The application for the renewal of license for the camp in 1964 from the Dept. of Social Welfare for the state of Michigan listed Dorthe Balaskas as the director and she had previously experienced six years of camp leadership. Miriam Carr, who had been a YWCA camp director in California, was her assistant that summer. Rosalind Prophet, who had been a counselor at Maqua for three years, was listed as the waterfront director in 1963-64.R Lillian Richards also returned as the camp nurse, so Dorthe had some experienced staff to begin a new season.
There were twenty over the age of eighteen listed, with two maintenance, two cooks, two kitchen aides, and three others. It was the summer the Bradley Basin sink was installed in the “Brownie”, which was listed under improvements. Hoppers were still being used in the dining room, and there were notes in the camp committee minutes concerning the creation of a position for director for the evening programs.
Dorthe’s reports were always comprehensive in depth and scope. She outlined everything in detail, never leaving any items to chance, in case she was replaced or did not return the following season. The tasks she performed and the vendors she used, even in the shoulder season, were always listed for future reference.
In 1966, Dorthe mentioned how important it was to communicate with returning staff. The Michigan Employment Agency was noted as a good source for applications, as well as colleges, who not only had lists, but places to interview. She made sure all letters requesting applications were answered, and required three references.
“Recruitment of staff was a problem this year and four staff members were hired the week before camp, “ she wrote in 1966. Unable to interview them in person on such short notice, she had to use her best judgement based on phone interviews and recommendations. Even though she loved the interview process, it was a time consuming task which took up her weekends and admitted to losing sleep over the timing of her last hires.
The junior counselor program had four girls that summer, and she wrote how they all worked out well, except one. She felt they helped out when needed and did a wonderful job and the campers were not affected by any negative experiences.“It would be simple to say we would hire older staff, but it was the eighteen year olds that outshined the older staff,” she wrote, noting that the experienced staff always came with higher wages.
The summer of 1966 included many returnees for activities directors, except the waterfront and boating directors. Dorthe was thankful for the two past waterfront and boating directors, who attended pre-camp to help with the new staff. With so many returnees, she expected that she would have less problems, but the activity directors were overloaded, which kept them from their area observations.
Some of the returnees were a huge disappointment and Dorthe did not hesitate to comment in her reports. “Needed to be more of a leader, showed very little interest, could have been more helpful with staff with ideas and suggestions”, “lacked experience and needed a great deal of help”, “willing to try anything, but showed a lack of enthusiasm while doing it”, “well-liked by campers, but not staff due to the amount of time she took off” and personal problems caused one girl to be depressed and moody. It could not have been easy dealing with all those women and the different personalities!
If you were a returnee, what was the attraction that drew you back–the money or the actual job?