Camp As A Courage Builder–

Meeting new friends from diverse states and countries, other religions, different ethnicities plus the great canoe trips and hanging with staff members helped Sarah Smith’s (1968-70) independent formation. Sarah is the development director for the Center for Women and Families in  Connecticut and works with domestic assault and crisis cases. “For me camp gave me […]

The Little Jewish Girls

The Christian influence of Camp Maqua, which was under the auspices of the Bay City YWCA, did not discourage girls from other religions from attending camp. There were many Jewish girls who attended, and for the most part, the girls felt a sense of inclusion with the services on Chapel Hill. There was also the […]

Honor Banner or Shame Flag?

Harriet Crumb’s friend Margaret Dahlem,who had also been an inaugural camper on the Loon Lake site, stopped by in 1987 to see if the camp still existed. I took notes on her memories, which included cabin inspections. “There were no counselors in the cabins, but there was always an inspection in the morning and beds […]

Footlockers As A Status Symbol–#2

Some of the girls who owned footlockers laughed as they told me they still owned theirs–a few holding Camp Maqua memorabilia. Jane Miller had s shiny black one during her years in the late sixties and early seventies ”, and Amy Falk (1971-74) still has her red, white and blue one. Debbie Tweedie’s was light […]

Why Should I Go?

Who could have guessed a movie would have such impact on the camping industry, but “The Parent Trap” (released in 1961) starring Hayley Mills as a set of twins, was a preview of a sleep away camp for sixties campers Mary Grego, and sisters Cathy and Debbie Hawkins, who felt the movie prepared them for […]