Primitive Camping

The precursor to primitive camping at Maqua may well have been in the early twenties’ when Meg Dahlem talked of their trips overnight by truck to the AuSable. They would sleep on the ground on a hill with no sleeping bags, but probably makeshift bedrolls. The appeal for outdoor camping of this sort waxed and […]

Load and Fire!

  Riflery was held in a “covered car part building”, which contained seven mattresses and the target was a backboard fifty feet ahead of the lean-to. The building had been enlarged and moved in 1950, due to the proximity of the range to the cottages. (It is unclear where the shooting range was located during […]

It Was A Big Deal!

“I loved the canoe trips down the AuSable and made two or three trips as a camper. It was a real big deal to me,” said Priscilla Johns (1968+). “We took our backpacks, (which were considered cool back then), and our sleeping bags and would throw it all in the back of THE truck,” she […]

Taking The Plunge in Cold Water!

“I learned to swim at camp,” said Carol Requadt (1945), “and although I would hover in the background at the lake, there was a day I will never forget. I wasn’t getting what I needed as far as swimming instruction because I was shy. It was a cold day and the waterfront instructor was in […]

Counselors Share Their Stories #2

The boathouse was the place Barb Rehmus loved as a cabin counselor in the seventies. “ I still have memories of the little girls I had. One Dad said he would give me $5 for every pound (she) gained that summer. I knew she would never gain any weight with all the activities and running […]

Reverse Homesickness–#1

  “I loved camp from the first day. I never remember being the least bit homesick, nor did I ever see my sister, except in passing,” said Kay Alcorn, who was bunked in Cabin Two (in the forties) closest to the lodge, with a counselor and seven others in bunk beds. “I got a prized […]