Farewells and Goodbyes

Directors #5

Published on by Kathy Baker

10399099_101324959880354_7997157_n copy“Dorthe had a gargantuan job with all those girls  ages six to sixteen and those counselors in their twenties, “ said Kim Wynne-Parry, who camped 1963-68. “She did her job with kindness and benevolence. I remember her as a huge presence.”

“A reserved and capable woman, friendly without acting silly. You took her seriously,” said Nancy Sautter (1968-70). “Very professional, people-oriented, caring and wanted everyone to succeed,” said her sister Tricia. “It took a lot of work with all the different personalities and she had many fires to put out, but she handled them with dignity.”

“We used to take turns with campfire watch, down by the campfire pit, and we knew some girls would sneak out. We could hear the noise coming from the woods. Their goal was to scare us. One of the counselors wanted to tell Dorthe, but I knew how she hated hiking down that long hill and back,” said Sue Wiegand (1966-67). “The girls finally revealed who they were, but when they saw Dorthe, they knew she had a firm hand, even the counselors were intimidated by their presence. But, inside once you got to know her, she was a marshmallow. She just had that walk where you knew she was in command.”

Doris Engibous (1973-75) agreed. “When I was twelve and Dorthe was director, she was the ultimate. No one could fill her shoes. She was a formidable leader and I remember that you did not stray too far from the straight and narrow. I never felt like her style was too regimented or disciplined, though.”

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Reverse Homesickness–#4

Published on by Kathy Baker

For those girls who were campers and then moved into staffing positions at Maqua, their memories of the girls leaving and their own feelings continued to be strong. They had to say goodbye to campers at every session and watch as girls left with many emotions.

“One cherished memory for me is the sight of the young campers making new friends and bonding through a two-week period, sad to leave each other at the other end. They too had an experience for the first time—very emotional. There were those who really waited so anxiously for their parents to arrive for pick up and it was always obvious to me which parents had a special bond with their girls,” said Judy Moore, who was the assistant director 1970-71. “These young campers had an adventure that asked that they survive without their usual family support and develop these skills. Remarkable, when I think about it!”

The staff of the “Loon” in 1961 penned this paragraph—“Dear Campers, Was it really only two weeks ago that all of us gathered together in the lodge together, watching the Kangaroo Court for counselors? The time has gone by so swiftly, and now we say ‘so long’, but let us not say goodbye. Instead, why don’t we take with us memories made rich by new friendships, made rich by new skills learned, made rich by evenings spent around a campfire. We on the staff will remember the fun we had on cabin day when we got to know each one of you well. We will remember the time when we sang together after meals, and the way Alice would holler “garbage”. Sure, we all know about the dishes and cabin clean-up, but deep inside we all know that these are only a part of camp life. And were they really that bad? We have all enjoyed these weeks. We hope you have, too.”

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