The Christian influence of Camp Maqua, which was under the auspices of the Bay City YWCA, did not discourage girls from other religions from attending camp. There were many Jewish girls who attended, and for the most part, the girls felt a sense of inclusion with the services on Chapel Hill. There was also the option to attend mass at St. Pius in Hale for the Catholic girl

“I am Jewish and there were very few of us at that time in Bay City or in camp,” said Laya Rose  (1939+). “I remember climbing Chapel Hill on Sundays all dressed in white. I loved it. To join in the singing touched my heart. In a Jewish service, it is so different. I love my religion, but it is not in English. There was something so wonderful when I heard those melodies and words, especially in the midst of the trees overlooking the lake.”

“We loved our Jewish friends and we didn’t talk much about our faith or religion, but Chapel Hill was the non-denominational spot we all loved, “said Priscilla Johns (1968+). “I give praise for that place and the relationships. Nobody ever said we could or could not do anything up there. There was a cross up there, but nothing was ever criticized or judged. We just held hands and sang.”

“There were not a lot of Jewish girls until the arrival of the Michelson girls, Shelley Harris and Jan Schreiber, who lived in my neighborhood,” said Jenifer McLogan (1965-71), who was Catholic, but “not too keen on going to mass”. Sister Helen McLogan (1972-74), had a Jewish friend by the name of Dana, but said her friend Susie Eakin would tell everyone she was Jewish. “I guess she liked hanging out with the Jewish girls more than us. Despite the fact that we were Catholic, we didn’t drive into town to go to mass. We all marched up Chapel Hill and it was not an option.”

Minette Immerman (1938-41), was one of the little Jewish girls who packed white clothes for the services, which she attended during her years there and despite the fact that  Sue Michelson (1963-73) was Jewish, but was raised fairly non-traditional and thought the combination of kids was wonderful at Camp Maqua.

Marcia Sherman, who camped in the late forties and early fifties, recalled dressing in her white shirts and shorts. “I can’t remember much about the services themselves, only that I felt very out of place. I was young and not using to attending services of other religions at that age. Who was I going to pray to? But, I became very comfortable with Sundays in later years at camp.”

“I recall Sunday morning church servies up on a hill,” said Judy Sherman (1946-49). “We sat on the logs, unless we got there late, then we had to sit on the ground. I was a little uncomfortable with the Christian prayers, being Jewish, but I loved the songs we sang—not only on Sunday mornings, but around the campfires at night and in the main dining hall. One song began….”For nights with stars, for paths to follow. And for the hills, the hills to climb.” (I forget the middle, but the end was “We thank thee Lord, we thank thee Lord.”)

“The services on Chapel Hill, where even the little Jewish girls had to go, was my first exposure to another religion,” said Karen Magidsohn (1965+), who remembered sitting in whites in rows by cabins. “We walked up the hill, and it was surrounded by trees and we could see the whole lake from there.”

Sandy Indianer was one of the little Jewish girls from Flint in the late sixties but did not consider herself an immensely religious girl. “Many of the Detroit girls went to specifically Jewish camps, but I never really cared. It was different for me going to Chapel Hill for our services, though,” she admitted. “I did not come from a particularly religious household and some of the Christian singing and the cross, which I had never seen before, was too Christian for me. The singing was fine, but there was a lot of Christian singing, and I only felt that way on those Sundays.”

“I knew that Christianity was dominant in our culture, but despite being Jewish, I thought the services above the lake were beautiful and I loved going,” said Anne Schupack (1966), who expressed the lack of prejudice while she was at camp.

For some girls, the memories did not stay with them about the traditions on Chapel Hill. Ilene Rogers (1955-57) said she and her cousin were Jewish, but they either did not attend or they were not memorable. Penny Mitchell (1951-54) remembered a Sunday where different girls would get up and speak about their religion, including a Jewish girl.

For Kim Wynne-Parry (1963-68) the rituals were memorable, but laughingly recalled “the Jewish girls who were wild compared to my Jackson white bread world” and also recalled the envy of the girls for the Catholic girls who got to go to mass. Were you one of the Jewish girls who went to camp and did you feel any prejudice?