Susan Ward managed to convince her parents in 1961 to take her home when she attended camp by herself, but the following years were more enjoyable when her sister also camped. Many of the campers had their fears eased by the mere presence of cousins, sisters or friends, despite many of them not sharing cabins. Just knowing they were at camp quelled that lonely ache of a new place.

That was not always the case. Mary Jo and Judy Rawlings went off to camp together in the late fifties and sister Susan in the early sixties. All three girls shared similar bouts of homesickness. Coming from a close-knit family unit, (where their father loved having his three girls by his side), made it difficult for Susan and Judy, who shared a similar personality that tended to be shy. They both remember Mary Jo crying from homesickness.

“I would get teary-eyed just about dusk, right after mealtime, every night. I didn’t go to a counselor, but dealt with it and each morning I would wake up and it was all okay. Just that time of the night was tough,” said Judy. “We were always taught to keep a stiff upper lip in our family, but honestly even when I spent the night at neighbor’s houses I would sneak back home in the middle of the night.”

For sister Mary Jo, she learned that she could survive anything for a short time. “It was about endurance and trusting people. I wasn’t made fun of or embarrassed or ridiculed when I was homesick. I learned compassion and how to be a team player.”

One of the girls hated camp so much that she had her Mom take her home on Visitor’s Sunday, three days before the end of camp. Mary Jo Phillips was ten in 1949 and despite having friends with her, a nice counselor and enjoyable activities, it wasn’t enough to convince her to stay. Letters from home did not help and she lost seven pounds and never returned.

Jeri Smith was an only child and recalled when her Mom took her to camp the first time in 1965. “She and my Dad went off on vacation and I felt like they just dumped me. Everything was scary and new and since I was an only child and had led a relatively sheltered life, I was so homesick. I wrote a letter home telling my Mom that I hated it and to come pick me up. Of course, the following years were great.”

Her Mom was a huge YWCA advocate and her way of handling Jeri’s homesickness was to insert $12 into her daughter’s ‘Trading Post” account for stamps, candy and Popsicles. Jeri remembers her first session was so miserable that she spent over the allotted amount and her Mom had to pay the balance when she arrived. The following years, the amount of purchases diminished and that was how her parents gauged her adjustment. The final year there were no purchase, but she always loved getting the little care packages and mail from home and loved knowing that her grandparents had a cabin on Long Lake close enough for her Mom to “pop in” at least one time.

Patsy Walsh was only seven in 1938 when she boarded the bus at the YWCA. She was not homesick the first year, but the second year she lasted one week and her parents had to come get her. “Back then for me to Camp Maqua was something else. There weren’t that many kids that got to go. I remember I had to take my doll with me. I had my doll in my hands.”

For Geraldine McDonald (1954-56), who had never been away from home and was homesick, not knowing anyone at camp was not the worst thing. “One of the biggest things for me was changing clothes in front of the girls! In those times, you didn’t even lounge in your pajamas and we showered alone. I had never dressed in front of people and was very modest.”

What did you attribute your homesickness to? What was it like for you being away from home, with strangers and new surroundings?