooked for all the sessions except the last, had her nine-year old daughter signed up for camp. The nurse’s daughter was only five, which was far too young to camp, but was at Mrs. Loessel’s side for the duties.

As the season neared, applications were still being considered for the staff and Mr. and Mrs. William Watson, who were the caretakers, were the topic of conversation for the October 1958 meeting. Still undecided as to whether to keep them on as full time or part time, a careful job description was outlined for each member of the staff. By October’s meeting, the committee had decided to replace the caretakers, but later changed their mind and hired Mr. Watson part-time.

The ACA (American Camping Association) noted points in relationship to food, building needs, transportation woes (to and from church) and more adequate housing. The camp morale was believed to be affected by some of the points, so job descriptions were being requisitioned from Flint, Akron and Grand Rapid YWCA chapters.

In September of 1958, there was an oral report given on the present problems around camp, which included men working around camp and the language used at the waterfront. There also appeared to be personnel problems in the kitchen and director “Woody’s” (Kathleen Dillinger) problems with the kitchen staff and her own personal fatigue.

In February of 1959, no cook had been hired and no applicants for waterfront director had been submitted. The committee had decided trained and practical nurses would be considered, if no registered nurses applied for the job. Finding qualified personnel for each season was never easy!

Not all the applicants and staff were from Michigan. Janet Kaye was from South Dakota in 1953, and Jane Ann Kroninger was from Colorado. Willa Redden was from Illinois, as was Sharon Kelly. (For the most part, the staff were teachers.)

Most of the references to the staff of the fifties were vignettes in the “Loon” publications. In August 1950, the counselor featured was “Stumpy”, The credentials for her job included following her Dad around at a young age– helping him at the family cottage with lawn mowing, and the painting and repair of their boats. She had camped for the first time at nine and then again at fifteen. Her college studies were in physical education, she taught in a high school and junior college for three years and had served at a Girl Scout camp.

Mary Lou Goggin was a counselor in 1959 when Shirley Rausch was the director and had an issue with the camp truck. “I was one of the counselors who had a chauffer’s license. I felt very responsible for the girls in the car and there weren’t any seatbelts back then. The brakes were going out and you know what it was like going down a hill with a truck full of girls? I also had to take them on their overnights. I told Shirley that I was not driving that truck again until the brakes were fixed. That lit up her light bulb good!”

“ I got in trouble at the “Y” for insubordination. I have no idea what she told them, but I know she felt like I was challenging her authority. The truck brakes many never have been mentioned for all I know. She could have said anything. The director recommended I should not come back to camp the next season, but I pled my case to the new director, Alice Bishop, and was rehired. She said she would not take the job as director if she could not do her own hiring.”

(Mary Lou was happy to find out she was not mentioned in a bad light in any of the director’s reports during that time.)

For those who attended in the fifties, what do you recall of the staff during your time? Were most of your staff college girls?