Camp Formed Character–

The word independence was mentioned more than any other word when talking to the women who camped and counseled at Maqua. (Besides the word happy.)  Forties camper Kay Alcorn, along with many other women, was saddened by the closure of the camp, hoping that their children and grandchildren could have camped at a place that promoted […]

Someone Who Knew Someone—

Someone knew someone who knew someone who said Camp Maqua was the best. Either a mother, aunt, friend, cousin or sister would recruit future campers to enjoy the experiences they found to be so positive. Some would remain friends their entire lives and others lost touch. “It was a huge part of our lives. We […]

Eek! Snakes! Lizards!

The girls either learned to have an appreciation for snakes or they left camp still hating them. Maureen Moore (1968-70) learned to appreciate snakes during her trips to the nature hut, but, some girls played with them at camp and later developed a fear, like Karen Magidsohn (1965) or Barb Krohn (1970-72), who just avoided […]

Leeches and What Lurked Under Water

Those dreaded “blood suckers”. Out of all the scary experiences relayed to me by the campers, it was the number one fear. It is as if the little girl nightmare of the monster in the deep could still reach up and grab a leg and attach themselves to poor innocent camping swimmers in Loon Lake. […]

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 […]