Minutes from the camp committee began on April 1, 1932 and discussed hiring a lifeguard. The Camp Maqua (Loon Lake) property had been operating for less than ten years with waterfront activities. Four males were in contention for the lifeguard position, and Mr. Francis Barnett was hired from the pool of five applicants.
“…after a discussion as to whether to ask a foreign counselor to camp this year or not, it was decided to write the National Committee to see if one could be procured. The report to come in next meeting—a person from Norway or Sweden was the preference this year,” wrote Katherine Adie, secretary of the committee meeting, but it was to be a Japanese girl who came in 1933.
Notes from the minutes from April and June camp committee meetings also mentioned the hiring of the camp cook, scant references to a Mr. and Mrs. Hessler “proving valuable at camp” (presumably as maintenance?) and interviews were onging for the camp hostess.
Six women, Mrs. Belknap, Mrs. Conway, Mrs. Stauffer, Mrs. MacGregor, Mrs. Hal Young and a Mrs. Lamb, were being considered for the position of hostess for the camp. Mrs. Belknap was chosen.{ I can only imagine that she served in a capacity similar to a dorm mother at college and lived in the lodge.)
On the agenda that summer was a discussion of reducing the amount of staff or closing the camp “to meet the financial situation”. The rates were changed to reflect the situation.
It would now cost $5 to live in a hut, with the girls to furnish their own bed linens and towels and $6 for the guest rooms or $1 per day —on weekends, $2 for the guest rooms, or $1.75 for the huts, and they furnished their own linens.
The weekend started with the Saturday evening meal and went through Sunday night, but the staff ended up being reduced by using Miss Morris as hostess, “in addition to her other staff duties” and Mrs. Belknap was released. ( Miss Morris was a staff member with capabilities as a counselor in good standing, but it seems a shame that Mrs. Belknap’s tenure was short!)
In 1933 another male lifeguard was hired (Mr. Tryban), as well as Mrs. Beckwith as hostess. (Her daughter Jean would get free board at camp.)
The camp director was Miss Wilma Lewis, who had attended the camp convention and came home with ideas of combining art, music and dancing—“making it more creative and expressional with an exhibit every week of the finished work”.
The camp committee also discussed the use of the natural resources in camp in cooperation with the staff, and also to keep within the budget. A suggestion was made for several camps to purchase supplies together to save money.
“Small staff difficulties” were discussed at the camp committee meeting in November 1934. The committee thought staff should be lined up earlier, but on a happy financial note—attendance records had been broken in the first two weeks and a total of 428 attended the entire summer.
In 1935, the camp opened with Miss Beckwith as the hostess and Miss Lewis as the director. Dr. Lorna Fang was hired as the camp doctor and counselor from China “as her life experience in China will promote a better understanding of the girls in other lands”. Esther Middlewood was the swimming and personnel counselor.
In 1937 the minutes stated applications were coming in rapidly and many colleges and universities had been contacted, as they were every season.
Does anyone recognize any of the names from past minutes and ledgers?