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Person

Linda Arden

Also Linda Arden · Linda McDonough · Linda S. Arden

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

TypePerson
ErasModern era
On this page
Person
Active
fl. 1972–1973
Work
Secretary, Beaver Island Community School Board of Education
Education
State Beauty College graduate
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
communityeducation

Summary

Linda Arden, daughter of Glen and Mrs. Arden of Roseville, Michigan, married Kevin McDonough of Beaver Island at Holy Cross Church on September 15, 1973.12 As Linda McDonough she raised a family on the island, served as secretary of the Beaver Island Community School Board of Education from at least 2003 to 2007,34 and, from the 1990s through the 2010s, was repeatedly named alongside her husband — by then a senior Beaver Island Boat Company captain — in reports of the couple’s civic and hosting activities.56

History

The October–November 1972 Beacon announced Linda Arden’s engagement to Kevin McDonough, describing her as a State Beauty College graduate.1 The couple married at Holy Cross Church on September 15, 1973.2 Their son, Shane Ryan McDonough, was born in February 1976.7 Their daughter Erin’s academic record spans nearly a decade in the Beacon: an eighth grader in 1992, she was selected for the Midwest Talent Search, a Northwestern University gifted-student program;8 she was named the school’s Sylvan Scholar in January 1995; and, as a graduating senior in 2001, she was awarded a Research Grant for environmental science and geology study — each notice identifying her as “daughter of Kevin and Linda McDonough.”910

Linda McDonough held elected civic office on the island: an April 2003 election notice names her the school board’s incumbent secretary, alongside Vice-President John Fiegen, both expected to seek reelection, and a February 2007 notice records both their terms expiring – bounding at least four years of documented service, though no source read establishes when her term began or whether she sought reelection in 2007.34 Earlier, a March 1990 notice shows the couple jointly organizing a fundraising appeal built around a public video showing, with donations held by Holy Cross Parish’s secretary and the Beaver Island Christian Church’s treasurer – an interfaith arrangement whose specific cause is not named in the source.11

By the 1990s her husband was captaining Beaver Island Boat Company vessels, and the couple appear together repeatedly in the Beacon’s community coverage: hosting an afternoon tea in December 2003 to introduce a new Charlevoix County Community Foundation scholarship fund for island students,12 promoting a program in 2010 that brought Northern Irish children — one Catholic, one Protestant — to island host families for six-week summer stays,13 and hosting two young Irish visitors themselves that same summer.6

Evidence and limits

The newspaper accounts establish a reported marriage but not a civil marriage record. Most of Linda Arden’s later activities are documented jointly with her husband, under the name “Linda McDonough”; the school-board secretary role is the one civic position independently attributed to her by name, and even that record is bounded by two election notices rather than a complete term history. No source held here profiles her own education or occupation beyond the 1972 notice identifying her as a State Beauty College graduate.

Significance

Linda Arden’s record illustrates how a family’s civic footprint on Beaver Island accumulates across decades of routine local reporting: an engagement and wedding notice, a birth announcement, a daughter’s school honors, a multi-year elected school-board role, and repeated community-hosting and fundraising notices, none individually substantial but together describing a family embedded in the island’s civic and social life from 1972 onward.

Open questions

  • When did Linda McDonough’s school board term begin, and did she serve beyond 2007?
  • What cause did the 1990 fundraising video and appeal support?
  • Is she still living on the island?

See also

Footnotes

  1. Beaver Beacon, October–November 1972, “Engaged.” ↩ ↩2

  2. Beaver Beacon, September–October 1973, “Weddings: Arden–McDoug.” ↩ ↩2

  3. Beaver Beacon, April 2003, school board election notice. ↩ ↩2

  4. Beaver Beacon, February 2007, school board election notice. ↩ ↩2

  5. Beaver Beacon, January 1998, “Emerald Isle’s first Charlevoix trip.” ↩

  6. Beaver Beacon, August 2010, community-hosting notice. ↩ ↩2

  7. Beaver Beacon, February 1976, “Births.” ↩

  8. Beaver Beacon, March 1992, “Midwest Talent Search.” ↩

  9. Beaver Beacon, January 1995, Sylvan Scholar notice. ↩

  10. Beaver Beacon, March 2001, Research Grant notice. ↩

  11. Beaver Beacon, March 1990, fundraising notice. ↩

  12. Beaver Beacon, December 2003, scholarship fund notice. ↩

  13. Beaver Beacon, March 2010, cross-community program notice. ↩

The dated record

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

Sources

  1. Identifies Arden as the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Glen Arden of Roseville, Michigan, a State Beauty College graduate, and the fiancée in the notice.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1972-10_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 · 1972-10_Beaver-Beacon
  3. Reports Linda S. Arden’s September 15, 1973 marriage to Kevin C. McDonough at Holy Cross Church.
    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. Names Linda Arden as Shane Ryan McDonough’s mother. This is a family notice, not a civil parentage record. 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 birth notice.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1976-02_Beaver-Beacon
  7. Describes the January 1998 first trip by the Emerald Isle ferry into Charlevoix's Pine River Channel under "Captain Kevin McDonough," Linda Arden's husband; corroborates that she married into the Boat Company captain's family. 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 · 1998-01_Beaver-Beacon
  8. Reports Erin McDonough, junior daughter of Kevin and Linda McDonough, named the school's Sylvan Scholar as winner of the Century III Leaders competition. 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 · 1995-01_Beaver-Beacon
  9. Reports Erin, daughter of Kevin and Linda McDonough, awarded a Research Grant as a graduating senior to further studies in Environmental Science and Geology. 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 · 2001-03_Beaver-Beacon
  10. Beaver Beacon, August 2010, community-hosting notice.
    Reports Kevin and Linda McDonough hosting two young Irish visitors for the summer. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2010-08_Beaver-Beacon
  11. Beaver Beacon, March 2010, cross-community program notice.
    Reports Linda and Kevin McDonough promoting a program bringing two children from Northern Ireland, one Catholic and one Protestant, to a Beaver Island host family for six weeks each summer. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2010-03_Beaver-Beacon
  12. Beaver Beacon, December 2003, scholarship fund notice.
    Announces an afternoon tea at Kevin and Linda McDonough's house to present information on the newly established Charlevoix County Community Foundation scholarship fund for Beaver Island students. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2003-12_Beaver-Beacon
  13. Beaver Beacon, April 2003, school board election notice.
    Names "current incumbents Vice-President John Fiegen and Secretary Linda McDonough," both expected to run for reelection to the Beaver Island Community School Board of Education, whose terms expired June 2003. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2003-04_Beaver-Beacon
  14. Beaver Beacon, February 2007, school board election notice.
    Reports "the terms of veteran board members Linda McDonough and John Fiegen have expired," establishing at least a 2003-2007 span of school-board service; does not state whether she ran for reelection in 2007 or when her term began. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2007-02_Beaver-Beacon
  15. Reports Kevin and Linda McDonough coordinating a fundraising appeal with a public video showing, with donations held jointly by Holy Cross Parish's secretary and Beaver Island Christian Church's treasurer. Does not identify the cause the appeal supported. 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 · 1990-03_Beaver-Beacon
  16. Reports Erin McDonough, daughter of Kevin and Linda McDonough and an eighth grader at Beaver Island Community School, selected for the 1992 Midwest Talent Search, a Northwestern University gifted-student program -- predating the 1995 Sylvan Scholar and 2001 Research Grant notices already held. 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

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

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Linda Arden”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/people/linda-arden/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, October–November 1972, “Engaged.” (and 15 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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