Chapel Hill was a quiet place, with a vision of a spot in the clearing of the woods bearing a cross on a platform. It took years for Sheryl Biesman (1973-78) to realize that YWCA on the podium stood for Young Women’s Christian Association. She was Jewish, but felt no prejudice and if there had […]
Shelley Harris
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 […]
The Little Jewish Girls
The Christian influence of Camp Maqua, which was under the auspices of the Bay City YWCA, did not discourage girls from other religions from attending camp. There were many Jewish girls who attended, and for the most part, the girls felt a sense of inclusion with the services on Chapel Hill. There was also the […]
A Day In The Life Of A K.A.
Jennifer McLogan and Laurie Borgeson were kitchen aides in 1969 and described their positions as assistants to the cook and her helper, who prepared whatever accompanied the main dish, retrieved the utensils for the meal, served seconds, coffee and tea and cleaned up. Basically, they cleaned up after meals, including trash, dishes and […]
Dog Food Sandwiches and Taffy Pulls
“There was one dessert with cherries on it that we would do anything for a second helping. Usually, if you worked in the kitchen, you could get that second piece,” said Pam Wintermute (1955-56), who also recalled she had to bring a folding drinking cup to camp. Cynthia Gregory (1960-65) also brought her collapsible cup […]
Taking The Path To The Brownie–
There was no such thing as an indoor toilet in the huts, but the little girls wished there had been, since that dark path to the Brownie was a scary trek. Phoebe Atha (1947-48) thought it was a frightening walk to get there, as did Karen Short (1945-48) .Even the buildings themselves housed creatures that […]