Camp Maqua

"The Bay City, Michigan, YWCA camp began as a small gathering of 65 women during the summer of 1916 at a rental cottage in Killarney. The second site, selected two years later, was on Aplin Beach near Saginaw Bay. In 1924, the YWCA purchased the Camp Maqua property in Hale, on the shores of Loon Lake, with a solitary farmhouse, and numerous cabins were then completed. After the YWCA sold the property to a private owner in 1979, it was subdivided into 10 parcels. In 1987, the Baker/Starks families purchased the lodge and 14 acres. Ten families continue to keep the spirit of Maqua alive through an association dedicated to retaining the historical integrity of the land and remaining buildings."-- Page [4] of cover.

Kathryn A. Baker's family purchased the main lodge of Camp Maqua in 1987, and she has been gathering research ever since. Baker interviewed hundreds of former campers and scoured archival ledgers, camp committee minutes, director's reports, newspaper clippings, and photographs from the vaults of the Great Lakes Bay Region YWCA. The result is a picturesque historical narrative chronicling the experiences of over 250 campers.