Marge (Vail) Downey – Lodge Princess 1962-1963
By Sara (Bell) Clifford
DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN YOU WERE INDUCTED INTO LODGE? I went to Camp St. Philip first, so I was inducted there. Before Ondessonk was built they had rented space up at the old Pere Marquette (state park in Grafton, Ill.), and that’s when they started Camp St. Philip, a precursor to Camp Ondessonk. By the year Camp Ondessonk was built, and they moved it to Ozark (1959), I was in Lodge.
HOW DID THAT VERSION OF LODGE DIFFER FROM THE CURRENT VERSION? It was a very small Lodge and there weren’t all the different Councils. It was mostly kids from the East St. Louis/Belleville area because that’s where most of the kids that went to Camp were from.
HOW OLD WERE YOU AS LODGE PRINCESS? I wasn’t even 18; I was probably 16 or 17.
WHAT DID THAT JOB ENTAIL? There wasn’t much responsibility; there are many more duties now. I bet we had maybe three meetings a year, one while at Camp and then the other ones would be at St. Philip Catholic Church in East St. Louis. At the time, you would show up for maybe one fundraiser. … Quite frankly, it was a big deal (to be Lodge Princess, the title at the time), but there weren’t a lot of responsibilities, which I loved. I was like the queen, a figurehead. A lot of other people took care of the problems. … I’ve got this wonderful sash that was made out of old priest vestments and I wear it all the time. (My husband) Thom swears I’m going to be buried in it.
WHAT WERE YOUR FAVORITE LODGE TRADITIONS? I always loved when we went into the Grotto and did dances and things, the Indian dances. … I know it is culturally inappropriate, but at the time we had no inclination of that. … We had these massive, massive bonfires that were ridiculous. … I remember one time the eagle dancers were dancing and my friend’s wing caught on fire, and we’re going, “Kathy! Kathy!” and she’s dancing away, paying no attention. The eagle feathers were scorched, so we finally put her out and she continued dancing. And they did the hunter dance where they carry off the deer. Now during boys’ season, it was easy; they’d just sling some little deer (dancer) over their shoulder. But during girls season you have all these girls who can’t sling people over their shoulder, so they sort of just dragged them off. Those were pretty fond memories. And we truly thought we were honoring these Indians; we didn’t feel we were appropriating cultures.
WHAT DID YOU DO SINCE LEAVING THE CAMP STAFF, AND WHERE ARE YOU NOW? I taught special ed for 10 years and then was a principal at Troy, and then we moved to Shiloh, so I finished off being principal there. I retired in 2000. We live in Belleville out by the golf course.
HOW HAVE YOU STAYED CONNECTED TO CAMP, AND IN WHAT WAYS? I still volunteer; it’s like my 25th year. Marci Stephens and her sister Joanie and Dan (King)’s Aunt Suzanne, she comes down and we stay in Noel, and now Marci and Suzanne make sashes. … I have no sewing ability. They don’t even let me touch the material; it was like, “You’ll screw it up.” I work in the Trading Post, but mobility is getting a little more difficult for me. … Occasionally I will go sit in a chair try and interact with the children. … I told Dan that I’m not able to do much anymore, and he said, “Come down anyway.” … When I first was working there, I taught horseback riding before I was a unit leader, so I always like to go to the stables. … The last time I was down one of the stable guys I knew said, “Marge, it’s OK; we can go get a horse that we’ll put you on.” But if you have to be put on a horse, you probably shouldn’t be on one.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO BE AT CAMP? It’s funny, just when you pull off Ozark Road and start to go down the Camp Road, that’s my favorite place. It just feels like coming home.
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