Beaver Island Michigan

Rob Turner and I will provide the power box - hooked up to the Parish Rectory.

John, The Community Center is interested in hosting forums that informs the public, in a non partisan fashion , about issues that affect the entire community. They hosted the meeting on the EMS issues. Who better than the community center to bring everyone together, put all the facts on the table , ...

Nice try Ed - whoever you are. Hiding behind your umbrella. Need I remind that my skin is a 1/4 inch thick and nothing you could say or do would deter me from trying to keep Beaver Island the great place that it is Regardless of your wrecklous behavior. So donâ??t waste your time trying to irritate ...

I think we all know who the â??jackass â?? is.

Ed, My father in law had a favorite saying: Why is it that there always seems to be more horses asses than horses. We need horses to move this community forward in a manner than is favorable to all. Although itâ??s difficult to please everyone, itâ??s even harder to pull the wagon when thereâ??s a h...

The Beaver Island Community Center will host a Forum on the Pros and Cons of Township Consolidation on April 16, 2018 @ 7:00 p.m. All are welcome. More information will follow on the make up of the presenters but there will be representatives from both sides of the issue ,along with an Independent M...

The Beaver Island Community Center will host a forum on the Pros and Cons of Township Consolidation on April 16, 2018 @ 7:00 p.m. All are welcome. More information to follow on the make up of the presenters but there will be representatives from both sides of the issue along with an Independent mode...

Kirk, Sorry about the misspelling of your name. That was not my intentional. Slip of the keys. I do appreciate that you acknowledged that there are more than one side to a story. â??The possibility that no one remained faultless in this relationshipâ?￾ per your post. Thank you for that. But I take exception to your suggestion that I was trying to intimidate you to no longer post your side of the controversy. I specifically told told you that you are entitled to your opinion and I have no problem with that. But arenâ??t you the pot calling the kettle black , after your last post to Kathe Meade? Also, I have no interest in a â??bring it onâ?￾ conversation with you on the internet. Letâ??s do that this summer over a couple cups of coffee. I did post, some time back, that I would not get down in the mud on this forum and I broke my own rule with the vulture comment. So I do apologize for that. I do not think you are a vulture. I was upset about this constant mention of Connie Wojanâ??s letter. You know (us) Wojanâ??s are proud people and that letter was from the BIRHC board and as president , Connie, was delivering that on behalf of the board. Iâ??m traveling but will be back to the Island in a few days. I will go to see Connie and see if I can get you and others, the other side of the story and why the $1.00 offer and specific time ,for Wendy to be out. I was not at that meeting and I canâ??t quote for the board but I will get you those answers. Why do you continue to bring that up? Is that a way to discredit the board, the Island people, and others in order to better position yourself on speeding up the process of getting a new Dentist? Also, whatâ??s the deal on the new EMS board issues? Are you looking to better your position there. And why call out Bill Kohls as â??not a friend to to EMS? Then thereâ??s the Boat company issue. On the internet you are just chipping at the edges of those issues and using the internet for your own political means. Thereâ??s better ways to do it. Why donâ??t you just send me your written concerns and I will take it to any board meeting where these issues are being discussed and have your concerns read out loud? Then try to get get you some answers. Iâ??m not so naive as to think we donâ??t have problems to address. But your approach to discredit a lot of hard working people and make the Island people look bad for your own political gains (right or wrong) is no way to conduct Island business or correct problems. So this is my open invitation to you and Ken. Call me, Iâ??ll give you my e-mail address. Ken may already have it. Letâ??s try to solve these problems by getting to the meetings. Please donâ??t continue to run down the Island people on this forum. Itâ??s not fair and only divides us. Not to mention what people must think. I see their comments. Itâ??s no good any of us.

Kathy, Donâ??t give up. If you do , then their tactics win! They can learn to get their points across in a decent manner and not win -by your giving up your right to express your opinions.

Keith Taylor and Kirt McBride, Enough of the picking on Connie Wojan. Sheâ??s my sister in-law and I know for a fact that she does not have a vindictive bone in her body. She has worked tirelessly for the healthy Center for many years. I know you both have the best interest of Beaver Island in mind ...

Dick was such a good friend and such an asset to my business and all other builders on Beaver Island. Even in the worst of times ,he was the positive one . Always moving forward with a smile and a laugh or two. After his garage burned , I tried to give him a check to replace the garage door or repla...

Sounds very promising Vince, Iâ??ll schedule a meeting at the Community Center this summer. Perhaps beteeen you and other people on the island at that time -we can get started down that road. There are many resourceful people that are on the Island (then and now) that could lend some direction or kn...

Kathy, Very nice. Iâ??ll be waiting with my welcome sign. I appreciate your kind words. Glad youâ??re looking forward to returning.

Pirate, That was a great post! I think Iâ??m staring o like you. God help me!

Hang on everyone. Donâ??t panic. Beaver Island has seen many ups and downs and has always come through with flying colors. Hmmmmmm? What is the origin on this flying colors thing. Is that form our national Anthem or from a ship coming out of battle with itâ??s flags still up (flying). Maybe someone can google that and enlighten us? I love those old sayings and their origins. So much wisdom in them but we ofen take them for granted. If we put Beaver Island on a Wall Street ticker tape, you would definitely see some ups and downs. We are currently recovering from the Great Recession of 2009. But almost everyone is busy right now. Speaking of ships - a good analogy for us- our ancestors with sails only would change direction for awhile (tac) and then head for home when conditions improved. Beaver is no different than the national economy. Itâ??s going to have its ups and downs. Our country has endured a revolution, a civil war, the Great Depression, wars I and II and Vietnam, civil rights, and many other things. Weâ??re still â??flyingâ?￾. Same for Beaver Island. In the mid 1800â??s a self proclaimed King put the Islanders in small boats, shoved hem off and said â??get lostâ?￾. His own followers shot him on his dock in front of Jeff Powers hardware store. I donâ??t think itâ??s a coincidence that the USS Michigan was at the dock that day and the King was going down to talk to them. They took the killers to Mackinaw, where the citizens there carried them on this backs to the jail . The jailers young son accidentally dropped the keys to the cell where they could reach them. Those guys were never found or prosecuted. After some pressure and intimidation, the rest of the Mormons fled in their boats in a mass exodus. The Irish rushed in to fill that vacuum. There were embers in the fireplces and cows in the barns that needed milking. Bonnerâ??s landing was named after Patrick Bonners dad came in a straight line from Wisconsin, hit the beach and went up the bluff and grabbed the 1st Mormon home he found. The Mormons were easily displaced without compensation because they did not consider themselves part of the United States and did not pay taxes . See what happens when you donâ??t pay your taxes. So pay your taxes and be happy that anyhone in this country can own their own land. A principal reason that people immigrated to his country. Did you know that there were 2000 Irish on the Island at one time? The fisherman supplied most of the Midwest with fresh fish. There were 25 net sheds on the Harbor. They brought in the money but the subsistant farmers had the milk, eggs, pork, beef, vegetables, and horses. They didnâ??t eat the horses. The horses did most of the work. The fishing died out. Initially there was an over supply of fish and not enough demand and the price of fish went down to .05 a pound. Then the lamprey eel devastated the fish stocks. When we were kids we would peeks through the cracks on the docks to see the carp go by. Each one had 3 or 4 eels on it. Most of the Island kids had to go to Chicago or Detroit for jobs. They sent cash home so their parents could pay the property taxes. The parents had everything else they needed except they got old. It used to be our job to go out to the farms and help them out up hay and shuck the peas. No electricity, went to bed a dark and up at daylight. Farms are a lot of work. I used to tell my guys, when we had to work in difficult weather conditions, that ever since we came out of the caves and decided to be civilized and live in communities, that we have to have a system with currency, police force and government. Any time you can walk into McDonoughs store, hand them some green paper (money) and walk out with anything you want, then we need to work and get these jobs done. Your other choice is to go back to framing and thatâ??s harder than what weâ??re doing now. Growing vegetables and taking care of a bunch of animals is tough. In Alaska, those people canâ??t stay home in their comfy cabins. They have to trap to make money. Haul their own water, chop their wood and on and on. My Dad came back to Beaver after Island hopping in the South Pacific for 39 months. His brother ED was killed in house to house fighting in Germany. Walter had been working in Detoit but while he was away , my Grandfather Tony Wojan moved to Beaver to do lumbering. He went broke trying to haul logs off in the 1930â??s but came back in th 40â??s with a sawmill and cut the lumber on the Island and sold it to Grand Rapids which at one time was the furniture capital of the world. Tony was a major employer for several years. When he was done he told my Dad to get packed â??weâ??re going back to Charlevoixâ?￾. Grandpa used Beaver Island lumber to build homes and apartments in Charlevoix. But my mother (Vera) was 4th generation on the McDonough side and wanted to stay. When my Dad told his Dad, Grandpa asked him â??what are you going to doâ?￾. My Dad said Iâ??m going to work for th tourists. My Granpa asked â??what the hell is a touristâ?￾ . Iâ??m one of th last employersâ?￾ â?? when they get done moving off this Island there will be you and one Indian pony leftâ?￾. There wernâ??t a lot of tourists then and my Dad continued with the sawmill. Then people came and bought the King Strang Hotel and others bought the Mormon print shop. Dad got jobs repairing the foundations, etc. We did not invite the tourists but welcomed them. People come to Beaver Island because they liked it for what it is. They enjoyed the people of the Island, itâ??s remoteness,itâ??s natural beauty, the boat ride, etc. The rest is History.We were down to 128 people on the Island in the 60â??s . But they kept it going. So weâ??ve been through a lot an weâ??ve survived a lot. And we will get past the current bumps in the road. In the 1960â??s we had very few cabin owners. Today we have many and I think that base will sustain us as we move forward. Some of the Sand Bay cabins are on their 3rd of fourth generations of families that pass these houses on down. They have a great Love of the Island. Patti and I are on the road and we were talking. How low can the student # go and still have a community. Well, pretty low given the base of cabin Owners that we have. Weâ??re not like Mackinaw where their entire economy is dependent on thousands of people per day. But the people that nail the boards together run the boats, etc. , do need a school. Will adjustments need to be made? Of course they will. As long as we donâ??t keep airing the dirty laundry on the forum and chase everyone away. Are there problems be taken care of on the Island. Sure there are. Just like whatever town you live in. I believe the Island will make the (tac) , as our ancestors did , and keep on making it home in the future.