How many of us have dusty old albums from our family tucked away with photos undated, faces not named and places not revealed? I can remember the first time I had access to the Camp Maqua archives in 2011. I was so excited to see the oldest ones from the early twenties, with dates and and names. They were buried in the basement of the Bay City YWCA offices at the time, piled in boxes with random photos also stuffed in envelopes. I was equally thrilled when the director allowed me to take a sampling of photos and albums home with me.

Every year at Camp Maqua, we have an association meeting with the residents. I spread the photos and albums on the old linoleum topped dining tables for them to peek into the past at the 2011 meeting.They were as excited as I was to see the dwellings that still stood on the property in the early days. I think seeing the pristine condition of the craft hut, boathouse, camp Brownie, and some of the huts planted the seed for the need to restore our precious buildings, which we did..

Years later, after many women had driven down Maqua Trail and stopped to see if the camp was still there, the idea was planted in my mind to write their stories down. Many provided clues to who were in the photos that were not named along with their stories. The boxes of archival photos that were loaned to me in for two years gave me the opportunity to organize them by era. Later, a director who was on board with my project had the foresight to enlist college kids to archive many clippings and photos professionally.

At this time, after the Y office has moved many times, the archives are at the Historical Museum of Bay County. I had hoped to see what they have before I left in September, but it did not happen. Next May I will stop again to see all the archives that were not only saved, but contained many of campers and directors donated memoribilia. I would love to see them on permanent display.

I have been given hope that we can bring the archives back to Iosco County by the director of the Greater Bay YWCA. It will be my project upon my return to Michigan, as many of the donated photos and items were given to me when I interviewed for the book. It was my understanding they would be on public display when I donated them to the Y. If any of the staff or campers have albums or photos from camp to donate, send me a message at walkbake@gmail.com