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Event

Beaver Island Museum Week, 1998

Also Museum Week 1998

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

TypeEvent
Dates1998-07-20 – 1998-07-25
WithinBeaver Island
ErasModern era
On this page
Event
Dates
1998-07-20 – 1998-07-25
Kind
Celebration
Where
Mormon Print Shop · Holy Cross Parish Hall
Carried out by
Beaver Island Historical Society
Followed by
Beaver Island Museum Week, 1999
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
celebrationcommunityheritageexhibition
Within
Beaver Island

Summary

Museum Week 1998 ran July 20-25, organized by the Beaver Island Historical Society (BIHS). It is one of the best-documented years in the 1980s-1990s run: an April director-resignation notice describing the week as one of the BIHS’s summer highlights, a May and June preview, a July schedule note, an August recap calling it a record year for attendance and revenue, and a detailed September “In Kaleidoscope” retrospective running the full program day by day.

History

The BIHS entered 1998 in transition: an April Beacon notice reported the resignation of Director Phyllis Gregg Moore, crediting her tenure with putting the Marine Museum “in wonderful shape,” installing a computer for the archives, and advancing work on Volume IV of the Journal of Beaver Island History. The notice credited Central Michigan University’s field station with making Museum Week “one of the summer’s highlights.” BIHS President Jim Willis said the board would spend the summer gathering member input on the Print Shop Museum, the Marine Museum, and Heritage Park before hiring a new director by the September annual meeting. A May notice promised the coming week would be “even better than last year’s,” with new volunteers and additional 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. shows on some afternoons.

Monday: Jayne Bailey’s talk, “Kids’ Music on the Porch” in the afternoon and “Music on the Porch” in the evening (held safely on the Print Shop porch itself, with street closing approved by St. James Township and Deputy Russell’s help managing the growing crowds). Tuesday-area events included a Cindy Gillespie/Kevin White singalong, Phil Lange’s Island folk songs on the porch, and Diane Foster and Ken Scott signing their new book Charlevoix. Jim Willis and Rolly Cull spoke on “Beaver Island’s Fishing Business.” Frank Ettawageshik, potter, historian, and chairman of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, brought Odawa history and culture “to life,” opening and closing with a traditional song. CMU’s Nature Walks ran their usual schedule, an Art Show ran at the School Gym under Ray Denny’s direction Wednesday the 22nd through Saturday the 25th, and Antje Price and Dorothy Chichester kept the Protar House open Wednesday and Saturday. Phil Gregg presented a “Then & Now” slide show of 40-plus years of Island photography. Dr. Jim Gillingham and CMU staff presented “Reptiles & Amphibians.” Clare Adkin spoke on “The House of David” (the High Island religious colony); Steve Harold, curator of the Manistee Museum, on “The Lighthouses of the Beaver Archipelago”; Jim Mullin-Norgaard on “Celtic History & Celtic Sites”; Lee Olsen, an ethnobotanist, on Indian plant-medicines; and Dr. John Boatman of the University of Wisconsin, a follower of Keewaydinoquay, on “The View from Garden Island.” The week closed Saturday with the “16th Annual Concert” — a separate, long-running concert series distinct from Museum Week’s own count — headlined by Murphy, Paige & Smith with accordionist Tommy O’Haloran, whose new CD The Barley Corn had just been released.

A July 2010 Beacon memorial notice for Boatman states that his 1998 Museum Week talk on the Island’s history and “the mysteries reported by the first Irish settlers – which mirrored Native lore” was his last appearance there, and that in the late 1990s “a friendly rivalry” had developed between Boatman and Keewaydinoquay, whose teaching he otherwise followed.

Significance

Museum Week functioned as the Historical Society’s principal annual public program and fundraising event through the 1990s, drawing on volunteer speakers ranging from Odawa historian Frank Ettawageshik to Manistee Museum curator Steve Harold and the CMU biological station’s field staff. The 1998 program is unusually well documented across five separate issues, from an April director transition through a September detailed retrospective, and the Township’s approval of a street closing for the porch concerts and the Sheriff’s crowd-safety comments show the event outgrowing its original scale even as it set that year’s attendance and revenue records.

Evidence and limits

The September recap’s closing line, “FROM THE ABOVE, IT SEEMS SAFE TO SAY THAT ‘MUSEUM WEEK’ IS AN ESTABLISHED INSTITUTION ON BEAVER ISLAND,” is editorial framing rather than an outside verification, but the multi-issue coverage (June preview, July schedule, August recap, September detailed retrospective) makes 1998 one of the more fully attested years in this series. The Saturday evening concert’s “16th Annual” numbering is a separate tradition from “Museum Week” itself and is recorded here only as evidence of a long-running adjacent event, not folded into Museum Week’s own founding count.

Open questions

  • What year did the Saturday-night concert series (the “16th Annual” in 1998) itself begin? Held evidence gives only the 1998 ordinal, implying a first year of roughly 1983, but no source states this outright.

See also

Sources

  1. Announces "this year's Museum Week, July 20th through the 25th," with a book-signing by Diane Foster and Ken Scott planned "on Museum Week," and Volume IV of the Journal of Beaver Island History arriving in time for author signings during the week. 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 · 1998-07_Beaver-Beacon
  2. The held twenty-six-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 · 1998-07_Beaver-Beacon
  3. Preview: "In addition to the always-popular CMU Nature Walks, and Jim Gillingham's 'Real Live Reptiles' show, an art show, under the expert direction of Ray Denny, will run from Wednesday the 22nd through Saturday the 25th." Jayne Bailey to speak Monday; "Kids' Music on the Porch" in the afternoon and "Music on the Porch" in the evening; presenters slated for the Parish Hall include Frank Ettawageshick, Phil Gregg, Steve Harold, and Keewaydinoquay, plus afternoon speakers Don Meister, Wil Reding, Marilyn Clark, Jim Willis, Clare Adkins, and Bill McDonough. 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 · 1998-06_Beaver-Beacon
  4. The held twenty-nine-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 · 1998-06_Beaver-Beacon
  5. Day-by-day recap: Jayne Bailey; a Cindy Gillespie/Kevin White singalong; "PORCH MUSIC" including Phil Lange's Island folk songs; Diane Foster and Ken Scott signing *Charlevoix*; Jim Willis and Rolly Cull on "Beaver Island's Fishing Business"; Frank Ettawageshik on Odawa history and culture; Gillingham's Nature Walks; an Art Show at the School Gym; Antje Price and Dorothy Chichester at the Protar House Wednesday and Saturday; Phil Gregg's "Then & Now" slide show; Dr. Jim Gillingham on "Reptiles & Amphibians"; continued on page 4 with Clare Adkin on "The House of David," Steve Harold on "The Lighthouses of the Beaver Archipelago," Jim Mullin-Norgaard on "Celtic History & Celtic Sites," Lee Olsen on "Indian Plant-Medicines," Dr. John Boatman (University of Wisconsin) on "The View from Garden Island," and a Saturday "16th Annual Concert" by Murphy, Paige & Smith with Tommy O'Haloran. 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 · 1998-09_Beaver-Beacon
  6. The held twenty-six-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 · 1998-09_Beaver-Beacon
  7. "This year's Museum Week was a tremendous success. Music on the Porch continued the tradition of being held on the porch, but a little extra attention by volunteers and Deputy Russel's help allowed it to be done safely. Both Museum Week attendance and revenue set a new 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 · 1998-08_Beaver-Beacon
  8. 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 · 1998-08_Beaver-Beacon
  9. Records that the Township approved closing the street "in front of Print Shop for Music on the Porch for Museum Week," while Sheriff Russell noted "the crowds have grown so large" the event should eventually move to a safer location. 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 · 1998-08_Beaver-Beacon
  10. 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 · 1998-08_Beaver-Beacon
  11. Reports the resignation of Beaver Island Historical Society Director Phyllis Gregg Moore and states that "Museum Week has become one of the summer's highlights -- thanks to the considerable help provided by CMU," under BIHS President Jim Willis and Vice-president Ernie Martin. 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 · 1998-04_Beaver-Beacon
  12. States plans were "moving forward to make this summer's 'Museum Week' even better than last year's," with new volunteers and planned 1:00 and 3:00 shows on some afternoons, and gives the July 20-25 dates. 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 · 1998-05_Beaver-Beacon
  13. "IN MEMORY: JOHN BOATMAN," Beaver Beacon, July 2010.
    A memorial notice for University of Wisconsin instructor John Boatman, one of the 1998 presenters, states "He last spoke back in 1998 during Museum Week on the special Island he loved so very much, and the mysteries reported by the first Irish settlers -- which mirrored Native lore," and that he had followed Keewaydinoquay's teaching, with "a friendly rivalry" developing between them in the late 1990s. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2010-07_Beaver-Beacon
  14. The held issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the Boatman memorial notice.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 2010-07_Beaver-Beacon
  15. 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 · 1998-04_Beaver-Beacon
  16. 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 · 1998-05_Beaver-Beacon

Added 3 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Beaver Island Museum Week, 1998”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-museum-week-1998/, accessed [date], citing "HISTORY in the NEWS," Beaver Beacon, July 1998. (and 14 further sources listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-03. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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