- Coordinates
- 45.3558° N, 84.9454° WGoogle Maps: North Central Michigan CollegeDownload KML
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- educationcommunicationcommunity
- Within
- Petoskey
Summary
North Central Michigan College, a public community college in Petoskey, sent island students to Petoskey from at least the mid- 1960s and ran a season of off-campus outreach directly to Beaver Island in 1976: two visits by college staff to plan courses, an art-course meeting, two short-course offerings (first aid and, in the fall, accounting and fire fighting), and two island students’ nursing-program news, reported in the Beaver Beacon between March and October 1976. Both nursing students named in 1976 are independently recorded completing their degrees at the college in 1977 and 1978.
Earlier and later student attendance
North Central Michigan College was already a destination for island students a decade before its 1976 outreach visits. A November 1966 Beacon item names Ronald Gallagher, son of Mr. and Mrs. John A. Gallagher, as a student at the college; by September 1967 he had “transferred from North Central Michigan College, in Petoskey, which he attended for two years,” to Michigan State University. In February 1971, Frank Solle, son of Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Christie, wrote his entrance examination for the college.
Both nursing students named in the 1976 notices are independently recorded completing their North Central Michigan College degrees. Pam McDonough — matched by her parents’ names, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence McDonough — graduated June 12, 1977 with an Associate of Science in Nursing, passed the State Board exams, and was working in the Neurology Department of St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor by October 1977; the same report records her sister Kathie completing a first year at what the Beacon prints as “North Western Michigan College,” presumed to be the same institution under a misprinted name. Patricia Wojan — matched by her parents’ names, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Wojan — returned to the college for the fall 1977 term and graduated with an Associate of Science in Nursing “with High Honors” at Commencement Exercises on June 9, 1978, following a banquet and pinning ceremony at Stafford’s Bay View Inn.
History
The Beacon first names the college in March 1976, reporting that Charles Owens and “Dean Shankland” of North Central Michigan in Petoskey planned a mid-May visit to discuss possible fall classes on the island. The April 1976 issue gives fuller titles for the same trip: President Alfred D. Shankland and Charles R. Owens, the college’s Director of Off-Campus Education, were to meet islanders at the Beaver Island School on 20 May at 4:00 p.m. to discuss academic or vocational-technical courses for fall 1976, with residents asked to bring course ideas.
The same April issue carried two nursing notices: Pam McDonough, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence McDonough, was elected president of the college’s chapter of the Michigan Student Nursing Association, and Patricia Wojan, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Wojan, was named one of about forty students selected from several hundred applicants for the college’s fall 1976 nursing program. The May–June issue separately reported that three of the island school’s six 1976 graduates planned to attend North Central Michigan College that fall.
A second island meeting followed on 21 June 1976, again at the Community School, where college representatives discussed a summer art course covering watercolors, pottery, oils, and basic sketching; islanders unable to attend were asked to send their names to Lil Gregg. Around the same time, on 9–10 June, the college gave a first-aid course for volunteer firemen and other interested residents, with a second course planned for the fall. By October 1976 the college was running two adult-education classes on the island: accounting, taught by islander Ed Ladd, and a fire-fighting course for the island’s firemen and women.
Evidence and limits
The 1976 outreach record is built from six Beaver Beacon issues, March through October, establishing that meetings, a first-aid course, and fall adult-education classes took place, and that two island residents entered the college’s nursing pipeline — but not enrollment figures for the art or accounting classes, a formal extension-program agreement between the college and either township, or the college’s own institutional records. The pre- and post-1976 attendance record (1966–1971, 1977–1978) is drawn from separate family and school notices rather than from any single extension-program report, and rests on matching named parents across issues rather than on a student-record identifier; that match is treated as established for Pam McDonough and Patricia Wojan given the identical parent names and continuous nursing-program subject matter, but is not itself an institutional enrollment record.
Open questions
- Did the proposed art course and the planned fall 1976 first-aid course actually run, and if so, how many islanders attended?
- Was the 1976 on-island outreach visit itself — as opposed to individual island students’ longstanding attendance at the Petoskey campus — renewed in later years, or was it a single Bicentennial-year effort?
- What does “North Western Michigan College,” as printed in the October 1977 report on Kathie McDonough, refer to — a misprint of North Central Michigan College, or a distinct institution?
See also
- Beaver Island Community School
- North Central Michigan classes proposed for Beaver Island, 1976
- North Central Michigan College nursing announcements, 1976
- North Central Michigan College first-aid course announced, 1976
- North Central Michigan College adult-education classes held on Beaver Island, 1976
- Ed Ladd
Sources
See the sources block above.
The dated record
Sources
- The College identifies its main campus at 1515 Howard Street, Petoskey. This current campus point represents the institution’s Petoskey base, not the temporary Beaver Island meeting or any 1976 classroom site.
- The mapped college-campus point is used as the approximate facility location.
- Names Charles Owens and Dean Shankland as North Central Michigan representatives planning a mid-May Beaver Island visit to discuss possible fall classes. It does not establish the visit, a course, enrollment, or an institutional agreement. 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 · 1976-03_Beaver-Beacon
- The held issue confirms the prospective island-classes notice.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1976-03_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports the planned May 20 island meeting about academic or vocational-technical fall courses and two nursing-related notices. It does not establish course delivery, admission records, or later enrollment. 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 · 1976-04_Beaver-Beacon
- The held issue confirms the May meeting announcement and nursing notices.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1976-04_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports the June 21 Beaver Island meeting to discuss possible art courses and the June 9–10 first-aid course for volunteer firemen and other interested residents. It does not establish course delivery or enrollment. 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 · 1976-05_Beaver-Beacon
- The held combined issue confirms the art-course and first-aid notices.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1976-05_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports two adult-education classes on Beaver Island: accounting taught by Ed Ladd and fire fighting for island firemen and women. It does not provide enrollment, schedules, or completion records. 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 · 1976-10_Beaver-Beacon
- The held issue confirms the adult-education report.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1976-10_Beaver-Beacon
- Names Ronald Gallagher, son of Mr. and Mrs. John A. Gallagher, as a North Central Michigan College student visiting the island -- the earliest dated record found here of an islander attending the college, a decade before the 1976 outreach campaign. 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 · 1966-11_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports that Ronald Gallagher "transferred from North Central Michigan College, in Petoskey, which he attended for two years," to Michigan State University.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1967-09_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports that Frank Solle, son of Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Christie, wrote his North Central Michigan College entrance examination on February 20, 1971.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1971-02_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports that Pam McDonough, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence McDonough -- the same student named in the April 1976 Beacon as elected president of the college's Michigan Student Nursing Association chapter -- graduated June 12, 1977 with an Associate of Science in Nursing, passed the State Board exams, and was working in the Neurology Department of St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor. It also reports her sister Kathie completing her first year at North Western Michigan College (as printed; presumed to be the same institution). 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 · 1977-10_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports that Patti Wojan, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Wojan -- the same student named in the April 1976 Beacon as selected for the college's fall 1976 nursing program -- returned to North Central Michigan College that fall. 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 · 1977-09_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports that Patricia Wojan graduated from North Central Michigan College with an Associate of Science in Nursing "with High Honors" at Commencement Exercises held June 9, 1978 at Petoskey Middle School Auditorium, following a Banquet and Pinning Ceremony at Stafford's Bay View Inn. 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 · 1978-06_Beaver-Beacon
Added 3 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “North Central Michigan College”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/organizations/north-central-michigan-college-1976/, accessed [date], citing North Central Michigan College, “Petoskey Campus,” accessed August 6, 2026. (and 15 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.
BibTeX for “North Central Michigan College”RIS for “North Central Michigan College”