The word independence was mentioned more than any other word when talking to the women who camped and counseled at Maqua. (Besides the word happy.) Forties camper Kay Alcorn, along with many other women, was saddened by the closure of the camp, hoping that their children and grandchildren could have camped at a place that promoted […]
Maureen Moore
Camp Clothes–
Like many of the Moms who sent their daughters off to camp, the little labels were sewn into Jeri Smith’s camp wardrobe in the sixties. The list for camp would arrive in the mail to check off the activites and articles of clothing plus items needed for the two-week sessions. Of course, there was always […]
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 […]
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 […]
Those Little Catholic Girls
“Our family was Catholic and I remember when my parents made arrangements to send my sister to camp (1962) some of their friends worried that she would be “indoctrinated”, said Sue Augustyniak . “They had not started bringing the girls into town to the Catholic Church yet, so she went to the lovely interdenominational service and loved […]