Copies of the “Loon” in the early years, with their tissue paper thin pages, were preserved in the archives at the “Y”, along with other memoribiia. They were written and published by campers and staff in each session, usually reviewing activities at camp, anecdotes of the day, confessions of the campers, humorous stories, vignettes of the staff and cartoons.
As the years went by, the paper quality was heavier, and different columns were added. In 1947, Carolyn Abbott was the editor with Marge Niedzielski as her co-editor. The July 23-August 6th edition had a beautifully designed cover by K.J. Carroll, with “The Loon” in birch bark styled letters and sketches inside drawn by Ethel Feldman. At the back of the newsletter was a drawing of the actual camp layout.
Reporters that summer included Betty Miller, Ethel Feldman, Mary Lou Winn, Pat Kula, Barbara Jacoby, Pauline Clark, Judy Alcorn, Lucy Clark and Janice Reid. They created sections on the ideal counselor and camper, a ”What If?” section, jokes and other columns.
The “Snooper” sections in 1950 wanted to know such things as “Whose masculine voice was heard outside hut 3 on Monday night?” and “Eleanor, what’s so interesting about the stables?” “Why was Judie B’s lipstick smeared?”, “Who was waving flashlights on the beach on July 2?” and other questions hinting at male interest around camp and across the lake.
Often guest counselor or guest campers were featured and the fads were part of the articles. “Red plaid glasses, yellow crew hat, oversized sweatshirts, peroxided streak, sunbleached hair, bottles of baby oil on the dock, everfull ashtrays at Dutton, endless cups of coffee at staff meetings, Delta Gamma sweatshirts, lumberjackets, Bermuda shorts, short hair cuts” all gave a peek into the year 1953.
Pet Peeves and jokes became the popular columns in the sixties, which included the cold lake, rules, mosquitoes, dirty cabins, and doing dishes as particular peeves from the counselors. Many years the best parts of the paper included tongue-in-cheek prophecies of what the staff would be doing in their later years.
In the seventies, Mary Toburen, drama director, took over the “Loon” publication because she had an interest in journalism. The class was offered the last week of each session and they met on the dining tables in the lodge. She welcomed contributions outside the class, but also assigned stories. Although the campers were the editors and reporters, the typing was done by the directors. The class was offered in the morning, so there was a rest hour and free time to run off pages and on Friday night, after the closing ceremony, they were stapled and counted.
The “Loon” publications were not only a wonderful activity, which encouraged young girls to gain confidence and learn new writing and drawing skills as they interviewed, but they developed skills working as a team and learned layout principles.
The preservation of these newsletters over the decades, by the YWCA and individual campers, was an excellent resource to chronicle the history of Camp Maqua and they were utilized for the publication of the book “Camp Maqua”. Were you ever part of the staff of the “Loon”?
