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Organization

Beaver Island Flying Club

Also Beaver Island Flying Club

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
Founded1971-01
Coordinates45.6937° N, 85.5665° 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
1971-01
Coordinates
45.6937° N, 85.5665° WGoogle MapsDownload KML
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
communityheritage
Within
Beaver Island

Summary

The Beaver Island Flying Club was a 15-member group of teenage boys and girls reported in January 1971. It met Tuesday evenings at the school under the leadership of Bill Welke, a licensed flying instructor. Members were studying aviation, raising money for study materials, and hoped to log monthly flight time; several went aloft in Welke’s plane on the weekend of January 16.

The reported officers were Dan Gillespie, Frank Solle, Audrey Wojan, James Wojan, Karen McCafferty, and Julie Gillespie. Other members named by the source were Jeff McGlocklin, Mark Welke, Richard Gillespie, Jim McCafferty, Carl Welke, Laurie McGlocklin, Doris Kenwabi-kese, Tom McDonough, and Mike Green.

Evidence and limits

This is a source-qualified community organization record. The article does not establish a legal charter, aircraft ownership beyond the reference to Welke’s plane, pilot certificates for the teenagers, a school facility identity, or the club’s later history. The printed spelling “Doris Kenwabi-kese” is retained as reported rather than silently normalized.

Open questions

  • Did the club continue beyond the 1971 report, and did any members solo?
  • What aircraft and instructor records document the reported January flights?
  • Are school, club, or newspaper records available for the full membership?

See also

Sources

  1. Current airport/runway-area point used as the club’s representative operating location because the article relates the club to the airport; it is not a separate clubhouse or surveyed 1971 facility.
    osm · aeroway
  2. Reports a 15-member teenage club meeting Tuesdays at the school under licensed flying instructor Bill Welke, lists six officers and nine additional members, records 25-cent weekly dues, a study curriculum, fundraising, and several members flying in Welke’s plane on the weekend of January 16; it does not establish incorporation or later continuity.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1971-01_Beaver-Beacon
  3. 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 · 1971-01_Beaver-Beacon

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

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Beaver Island Flying Club”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/organizations/beaver-island-flying-club-1971/, accessed [date], citing OpenStreetMap, Beaver Island Airport feature, downloaded 2026-08-06. (and 2 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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