Sue Purdue was one of the young girls who transitioned from camper to counselor and learned some life lessons through her experiences under director Dorthe Balaskas. “I think I was thirteen years old in 1964 when I first went to Camp Maqua. My cousin Laurie Cone was from Toledo and she was a year younger, but had been […]
Sue Purdue
Directors #9
Marge Falvey, camp committee director during the early seventies, had been instrumental in hiring Carol Nieman for the position of camp director in 1975, and had known her family. Carol had been a substitute teacher in the Essexville school system and had done well as a teacher, but somehow her abilities did not seem to […]
Directors #4
Dorthe Balaskas was the assistant under Alice before becoming the director in 1966 and served until 1969. She had worked for other camps, so when Alice Bishop wanted to retire, Dorthe applied for the position. Her degree was in Special Education, specializing in physically impaired methods from Eastern Michigan University, but she also received her […]
Counselors Share Their Stories #3
As the oldest Michelson daughter, Sue camped for nine years at Maqua and developed her love of the water at the Flint YWCA. Beginning in 1963, her last job was as waterfront director in 1973, having only missed one summer when she travelled to Europe. She had worked all the way through college and loved […]
Counselors Left Their Mark
“The year was 1947 and we were all in a tent down the hill to the right of the lodge. We should have been known as the dirty shoes and socks gang. There was a counselor that said her name was Julianna Knockalulu Desdemona Pocohantas Bubble Gum Duck Face Ford. Some important things you just never forget”, […]
Homesickness–#1
“We used to have homesick campers, but like everything else in the world, the words keep getting changed, so now the camper who used to be homesick is lonely”, wrote director Barbara Haggart in her report in the early seventies. She suggested counselors look for these symptoms—poor appetite, wandering off alone, and stomach-aches and headaches […]