Whether it was gaining confidence, being nurtured for the first time, or learning new skills in activities unknown to young girls before their arrival at camp, Maqua always had a reputation for their incredible staff leadership from the top down. “Camp was all about confidence in terms of getting along with people,” said Elaine […]
Cara Prieskorn
Why I Did Not Return To Camp #4
Families members passed away and families moved, so those events affected the decisions of girls to return to camp. Others had to earn money instead of camping, and then some were fortunate enough to take advantage of other opportunities with travel. Jane McKinley attended camp 1956, 1957, and 1959, but her parents moved to Portland, […]
Why I Did Not Return To Camp #1
Many girls made a summer tradition of returning to Maqua, beginning at an early age, and aging out when they could no longer qualify. For others, it was not enough to be a camper, they aspired to be counselors, which extended their camp careers until college and beyond. Many just quit going and the reasons […]
What I Missed At Home #2
They missed family members, pets, and summers that continued on without them, but those feelings were not so overwhelming that the girls wanted to return home. Some, like JoAnn Kern (1953,) said she was ready to go home after her two weeks at camp. She always felt like she was missing out on her summer […]
The Boys Have Arrived!
Only one summer and two weeks at Maqua, but Mark Blumenthal had the distinction of being in the last group of campers to attend the camp before it closed permanently. It was the summer of 1978 and Dave McEvers had scheduled his cross-country team to utilize the camp and its great surroundings for the team […]
Viking Boats Across The Lake–
When Elaine Levinsohn (1927-30) camped at Maqua, there were no homes around, just a pretty lake with many trees. “All the girls knew there was a boys’ camp there,” she laughed, as she recalled a vague memory of boating over to the camp, like many before and after her years at camp. As the boating […]