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Beaver Gems

Also Beaver Gems · Beaver Gems, Inc.

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

Locator map: Beaver Island highlighted within the Beaver Island archipelago
Within Beaver IslandLocator plate © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0); depths NOAA; names USGS GNIS. How the plates are drawn.
TypeOrganization
Founded1968
Coordinates45.7466° N, 85.5093° WGoogle MapsDownload KML
WithinBeaver Island
ErasModern era
On this page
Locator map: Beaver Island highlighted within the Beaver Island archipelago
Within Beaver IslandLocator plate © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0); depths NOAA; names USGS GNIS. How the plates are drawn.
Organization
Founded
1968
Coordinates
45.7466° N, 85.5093° WGoogle MapsDownload KML
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
economytourismcommunityconstruction
Within
Beaver Island

Summary

Beaver Gems began in 1968 as a gift shop on Beaver Island selling handmade articles fashioned from driftwood and shipwreck relics, founded by “the Fogg boys,” Mike and Jon, together with Robert Gillespie. By 1979 Gillespie was its sole named owner, and the shop operated at least through 1988, surviving a February 1976 workshop fire. The name persisted in island business records into the 2000s, by which point “Beaver Gems, Inc.” advertised as a general contractor specializing in commercial construction — a business-type shift this article documents but does not fully explain.

History

The earliest located reference, in the July 1968 Beacon’s “New Businesses,” names “Beaver Gems” as “a unique gift shop operated by the Fogg boys, Mike and Jon, and Robert Gillespie,” selling “articles hand-made from relics salvaged from sunken wrecks around the Island,” located about two blocks toward the Coast Guard Station from McDonough’s General Store. By May 1969 the “Beaver Gems Gift Shop” was listed among the island’s seasonal businesses reopening for the year, alongside the Beachcomer Bar, Harbor Hills Refreshment Stand, Beaver Haven Gift Shop, and the King Strang Hotel.

By the time of the July 1973 Beacon’s report that Beaver Gems was “going full force,” the shop was tended during the day by Gail Gatliff under Robert Gillespie, inviting visitors to “see what wonderful articles can be produced from drift wood and ship wrecks.” A September–October 1973 mailbag letter from summer worker Barbara J. Pierson recalls spending “a few weeks” that season trying to sell shipwreck furniture at “Robert Gillespie’s Beaver Gems,” alongside her regular bartending job at the Beachcomber. A February 1979 sidebar on the wrecked steamer Niko, lost on the reef between Garden and Hog Islands, names it as a source of raw material, stating the wreck “provided a large source of material for the manufacture of shipwreck furniture, including Beaver Island’s own Beaver Gems which is owned by Robert Gillespie” — the only located source naming Gillespie alone as owner, without the Fogg brothers.

On 4 February 1976 an overheated stove started a fire in Robert Gillespie’s Beaver Gems workshop that went “pretty well along before it was discovered.” Most of the island’s regular volunteer fire crew were unavailable, so high-school boys under Fire Officer Bill Wagner fought the blaze; the shop was badly scorched inside, and smoke and water damaged the living quarters attached to it. Robert and his wife Carol were reported to feel fortunate the building was saved at all, and were set to move back in after repairs and cleaning. That August, a Beacon report on the island’s annual Homecoming records Ruth Arden winning a “Shipwreck Table donated by Beaver Gems” at the Homecoming dance, evidence the shop, or at least its owner’s craft production, continued after the fire. Furniture production continued at least into the 1980s: a June 1981 raffle offered a “4 ft. coffee table from Beaver Gems,” and the shop is named among roughly two dozen island businesses supporting a children’s Christmas party in January 1983. An August 1988 reminiscence about islanders George and Martha Miller recalls that George “use to make wooden treasure chests” with wooden hinges and pegs, sold through Beaver Gems, an independent craftsperson consigning work through the shop rather than a Gillespie or Fogg production.

A March 1992 township or harbor commission notice reports “Applications for docks in the Harbor were made by Beaver Gems and Mike Fogg,” naming the business and Mike Fogg, one of the original 1968 “Fogg boys,” as separate applicants in the same sentence, suggesting some continuing connection between Fogg and the Beaver Gems name at the harbor two decades after the shop’s founding, though the notice does not spell out the relationship. Classified advertising in the Beacon’s May and June 1996 issues lists “Beaver Gems, P.O. Box 252” at phone number (616) 448-2235, advertising rental property and custom routed decking work. The same phone number was later printed, as (231) 448-2235 after a Michigan area-code change, on a “BEAVER GEMS, INC.” advertisement for general contracting “specializing in commercial construction on Beaver Island” beginning in the Beacon’s 2004–2007 issues. The shared phone number across a business-type shift from curio shop and rental property to incorporated general contracting is the only evidence connecting the two; no source states outright that the same owners or legal entity carried the name across that change.

Significance

Beaver Gems is one of the clearer examples in the held Beacon record of a Beaver Island business built directly on the island’s shipwreck heritage, turning wreckage from vessels like the Niko into sellable furniture and gifts. Its multi-decade presence in the record, under a name that persisted through at least one apparent change of business type, makes it a useful marker for tracing continuity and discontinuity among small island businesses across forty years of the corpus.

Evidence and limits

The sources are seasonal business notices, classified advertising, township meeting minutes, and event reports — not a business registration or complete ownership record. The 1968 founding names three men (Mike Fogg, Jon Fogg, Robert Gillespie); the 1979 and later sources name only Gillespie, and no source explains when or why the Foggs’ involvement ended, if it did. The identity of the 2000s “Beaver Gems, Inc.” general contracting business with the 1968–1988 curio shop rests only on a shared phone number and name; this article does not treat that identity as established, and a different current owner or an unrelated reuse of the name remains possible.

Open questions

  • Did Mike and Jon Fogg remain involved in Beaver Gems after 1968, and what explains Mike Fogg’s 1992 dock application alongside the business?
  • Is “Beaver Gems, Inc.” (general contracting, active by the mid-2000s) the same legal entity as the 1968–1988 driftwood-and-shipwreck shop, a reorganized successor, or an unrelated business that reused the name?
  • What was the shop’s address or building relative to the Gillespie residence damaged in the 1976 fire?
  • How long did the shop continue selling driftwood and shipwreck merchandise after 1988?

See also

Sources

  1. Names Beaver Gems as a summer shop operated by Robert Gillespie with Gail Gatliff tending it during the day; it gives no legal business history, address, or complete inventory.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1973-07_Beaver-Beacon
  2. The held eleven-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 · 1973-07_Beaver-Beacon
  3. A first-person letter places Barbara Pierson attempting to sell shipwreck furniture at Robert Gillespie’s Beaver Gems during the 1973 season; it does not establish legal ownership or inventory.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1973-09_Beaver-Beacon
  4. The held eleven-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the combined September–October publication; it does not expand the published source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1973-09_Beaver-Beacon
  5. Reports a February 4 fire at Robert Gillespie’s Beaver Gems workshop and damage to the shop and living quarters. It does not establish continuous operation or a damage estimate. 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 · 1976-02_Beaver-Beacon
  6. The held issue confirms the workshop fire report.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1976-02_Beaver-Beacon
  7. Reports Ruth Arden winning a "Shipwreck Table donated by Beaver Gems" at the August 1976 Homecoming dance, six months after the February 1976 workshop fire. It does not establish continuous operation between those 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 · 1976-08_Beaver-Beacon
  8. The held issue confirms the Homecoming raffle report.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1976-08_Beaver-Beacon
  9. The earliest located reference: "'Beaver Gems' is the name given to a unique gift shop operated by the Fogg boys, Mike and Jon, and Robert Gillespie. The store features articles hand-made from relics salvaged from sunken wrecks around the Island," located "approximately 2 blocks toward the Coast Guard Station from McDonough's General Store." This predates the 1973 citations used for this article's slug and establishes three founders, not one; whether the Fogg brothers remained involved after Gillespie is later named sole owner (1979) is not stated.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1968-07_Beaver-Beacon
  10. The held eight-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 · 1968-07_Beaver-Beacon
  11. The 1968 source places Beaver Gems approximately two blocks toward the Coast Guard Station from McDonough’s General Store. This representative point follows that relative description between the current mapped McDonough’s Market and the documented former station site; it is not a surveyed storefront or proof that either current map feature preserves the historical business location.
  12. Lists "Beaver Gems Gift Shop" among seasonal businesses reopening, alongside the Beachcomer Bar, Harbor Hills Refreshment Stand, Beaver Haven Gift Shop, and the King Strang Hotel, confirming continuous seasonal operation between the 1968 founding and the 1973 citations already held.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1969-05_Beaver-Beacon
  13. 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 · 1969-05_Beaver-Beacon
  14. States that the wrecked steamer *Niko*, lost on the reef between Garden and Hog Islands, "provided a large source of material for the manufacture of shipwreck furniture, including Beaver Island's own Beaver Gems which is owned by Robert Gillespie" — the only located source naming a specific wreck as a raw-material source, and confirming Gillespie as owner (without Fogg) by 1979. 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 · 1979-02_Beaver-Beacon
  15. The held ten-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 · 1979-02_Beaver-Beacon
  16. Lists a "4 ft. coffee table from Beaver Gems" as a raffle prize alongside a driftwood clock made by Maurice Teeter, confirming continued furniture production into 1981. 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 · 1981-06_Beaver-Beacon
  17. The held twelve-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 · 1981-06_Beaver-Beacon
  18. Names "Beaver Gems" among roughly two dozen island businesses thanked for supporting a January 18, 1983 children's Christmas party, confirming the shop's continued operation and community participation into 1983. 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 · 1983-01_Beaver-Beacon
  19. The held eleven-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 · 1983-01_Beaver-Beacon
  20. Recalls that George Miller "use to make wooden treasure chests" with wooden hinges and pegs, sold at Beaver Gems — an independent craftsperson consigning work through the shop, distinct from Gillespie's own production. George and Martha Miller are independently the subjects of Martha's own August 1988 obituary (not cited here); this note treats only the Beaver Gems detail. 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 · 1988-08_Beaver-Beacon
  21. 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 · 1988-08_Beaver-Beacon
  22. Reports "Applications for docks in the Harbor were made by Beaver Gems and Mike Fogg," referred to the Planning Commission — naming the business and Mike Fogg (one of the 1968 "Fogg boys") as separate applicants in the same sentence, which this article reads as evidence Mike Fogg retained some connection to Beaver Gems or the harbor property by 1992 without establishing the exact relationship. 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 · 1992-03_Beaver-Beacon
  23. 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 · 1992-03_Beaver-Beacon
  24. Classified ads list "Beaver Gems, P.O. Box 252" with phone (616) 448-2235 advertising weekly/monthly rental property, and a separate "$150 from Beaver Gems" notice for custom routed decking work at the same phone number — the same number later associated with "Beaver Gems, Inc." general contracting ads from 2004 onward, which this article reads as a continuity bridge across the name's business-type shift from curio shop to contracting, though no source states the transition directly. 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 · 1996-05_Beaver-Beacon
  25. The held sixteen-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 · 1996-05_Beaver-Beacon
  26. Beaver Beacon, July 2007, "Beaver Gems, Inc." advertisement.
    An incorporated "BEAVER GEMS, INC." advertises "General Contracting, Specializing in commercial construction on Beaver Island," printed alongside a St. James Marine Co. ad sharing the same phone number, (231) 448-2235 — the same number used in the 1996 classifieds. This 2000s-era business is a general contractor, not a curio or gift shop; whether it is the same legal entity as the 1968–1988 driftwood-and-shipwreck shop, a reorganized successor, or an unrelated business that reused the name is not established by any source read for this article. 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
  27. 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

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

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Beaver Gems”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/organizations/beaver-gems-1973/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, July 1973, “Businesses Open for the Summer.” (and 26 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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