- Born
- 1938
- Died
- 2021
- Work
- Military serviceman
- Parents
- Michael Cull
- Siblings
- John "Jack" Cull · Sally Cull Hammermeister
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- educationcommunity
- Within
- Beaver Island
Summary
Roland Joseph Cull (1938–2021), a son of Michael Cull and Mabel (Connaghan) Cull, was a member of the Beaver Island High School class of 1956 and, five years later, completed U.S. Army basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
History
A May 1955 Beaver Beacon note places Roland Cull, then a high school junior, on a student committee with Hubert McCauley planning an exchange visit with St. Mary’s High School of Lake Leelanau. A June 1961 retrospective names him among the Beaver Island school graduates of June 1, 1956. That same June 1961 issue separately reported “Rct. Roland Cull” — using the Army’s recruit abbreviation — visiting his parents after completing basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, documenting his enlistment five years after graduation.
Cull’s father’s September 1964 obituary names him among four surviving sons — alongside John "Jack" Cull, Ray Cull of Bay City, and Larry Cull — and two surviving daughters, including Sally Cull Hammermeister, confirming his place in the family. An April 1978 Beacon list of native islanders attending that year’s Beaver Island St. Patrick’s Party in Chicago groups “Larry, Jack, Betty, Sally, Mable, Roland” under the surname Cull, placing Roland at a family gathering alongside his siblings and mother, Mabel, seventeen years after his Army service.
Significance
Cull’s record is an ordinary island biography rather than a public one, but it illustrates a pattern typical of the period: island youth who graduated locally, left for military service, and returned to visible ties with the island’s Irish-American families through events like the annual Chicago St. Patrick’s Party.
Evidence and limits
This record merges two episode articles the seeder minted from the same June 1961 Beacon issue’s coverage of Roland Cull — one drawn from its retrospective naming him a 1956 graduate, the other from its separate basic-training notice. The identification linking the 1955 junior, 1956 graduate, and 1961 recruit as one person rests on matching name, continuous local presence across those years, the September 1964 obituary of his father, Michael Cull, naming him among the surviving sons, and the Holy Cross Cemetery’s single Roland Joseph Cull (1938–2021). No civil service or discharge record has been checked.
Open questions
- What military service record documents Cull’s enlistment and discharge?
- What did Cull do after his 1961 return from basic training?
See also
Kin
The dated record
Sources
- The June 1961 retrospective names Roland Cull among the Beaver Island school graduates of June 1, 1956.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1961-06_Beaver-Beacon
- The held six-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 · 1961-06_Beaver-Beacon
- Lists Roland Joseph Cull (1938–2021). The 1955 Beacon identifies Roland Cull as a Beaver Island junior, and later notices identify Roland Cull as a parent, supporting the 1956 graduate match.
- Names Roland Cull, alongside Hubert McCauley, on the Junior Committee planning a student exchange with St. Mary's High School of Lake Leelanau, placing him as a high school junior in 1955 — one year before the graduation this article documents.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1955-05_Beaver-Beacon
- Names Roland Cull among the four surviving sons of [[person/michael-cull-1885-fisherman]] and Mabel (Connaghan) Cull, alongside Ray, Jack, and Larry Cull, establishing his parentage and siblings.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1964-09_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports Roland Cull visiting his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Mike Cull, after completing basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1961-06_Beaver-Beacon
- Lists "Larry, Jack, Betty, Sally, Mable, Roland - Cull" among native islanders attending the 1978 Beaver Island St. Patrick's Party in Chicago, grouping Roland with the same siblings named in the 1964 obituary seventeen years later, and their mother Mable (Mabel). 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 · 1978-04_Beaver-Beacon
- Beaver Island Forum, “Roland Cull RIP,” February 22, 2021, and family funeral notice, July 25, 2021.The forum reports Roland Cull’s death after a short hospital stay and later announces a funeral Mass and interment at Holy Cross Cemetery. It adds the death and funeral context but not a formal obituary or complete biography.forum · www.beaverislandforum.com · 16 · t016042
Added 1 August 2026 · revised 4 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Roland Joseph Cull”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/people/roland-joseph-cull/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, June 1961, island news and retrospective notices. (and 7 further sources listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-04. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.