Finding experienced and mature staff was not an easy task in 1966 for Dorthe Balaskas and sometimes areas were understaffed or staffed with girls who just did not make the grade. She did not tolerate behavior problems and expected her staff to not only do the job efficiently, but with a good attitude. Dorthe felt […]
Dorthe Balaskas
Sixties Staffing with “Superdoo” #3
Sue Purdue was one of the young girls who transitioned from camper to counselor and learned some life lessons through her experiences under director Dorthe Balaskas. “I think I was thirteen years old in 1964 when I first went to Camp Maqua. My cousin Laurie Cone was from Toledo and she was a year younger, but had been […]
Sixties Staffing and Issues #2
The application for the renewal of license for the camp in 1964 from the Dept. of Social Welfare for the state of Michigan listed Dorthe Balaskas as the director and she had previously experienced six years of camp leadership. Miriam Carr, who had been a YWCA camp director in California, was her assistant that summer. […]
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 […]
Directors #8
There were no records of camp committee minutes referring to Sue Patenge as the director during summers 1972-74, but Rhonda Thayer and Carol Hulett were at camp during those years and had totally opposite impressions of her, as did a few other counselors, parents and campers. Sue had been a physical education teacher in Mt. […]
Directors #7
“I was the director for three years and I always regretted that I did not go back, but life circumstances, plus searching for a permanent teaching job kept me away,” said Beanie (Barbara Haggart) a little wistfully. “My years at Maqua were the happiest of my life. People who have not experienced the camaraderie missed […]