Summary

The third “Bite of Beaver Island” was held Saturday, October 9, 2004, 1:00-4:00 p.m. at Holy Cross Parish Hall, as the anchor of a multi-event weekend that also included PABI’s Casino Night the evening before and the New Third Coast Band at the Shamrock that night. Over 300 people attended the food festival, coordinated by Deborah Harwood; the second annual Island Boodle drew 65 runners and walkers that morning, its proceeds benefiting the Beaver Island Sports Booster Club. This is the first year an Apple Pie Contest is documented as part of the event.¹²

Program

An August notice announcing the Boodle identifies Deborah Harwood as coordinator of the Bite of Beaver Island, called there the Chamber’s “annual fall food festival,” and states that Boodle proceeds that year would benefit the Beaver Island Sports Booster Club.³ The September announcement ties the Island Boodle 5K/run/walk directly to “the Chamber’s Bite of Beaver Island food festival,” both set for October 9.⁴ The October issue’s contents page lays out the full weekend: PABI’s Casino Night on October 8 at 7 p.m.; the Boodle on October 9 at 10 a.m.; the Bite of Beaver Island from 1-4 p.m.; and the New Third Coast Band at the Shamrock at 9 p.m.¹ A short notice in the same issue states plainly that “a new part of the Bite of Beaver … will be an apple pie contest” — the earliest held mention of this contest, which the hub article and later editions associate more strongly with 2007-2008; this 2004 source pushes the contest’s documented start at least three years earlier and is recorded here as an open question rather than a silent correction of the hub.

The recap describes a packed Parish Hall — the newly paved parking lot filled quickly, with overflow parking as far as the Emerald Isle Hotel — and live music by the Emerald Isle Repertory Theatre. Several county-office candidates (Ellis Boal, John Jarema, Kevin Elsenheimer, Jim McKimmy) attended to campaign, since 2004 was an election year; a separate Chamber statement the same month, signed by Steve West and Kathy Speck, addresses complaints about candidates appearing at Chamber events and states the Chamber does not invite them and its by-laws bar political involvement.⁵

Boodle results: men’s division — John Martin (21:36), Curtis Bolt (22:59), Jon Manza (23:69); women’s division — Karla Erickson (23:43), Julie Masek (27:18), a third finisher at 28:00; Rick Speck and his daughter Kerry Smith won the walk.²

Community and economic context

The recap frames the second weekend of October 2004 as a record crowd for the month across six simultaneous draws (PABI’s Casino Night, the New Third Coast Band, a Haunted Lighthouse Tour, a wedding reception, the Boodle, and the Bite), with the Bite of Beaver drawing “over 300 people” through the Parish Hall doors.²

Evidence limits

Four Beacon issues (August, September, October, November 2004) hold this year’s coverage. The apple-pie-contest date discrepancy noted above is not resolved here; it would take a side-by-side reading of the 2004, 2007, and 2008 issues by someone auditing the whole hub, not this single edition article, to settle whether the contest lapsed after 2004 and was reintroduced later, or whether the hub’s 2007-2008 dating is simply incomplete.

Open questions

Did the Apple Pie Contest introduced in 2004 continue in 2005 and 2006, or did it lapse and get reintroduced independently in 2007-2008? (2005 and 2006 sources, read separately, do in fact show an apple pie contest running continuously — see those years’ editions — so the 2004 introduction and the 2007-2008 hub note likely both undercount how early and how continuously this element ran.)

Sources

"Start thinking about the Annual Island Boodle," Beaver Beacon, August 2004.
Announces the Second Annual Island Boodle 5K/Run/Walk, organized by Mike and Gail Weede, held in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce's Bite of Beaver Island "annual fall food festival," which it identifies as coordinated by Deborah Harwood. States Boodle proceeds benefit the Beaver Island Sports Booster Club, and gives October 9 as the date and 10:00 a.m. as the Boodle's start time. 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
Get Ready for the Island Boodle 5K / Run / Walk, Beaver Beacon, September 2004.
Announces the Island Boodle for October 9, in conjunction with the Chamber's Bite of Beaver Island food festival, contact Gail or Mike Weede. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2004-09_Beaver-Beacon
Beaver Beacon, September 2004, held issue PDF, source scan.
The held thirty-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 · 2004-09_Beaver-Beacon
"Bite Apple Pie Contest" and "See You at the Boodle," Beaver Beacon, October 2004.
States "a new part of the Bite of Beaver (Saturday 10-9) will be an apple pie contest," with the Bite running 1:00-4:00 p.m. Boodle is the "second annual," organized by Gail and Mike Weede, October 9 at 10:00 a.m. The New Third Coast Band is booked to perform at the Shamrock that evening, October 9, 9:00 p.m. A contents listing separately confirms the weekend program: PABI Casino Night October 8 at 7 p.m., the Boodle October 9 at 10 a.m., the Bite of Beaver Island 1-4, and the New Third Coast Band at 9 p.m. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2004-10_Beaver-Beacon
Beaver Beacon, October 2004, held issue PDF, source scan.
The held thirty-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 · 2004-10_Beaver-Beacon
"A Tremendous Weekend" and "On This Date," Beaver Beacon, November 2004.
Recap: 65 runners/walkers registered for the Boodle; men's finishers John Martin (21:36), Curtis Bolt (22:59), Jon Manza (23:69); women's finishers Karla Erickson (23:43), Julie Masek (27:18), a third-place finisher at 28:00; Rick Speck and daughter Kerry Smith won the walk. The third annual Bite of Beaver drew "over 300 people," filling the new parking lot and spilling cars as far as the Emerald Isle Hotel; live music by the Emerald Isle Repertory Theatre. 2004 was an election year and several candidates for county office (Ellis Boal, John Jarema, Kevin Elsenheimer, Jim McKimmy) attended to campaign. Organizers thanked: Chamber of Commerce and Director Steve West, Deborah Harwood, Gail and Mike Weede, Brian Porter and Kyle Barnette, and Sally Fogg. 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
Beaver Beacon, November 2004, held issue PDF, source scan.
The held thirty-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 · 2004-11_Beaver-Beacon
"Chamber and Politics," Beaver Beacon, November 2004.
Chamber statement, signed by Steve West (Executive Director) and Kathy Speck (President), responding to questions about political candidates attending Chamber-sponsored events including "The Bite of Beaver Island": the Chamber does not invite candidates and its by-laws preclude political involvement, but "everyone is welcome" at events that draw crowds during an election 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 · 2004-11_Beaver-Beacon
Beaver Beacon, November 2004, held issue PDF, source scan.
The held thirty-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 · 2004-11_Beaver-Beacon
Beaver Beacon, 2004-08, held issue PDF, source scan.
The held issue PDF is paired with the canonical OCR Markdown source and preserves the issue-level provenance for this cited report or comparison.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 2004-08_Beaver-Beacon

Added 3 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Bite of Beaver Island, 2004”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/bite-of-beaver-2004/, accessed [date], citing "Start thinking about the Annual Island Boodle," Beaver Beacon, August 2004. (and 8 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.

BibTeX for “Bite of Beaver Island, 2004”RIS for “Bite of Beaver Island, 2004”

Bite of Beaver Island, 2004