- Dates
- 1976-03 – 1976-12
- Kind
- Publication
- Where
- Beaver Island
- Participants
- Bill Cashman (organizer) · Helen Hoffman Collar (contributor) · David Gladish (contributor) · Philip Robert Gregg (contributor)
- Carried out by
- Beaver Island Bicentennial Committee
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- heritagehistoriographycommunicationpublicationcommunity
- Within
- Beaver Island
Summary
In March 1976 the Beaver Beacon published an appeal, headed “Help Wanted!! (in compiling the history of Beaver Island),” asking residents to write chapters or contribute anecdotes and facts for a history of the island being compiled by the Beaver Island Bicentennial Committee. The book was the fifth of the committee’s five official Bicentennial projects, chaired by Bill Cashman, and it was published nine months later: The Journal of Beaver Island History, Volume One - 1976 was printed on 17 December 1976 and sold through the Beaver Island Historical Society to raise money for two of the committee’s other projects.
History
The March appeal named five people who had already agreed to write chapters: Helen Collar, Bob Weeks, Antje Price, Dave Gladish, and Phil Gregg. It asked for more, on topics including “the Indians, the Voyageurs, Railroads, Sawmills, Churches, Schools, Irish names and customs, Fishing, Boatbuilding, Moonshining, Farming.” Ten to fifteen chapters were planned for a first volume that summer, with further material held for a second volume the following year and a hope that the project would become an annual Journal of Island History. Sales of the first volume were to fund its own reprinting, the second volume, and the committee’s other projects. Bill Cashman was named as contact.
By July, the Beacon’s progress report on “The Bicentennial Projects” described the book as the largest of the publication project’s items and “nearing completion”: article-length accounts of island institutions, industries and geology, researched by authors “who incidentally include four PhD’s,” illustrated with photographs. A 1,500-copy edition was planned, to be sold by the end of December, a requirement of the State Bicentennial Commission, with mail-order forms available from Cashman.
In August, the Historical Society’s newsletter column gave the book its title, Beaver Island Journal, described it as carrying “many notable contributors,” and set a publication date of October 1976 at an advance-sale price of about $5 through the Society, noting that advance orders would help determine the print run. At the Society’s 15 September annual meeting, members were told publication had slipped a few weeks to November, and an order form for $5 plus postage, payable on billing, was printed for mailing to secretary-treasurer Phyllis Townsend.
The book was finally printed on 17 December 1976, after six months of work and at a reported cost of $6,000. The first 160 copies were mailed from Lansing the same day to fill advance orders, and another 140 arrived on the island the next day by bus and by Joe’s plane; that supply sold out at once. The remaining 1,200 copies of the 1,500-copy edition were expected by 22 December and were sold first-come, first-served at $5 each through the Historical Society, with proceeds earmarked for the Marine Museum restoration and the old Post Office addition, two of the committee’s other Bicentennial projects. Titled The Journal of Beaver Island History, Volume One - 1976, the book ran 218 pages with 80 photographs, charts, sketches and a dozen maps, and its eleven essays covered Beaver Island archaeology, the Mormon Kingdom, the Irish migration, Feodor Protar, the fishing industry, island logging, the island’s churches, the House of David on High Island, the island’s ferries, newspaper excerpts from 1947–1951, and names and places on Beaver Island.
Sales continued into 1977: an April Beacon column reported them proceeding “at a slow but steady pace,” with the income earmarked for the Print Shop museum addition, wiring for the Marine Museum, and improvements to the Protar home. In July the Society began offering a limited “case-bound” hardcover edition of Volume One for $10 plus postage, alongside the original paperback. The Society’s October annual report gave the book’s full first-year financial impact: income from books rose from $911.46 in 1975-76 to $13,447.08 in 1976-77, against costs rising from $1,415.42 to $9,258.12, making books “the largest item in both receipts and disbursements” and funding a roughly $7,500-retail-value book inventory for the Museum. The same report described the planned second volume as “progressing slowly,” with two rough-draft chapters received — on the early non-Mormon colony and on Garden Island lore — three further authors committed, and publication expected about a year out.
Significance
The book’s first-year sales figures show it functioning as the Historical Society’s primary fundraising vehicle in 1976-77, not merely a commemorative publication: book income of $13,447.08 dwarfed the Society’s other receipts that year and directly funded ongoing capital projects — the Print Shop addition, Marine Museum wiring, and Protar home improvements — that the original Bicentennial Committee had also been separately pursuing. The appeal’s stated ambition to become an annual Journal of Island History was only partly realized: a second volume was still in early drafting a year after the first appeared, with publication “a year away” as of October 1977, a slower pace than the original call anticipated.
Evidence and limits
Eight Beacon issues quoted here (March, July, August, September and December 1976; April, July and October 1977) trace a single continuous project from appeal through publication and into its second year of sales; the reporting is the Historical Society’s and the committee’s own, promotional in tone, and no independent contributor roster or copy of the finished book was consulted for this article. The financial figures come from the Society’s own October 1977 annual report rather than an audited statement.
Open questions
- Was Volume Two of the Journal of Beaver Island History ever published, and if so, when and under what title? The October 1977 report describes it as still in early drafting, a year behind the original schedule; no later source is held here that confirms or dates its eventual appearance.
- Who were the “four PhD’s” among the volume’s researchers, beyond the named contributors in the March appeal?
- What was the book’s total lifetime sales figure and contributor list beyond the eleven essay subjects the December 1976 report names?
See also
Sources
See the sources block above.
Sources
- Asks for chapters, anecdotes, and facts on subjects including Indigenous history, voyageurs, railroads, sawmills, churches, schools, Irish names and customs, fishing, boatbuilding, moonshining, and farming; names prospective contributors and Bill Cashman as contact; says the first volume was planned for summer publication and a second for the following year. It does not establish manuscripts received, publication, or a complete contributor roster. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1976-03_Beaver-Beacon
- The held issue confirms the appeal and its planned publication/fundraising language.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1976-03_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports that pamphlets, a History Map, and a names-and-places brochure were already available and that the first book was nearing completion, with a planned 1,500-copy edition for sale by the end of December. It does not establish printing, publication, contributors, or sales. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1976-07_Beaver-Beacon
- The held Bicentennial issue confirms the publication-project progress report.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1976-07_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports that “Beaver Island Journal,” a Bicentennial project with many contributors, was scheduled for October publication at an approximately $5 advance-sale price through the Historical Society, and says advance orders would help determine the print quantity. It does not establish printing, publication, or a complete contributor list. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1976-08_Beaver-Beacon
- The held issue confirms the October schedule and advance-order appeal.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1976-08_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports that publication of the Journal of B. I. History was delayed a few weeks and was now expected in November, and prints an advance-order form for $5 plus postage with payment deferred until billing. It does not establish printing, publication, or a complete contributor list. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1976-09_Beaver-Beacon
- The held issue confirms the revised schedule and order form.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1976-09_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports that the first volume was printed December 17 and describes its initial distribution, title, contents, page count, illustrations, price, and order process. This is the completion report for the earlier project sequence, not a held copy of the book or a complete contributor and sales record. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1976-12_Beaver-Beacon
- The held issue confirms the reported publication and order form.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1976-12_Beaver-Beacon
- States "Sales of the Journal of Beaver Island History continue at a slow but steady pace," and ties that income to the Society's ambitious plans for the Print Shop museum addition, wiring for the Marine Museum, and improvements to the Protar home. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1977-04_Beaver-Beacon
- The held issue PDF is paired with the canonical OCR Markdown source and preserves the issue-level provenance for this cited report or comparison.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1977-04_Beaver-Beacon
- Announces "a new 'case-bound' hard cover version of Volume I of the Journal of Beaver Island History...now available in a limited number for $10.00 plus $0.60 for postage and handling," alongside the paperback. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1977-07_Beaver-Beacon
- The held issue PDF is paired with the canonical OCR Markdown source and preserves the issue-level provenance for this cited report or comparison.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1977-07_Beaver-Beacon
- A year-over-year financial table shows book income rising from $911.46 (1975-76) to $13,447.08 (1976-77) against book costs rising from $1,415.42 to $9,258.12, describing books as "the largest item in both receipts and disbursements," with part of the surplus building a roughly $7,500-retail-value inventory for the Museum. The same report states "Volume II of the History Book is progressing slowly," with two rough draft chapters received (on the early non-Mormon colony and Garden Island lore), three additional authors committed, and publication "a year away." The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1977-10_Beaver-Beacon
- The held issue confirms the annual financial report and Volume II progress note.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1977-10_Beaver-Beacon
Added 3 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Bicentennial call for Beaver Island history-book contributors, 1976”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-bicentennial-history-book-call-1976/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, March 1976, “Help Wanted!! (in compiling the history of Beaver Island).” (and 15 further sources listed on the page).
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BibTeX for “Bicentennial call for Beaver Island history-book contributors, 1976”RIS for “Bicentennial call for Beaver Island history-book contributors, 1976”