Camp Was A Gift–

Diane Dudley(1957-63) was one of the writers for “The Loon” and saved many of her copies.  Her time at Maqua was very influential, and her love for the woods influenced her to continue living in the woods to this day. She sent a passage from a book by G.K. Chesterton from one of his short […]

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 […]

Nicknames–

Nicknames were a way to make girls feel included with a sense of intimacy and camaraderie. “Magot” (or maybe Maggot) would not be the cutesy nickname a young girl would pick, but Karen Magidsohn won that name. It was very common for girls to be christened with new or short names at camp. Sue Purdue, […]

Funny Stories–

What is it about peeing and stories about peeing that can bring girls to hysterics? One of the funniest things Sandy Indianer (1967) learned at camp that stayed with her forever was to learn to pee outside in the woods. She was not alone, as many campers felt like that was an important fear to […]

Drinking—

“In 1972, Michigan became one of the first states to experiment with lowering the drinking age to 18, following the 26th Amendment, which had lowered the national voting age to 18. However, following a rise in drunk driving accidents, Michigan also became the first state to move its drinking age back to 21 in 1978.” (study.com) The […]

The Spiritual View

The services, whether you believed or did not believe, were spiritual in nature because of their natural surroundings. Many of the girls had clear memories of the spot on the hill with the beautiful trees and view of the lake, and just as many reasons why they loved it. As a present-day photographer, Anne Shutt […]