Missing

[BI Pirate]

Beaver Island is made up of many good people along with a few unique and colorful characters. On March the 3rd we lost two of them and I will long remember each while missing them both. As long as we remember, their legacy lives on. Let us remember William "Bill" Freese who left us 2012, and John "Red" Rowley who left us just last year. Let their legacy live on for all who knew them.

[AEW]

Two great men. I first met Red in 1998. His personal story was pretty amazing. He told me about his single mom raising 5 kids. I think he joined the Marine Corp at 18. He saw some brutal combat in the Korean war. He told me this funny story once how he stole a whole wooden crate of of what he thought were socks from an Army unit but ended up being underwear. He told me only drank alcohol one time in his life. He told me he acted like such a damn fool, spent all his money and felt like crap the next morning that he never drank alcohol again. (If only everyone had that fortitude.)

Red and I worked on several projects together. I learned a lot from him. I got my black belt in metal roofs from him working on Bonadeos roof. He and I were building an Airplane hanger together when 9/11 happened. He came back from the hardware store and told me a plane hit a building and as he watched the second plane hit

In my new career today I travel all over the country and train Soldiers, Marines, Navy, Air Force personnel and people from three-letter federal agencies. Ive had probably close to 1000 students so far. I always make a point of telling my Marine students about Red Rowley.

They dont make many men like him anymore. If he said something it was truth.

Thanks for the reminder