For decades Camp Maqua girls made jokes about the Camp Mahn-go-tah-see boys’ camp across the lake; how maybe they would swim over to see them; or the boys would boat over past them, so they could see them. And as many of them that dreamt of that, there were thse girls who said they were […]
Mary Jo Rawlings
Becoming A Woman At Camp—
One of Debra Osher’s firsts occurred at Maqua in the early sixties, but not in the usual timely manner of most girls. “Everyone had their period except me. I was fourteen and my Dad was a doctor and we were supposed to send in this medical form and it would have information on it. I […]
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 […]
Gagging Down Breakfast!
Oatmeal and hot cereals delivered the most powerfully negative food memories for campers of all years. Holly Foss (1966-72), Bev Lemanski (1945), MaryJo Rawlings (1950’s) and Beth Taylor (1966+) all shared their intense dislike fore oatmeal. Most of Beth’s camp memories were good ones, but she remembers one counselor who would insist they all clean […]
Music, Music, Music—
Picture a sheet music with notes, and then picture the notes of music leaving the page—floating over the camp, through the lodge dining hall, past the flagpole, down to the campfire, back up to Chapel Hill and down through the cabins of all the little campers. Music tied the camp together and those notes were […]
My____Went There! #1
One of the first questions asked of each camper interviewed was-“Did you go with a friend or relative, and did your mother, aunts, or cousins attend?” Barely a girl asked answered no, because generally girls were influenced by relatives and friends, and it was almost impossible not to know someone. But, if by chance you […]