Name: Parish Hall kitchen-wall fire disrupts Dawn Patrol breakfast, 1961
Start: 1961-07-02
End: 1961-07-02
Location: Beaver Island

Parish Hall kitchen-wall fire disrupts Dawn Patrol breakfast, 1961

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

Locator map: Beaver Island highlighted within the Beaver Island archipelago

Took place at Beaver IslandLocator plate © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0); depths NOAA; names USGS GNIS. How the plates are drawn.

TypeEvent

Date1961-07-02

WithinBeaver Island

ErasModern era

Event

Date: 1961-07-02
Kind: Disaster
Where: Beaver Island
Eras: Modern era
Concepts: communitygovernancetourism
Within: Beaver Island

Summary

A fire inside the Parish Hall kitchen wall disrupted the July 2, 1961 Dawn Patrol breakfast. The report says visitors and food were moved outside until the fire truck arrived, after which breakfast service continued at the King Strang Hotel and Beaver Lodge.

Evidence and limits

The source reports extensive damage to the 65-year-old hall but does not identify the cause or document repairs, insurance, injuries, or a final damage assessment.

Sources

Beaver Beacon, July 1961, “Warm Reception for Dawn Patrol Pilots.”
Reports a fire inside the Parish Hall kitchen wall at about 10 a.m. during the Dawn Patrol breakfast. Pilots, food, and tables were moved into the street; garden hoses, an airport fire truck, a bucket brigade, and Coast Guard equipment were used. The article calls the damage extensive but gives no cause, repair record, casualty report, or final assessment.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1961-07_Beaver-Beacon
Beaver Beacon, July 1961, held issue PDF, source scan.
The held seven-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 · 1961-07_Beaver-Beacon

Added 1 August 2026 · revised 3 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Parish Hall kitchen-wall fire disrupts Dawn Patrol breakfast, 1961”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/parish-hall-kitchen-fire-during-dawn-patrol-1961/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, July 1961, “Warm Reception for Dawn Patrol Pilots.” (and 1 further source 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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