Goodbye Summer

Published on by Kathy Baker Category: Blog, Buildings and Property, Farewells and Goodbyes, Friendships and Relationships, Maqua After Camp

What a summer! We hid from Canadian smoke, we did not eat lettuce, and we checked for the tic invasion! But, we continued to host friends and family, despite it all…We had enough rain to keep the grass green, the flowers growing, and the lake full. We had enough sun to boat, fish, and pull tubers. We had enough cool air to enjoy Autumn at its finest, with trees turning, and leaves falling. It was a perfect summer.

Repairs were on the list after the winter ice storm. It was almost impossible to find workers who weren’t already booked into the winter, but between Bill and some good referrals, the roof and ceiling over our master bedroom were repaired, and the fascia damaged by limbs look brand new. Our porch received a facelift with drop down vinyl shades to keep out snow, rain, wind, and pollen. Bill tidied up the porch with white paint, repaired screens, and made the decades old front screen door a thing of beauty. (I wonder how old they are?)

And there were surprises—under the lodge, and under hut number one. Old rusted bunk bed frames, wood being saved for ??? Old doors, screened windows, and mystery artifacts. Some saved, some burned, and some repurposed. There are still two green bed frames saved in the top of the boathouse, just for history sake.

The archives remain with me until the YWCA decides what to do with the other missing memorabilia stored at the Bay City History Museum. I was hoping to have them in my possession to allow the Iosco Historical Museum access for scanning, but I have a few weeks before exiting the state, so time will tell.

As always, our summers are filled with fun, feasting, family, friends, and fishing? (Grandkids love to fish!) We even hosted an engagement that will continue to delight with a wedding next summer at Maqua. The lodge was meant to have happy families enjoying the history, and Loon Lake is their playground. How lucky are we to have found this place—

Spring Has Sprung!

Published on by Kathy Baker Category: Blog, Maqua After Camp

For all the former campers and staff who still reside in Michigan, winter was one for the books with flooding and ice storms. On our drive north the fallen trees, and copious amounts of firewood for sale were a reminder. Camp Maqua did not escape the wrath of winter with many trees and limbs down. The lodge sustained damage from an ice dam on the back east dormer, which led to damage on the inside bedroom ceiling. Also a few limbs took out power to the house and caused some minor exterior damage. Finding people to repair and roof are almost impossible with so many in need. This hundred year old building is in constant maintenance, but it keeps my husband busy in his retirement with projects.

We decided to create a workout room in the craft hut, and gave it a great clean. Over the winter we had windows and sills repaired, and have plans to eventually re-stain the floors, but for now it has a brand new indoor-outdoor rug. Weights, medicine ball, kettle bell, arm and leg weights, exercise mats, a recumbent bike, and a tv have been donated for those who want to kick it up a notch. We may even install a window A/C unit, but for now the screens and a fan will do. The two camp cot frames will be relocated to the upper part of the boathouse. Believe it or not, families still use “Hut Nine” with their inflatable air mattresses! Thanks to Kim Gorman, the Camp Brownie has a refurbished and creative door.

Our Camp Maqua Association has also been busy with a new undertaking. New President, Bill Baker, along with his VP Dominic Smith, and Secretary/Treasurer Christopher Gorman have done research on ways in which residents can protect our shared 63.5 acre property, while reducing long-term ownership costs. The decision by our ten families was unanimous, and we are enrolling in the CFP conservation /forest management program, which will make us eligible for 2027 tax savings. The intention is to not only give us tax benefits for the next twenty years, but improve forest management and land preservation. Our association has always found ways to be good stewards of this gorgeous property. If you are interested in what this program offers, log into Michigan.gov and type in https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/environment/forestry/qualified-forest-program

The pine pollen was not as heavy this year, so the tarps are off and our lodge porch is ready for all the company and camaraderie of our neighbors.We are all looking forward to the lake warming up, and in the meantime the boats are in the water and we love watching the Eagle and the Loons. We think a Pike or the Eagle got the eggs this year and have no babies:) Camp Maqua will again host the annual July 4th boat parade and hot dog picnic, and this year with the 250th birthday, it should be a patriotic parade! What a grand country we live in! Happy summer!

 

 

Happy New Year 2026

Published on by Kathy Baker Category: Blog, Maqua After Camp

A new year and a new home! Bill and I moved to the east coast of Florida, after living on the west coast for over fifty years. It felt like a sudden decision, but in actuality, we have been living in limbo for the last six years since we sold our big house and the two golf courses. We loved living in our “guest house/Air B&B” for those years, close to BIll’s Mom, but her death at the end of September helped with our decision.

We are now living a half an hour from our youngest of four children, knowing as we age we should have family nearby. Tyler and Stephanie are parents to three of our eight grandchildren, and we are delighted to watch them grow close by, instead of the three hour trek across the state. It is not easy to pick up and move, knowing we still have two young grands in California, one big grand and two greats in the same area, one grand in Tampa, and the big grand in the area we just left. But, a plane flight away, a car ride away, and of course FaceTime!

We bought a delightfully cheerful villa in a 55 and older community in Delray Beach, four miles from the Atlantic and the charming downtown. We are looking forward to meeting new people with all the activities planned in this community, finding our place with golf for Bill, and pool aerobics for me. The upside is the ease at which we can lock the door and leave with no worries about the property. (I do not think Bill will miss the five acres of maintenance he left behind!)

It has been fun decorating, hauling all my sentimentals, books, furniture and whatever was in storage for so long. I have kept Bill busy repainting the entire place, correcting the crooked light switches and outlets on the wall, and keeping Amazon busy at my door. My resolution for 2026 is to complete the history of Camp Maqua, book two, as soon as my interviews are complete. Thankfully, the developer is sharp as a tack with his memories, and forwarded great photos and history. The residents have also been great with their memories and photos of how they found Camp Maqua, so onward and upward! Happy New Year to you all!

 

Winding Down The Summer

Published on by Kathy Baker Category: Blog, Buildings and Property, Farewells and Goodbyes, Friendships and Relationships, Maqua After Camp

It was another great summer filled with family and friends gathering at the lodge and on Loon Lake. This place was meant to be shared, and it seems to have a revolving door of visitors all summer. Our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren all enjoyed the fishing, frog catching, boat activity, and porch time with crafts and meals.

I had the opportunity to speak at the Iosco County Historical Museum in June, which included a display of archival photos on loan from the Bay City History Museum. There are plans to scan the photos and documents for the Iosco County Museum to keep in their data bank. I was pleased to sell a few books and met a camper and counselor who attended the presentation.

The summer fun included the 4th of July boat parade, with Camp Maqua residents always the leader in decorations and competitiveness. The winner was the Bill West family Pirate boat, which had incredible detail right down to the costumes. We also hosted the lake hot dog and beer party on the association beachfront, where we met new people on Loon Lake.

Our annual meeting on Labor Day weekend brought a new slate of officers and changed hands from an all female board to an all male board, with one young gun emerging from the second generation Maqua families to take over as secretary.It is a wonderful thing to have some young blood coming in, with their talents on the computer and new ideas. We are an association of families that work together well to retain the integrity of the buildings and the history. Resident woodsman Kim Gorman fashioned a new screen door for the camp bathroom, which has his fingerprint of creativity.

We wish you a happy Fall, as we wind down, pack up and ready for our winters elsewhere. Two residents stay all winter with plowed trails, and a few take advantage of the trails for cross county skiing. We have no heat in this 100 year old building, so off to warmer climates we go.

,

Brrrrrr-It is cold up here!

Published on by Kathy Baker Category: Blog, Maqua After Camp

This is the earliest we have arrived at Camp Maqua, which is determined by how hot it is in Florida before we make our journey north. Thankfully, when the lodge was renovated in the 80’s, baseboard heat was installed in the kitchen, bedrooms, and bathrooms. We added a door at the end of the loft which closes off the back rooms, and it is cozy on these chilly Spring days!

My flowers are in, and this has been a week of rain, so maybe weeding will be easier. I dread the weeding, but it has to be done. This week our boat, the “Pont-A-Loon-A” is in the water, but it was only warm enough the day it was launched. We spotted the Mama Loon on her nest, and await the baby or babies. Maqua Trail has been graded, the trees leafed out before our eyes in one week, the rotten boards on the lodge have been replaced and painted ,and now we pray for sun and warm weather.

I still plan to write about the acquisition of the Camp Maqua property by the Robert Sukenik family.. He sent me history, photos, and invitations from his famous beachfront parties. My interviews will consist of his family, the current and past residents, and anyone who knew the Sukenik family. It will bridge the gap between the time it was sold and developed by him. If you have information, please contact me.

Cheers to a good summer for all!

 

Maybe A New Book In the Works?

Published on by Kathy Baker Category: Blog, Maqua After Camp

Recently I received a wonderful e-mail from Robert Sukenik, aged 91, who developed the Camp Maqua property into the development it is today. His wife Luanne is also still alive and they are in a facility in Texas.

Robert and Luanne Sukenik bought the property, once known as Camp Maqua and then Camp Maquois, from the Bay City YWCA in 1979. The camp was advertised in the Detroit and Bay City papers and the Wall Street Journal for bids and the Sukenik family won the bid without ever stepping foot onto the property. We bought the lodge in the winter of 1987 and summered for the first time in 1988.

His email was prompted by the desire to buy 30 tee shirts with the camp logo to send to those who had helped him in those early days. He mentioned a scrapbook that one of his friends had assembled and promised to photocopy the pages with notes and send it on to me. My husband said, “There is another book here, with his history and the history of the residents who own the property.

So, my question to my alumni —who else knew the Sukenik family? Did you ever have some adventures on the property before, during, or after what is now our Camp Maqua Association? If I can gather enough stories, I will begin this winter and continue to keep those memories alive of this great piece of property!