Independence Day on Loon Lake

Published on by Kathy Baker Category: Blog, Maqua After Camp, Traditions

How many celebrations must have occurred on Loon Lake over the years with campers from the generations before us–years of traditions celebrating our independence–during the war years of the forties and sixties–mixed feelings of patriotism with fear for loved ones serving overseas? This year is no different, with many of our friends and relatives in the armed forces still deployed in troubled zones worldwide.

Having lived outside the United States for 12 years of my life, fueled by generations who served in my family—my grandfather, uncle, father, and aunt who all did their part during WWII, the Korean and Vietnam wars, I have a deep sense of Patriotism. As Americans living in England during the turbulent 60s, our families continued to celebrate our traditions of Independence from the colonies in our hometown complete with fireworks and barbecues and American potluck dishes.

In the 60s at Camp Maqua, ” special events included Worldwide Fellowship, which was celebrated in the first session in conjunction with the 4th of July. On Sunday at the Chapel Hill vespers and services, the series would begin. It was a day set aside for friendship and fellowship on a state and local level”, I wrote in one of my blogs. Not many girls interviewed mentioned what celebrations took place on the property on Loon Lake.

This weekend Loon Lake was as busy as I have ever seen it. Multiple boats, jet-skis, tubers, and floating revelers enjoyed the 90-degree weather. The annual boat parade was held, with about 25 decorated boats parading slowly around the shores for families to enjoy. Although I did not have any family up this weekend, I enjoyed seeing the shoreline dotted with deck chairs, firepits, children fishing from their docks, and inflatables filled with bathers.

Two of our neighbors with grandchildren try to outdo each other every year, competing with their boat themes. The West boat, loaded with ten children and ten adults in hula skirts, straw hats, and pineapple drinks, cruised through the waters with their entire boat dressed in grass skirts, bellowing out tropical music. The Joe Clancy family featured the Olympic logo fashioned from hula hoops, a torch made from a blower, and their grandchildren dressed as different Olympic sports competitors. The Bill West boat, decorated by Robyn West Turpin and friends, was declared the winner and was presented the Loon flag for 2021 from last year’s winners, and the Clancy family vowed to win next year.

The lake lit up at night with the multiple fireworks from each end of the lake. My husband and I joined his brother Mike Baker, nephews Max and Mike Jr., families and friends for a rousing concert on their deck, followed by great fireworks from their neighbors. (I keep hinting we should have a Loon-A-Palooza concert series from the docks on the 4th with bands staged around the lake.) The kids toasted marshmallows, made paper fans to keep themselves cool, and clapped in delight for the fireworks while dogs hid and howled. It was a perfect night of tradition with family and friends.

Open The Doors and Windows!

Published on by Kathy Baker Category: Blog, Buildings and Property, Camp Envy, Maqua After Camp

Summer is here, spreading a fine layer of pine pollen on my newly cleaned surfaces, as I attempt to clean the lodge porches. Eight weeks post-op for a radial head replacement on my elbow after a fall, I am cleaning and opening up as a one-armed bandit.

Weeding the perennial garden is daunting, but two days of rain made my single-arm weeding easier. Peonies, Irises, Geraniums, and Social Garlic are in bloom. Lupine and baby Irises flank the campcraft hut. It used to be so much easier to lift myself off the ground in my younger years when weeding and I bemoan the aching bones.

This season my hubby is scraping and painting hut one next to the lodge. The screen door, main door, and trim will get a fresh coat of white paint to offset the olive green siding of the other buildings on our property. This is the first summer of total retirement for him, as we sold Wicker Hills Golf Course to his cousin Judy Stuckey and husband Mike from Texas. (Daughter of our ex-partners Blanche and Aaron Starks.)

My goals this summer include assisting members of the Hale Historical Commission with a summer exhibit with a great portion of the Camp Maqua memorabilia and artifacts donated by me from the lodge. My other goal is lofty—attempting to bring back the donated photos, albums, camp sentimental saves, and news clippings back from the Greater Bay Region YWCA archives. When the offices moved a few years ago, the accessible archives were moved to a vault with no public access.

Ex-camper Laura Taylor recently visited Camp Maqua. As a long-time resident of the Bay area with numerous connections, she promised to help me with my endeavor. If there are any contacts in alumni land with connections to this project, please email me at walkbake@gmail.com.

We’re expecting three of our four children and their families this summer. No family will be present for the ever-delightful 4th of July parade on the lake, but we expect a sunny day for the fun of participation and joy of those who go over the top decorating their boats. Photos to follow!

Happy 2021 after a year of isolation and changes. Throw open the doors and windows on the world and in your place of happiness!

 

Happy Covid Christmas and a Healthy New Year!

Published on by Kathy Baker Category: Blog

What a strange and bizarre time we have been living in 2020. As my husband joked, “Whoever thought we could enter a bank with a mask on and not get shot?” A pandemic, isolation from our friends and family, social distancing, many working and teaching from home, ordering food and supplies online, which has become the norm. I long for the day I can face the world without a mask in a crowd, to hug and kiss without fear, and to hop on a plane to visit my family out of state.

Most of my friends and family have practiced their smiling faces, chins up, and all that positive stuff until they are blue in the face. It has been a weary nine months of trying to hold it together. It has been sad not to visit friends/family with the virus, sick in the hospital with no visitors; others have died of natural causes with no funerals; friends tragically lost family members due to mental health issues and a general blanket of fear smothered us all.

The upside for many included mastering Telehealth appointments, Zoom and FaceTime, as older and younger generations bridged the distance with social connections. Text messages, family Facebook threads, and just checking in became a regular occurrence, perhaps due to the fact we did not take any life for granted anymore. I cannot ever remember being able to say, we are all in the same boat with something this dramatic that could affect anyone, regardless of religion, color, ethnicity, political persuasion, or age.

Thankfully, none of my family or friends have lost their lives due to Covid, but many have been sick. With hospitals overflowing, no one wants to be in for any medical surprises, but three of my family members had to have emergency surgeries or procedures. The overwhelming dedication of those on the frontline will never be forgotten, and we all know many. Thankfully, the future looks bright with the arrival of the vaccine.

I am thankful for many things this year. Summer in Michigan and winter in Florida allowed me to enjoy biking, walking, and pool aerobics outside in great weather. An outdoor deck in Florida and a screened porch and boat in Michigan allowed me to enjoy outdoor dining and boating. Golf was safe to play, because it was outdoors, so our Michigan course enjoyed the best season in years.

Living in nightwear or leggings was not frowned upon. I saved on makeup, clothing, and dining out because I stayed in. I straightened my teeth, grew my hair, took care of my skin, and exercised more. I read more books, watched more movies and my house was never more cleaned or organized. I also subscribed to some instant meal deliveries, which were cheaper than dining out! Guilt-free living!

Gas was cheap, but most did not travel. My newly-retired husband and I were fortunate to take a month trip in our car in September when kids returned to school (online and in-house.) We were impressed with the safety protocols instituted in hotels and dined outdoors in great weather while visiting the National Parks across our great country. (To the left is ex-camper and legendary Sue Purdue Tanner, who we enjoyed lunch with us on our trip through Montana.)

Many of my friends and family were not able to stay home but worked all through these trying times. They all deserve a round of applause. My heart goes out to many of my friends and family who lost jobs, closed businesses, and had to stay home with no childcare relief to teach their children, with no breaks.

2020 was like a war, where we all hid from the enemy, hoping the enemy did not find us. I hope that all who read this have more positives than negatives from this “war”; that 2021 brings health and happiness to each of your families and that we all come out stronger, smarter, and love our friends and family more than ever. Camping is fun, but not from our houses!

 

DAY TWENTY-TWO: ROADTRIPPING USA

Published on by Kathy Baker Category: Blog, Roadtripping USA

There is not much I can say today, since the landscape, (aside from hills along the way), were pretty boring. I had major carcolepsy, which means I fell asleep for two hours, which is a first on this trip. We ate two tailgate meals along the way, but our dinner tonight made up for it all. We left Little Rock and hot-footed it to Birmingham, Alabama.

Our hotel, which was built in 1925, was unusual and beautiful, but we were disappointed that the restaurant was closed, so we took a hike to “Helen” for dinner and we were not disappointed. Great dinner menu and ambiance. We are at the end of our travels. Bill is ready. I am never ready. I could travel forever.

 

DAY TWENTY-ONE: ROADTRIPPING USA

Published on by Kathy Baker Category: Blog, Roadtripping USA

The roads between Oklahoma City and Little Rock, Arkansas were less than stellar, but we were delighted with hills and valleys as we entered Arkansas. and our stop at a mini-mart for our “lunchables’ revealed accents that were not distinguishable, but entertaining, as I tried to decipher their words. (But, I digress.) We arrived in Little Rock with one stop in mind. The Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site.

We parked by the most beautiful school we have ever seen, which was the site of forced desegregation in 1957. This was the height of the civil rights movement. We visited the National Historic Site and were impressed, once again, with the amazing exhibits depicting the events of the struggles of equality and justice of the nine who stood alone against mobs. This site was worth the drive and was as sobering as the Oklahoma bombing site.

We checked into Baker House in the Argenta Arts District of Little Rock, which was built in 1898 in the Queen Anne Victorian style, and is listed on the National Historic Register of Historic Places. We settled in before our walk about the district, enjoying a drink at FlyAway Brewing outdoors with fancy cars driving by blaring their loud music.

The meal was more than delightful at Ristorante Capeo, where the hubby delved into elk and I remained true to my Italian tastebuds with Veal Piccata, a good Barolo wine, and the finale of my favorite–Tiramisu. Off to dreamland, until we arrive in Birmingham tomorrow, where we expect the sun gods will continue to shine on our month of adventures,

DAY TWENTY: ROADTRIPPING USA

Published on by Kathy Baker Category: Blog, Roadtripping USA

By this time, my readers are probably as sick of my travels as we used to be sitting through other families’ slide shows, but we are almost at the end of our journey. We left the adorable Santa Fe Motel and Inn, which we highly recommend, and had a long drive to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. There was not much to see out of the window, except flat plains, miles of wind turbines, and cotton fields in full white bloom. As we approached Oklahoma, the earth turned red and the mounds and terrain became more interesting. And, of course, the sun was shining!

We only had time for one museum and made reservations yesterday to see the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum and Outdoor Symbolic Memorial. Listed by TripAdvisor as one of the top 25 museums, we were impressed by the scope and depth of the exhibits. Bill and I were teary-eyed through the entire museum. It was extremely difficult to see the destruction, lives lost senselessly, and the number of artifacts saved that depicted the horror of the bombing in 1995.

We walked around the Children’s Plaza, the Survivor Tree, the Reflecting Pool, and the fence with love letters, tokens, and photos hanging. The Field of Empty Chairs was heartwrenching in its quiet simplicity, with a chair for each life claimed. The small chairs for the children were especially sad to see.

We checked into our “bougie” Bradford House hotel near the city. (Priceline.com is great for deals!) The independent boutique hotel was originally luxury apartment homes built in 1912. Our room is in the newer section and is beautifully appointed, as is the restaurant, lounges and other rooms. The courtyard outside our room is perfect for Bill’s nightly scotch and cigar, as he watches sports.

Tonight we dined in the artsy restaurant at the hotel, savoring homemade Gazpacho, other delicious dishes, and broke loose with two desserts. We are headed east tomorrow to Little Rock, Arkansas to yet another city we have never seen.