- Date
- 1942-12-24
- Kind
- Transportation
- Where
- Beaver Island
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- maritimetransportationemergency-managementweathercommunicationcommunity
- Within
- Beaver Island
Summary
The January 1998 Beaver Beacon concludes its account of John “Johnny Andy” Gallagher’s Christmas Eve 1942 lifeboat run from Beaver Island to Charlevoix and back. The open boat crossed a gale with two radio technicians and two seamen, lost its radio antenna, refused a car-ferry tow, and returned after more than three hours to a Coast Guard dock coated in ice.
The December 1997 issue supplies the first part of the retrospective: Gallagher was in charge of the Beaver Island Coast Guard Station when a storm stranded two radio specialists who needed to reach their families. The story says he decided to take them out despite the dangerous weather; the January issue continues with the voyage and return.
Evidence limits
This is a retrospective story relayed by George Egbert, not a contemporaneous Coast Guard log or vessel record.
Sources
- Begins George Egbert’s retrospective about John A. Gallagher, officer in charge of the Beaver Island Coast Guard Station, deciding to take two radio specialists toward the mainland through a severe northwest storm after the last ferry had left. 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 · 1997-12_Beaver-Beacon
- The held issue scan confirms the first part of the Christmas Eve story.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1997-12_Beaver-Beacon
- The conclusion describes Gallagher’s open 38-foot power lifeboat run through a gale with two radio technicians and two seamen, a three-hour return against wind and rollers, a disabled radio antenna, an offer of rescue from a car ferry, and the crew’s ice-covered arrival at the Beaver Island Coast Guard dock. 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 · 1998-01_Beaver-Beacon
- The held issue scan confirms the Christmas Eve story conclusion.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1998-01_Beaver-Beacon
Added 5 August 2026 · revised 6 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Johnny Andy Gallagher takes an open lifeboat through a Christmas Eve gale in 1942”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-johnny-andy-christmas-eve-lifeboat-run-1942/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, December 1997, “Christmas Eve — 1942” (part one). (and 3 further sources listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-06. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.
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