Buildings and Property

Burnt Toast and Bug Juice–

Published on by Kathy Baker

 

In the early twenties’ each counselor brought a white enamel pitcher of milk and a plate of graham crackers to the hut. “—for it was a long time between meals and we were hungry by then. This helped us to hold off starvation overnight,” said Harriet Crumb.

Her friend Meg Dahlem remembered the hot chocolate in the morning and buscuits and butter with maple syrup as a treat. “They had good food three times a day and we ate a lot of beef, mashed potatoes and my favorite—raspberry pie,” said Meg.

The kitchen staff, and food in general, were an important component of camp life. Great care was taken to find the right staff, spend wisely and cook nutritiously for the campers and staff. In 1936, there were hints that local businesses were not happy with the amount of provisions that were purchased out of the local area, and buying in bulk from larger distributors was a common practice.

In 1943 Adelaide Macaulay left notes in a camp season report in the archives, referencing a Miss McCullough, who was affectionately nicknamed Mac, and served as the camp hostess. “I think the title is misleading—it should be housekeeper, for that is what it proved to be, and is far from an easy one. The duties start early in the morning and aren’t over until the last child has been served crackers and milk at bedtime.”

“This year was especially hard, because of the food situation, but we had exceptionally good meals, and in quantities so there was always enough for second and third servings. One Bay City mother of two girls who were given a reduction of $56 off her bill, has done a lot of criticizing, said her children did not get enough to eat, Mac was no good at her job and a lot of this kind of bunk.”

They weighed one of the children at the end of the first two weeks and she had gained five pounds! Miss Macauley noted that parents always had food complaints, and some years were justified, but this summer had not been one of them. Mac had served 23,836 meals, which included cakes, cookies and pies and the cooks were considered “treasures”, were clean and managed the budget.

Marsha Immerman (1947-53) loved the food and to this day when she smells burnt toast, it reminds her of camp. “I also loved to get those little boxes of Wheaties, because they were my favorite, but when some of my fellow campers found out, they would grab them. The girls in the kitchen were always singing and we were singing before, during and after our meals. We had a song we used to sing to the cook we called “Cookie”. The only thing I wasn’t crazy about was chipped beef on toast and my Mother complaining to the “Y” that the variety of food wasn’t good. They told her it was because I was there all summer!”

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Hoppers and Manners–

Published on by Kathy Baker

“I loved meal time with the chatter and clatter and how we all sat with our cabin at one table. We would take turns setting the table, clearing, gathering the dishes into the tub to wash and so much singing and prank playing,” laughed Chris Lambert (1958-65).

The food was unremarkable for Sue Augustyniak (1962-68), and she figured the kitchen would never pass health inspectors during her time there. “Everyone had a job. Each camper was paired with another camper and the counselors would mix us up. Two would set the tables, two would wait on the tables, and two would clean up. We took turns. After our meal, the kitchen staff would bring two buckets of water. One was soapy and one was rinse water. We would wash and rinse ours, plus those place settings from the kitchen staff. In retrospect, I KNOW it would never pass inspection.”

Sue Michelson (1963-73) said in the sixties’, she was still doing dishes in the tubs and a tongue depressor with jobs written on it were handed out to the girls. She believed the Health Dept. eventually enforced dishwashing in the kitchen, despite the fact that Randi Topping was always impressed with how scalding hot the water was.

(There was a mention of washing dishes in the minutes of the camp committee in 1959 criticizing the camp’s methods and for years a dishwasher was on the wish list.)

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Cookie, Cookie!

Published on by Kathy Baker

Alice Sageman “just loves Maqua and has the patience of Job”, wrote Dorthe Balaskas in her 1967 report on the cook. (No temper, just calm and never wasteful in consideration of the high cost of the food.)

Lin Harris (1967) had a memory of a cook named Alice, cigarette hanging from her mouth, with her child at camp.

“There were some complaints about the food,” wrote Dorthe, “but for every complainer there was someone who thought the food was good.” (A specialist had come from Lansing to help Alice with her menus, but had only one or two suggestions that summer.)

She had a talent for gathering her group of aides together, which meant she was not left to do it all on her own. The campers showed their appreciation with songs. She tried not to repeat menus, and despite not being the best baker, she tried. She was eager to return to Maqua the following summer, which was a relief to Dorthe.

The assistant cook, Mrs. Finnie, was a concern to Dorthe, with her heart problems and age, but there were no incidents and she was a hard worker, who was warm and friendly, which “added so much to the camp spirit and staff morale”. She was considered Alice’s right hand man and if there were ever any disagreements between them, they worked them out quietly between themselves.

The kitchen aides that summer were hard workers and anticipated the needs of the kitchen without having to be constantly reminded. All three of them hoped to return to Maqua. Dorthe added comments about how much easier it was with paper products, but the expense was high and she hoped a dishwasher could be purchased in the future. The camp aides did not have to do towels this year, but a laundry lady was hired.

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Cooks In The Kitchen–

Published on by Kathy Baker

Meg Dahlem, camper from the early twenties’, recalled the kitchen extended across the entire front of the lodge. (When she stopped in 1987, she recognized the benches, tables, piano and porch swing were all from her time at camp.)

The camp bell rang for meals, and was located in different places during different years. It was the “core of our existence here at Maqua” read a caption under a news photo of Margaret Burr, counselor from Plymouth and a senior at Albion in 1957. “If the bell goes haywire, the camp would not know when to eat, sleep or play.”

“The lodge was very important because we ate every meal in it,” said Kayleen Jacques (1956-59). “There were picnic tables and benches that were not attached to them in the dining room. So, when we sang, we could pick up the bench and pound it on the floor for added effect. We sang before each meal and policed our own tables after we ate.”

(Jean Evans (1933-38) laughed as she related the lodge was only a place to eat and she avoided it at all costs because it was where the director and staff who could boss her around hung out.)

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Taking The Path To The Brownie–

Published on by Kathy Baker

There was no such thing as an indoor toilet in the huts, but the little girls wished there had been, since that dark path to the Brownie was a scary trek. Phoebe Atha (1947-48) thought it was a frightening walk to get there, as did Karen Short (1945-48) .Even the buildings themselves housed creatures that scared the little girls. (The only time it felt safe was in the middle of tornado warnings, when it doubled as a shelter.)

“The cabins were dark at night. There were metal bunk beds and it was so disorienting when you tried to go to the bathroom if you did not have a flashlight,” said Susie Utter (1954-56). “It was pretty traumatic the first time I went and it was quite a hike at night as a little girl. As we got older, I remember we had to do Brownie duty, which no one liked.”

“I can still remember getting up in the middle of the night to walk down to the bathroom from my cabin and seeing all those Daddy Long Leg spiders,” said Sally Hurand, who camped in the mid-sixties’. “I had a conversation with myself to make friends with those things.”

Kellie Moore and Sue Robson camped in the seventies’ and there was a protocol for visiting the Brownie. They would stand by the front door of the hut and yell, “Cabin 5! Brownie!” and someone would answer by yelling out that they could go. “I think they were at the lodge partying,” laughed Sue. (Poor little Kellie encountered a skunk as she was taking the pathway up the hill with her flashlight to go to the Brownie and decided she didn’t have to go that badly.)

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More Brownies Please!

Published on by Kathy Baker

The Health Department Sanitation Record and Report form for the summer camp dated June 7,1960 listed Alice Bishop as the director. Under the toilet, lavatory and shower facilities heading, fourteen flush toilets were listed, with good ventilation, lighting and drainage.

The camp committee met in June 1963 and authorized the purchase of one more Bradley Basin, and repair the existing one. (The money from the nursery school donation paid for the sink.) The sink cost $265.63, with an installation fee for plumbers of $135.00. Mr. Watson, the caretaker, took care of all the details for hiring and installation.

Copies of the “Loon” were inserted into the back of a report in 1966 and one was titled “New Brownie Installed” and read: “On arriving at camp this year we found to our delight and surprise a new “Brownie” had been built down by Senior Village. Campers can now take hot showers for the first time this year. What a difference from our cold scrub dips in Loon Lake.”

The second period of the “Loon” or “Maqua Magpie” dated July10-23, 1966 headlined “Behold! Senior Village Has A New Brownie!” It was open in time for second session and it had hot showers. Of course, the girls were delighted! Mary Obey (1965-66), Marcia Michelson (1963-71) and Gail Schulthiess (1966) were all at camp that summer, and took advantage of the new facilities, as they had distinct memories of the bathrooms.

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