Marilyn, (daughter of Marney, granddaughter of William and Alma Watson) was eight or nine years old when her grandparents took over the care and maintenance of Maqua. “It was a super playground that we enjoyed at the end of summer in late August,” she said. “We used the canoes, rowboats, and swam out off […]
Stewart Watson
Families Who Felt Like Camp Was Theirs–Marney Watson
INTERVIEW WITH MARNEY WATSON Sister of Stewart Watson and daughter of William and Alma Watson “My folks made a trip to California after my father retired as a carpenter and when he returned to Bay City in 1951 or 1952, he applied for the job as caretaker of Maqua and they hired him,” said Marney. […]
Families That Felt Camp Was Theirs–The Watson Family
INTERVIEW WITH STEWART WATSON Stewart, Marney and Eleanor Watson felt like Camp Maqua was “Camp Watson” when the campers all went home for the summer. “We stayed away in the summer, but when camp was closed, we could use all the buildings and property. Our main focus was the land between the lodge and Dutton,” […]
Onto The Property–
Early photographs and postcards of Camp Maqua leave the viewer with the feeling that the property was a beautiful lakeside setting, but had very few trees. In later years, the trees matured with birch, oak, pine and other varieties creating a beautiful forested landscape. A letter in the archival files from the State of Michigan […]