- Date
- 2004-07-04
- Kind
- Celebration
- Carried out by
- Beaver Island Chamber of Commerce
- Followed by
- Beaver Island holds its 2005 Fourth of July, "Peace and Democracy on Beaver Island"
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- celebrationcommunitytourismsports
- Within
- Beaver Island
Summary
Beaver Island held its 2004 Fourth of July parade under a heavy downpour. The Chamber of Commerce had selected “Beaver Island Wildlife Awareness” as the parade theme and raffled a two-week vacation in Ireland for two; the parade went on despite the rain, sheltering performers under the Yacht Dock roof midway through and drawing crowds who stayed to the end. A separate Fourth of July golf tournament was held the day before, on July 3, at the island golf course.
Program
The July 2004 Beacon reported the Chamber’s chosen theme, “Beaver Island Wildlife Awareness,” alongside a raffle of “a two-wheel vacation in Ireland for two” (an evident typographical rendering of “two-week”). The school yearbook committee planned to staff a sales table “along the parade route on July 4.” The following month’s Beacon, in “Marching in the Rain,” described the parade day itself: a downpour caught paraders and spectators alike, and “the Annual Parade took place after all, following an intrepid performance by Signe’s Soaked Irish Tappers and the valiant Community Choir, squeezed tightly together under the Yacht Dock roof.” Floats continued through town despite the rain — one photo caption shows a float lettered “ACE,” another “TURTLE THREATS…MOUNTAIN” — and the parade unexpectedly circled back for a second pass through the crowd. Scheduled military aircraft fly-overs were called off because of the dark sky, and the report notes the crowd stayed to the end, “not minding in the least if they were hit by one of the traditional water balloons.” The separate annual Fourth of July golf tournament was held July 3, drawing 90 golfers in 18 five-person teams for a nine-hole best-ball round; the team of Tom and Jerry Charbeneau, Paul Davis, Larry Laurain, and Bill Detwiler won with a three-under-par 32.
Evidence limits
Both accounts are contemporary newspaper reports rather than an organizer’s program or financial record. No carnival, booth, or fireworks details are given for this year specifically, though the hub documents these as regular elements of other years; their absence here reflects what the rain-focused report chose to describe, not necessarily their absence from the day. The same August 2004 issue’s “On This Date” column includes “Ten Years Ago” and “Forty Years Ago” retrospective items — the former recalling the 1994 Fourth-of-July rainout, the latter about the 1964 Homecoming, a separate event — neither is evidence about 2004 itself and neither is used here as such.
Open questions
- Was a carnival or fireworks display held on July 4, 2004, and if so, why do the held accounts not describe it?
- Who won the Ireland vacation raffle?
See also
Sources
- The Beaver Beacon, July 2004, News from the Townships.Reports "the Chamber announced the theme for its Fourth of July parade: 'Beaver Island Wildlife Awareness'—along with the raffle of a two-wheel vacation in Ireland for two." Also reports the school yearbook committee planned a sales table "along the parade route on July 4," and that the Great Lakes Docks Yacht Dock project was expected to begin work "around July 4th." No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2004-07_Beaver-Beacon
- The held forty-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 · 2004-07_Beaver-Beacon
- The Beaver Beacon, August 2004, "Marching in the Rain."Reports that a downpour hit the parade, and that it went on regardless: "the Annual Parade took place after all, following an intrepid performance by Signe's Soaked Irish Tappers and the valiant Community Choir, squeezed tightly together under the Yacht Dock roof." Describes the parade circling back through town a second time, scheduled military fly-overs being called off due to the dark sky, and the crowd staying to the end despite "the traditional water balloons." Photo captions show floats including one lettered "ACE" and another reading "TURTLE THREATS...MOUNTAIN." No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2004-08_Beaver-Beacon
- The held forty-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 · 2004-08_Beaver-Beacon
- The Beaver Beacon, August 2004, "Fourth of July Golf Tournament a Big Hit."Reports the annual Fourth of July golf tournament, held July 3 with 90 golfers in 18 five-person teams playing a nine-hole best-ball round; the team of Tom and Jerry Charbeneau, Paul Davis, Larry Laurain, and Bill Detwiler won with a three-under-par 32. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2004-08_Beaver-Beacon
- The held forty-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 · 2004-08_Beaver-Beacon
Added 3 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Beaver Island holds a rain-soaked 2004 Fourth of July Parade”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-fourth-of-july-2004/, accessed [date], citing The Beaver Beacon, July 2004, News from the Townships. (and 4 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.
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