Camp Honed Responsibility–

Confidence, self-esteem, fearlessness, self-sufficient, and nurtured were other common words that campers and staff used to describe their experiences found at Maqua. Karen Selby, seventies camper and staffer said,” As a camper, I tried everything I could not do in Bay City. I rode a horse. I learned how to shoot a bow and arrow. […]

Cliques–

“You could tell there were cliques or groups, but it was never in a mean way. It was usually the Saginaw girls, the Bay City Girls, the Detroit girls—and they were usually in the same hut, so they just hung out together,” said Deb Wilkinson (1964-66).” I do remember the girls from the wealthier families […]

Mean Girls—

A few fights were remembered,  and included one in Dawn Sohigian’s last year at camp in 1974, but it usually involved the campers. Margot Homburger (1946-52) had a memory of a mean counselor, who wanted one of her friends, (who was younger), to be in her cabin. It did not happen. When the girls went […]

I Was That Girl—

I was the nerd, the pale, buck-toothed, self-conscious, freckle-faced redhead, who befriended another little red-headed camper named Lillian, whose Mom was a cook and a single Mom at a time when single Moms were uncommon. (Ann Meisel 1962-66 I was the little girl, who had a wake-up moment at camp, when the third-grade girls thought I […]

Cousins and Sisters—

Helen Johnson’s first year at camp was 1968 at age seven, and she followed in the footsteps of her mother and aunt, Ellie and Nora Goddeyne. “It was only fitting that my cousin and I would go there, also. I’m not sure how many years I attended, probably five or six, and I’m not sure […]

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 […]