There were many life-shaping stories from the girls of Camp Maqua, from learning manners, to working as a team, to earning their first paycheck or developing confidence. Others were influenced to go to single-sex colleges based on the close friendships made while at camp. Amy Johns’ (shown above at a Maqua reunion), (1967-78) constant family […]
Sue Purdue
Camp Shaped Lives–
Priscilla Johns, (above) (1968+) loved all the activities at camp—the arts and crafts, the horseback riding and nature. “I remember the first summer as I got on my horse and walked through the woods, I thought I would rather be galloping,” she said. “I learned to pick up a snake and not be afraid, even […]
Nicknames–
Nicknames were a way to make girls feel included with a sense of intimacy and camaraderie. “Magot” (or maybe Maggot) would not be the cutesy nickname a young girl would pick, but Karen Magidsohn won that name. It was very common for girls to be christened with new or short names at camp. Sue Purdue, […]
Awards And Ribbons–
Margaret Dahlem stopped on the lodge lawn in 1989, soon after we bought the property. Her trip down memory lane, as a first-time camper in 1925, included the awards when she camped. Her friend Harriet Crumb, who wrote a letter to me soon after, mentioned the same award. There were competitions between the huts, […]
Laughter And Amusement–
There were girls who were afraid to do cabin checks because they were afraid of the dark, and campers who tippy-toed out of their cabins and over Chapel Hill to the horses and got caught (Jan Bateson in the fifties), and there were personalities that made everyone laugh, like Jennifer McLogan, as remembered by her […]
Childhood Feelings—
Did Anne Pennington know there were girls who were envious of her tall, thin summer body? Or that the Kiltie sister’s hair was the epitome of summer hair? Or that “Beanie, Superdoo (Sue Purdue), Kiltie (Susan) and (Anne) Obey” intimidated some of the less secure girls? Probably not! Little girls in the process of growing […]