More Brownies Please!

The Health Department Sanitation Record and Report form for the summer camp dated June 7,1960 listed Alice Bishop as the director. Under the toilet, lavatory and shower facilities heading, fourteen flush toilets were listed, with good ventilation, lighting and drainage. The camp committee met in June 1963 and authorized the purchase of one more Bradley […]

Stay-overs

There were always a few days between sessions where the girls who attended more than one session “stayed over” and staff had time off. It was a good time to catch up on laundry, drive into Tawas, walk into town, or visit a friend’s nearby cabin. Only twelve campers stayed over between the sessions and […]

Sixties Staffing and Issues #1

The sixties ushered in tenures of longevity for directors Alice Bishop (1960-62) and Dorthe Balaskas (1963-69). The director’s reports were fairly comprehensive, which were great sources for the staffing issues they had to contend with on a daily and seasonal basis. Alice had ten years of previous camp experience at Camp Cavell, three years with […]

Staffing During the Fifties

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. […]

Directors #4

Dorthe Balaskas was the assistant under Alice before becoming the director in 1966 and served until 1969. She had worked for other camps, so when Alice Bishop wanted to retire, Dorthe applied for the position. Her degree was in Special Education, specializing in physically impaired methods from Eastern Michigan University, but she also received her […]

Directors #3

Camp committee notes from December 1960 announced the delivery of Alice Bishop’s contract. Her experience listed a year at Camp Yakowi, three at Camp Cavell, one at Camp Takona, and four at UAW-CIO. She began working right away on the hiring of staff and the drafting of a staff manual for the 1961 season. It […]