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Person

Jim Janda

Also Jim Janda · James Janda · Jim Ganda

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

TypePerson
ErasModern era
On this page
Person
Active
fl. 1973–1976
Work
Pilot, Chicago Police Department · Owner (with Pat Janda), Beachcomber Bar / Beaver Island Beachcomber, Inc. · Pilot · St. James Township Supervisor · Manager, Beaver Island Baseball Program · Tournament Committee chairman, Beaver Lodge Golf Club
Spouse
person/pat-janda
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
communityheritageeconomyaviation

Summary

Jim Janda, a former Chicago police pilot, bought Beaver Island’s Beachcomber Bar with his wife, Pat, in 1969 and used his own aviation background to help bring the island its first emergency medical aircraft in 1974. He also sponsored and managed island baseball teams, chaired the Beaver Lodge Golf Club’s Tournament Committee, acted in and helped organize the island’s first summer theater group, and served as St. James Township Supervisor — a February 1974 notice states this directly, and two later Beacon retrospectives independently confirm that the “Beachcomber owner Jim Janda” and the township supervisor who succeeded Bud McDonough were the same man (see Evidence and limits).

History

The Beachcomber and Beaver Island baseball

The Beaver Beacon reported in August 1969 that “the Beachcomber Bar has been sold by Mrs. Edna McCann to Mr. and Mrs. James Janda of Chicago.”1 Jim and Pat Janda ran it as “Beaver Island Beachcomber, Inc.” while advertising it for sale continuously through the mid-1970s; the tavern’s fuller history is recorded on its own article. Janda sponsored “The Beachcomber Open” golf tournament in 1972 and, that September, was honored with a “Jim Janda Day” for the time, effort, and money he put into sponsoring the island’s girls’ and boys’ baseball teams, which included two trips to Charlevoix that season.23 By April 1975 he was elected manager of the reorganized Beaver Island Baseball Program and, with Ron Wojan, scheduled games against Mackinac Island, Harbor Springs, Petoskey, and Charlevoix.4 He also chaired the Beaver Lodge Golf Club’s Tournament Committee in 1973, organizing that season’s opening Flag Tournament.5

Beaver Island Players and family

On August 20, 1973, Janda took the stage as part of “Act One” in the Beaver Island Players’ inaugural production, a three-act performance of Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite directed by Jack Webster and Diane Hetherington — the first play staged on the island in summer, drawing a capacity audience. He was elected to the new troupe’s three-member Executive Committee alongside chairman Martha Miller and Lola Hill, the production’s originator.6 The Beacon reprinted this account verbatim as a “Twenty Years Ago” retrospective in June 1993; it is the same 1973 event, not a second production. Janda and Pat closed the Beachcomber for the winter and returned to Chicago each off-season, as the Beacon noted in November 1971.7 That October, their daughter Ellen Marlene Janda married Frank L. Beckert at Chicago’s Ebenezer Lutheran Church; the notice names her parents “Mr. and Mrs. James E. Janda, of Chicago and Beaver Island,” supplying the only middle initial for Janda found in the held record.8

Emergency aircraft and civic role

A February 1974 Beacon item identifies “Jim Janda, St. James Township Supervisor and ex-pilot for the Chicago Police Dept.,” as the person who investigated acquiring a plane for island medical emergencies through the Civil Defense Committee, after which the Charlevoix County Board of Commissioners approved the purchase over the objection of a local charter service.9 The following month Janda traveled to Tucson, Arizona, to retrieve the surplus DeHavilland Beaver aircraft the county had secured.10 Once the plane reached the island, Janda piloted its first two reported medical evacuations, on June 18 and June 24, 1974.11 He was later thanked for his “enduring operation of the Uni-com” radio at the October 1976 Fly-In.12 In February 1974 he was also one of thirteen islanders — including Charlie and Bud Martin, Jerry and Paul LaFreniere, three Gillespie brothers, Ron, Jim, and Ed Wojan, Dennis Wagner, and Tim Timsak — who made a round-trip snowmobile crossing of the ice to Naubinway, in the Upper Peninsula, a trip a 2004 “Thirty Years Ago” retrospective recalls in more detail, including a mid-crossing return for Charlie Martin’s forgotten false teeth.1314 A separate 2004 retrospective, drawn from the March 1974 issue, restates the Tucson retrieval: “Jim Janda traveled to Tuscon [sic] to pick up the Island’s new Emergency Evacuation plane, a surplus DeHavilland Beaver. He flew it back, saying it behaved perfectly.”15

A Vivian Visscher tribute published after her May 1990 death states she “served as St. James Township Clerk for 17 years serving supervisors Bud McDonough, Jim Janda, John Gillespie and Ron Wojan,” placing Janda’s supervisorship in sequence after McDonough’s and before Gillespie’s without giving exact dates.16 Two later Beacon retrospectives independently confirm Janda’s identity as both Beachcomber owner and supervisor: a November 2003 “Thirty Years Ago” column states “Bud McDonough resigned as Supervisor because of his illness, which led to the appointment of Beachcomber owner Jim Janda,”17 and an August 2009 “Fifty Years Ago” column states “Edna McCann sold the Beachcomber to Chicago policeman Jim Janda, who became Supervisor.”18

Family

Jim and Pat Janda celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on June 10, 1975, placing their marriage at approximately June 1950.19

Evidence and limits

The February 1974 notice naming “Jim Janda, St. James Township Supervisor” is not formally merged here with James Janda, a separately modeled record built from a November 1973 notice reporting “James Janda[’s]” appointment to fill Bud McDonough’s supervisor term three months earlier. Two independent 2003 and 2009 Beacon retrospectives, and the 1990 Vivian Visscher tribute, corroborate that the Beachcomber’s Jim Janda and the supervisor who replaced Bud McDonough are the same man; this article treats that identity as established rather than merely probable, though the two person records themselves remain unmerged, and the decision to combine them belongs to whichever record a future editor treats as primary. No source held here gives Janda’s full legal name (the 1971 wedding notice supplies only the middle initial “E.”), birth or death date, or documents the exact dates he held the township office or sold the Beachcomber.

Open questions

  • What was Janda’s full legal name (middle name behind the initial “E.”), and what are his birth and death dates?
  • In what year did Janda begin and end his term as St. James Township Supervisor, and when did he and Pat sell the Beachcomber?
  • Should this record and James Janda be formally merged, given the corroborating 1990, 2003 and 2009 sources?

See also

Footnotes

  1. Beaver Beacon, August 1969, “Beachcomber Bar Changes Hands.” ↩

  2. Beaver Beacon, June-July 1972, “Golf Notes.” ↩

  3. Beaver Beacon, November 1973, “Thanks, Jim.” ↩

  4. Beaver Beacon, April 1975, “Baseball Program.” ↩

  5. Beaver Beacon, May 1973, “Beaver Lodge Golf Course News.” ↩

  6. Beaver Beacon, August 1973, “Drama Comes To Island.” ↩

  7. Beaver Beacon, November 1971, “Closed For The Winter.” ↩

  8. Beaver Beacon, October 1971, “Beckert-Janda.” ↩

  9. Beaver Beacon, February 1974, “Emergency Island Plane.” ↩

  10. Beaver Beacon, March 1974, “Emergency Plane On Way.” ↩

  11. Beaver Beacon, May-June 1974, “Makes First ‘Evacuation’ and Then Second Within One Week.” ↩

  12. Beaver Beacon, October 1976, “Fly-In.” ↩

  13. Beaver Beacon, February 1974, “Ice Trip To U. P.” ↩

  14. Beaver Beacon, February 2004, “Thirty Years Ago” retrospective column. ↩

  15. Beaver Beacon, March 2004, “On This Date” retrospective column. ↩

  16. Beaver Beacon, May 1990, “Islanders Mourn Loss.” ↩

  17. Beaver Beacon, November 2003, “Thirty Years Ago” retrospective column. ↩

  18. Beaver Beacon, August 2009, “Fifty Years Ago” retrospective column. ↩

  19. Beaver Beacon, May-June 1975, “Happy Anniversary.” ↩

Kin

This articleJim JandaThis articleperson/pat-janda
Only relations stated in the sources are drawn; absence means unrecorded, not childless or unmarried.

The dated record

10 dated events · 1973–1976These years on the timeline →

Sources

  1. Names Jim Janda as having traveled to Tucson to pick up the surplus Beaver aircraft and reports that the aircraft was in Fremont awaiting identification markings before Island delivery.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-03_Beaver-Beacon
  2. The held 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 · 1974-03_Beaver-Beacon
  3. Names James Janda as a pilot on both the June 18 and June 24 medical-evacuation flights; the matching name and same aircraft program support treating this as the March retrieval episode, without supplying a full civil identity.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-05_Beaver-Beacon
  4. The held eleven-page combined May–June issue scan is paired with the OCR source stored under the archive 1974-05 key 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 · 1974-05_Beaver-Beacon
  5. Names Jim Janda as the promoter and sponsor of the island baseball teams and credits him with time, effort, and money; it does not provide a full civil identity.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1973-11_Beaver-Beacon
  6. 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 · 1973-11_Beaver-Beacon
  7. Names Jim Janda as the advocate who pursued an emergency aircraft through the Civil Defense Committee and as one of the February 14 Naubinway travelers; it does not provide County minutes or a complete civil identity.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-02_Beaver-Beacon
  8. 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 · 1974-02_Beaver-Beacon
  9. The held 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 · 1974-03_Beaver-Beacon
  10. States "The Beachcomber Bar has been sold by Mrs. Edna McCann to Mr. and Mrs. James Janda of Chicago" -- the single primary source for the ownership transfer, establishing Janda's tavern ownership and Chicago origin.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1969-08_Beaver-Beacon
  11. Identifies "Jim Janda, St. James Township Supervisor and ex-pilot for the Chicago Police Dept.," as the person who investigated acquiring an emergency aircraft through the Civil Defense Committee. This is the source for the Chicago police pilot background and independently names him St. James Township Supervisor -- the same office a separate November 1973 notice ("Township Offices Filled") assigns to person/james-janda; this article does not merge the two records, but records the overlap.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-02_Beaver-Beacon
  12. Names Jim Janda among thirteen snowmobilers who made the February 14, 1974 round trip across the ice from Beaver Island to Naubinway in the Upper Peninsula.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-02_Beaver-Beacon
  13. Reports Jim Janda elected manager of the Beaver Island Baseball Program on April 23, 1975, and named, with Ron Wojan, to schedule games against Mackinac Island, Harbor Springs, Petoskey, and Charlevoix. 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 · 1975-04_Beaver-Beacon
  14. Reports Jim and Pat Janda celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary on June 10, 1975, placing their marriage at approximately June 1950; the source for the spouse relation recorded here. 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 · 1975-05_Beaver-Beacon
  15. Thanks Jim Janda for operating the Unicom radio at the October 3, 1976 Fly-In. 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
  16. Names Jim Janda as sponsor of "The Beachcomber Open" golf tournament, and the same issue reports the "Beaver Island Beachcombers" as the island's home baseball team.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1972-06_Beaver-Beacon
  17. Names Jim Janda as chairman of the Beaver Lodge Golf Club's 1973 Tournament Committee, organizing a Flag Tournament for the May 30 season opening.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1973-05_Beaver-Beacon
  18. States "Mr. and Mrs. James E. Janda, of Chicago and Beaver Island, are the parents of the bride," Ellen Marlene Janda, who married Frank L. Beckert on October 24, 1971, at Ebenezer Lutheran Church, Chicago; the only source found giving Janda a middle initial.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1971-10_Beaver-Beacon
  19. States "The Jim Janda's have returned to Chicago" as the Beachcomber closed for the season, establishing a seasonal residency pattern.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1971-11_Beaver-Beacon
  20. Reports Jim Janda in "Act One" of the Beaver Island Players' August 20, 1973 production of Neil Simon's Plaza Suite, the first play staged on the island in summer, and his election to the new troupe's three-member Executive Committee.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1973-08_Beaver-Beacon
  21. Reprints the August 1973 "Drama Comes To Island" account verbatim as a retrospective feature; this is the same 1973 event restated, not a second production, and is cited only to document the reprint. 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 · 1993-06_Beaver-Beacon
  22. States Vivian Visscher "served as St. James Township Clerk for 17 years serving supervisors Bud McDonough, Jim Janda, John Gillespie and Ron Wojan," placing Janda's supervisorship in sequence without exact 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 · 1990-05_Beaver-Beacon
  23. Beaver Beacon, November 2003, "Thirty Years Ago" retrospective column.
    States "Bud McDonough resigned as Supervisor because of his illness, which led to the appointment of Beachcomber owner Jim Janda," directly identifying the Beachcomber's Jim Janda as the township supervisor. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2003-11_Beaver-Beacon
  24. Beaver Beacon, February 2004, "Thirty Years Ago" retrospective column.
    Retells the February 14, 1974 snowmobile crossing to Naubinway in more detail, naming all thirteen participants including Jim Janda and recounting Charlie Martin's forgotten false teeth. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2004-02_Beaver-Beacon
  25. Beaver Beacon, March 2004, "On This Date" retrospective column.
    States "Jim Janda traveled to Tuscon to pick up the Island's new Emergency Evacuation plane, a surplus DeHavilland Beaver. He flew it back, saying it behaved perfectly," restating the March 1974 retrieval. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2004-03_Beaver-Beacon
  26. Beaver Beacon, August 2009, "Fifty Years Ago" retrospective column.
    States "Edna McCann sold the Beachcomber to Chicago policeman Jim Janda, who became Supervisor," a second independent retrospective confirming the Beachcomber/supervisor identity. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2009-08_Beaver-Beacon

Added 1 August 2026 · revised 5 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Jim Janda”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/people/jim-janda/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, March 1974, “Emergency Plane On Way.” (and 24 further sources listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-05. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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