- Date
- 2007-07-04
- Kind
- Celebration
- Followed by
- Beaver Island holds its 2008 Fourth of July, "Hidden Treasures"
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- celebrationcommunitytourismsports
- Within
- Beaver Island
Summary
Beaver Island’s 2007 Fourth of July combined a parade, a Carnival on the Green by the Jewell Gillespie Public Beach, a skydiving demonstration, the Clyde Fogg Memorial Boat Parade at dusk, and evening fireworks costing $5,500 that year, split evenly between the two townships. A separate golf tournament on July 3 was decided by a playoff.
Program
The June 2007 Beacon detailed the Carnival: new and old games, a Dunk Tank, a Bounce House, local arts-and-crafts booths, and a Snack Tent run by the 7th grade to raise money for a Washington, D.C. class trip; that issue also reported that fireworks would cost $5,500 that year, split evenly between St. James and Peaine Townships, with donation boxes suggested to help fund future years. The July issue named the Dunk Tank’s line-up of “dunkees” — Principal Kitty McNamara, Mariann Brown, and a number of students and community members — and announced the Clyde Fogg Memorial Fourth of July Boat Parade at dusk on the harbor, with a $10 per-boat entry fee (proceeds toward the fireworks fund) and preregistration through Lisa Vance-Gillespie.
A fuller August 2007 narrative describes the day itself. A forecast of rain gave way to sunshine by the time the parade lined up. The Community Choir, directed by Kathy Speck and featuring a solo by Denise Hoffman, performed before the parade set off down the hill and along Main Street, alongside a newly formed group, “the Jaunty Sailors.” The parade included a reenactment of the “Battle of Whiskey Point,” with cannonmaster John Works “deliberately turning his big gun the other way to not emulate King Strang,” followed by veterans, island deputies, fire trucks, the new airport plow, two six-foot dancing beavers, clowns, family groups, and “the Ambassador from Hog Island,” with candy thrown to children along the route. The parade fed into the Carnival, with jugglers, merchants, and the dunk tank. Luther Kurtz’s skydiving team “dropped in on Beaver Island’s Fourth of July festivities right on schedule,” landing at the shore’s edge, and a cannon signaled the start of the boat parade, with boats beginning their “courtly Harbor Dance shortly before dusk.” That evening, haze hid the mainland’s fireworks, but the account calls the island’s own display “perhaps the best yet,” followed by a roughly fifteen-minute traffic jam leaving the harbor — “a little like the mainland.” A township-meeting note in the same issue records that $833.60 had been collected in donations toward the following year’s (2008) fireworks. The separately held Fourth of July golf tournament, on July 3, drew 15 teams; the team of Francis, Nelson, and Gerard Pike, Todd Ireland, and Brandon Brown won a two-hole playoff over a second team tied at 4-under-par 31.
Evidence limits
The held accounts describe the land parade, Carnival, boat parade, skydiving demonstration, and golf tournament in some detail, but no held issue names a 2007 land-parade organizer or announced theme, and the route is given only as “down the hill and along Main Street,” without a full route description. The same July 2007 issue, in its “On This Date” retrospective column, includes a “Forty Years Ago” item describing a 1967 boat parade won by Clyde Fogg’s boat Foggy; that item is about 1967 (matching the account in Beaver Island Civic Association holds its 1967 Fourth of July celebration) and is not evidence about the 2007 boat parade named in his memory, though it does establish that the modern boat parade’s name commemorates that earlier event’s participant. The “Battle of Whiskey Point” reenactment and the remark about “not emulat[ing] King Strang” are reported exactly as the source states them; this article does not interpret or explain the allusion beyond the source’s own wording.
Open questions
- Who organized the 2007 land parade, and what was its theme, if any was announced beyond the general “Fourth of July” occasion?
- Who won the Clyde Fogg Memorial Boat Parade trophy in 2007?
- What was the full land-parade route beyond “down the hill and along Main Street”?
See also
Sources
- The Beaver Beacon, June 2007, "Fourth of July Carnival."Announces the Carnival will follow the parade "on the Green (by the Jewell Gillespie Public Beach)," with new and old games, the Dunk Tank, a Bounce House, local arts and crafts, and a Snack Tent staffed by the 7th grade to raise trip funds; also reports "Fireworks for July 4th will cost $5,500 this year—half from each township," with donation boxes suggested for next year's display. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2007-06_Beaver-Beacon
- The held forty-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 · 2007-06_Beaver-Beacon
- The Beaver Beacon, July 2007, Carnival and Boat Parade preview.Repeats the Carnival details (Dunk Tank line-up naming Principal Kitty McNamara, Mariann Brown, and students) and announces "The Clyde Fogg Memorial Fourth of July Boat Parade begins at dusk on the harbor," with a $10-per-boat entry fee (proceeds toward the fireworks fund) and preregistration through Lisa Vance-Gillespie. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2007-07_Beaver-Beacon
- The held forty-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 · 2007-07_Beaver-Beacon
- The Beaver Beacon, August 2007, skydiving and boat parade account.Reports "Luther Kurtz and his skydiving team dropped in on Beaver Island's Fourth of July festivities right on schedule, corkscrewing onto their target at the shore's edge," and that boats "began their courtly Harbor Dance shortly before dusk" after a cannon signaled the parade start. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2007-08_Beaver-Beacon
- The held fifty-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 · 2007-08_Beaver-Beacon
- The Beaver Beacon, August 2007, Township meeting notes."$833.60 was collected in donations towards next year's July 4th fireworks" — reported as a result of the 2007 fundraising effort, earmarked for the 2008 display. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2007-08_Beaver-Beacon
- The held fifty-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 · 2007-08_Beaver-Beacon
- Frank Solle, "Pikes Prevail in Playoff," The Beaver Beacon, August 2007.Reports the Annual Fourth of July Tournament at the Beaver Island Golf Course, held July 3 with 15 teams, won by the team of Francis, Nelson, and Gerard Pike, Todd Ireland, and Brandon Brown in a two-hole playoff over Aaron and Jeremy Morgan, Tom and Lisa Houseman, and John Rademaker, both teams having carded a 4-under-par 31. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2007-08_Beaver-Beacon
- The held fifty-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 · 2007-08_Beaver-Beacon
- The Beaver Beacon, August 2007, "The Fourth of July" narrative feature.A fuller, unbylined narrative account of the land parade and evening, in the same issue as the skydiving/boat parade item above. Reports a forecast of rain that gave way to sunshine; a Community Choir performance before the parade set off down the hill along Main Street, led by choir director Kathy Speck and featuring a solo by Denise Hoffman, and a new group, "the Jaunty Sailors"; a reenactment of the "Battle of Whiskey Point," with cannonmaster John Works "deliberately turning his big gun the other way to not emulate King Strang"; a parade including veterans, island deputies, fire trucks, the new airport plow, two six-foot dancing beavers, clowns, family groups, and "the Ambassador from Hog Island"; a move to the Carnival with jugglers, merchants, and the dunk tank; evening fireworks the piece calls "perhaps the best yet," visible despite haze that hid the mainland display; and a roughly fifteen-minute post-fireworks traffic jam leaving the harbor. Does not name a parade organizer, route beyond "down the hill and along Main Street," or theme. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2007-08_Beaver-Beacon
- A post-parade discussion reports residents' concerns about people, vehicles, parade floats, equipment, and the mascot being hit or soaked. A Powers Hardware representative said the store would stop selling balloons and restrict access to its water; other participants proposed announcements, additional police presence, or a township ordinance. These are participant reports and proposals, not evidence that an ordinance or formal parade policy was adopted.forum · www.beaverislandforum.com · 00 · t000924
Added 3 August 2026 · revised 5 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Beaver Island holds its 2007 Fourth of July Parade and Carnival”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-fourth-of-july-2007/, accessed [date], citing The Beaver Beacon, June 2007, "Fourth of July Carnival." (and 9 further sources listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-05. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.
BibTeX for “Beaver Island holds its 2007 Fourth of July Parade and Carnival”RIS for “Beaver Island holds its 2007 Fourth of July Parade and Carnival”