There were always extensive waterfront activities with qualified safety and life-saving instructors for swimming and boating. The Dept. of Social Serivces for the state inspected the camp yearly. In 1971 their report listed eleven water safety instructors and four lifesavers, which meant the camp was under excellent supervision. It noted a human chain was formed, […]
Sue Patenge
Memories From Camp Health Director 1973-74
I worked at Camp Maqua as the Camp Health director 2 summers 1973 and 1974. I was pre-med at Albion College. I had spent my childhood at another YWCA camp, near Flint Camp Tyrone and worked 2 summers 71/72 at Forest Beach Camp in New Buffalo, MI from the Chicago YWCA. As soon as I […]
Directors #8
There were no records of camp committee minutes referring to Sue Patenge as the director during summers 1972-74, but Rhonda Thayer and Carol Hulett were at camp during those years and had totally opposite impressions of her, as did a few other counselors, parents and campers. Sue had been a physical education teacher in Mt. […]
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 […]
Nurses, Doctors and Patients–#7
One of the activity centers that no one ever wanted to have an incident was the waterfront. The waterfront staff were all certified in water safety, Red Cross training and lifesaving. But, there were other causes for concern that did not always entail water. On the first day of camp in 1961, Margie Barbier fell […]
Nurses, Doctors and Patients–#6
Carol Hulett was the “Camp Health Director” during the time when it was impossible to find a nurse. After her junior and senior years at Albion College, where she majored in Biology, Carol trained under the American Camping Association and “learned to nurse” at camp the summers of 1973-74. Sue Patenge, director, had recruited her […]