- Date
- 1989-07-04
- Kind
- Celebration
- Where
- Saint James Harbor
- Carried out by
- Beaver Island Chamber of Commerce
- Followed by
- Beaver Island Fourth of July celebration, 1990
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- celebrationcommunitytourism
- Within
- Beaver Island
Summary
Beaver Island’s 1989 Fourth of July celebration, produced by the Beaver Island Chamber of Commerce in its second year, ran a 43-entry “Fantasy Island”-themed parade organized by Ron and Patti Wojan, a carnival next to the ferry docks organized by Amy Munger, boat-launched fireworks, and Island Airways harbor air tours. The July Beaver Beacon names the parade judges, prize winners, dozens of entrants, and carnival booth organizers.
Program
Parade. Organized by Ron and Patti Wojan, “the best ever” per the paper, with 43 entries under the theme “Fantasy Island,” judged by Helen Pike, Susan Nixon, and Bob Pittman. Prizes: Best Overall, Central Michigan University Biological Station; Best Theme, Patti Wojan’s “Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs”; Best Junior, the Charles Shellenberg grandchildren; Best Merchant, McDonough’s Market (“Beaver Island IS YOUR Fantasy Island”); Best Independent, John Adams’ grandchildren (“It’s a Small Small World”); Most Humorous, LaFreniere’s Gift Shop (“Buckhunter’s Dream”); Best Foreign Entry, Dale Boss with the City of Charlevoix’s tank truck; Best Club/Organization, the Chamber of Commerce’s “Proud as a Peacock” (designed by Patti Wojan); Honorable Mention, Ron Wogan’s “castle” entry. Other named entrants included Martin Excavating (a Sleeping Beauty scene), Roy Elsworth and Joan Pipes on horseback, the Beaver Beacon’s entry (Mary Russell with her infant twins), Archipelago Builders, and a Beaver Island Community School float on the district’s academic-testing record.
Carnival. Organized by Amy Munger, next to the ferry docks: a Fish Pond, a ball-toss dunking booth (Joddi Croswhite the target), a hot dog and lemonade stand, Darts at Balloons, Milk Bottle Toss, a cookie sale by the Friends of the Beaver Island District Library, paintings for sale, face painting, Photo Buttons, Bean Bag Toss, and a “My Island Home” video sale produced by Beaver Island Community School students. Carnival activities ran until the fireworks began.
Fireworks. Set off from a boat by Bill and Tim McDonough, funded by the Chamber of Commerce.
Air tours. Island Airways flew paid harbor air tours on July 4, donating proceeds to the Chamber of Commerce; the Chamber’s August thank-you names event chairperson Betsy Borre and volunteers Captain Russell Green, Jim Willis, Bill Borre, Kathleen Green, Beth Green, Jackie Martin, and Rich Gillespie.
Every participating child received a printed “Certificate of Participation” from the Chamber of Commerce.
Significance
The 1989 entries recorded include both the island’s seasonal academic institution and its year-round school in the same competition: the Central Michigan University Biological Station’s float won Best Overall, and a Beaver Island Community School entry built its theme around the district’s own academic-testing record. Read together with the Chamber’s printed certificate for every participating child, the record documents an event by its second Chamber-run year already organized to be a competition with formal prizes and, at the same time, a guaranteed participation credential for the youngest entrants regardless of outcome.
Evidence limits
This is a set of contemporary announcements and a detailed post-event
newspaper report, not an attendance count or audited financial statement.
The Beacon’s own text spells the parade organizer’s surname two ways within
the same year’s issues (“Wojan” in the notices and the July report’s byline
material, “Wogan” in two prize-list lines); both spellings are kept as
printed rather than reconciled. took_place_at uses place/saint-james-harbor
because the carnival is sited at the ferry docks and the fireworks and air
tours are explicitly over the harbor; no more specific existing structure
article is used here.
Open questions
- Are “Ron Wojan”/“Patti Wojan” (parade organizers) and “Ron Wogan” (Honorable Mention entrant, Best Overall category apparatus) the same spelling inconsistency for one person, or does the paper distinguish two people?
- What was the 1989 carnival’s or parade’s total attendance or fundraising total, if reported in an issue not checked here?
See also
Sources
- The Chamber of Commerce invites all residents, businesses, summer residents, and organizations to enter the parade, names Ron Wogan as overseeing that year's parade, and reports the St. James Township Board resolved to issue the Chamber a permit for fireworks over the harbor on July 4, 1989. 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 · 1989-05_Beaver-Beacon
- The held twenty-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1989-05_Beaver-Beacon
- Repeats the parade notice a week out; separately reports the Chamber of Commerce's first-anniversary celebration (May 27, 1989) and that "plans are in full swing for the 4th of July celebration." 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 · 1989-06_Beaver-Beacon
- The held twenty-two-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1989-06_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports the completed program: a 43-entry parade organized by Ron and Patti Wojan under the theme "Fantasy Island," judged by Helen Pike, Susan Nixon, and Bob Pittman, with named prize categories and winners (Best Overall: Central Michigan University Biological Station; Best Theme: Patti Wojan's "Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs"; Best Junior: the Shellenberg grandchildren; Best Merchant: McDonough's Market; Best Independent: John Adams' grandchildren; Most Humorous: LaFreniere's Gift Shop; Best Foreign Entry: Dale Boss/City of Charlevoix; Best Club/Organization: the Chamber of Commerce's "Proud as a Peacock"; Honorable Mention: Ron Wogan's "castle" entry) and many named entrants and marchers; a carnival organized by Amy Munger next to the ferry docks with named booths/games (Fish Pond, ball toss with Joddi Croswhite dunked, hot dog and lemonade stand, Darts at Balloons, Milk Bottle Toss, a cookie sale by the Friends of the Library, paintings for sale, face painting, Photo Buttons, Bean Bag Toss, and a "My Island Home" video sale by Beaver Island Community School students); fireworks set off from a boat by Bill and Tim McDonough; and Island Airways air tours over the harbor, with Chamber thanks to event chairperson Betsy Borre, Captain Russell Green and Jim Willis, Bill Borre, Kathleen Green, Beth Green, Jackie Martin, and Rich Gillespie. 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 · 1989-07_Beaver-Beacon
- The held twenty-two-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1989-07_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports "Ron and Patti Wojan and the Chamber of Commerce want to thank all who participated in the 4th of July Parade and activities," notes that every participating child received a "Certificate of Participation," and separately thanks the Island Airways air-tour volunteers by name (Betsy Borre, Russell Green, Jim Willis, Bill Borre, Kathleen Green, Beth Green, Jackie Martin, Rich Gillespie), all proceeds going to the Chamber of Commerce. 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 · 1989-08_Beaver-Beacon
- The held twenty-four-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1989-08_Beaver-Beacon
Added 3 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Beaver Island Fourth of July celebration, 1989”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-fourth-of-july-1989/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, May 1989, "Notice: Fourth of July Parade." (and 7 further sources listed on the page).
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