For Harriet Crumb, who camped in the early twenties, it was tough to face crawling into a cold, wet swimsuit in the morning. “Of course, we swam three times daily, if that first dip can be called a swim. It was a matter of in fast and out fast and how quickly we could dry, dress and be up to the lodge for breakfast—maybe a minute or two in front of the fireplace first. There were no sleepy heads or danger of not being alert and ready to go, once we had the plunge!”

Whether they learned at a pool or in a lake, many of the girls arrived at camp as fairly experienced swimmers. Since the majority of campers came from the Bay City area, it stands to reason that the Bay City YWCA taught many of the girls how to swim.

Wilma “Billie” Smith belonged to the “Y” as a young girl, where she learned to swim before camping at Maqua in the early thirties, as did Muriel Richert, fifties camper. Muriel, who had a fear of the water, loved the lake much better than a pool and enjoyed just hanging in the shallow water with the inner tubes as much as anything else.

“I was thrown off my Grandpa’s boat when I was little and took swimming lessons and was always a fish. I didn’t even mind the cold water at camp,” said Cindy Naylor (1967).

 

Barb Cruey used to swim at the “Y” in Bay City and then would pay to swim at a local hotel. Although she loved all the camp activities in 1956, her favorite pastime was swimming and it carried through with distance and synchronized swimming.

“I learned to swim at the YWCA in Bay City and went from beginner to advanced and even took synchronized swimming, using the local school pools in the winter,” recalled Judy Crissey (1954), who was able to all the water activities the first year at camp.

Another camper who took advantage of the free lessons at the “Y” in the sixties was Deb Wilkinson. “I swam a little before I went to camp, and even though I enjoyed swimming, I was never a strong swimmer. I don’t even think I ever got any better at camp. I took the lessons in Bay City and they told me to get in the deep end and swim to the shallow end and about half way they had to put the pole in to get me out. Now, get me in an ocean or a lake, I was fine, but I hated the pool.”

Many of the girls had a fear of the water and hated to put their face under the water, but their parents persisted with lessons and practice, which paid off for the girls who wanted to use the canoes, rowboats and sailboats.

Learning to swim and conquering her fear of the water was one of Lois Levine’s greatest camp experiences in 1948. In her mind, that was what she went to camp for and she made up her mind that it was to be her summer accomplishment. Her progress impressed the directors and she was asked to continue as a waterfront instructor, but never went back to Camp Maqua again.

Where did you learn to swim?