Barb Ballor was eight years old when she first attended Camp Maqua. “It fostered kindness to others. I was so sad when it was no longer a camp. It was such a well-organized camp. There was a camp nurse in attendance. Older girls were encouraged to help. And the staff were careful not to let […]
Janet Dixon
Sentimental Saves—
Many of the special memories from camp were preserved in copies of the “Loon” from the beginning years at camp. Not only were there many copies in the Bay City YWCA archives, but campers saved them and many donated them for reference for the history. Along with the little newsletters, photos from camp (both professional […]
Menses and Meanness–
The girls at camp were not always nice about that time of life when a young girl transitioned to a young woman. Coming of age was sometimes traumatic enough, especially if the girl was unprepared for the changes that came with her first menstrual period. Mix in a little un-necessary meanness and it doubled the […]
Fitting In—
Judy Rawlings kept to herself and never opened her mouth in the fifties. A self-professed tomboy, her way of fitting in was to befriend another little tomboy called “Billie”. (Karen Kaiser) “I was so excited to go back to camp and told myself to be brave and strong, but that didn’t last long,” said her […]
Happy Mail!
The mail and packages created as many memories as the camping experiences and many of the girls saved their letters from home. Some, like Janet Dixon (1951-52) had a surprise waiting for her in 1991, after cleaning out her parent’s home. Her father had just died and she came across an envelope marked “Camp Maqua […]
Taps and Reveille
It was always an honor to be chosen to participate in the flag ceremonies at camp. The tradition of Reveille with the flag-raising, and Taps blown at flag lowering at the end of the night, were tradtions that remained in the memories of the women who participated.“I still remember what an honor and big […]