- Born
- 1975-02
- Work
- Builder (Ron Wojan Builder) · President, Beaver Island Civic Association · Board member, St. James Township Airport (2-year appointment) · Supervisor, St. James Township (elected November 1984, defeating John McCafferty 96 votes to 78; unopposed re-election 1988; resignation letter received 16 January 1991; succeeded by Lisabeth Clapham) · Founding director, Beaver Island Boat Co. · Member, St. James Township Tax Review Board (appointed January 1993; a resignation from the township's "Board of Review" was recorded in February 1994, probably but not certainly the same body)
- Parents
- Walter A. Wojan
- Member of
- Beaver Island Civic Association · Beaver Island Boat Company
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- educationrecreationcommunitygovernanceeconomy
- Within
- Beaver Island
Summary
Ronald “Ron” Wojan, son of Walter A. Wojan and Vera M. Wojan of St. James, moved from island youth and civic organizing in the 1970s into more than a decade of township government and a leading role in the community’s 1984 buyback of its own ferry service. He directed youth activities in the Holy Cross Parish Hall from 1975, was Beaver Island Civic Association president by 1976, helped found the Beaver Island Boat Co. in 1984, and served as St. James Township supervisor from November 1984 to at least July 1990.
History
A 2003 Beacon retrospective column, recalling a 1963 issue, places Ron Wojan on the school honor roll as a boy, six years before he graduated from Beaver Island Community School in 1969, one of six in his class, with the Reader’s Digest Association’s annual award for students showing promise of community leadership. That August he began his freshman year at Western Michigan University; a further retrospective, recalling a 1973 issue, records him making the Dean’s List there, the only source read for this article documenting his attendance beyond the freshman year. The Beacon’s school and sporting notices track him under both spellings through the 1960s, as “Ronald Wojan” on honor rolls and as “Ron Wogan” beaver trapping with Rogers Carlisle in 1966 — consistent with the paper’s general Wojan/Wogan inconsistency discussed at Walter A. Wojan.
He took the Parish Hall youth-activities post in February 1975, was elected Civic Association president by the time of the March 1976 officer notice (with Connie Wojan as secretary), and organized the island’s 1976 Bicentennial Fourth of July celebration, which opened with a bingo night coordinated by Connie Wogan. By 1983 he was operating as “Ron Wojan Builder,” one of the island businesses thanked for sponsoring a children’s Christmas party that year.
Ferry buyback and township supervisor, 1984–1991
In early 1984 a seven-member committee of island businessmen, organized by Bill McDonough and Ed Wojan, negotiated to buy the island’s ferry operation — the Beaver Islander, the South Shore, the Beaver Island dock, and related assets — from Beaver Island Navigation Co. and its owner, John McGoff, for $450,000. The newly formed Beaver Island Boat Co. signed an asset-purchase agreement on 27 February 1984, and on 28 March the seven founding directors, including Ronald Wojan alongside Edward Wojan, William McDonough, Timothy McDonough, William Cashman, Richard Speck, and Richard Gillespie, circulated an appeal asking island residents, landowners, and summer visitors to help raise the purchase funds. The following May, the St. James Township board separately appointed him to a two-year term on the township Airport board. That November he was elected St. James Township supervisor, defeating John McCafferty 96 votes to 78; township-board minutes and election notices place him continuously in that office through an unopposed 1988 re-election and at least to a July 1990 report, presiding over routine board business including assessing, road, and public-safety matters. His resignation letter was received on 16 January 1991, and by April Lisabeth Clapham had succeeded him as township supervisor; no source read for this article states his reason for leaving. He did not withdraw from township affairs afterward: that May, at the Annual Township Meeting, he spoke from the floor to defend assessor Bob Gandolfi’s past performance against Supervisor Clapham’s criticism, and that July his construction business won the “Best Business” category among thirty-seven floats in the island’s 1991 Fourth of July parade. The township board appointed him to its Tax Review Board in January 1993; a February 1994 board meeting recorded a resignation letter from Ron Wojan concerning the township’s “Board of Review,” probably but not certainly the same body under a different name in the Beacon’s reporting.
Business and family, 1983–2005
Wojan’s building trade, first documented in 1983 as “Ron Wojan Builder,” continued under the names “Ron Wojan Construction” and “Ron Wojan General Contractor Inc.” in island business directories and advertisements through at least 2005, with an office “across from the Shamrock in the Beacon Building.” A June 1998 township notice records the board thanking him for removing his materials and equipment from the Township Park, where his business had evidently been storing them. He and his wife, Patti — whose maiden name and marriage date are not given in any source read for this article, and who is not the same person as Ron Wojan’s sister Patricia “Patty” Wojan despite the shared nickname — had at least two children on the island: a son, Michael Tyler, born 2 November 1991, and a daughter, Kate, who at age thirteen won first prize nationally in MasterCard International’s National Art Contest, reported in April 2000.
Evidence and limits
The 1975-76 civic notices do not themselves restate Wojan’s parentage or school record; the identification with Walter and Vera’s son rests on the matching name, period and the explicit 1969 graduation and college notices that do name him “son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Wojan.” No held source records Ronald Wojan’s birth date. His supervisor tenure is now dated with more precision — elected November 1984, resigned effective on or shortly after 16 January 1991 — but no source read for this article states his reason for resigning, and the January 1993 Tax Review Board appointment and February 1994 Board of Review resignation are treated as probably, not certainly, the same township body. A separate Wogan-spelled record, Ron Wogan (a 1971 harbor rescue and a 1974 Civic Association nomination), is a probable further episode of the same person and is recommended for a future merge review rather than merged here. Township-board minutes consistently distinguish Ronald Wojan from his brother James Wojan, who served concurrently as township treasurer, so the supervisor citations are not at risk of conflating the two. His wife Patti, named in two Beacon family notices, is not identified beyond her first name and is explicitly not the same person as Ronald Wojan’s sister Patricia “Patty” Wojan (Patricia "Patty" Wojan), who carries the same nickname in unrelated Beacon notices from the 1970s.
Open questions
- Did Ronald Wojan complete a degree at Western Michigan University, and what did he do professionally between his documented 1973 Dean’s List standing there and his 1975 return to island civic work?
- Why did he resign as St. James Township supervisor in January 1991, and are the January 1993 Tax Review Board appointment and February 1994 Board of Review resignation the same township body?
- Did the Beaver Island Boat Co.’s 1984 stock sale succeed in returning the ferry operation to island-connected ownership by the “early May” target the directors announced, and did Wojan remain a director afterward?
- What is Patti Wojan’s maiden name, and when did she and Ronald Wojan marry?
See also
Kin
The dated record
Sources
- Names Ron Wojan as accepting the job of director of activities in the Parish Hall. The notice supplies no full civil identity, term, compensation, or program record and is kept separate from Ron Wozan. 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 · 1975-02_Beaver-Beacon
- The scan confirms the printed name and role.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1975-02_Beaver-Beacon
- Lists Ron Wojan as Civic Association president. The shared printed name supports the episode link, but the notice does not provide a full civil identity, term, or vote total. 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 officer slate.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1976-03_Beaver-Beacon
- Credits Ron Wojan with overall organization of the completed Bicentennial Fourth weekend. The report does not establish a formal office, full civil identity, or complete organizer roster. 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 · 1976-07_Beaver-Beacon
- The held Bicentennial issue confirms the organizer attribution.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1976-07_Beaver-Beacon
- Names Ronald Wojan, "son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Wojan," among the six 1969 graduates and reports his Reader's Digest leadership award.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1969-05_Beaver-Beacon
- "Ron Wojan, another son of the Wojan's, is beginning his first year at Western Michigan University."data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1969-08_Beaver-Beacon
- Records "Ron Wogan" trapping beaver with Rogers Carlisle, an early instance of the Wogan spelling for the same schoolboy tracked as Ronald Wojan in contemporary honor rolls.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1966-04_Beaver-Beacon
- Lists "Ron Wojan Builder" among island businesses thanked for a children's Christmas party, evidence of his later building trade. 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 · 1983-01_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports a committee of seven island businessmen, organized by Bill McDonough and Ed Wojan, negotiating from January 1984 to buy the ferry operation (the Beaver Islander, the South Shore, the Beaver Island dock, and other assets) from Beaver Island Navigation Co. (John McGoff) for $450,000, forming the Beaver Island Boat Co. on February 27, 1984. Names Ronald Wojan among the seven founding directors, alongside Edward Wojan, William McDonough, Timothy McDonough, William Cashman, Richard Speck, and Richard Gillespie. 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 · 1984-04_Beaver-Beacon
- Records the St. James Township board appointing Ronald Wojan to a two-year term on the Airport board, alongside Vivian Visscher (4 years) and Richard Gillespie (3 years). 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 · 1984-05_Beaver-Beacon
- Records Ronald Wojan as an active St. James Township official discussing assessing and a full-time island deputy sheriff ahead of the November 1984 election. 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 · 1984-10_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports "Supervisor - Ronald Wojan, 96" votes in the St. James Township general election. 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 · 1984-11_Beaver-Beacon
- Lists Ronald Wojan as St. James Township supervisor on an unopposed Republican slate, with James Wojan as township treasurer on the same slate. 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 · 1988-11_Beaver-Beacon
- Identifies "Ronald Wojan, Supervisor" in a St. James Township report, the latest dated confirmation of his tenure found in this collection. 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 · 1990-07_Beaver-Beacon
- "The meeting was called to order by Ronald Wojan, supervisor," confirming continuous service through October 1987. 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 · 1987-10_Beaver-Beacon
- Beaver Beacon, February 2003, "Forty Years Ago" retrospective column (recalling a 1963 issue)."On the school honor role were current Islanders Rich Gillespie, Ron Wojan, Sandy LaFreniere, Jeane Wojan, and Ed Wojan," placing him on the school honor roll as early as 1963, six years before his 1969 graduation. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2003-02_Beaver-Beacon
- Beaver Beacon, March 2003, "Thirty Years Ago" retrospective column (recalling a 1973 issue)."Ron Wojan made the Dean's List at WMU," the only source read for this article that documents his continued attendance at Western Michigan University beyond his 1969 freshman year. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2003-03_Beaver-Beacon
- "Ron Wojan's letter of resignation was received on January 16, 1991. The Board has 45 days to appoint a new supervisor," establishing the end of his supervisor tenure. No source read for this article states his reason for resigning. 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 · 1991-02_Beaver-Beacon
- Confirms Lisabeth Clapham as his successor in the supervisor's office by April 1991. 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 · 1991-04_Beaver-Beacon
- Records Ron Wojan speaking from the floor at the Annual Township Meeting, defending assessor Bob Gandolfi's past work against Supervisor Clapham's criticism -- evidence of continued involvement in township affairs as a private citizen after leaving the supervisor's office. 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 · 1991-05_Beaver-Beacon
- Names "Ron Wojan" as the winning entry in the "Best Business" float category of the 1991 Fourth of July parade, among thirty-seven floats. See event/beaver-island-fourth-of-july-1991. 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 · 1991-07_Beaver-Beacon
- "Appointed Ron Wojan and reappointed R. Ellsworth & D. Vyse to Tax Review Board." 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 · 1993-01_Beaver-Beacon
- "BOARD OF REVIEW: Clerk read letter of resignation from Ron Wojan. Kevin White was appointed to fill vacancy." Cited here as probably, but not certainly, the same body as the January 1993 Tax Review Board appointment above. 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 · 1994-03_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports the November 2, 1991 birth of a son, Michael Tyler, to Patti and Ron Wojan, naming Walter Wojan of Beaver Island and Claire Gleason of Niles, Michigan as grandparents. No source read for this article gives Patti Wojan's maiden name or marriage date; she is not the same person as Ron Wojan's sister Patricia "Patty" Wojan (person/patricia-patty-wojan), a shared nickname only. See event/michael-tyler-wojan-birth-1991. 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 · 1991-11_Beaver-Beacon
- "Daughter of Patti and Ron Wojan, Beaver Island-born Kate, 13, was the first-prize winner over hundreds of contestants in the National Art Contest, sponsored by MasterCard International," naming a second child, Kate, born circa 1986-87. No source read for this article gives an exact birth date. 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 · 2000-04_Beaver-Beacon
- "WOJAN THANKED FOR CLEARING THE TOWNSHIP PARK: [Township clerk] presented a letter written to Ron Wojan in appreciation for removing his material, and equipment off the Township Park," indicating his construction business had been using township land for storage. 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 · 1998-06_Beaver-Beacon
- Beaver Beacon business directories and advertisements, 1998-2005 (e.g. July 1998, April/June/July/August/September/November/December 2004, February/March/May 2005), "Ron Wojan General Contractor Inc." / "Ron Wojan Construction."Recurring business listings and advertisements document his general-contracting business operating continuously on the island from at least 1998 through 2005; only the November 2004 issue is given as local_path, but the same listing recurs across the other cited months. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2004-11_Beaver-Beacon
Added 3 August 2026 · revised 5 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Ronald "Ron" Wojan”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/people/ronald-ron-wojan/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, February 1975, “Youth Activities.” (and 28 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.