Smoking–

  Helen Hasty recalled the clouds of smoke that billowed around the big tent behind the lodge in the early forties. (“Smoke virtually rolled out of the couselors’ smoking tent!”) Some years smoking was no big deal and other years, the directors warned the counselors about smoking on the premises. Lucille Greenwald (1947-50) had the […]

Childhood Feelings—

Did Anne Pennington know there were girls who were envious of her tall, thin summer body? Or that the Kiltie sister’s hair was the epitome of summer hair?  Or that “Beanie, Superdoo (Sue Purdue), Kiltie (Susan) and  (Anne) Obey” intimidated some of the less secure girls? Probably not! Little girls in the process of growing […]

Sister Shadows–

All of Helen McLogan’s sisters attended Camp Maqua, but she doesn’t remember if they camped at the same time. “I think of all of the four sisters,” said Helen (1954), “Jennifer had to be the one with the fondest and most memories of Maqua. I always felt like I was in her shadow. She was […]

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 […]

I Wasn’t A Picky Eater, But—-

“I grew up eating everything, but there was one counselor who always made us take a “no thank you helping”, said Jan Mosier (1947-52).  “Early on there was skim milk and pasteurized milk that gave me the shivers, and I could not stand cottage cheese or raisins. I objected to eating it, but I remember […]

Camp Songs Influenced Me—

“It is an amazing thing to look back and have those memories of those relationships, the counselors, the campers, the music—-as you can see from the online songbook that is now being retyped, singing was the thread,” said Pamela Hartz. “In the early years, there was a Christian message to many of the songs, but […]