Sister Patricia Magee OP wrote that when she went to camp Stapleton in 1957 she was homesick but the activities provided ample distractions. There were daily crafts, baseball games and swimming. In the midst of these fun activities, there was daily Mass. The liturgy was in line with the family practice during the school year. She was particularly taken when the Sisters chanted their office in the mornings and evenings. She spent her time pondering and letter writing. She treasured these memories so much that by the time the bus arrived to leave camp she was not ready to leave. As a junior and senior in high school she returned to camp as a kitchen kid. The Dominican Sisters were very good to their workers. They provided weekly trips to Port Huron to socialize or in the evenings they would wander over to the convent and watch while a couple of Sisters challenged each other to an intense game of double solitaire. Since becoming a Dominican Sister, Sister Patricia Magee OP recognizes that the closeness and caring she experienced was based on their togetherness for a common purpose. They prayed together each morning at Mass and joked and laughed their way throughout the work of the day. She believes that her experience at Stapleton nurtured her vocation to Religious life. Following a year break she returned to be an assistant cook in the kitchen she knew so well. It was a homecoming. The campers, workers and Sisters were a cohesive community. The daily Mass schedule had to change that summer to accommodate her cooking duties but it was a great introduction to being a Dominican, which allows for exceptions of daily prayer practice when circumstances occur. The whole experience of being at camp brought peace, a sense of belonging, and joy. After several more years passed, she returned as an Adrian Dominican Sister and had the chance to help at camp for the last 2 weeks of one summer. She had come full circle. She began as a camper, worked in the kitchen and now did the work as one of the Sisters. This completed her journey. It was an “old” sense of community. Thanks to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul for supporting this summer community. It will never be known how the faith and life journeys of many other young women were nourished by the time spent at Camp Stapleton.
