This old lodge ain’t what it used to be, but we think the improvements have complemented the historical aspect. The dark floors we walked upon as we entered for the first time, either stained or weathered from many feet, are now a burnished golden hue. There is still so much character to them, with darker lines where previous walls stood, striations of wear grooved into the soft pine from the movement of furniture and years of wear and memories.
We hired a professional sander from Wurtsmith Air Force base to bring the floors back to life in 1989-90. While we wintered in Florida, we avoided all the dust and coating mess and returned to beautiful floors, sealed to last a lifetime. My husband removed the dated linoleum from the east kitchen, and sanded them himself, with attempts to match up to the rest of the house, but they are much more rustic.
The open studded walls, seen in days of camping, were drywalled when the previous owners remodeled the lodge into two separate living areas. Although there is no insulation in the walls or under the floors, when my husband, son, and uncle covered the open rafter ceiling with planked cedar, insulation was added to help keep the lodge cooler in the summer. It also kept the asphalt shingle leavings from falling through the cracks of the open planks onto the floor. Thankfully, the camp map has kept intact on the large wall on the west side, just over the original camp piano and beside the birch table of epic proportions.
Lofts were added to both the east and west sides in the seventies, which provided extra sleeping room for our large families. For the first few years, the metal bunk beds were used, with mattresses coated in a waterproof ticking. Our kids loved to use them to slide down the loft stairs or drag to the treehouse by the corral to sleep overnight, but they were not very comfortable, so we donated them to the local Boy Scout troop. (Two single cots are still inside the craft hut, complete with mattresses.) There are two bedrooms on each side, but as our families grew we felt we needed extra space, so a catwalk and second loft were added on the east side.
The seventies kitchens were fairly practical, but when a large tree fell on the front of the house we decided to remodel the kitchen on the east side. The west side is still intact but is missing the big iron stove, which was donated to the Hale fire department. The seventies linoleum is covered with vinyl planking for the time being. I love that our meals are consumed on the same tables that graced the lodge in the twenties and beyond with their marbled ochre linoleum.
Under the lodge, where the chipmunks play, old planks of wood can be found, but the best find was the old window. My husband created a cabinet for the kitchen. It holds my loon wine glasses, antique salt and pepper shakers in green glass, plates, and kitchen wares with sentiment and one favorite item. During the 2012 reunion, esteemed director Dorothe Balaskas gifted a small dish with “Bless This Home” on it, along with her Maqua directors jacket.
The seventies bathrooms could use a facelift, but nothing is broken or so outdated that we have to replace items. I was excited to replace my sweating toilets with condensation-proof ones a few years back, and aside from paint upkeep, they have remnants of the past in each room to keep them interesting. (Canoe paddles made into towel racks, bootstrap benches to sit upon, and artwork that reflects the history.)
The living areas of the east and west sides are like a miniature camp museum. Counselors’ names grace the canoe paddles that hang from chains on the east side; furniture made for the camp, which can be seen in the old photos on the wall are still in use; the camp library emits a waft of musty old books when the doors are opened; old keys and tree signs that guided campers to their huts are on the wall.
Probably the most used spaces are the four porches. The east side porch facing the road was extended to accommodate the old tables and benches for our big families, and it is where my husband and I spend all our time. We have staff parties, potlucks with family and friends, and our annual Maqua Association meetings on this big sprawling pine floored porch. The original swing is in the corner and there are still big hooks where I am guessing another one hung at one time. A new white planked ceiling is in progress currently, after a roof leak.
The back porches on both sides are still in use with their ping-pong tables and seating areas. The east side has the sports benches with lift-up tops, and store horseshoes, ping-pong equipment, shuffleboard items, badminton racquets, and other sports equipment. The old nature cabinet, with birch handles, once home to an array of insects under glass, holds games and toys.
With only baseboard heat, and only the large old screened windows to cool us, this is no place to be in the winter. Our families are from Michigan, Texas, and Florida and use it as our vacation home. But, on the hot days, like they used to do in the days before air conditioning, we close up all the windows after the cool night air, turn on all the fans and it keeps the humidity out until we can open them up again for great cool night sleeping. Rarely has the large fireplace been used on the west side, but it is still grand as ever, with its large Michigan fieldstones and memories.
We have four children and eight grandchildren, and just as Bill’s aunt and uncle from Texas with their three kids (and loads of grandkids), we know there will be many more years of family time in this old lodge. Thankfully, they do not mind pitching in with some of the upkeep of scraping windows, painting inside and out, repairing torn screens, but best of all—-the appreciation of the history of this old lodge and the dedication to keeping it standing for many more years. Cheers to 100 years in 2024!
