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Person

Archie Lafreniere

Also Archie LaFreniere · D. Archie LaFreniere · Daniel Archie LaFreniere · Archie La Freniere · Archie LaTreniere

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

TypePerson
Born1912
Died1996
WithinBeaver Island
ErasModern era
On this page
Person
Born
1912
Died
1996
Work
Secretary, Beaver Island Association of Commerce · President, Beaver Island Civic Association · Vice President, Beaver Island Civic Association · Director, Beaver Island Civic Association · Proprietor, Shamrock Bar (Shamrock Inn) · Beaver Island Boat Company representative · Chairman, Beaver Island Business Association · Chairman, Beaver Island Bicentennial Committee · Proprietor, Isle Haven Tourist Court
Spouse
Frances Bernell Connaghan LaFreniere
Siblings
Joseph “Bussy” LaFreniere · Patrick W. LaFreniere
Member of
Beaver Island Association of Commerce · Beaver Island Civic Association · Beaver Island Game Club · Shamrock Restaurant and Pub · Beaver Island Boat Company · Isle Haven Tourist Court · Beaver Island Bicentennial Committee · Beaver Island Business Association
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
fishingconservationtourismcommunityfamilydemography
Within
Beaver Island

Summary

Daniel Archie “Archie” LaFreniere (1912–1996) was a Beaver Island tourism and business organizer, first identified in an October 1950 newspaper report as secretary of the Beaver Island Association of Commerce. Over the next quarter-century the Beaver Beacon documents him as proprietor of the Shamrock Bar, president and later director of the Civic Association, a Boat Company representative, and founding chairman of both the island’s 1975 Business Association and its Bicentennial Committee. A 2024 Beaver Island Irish American Hall of Fame profile and the Holy Cross Cemetery index identify him as a son of Nelson J. “Nels” and Sophia Boyle LaFreniere, husband of Frances Bernell Connaghan LaFreniere, and brother of Patrick W., Vernon H. “Dick,” and Joseph M. “Bussey” LaFreniere.

History

The earliest held record of Archie LaFreniere is an October 1950 Charlevoix County Herald report naming him secretary of the Beaver Island Association of Commerce and crediting him with the season’s fishing and hunting news: the St. James perch run as the best in five years, a one-day catch of 1,750 pounds, perch as large as 18 inches, and the island’s first bird-hunting season in years, opening on sharp-tail grouse the state had recently introduced.1

By February 1960 the Beacon reported him newly elected president of the Civic Association, with Vernon Fitzpatrick as vice president, and noted he had two more deluxe units nearly complete at his Isle Haven Tourist Court.2 He resigned the presidency at the January 5, 1961 annual meeting, succeeded by George Van Buren, and was elected vice president in his place;3 by January 1962 he sat as a director on the Board.4 That same January 1961 issue’s humor column reports Archie, with Bert McDonough, raising a 252-pound “malt-fed” pig in a mock contest against a 256-pound “milk-fed” pig raised by Lawrence and Wini McDonough, and records Archie and his wife, Frances LaFreniere, serving the lunch at the Shamrock’s annual New Year’s Eve party.3

Archie was active in the Game Club’s hunting culture. He shot the first coyote of the season on October 27, 1961, with his hound Duke, and served as Master of Ceremonies at the Club’s November 16, 1961 Hunters’ Dinner, where Rogers Carlisle gave the year’s activity report.56 That December, a three-day “modern safari” (hounds paired with citizens’-band radios and mechanized vehicles rather than native trackers) brought Roy Chambers, his son, a Mr. Foxe, and island hunters including Rogers Carlisle, Archie Minor, Alvin LaFreniere, and Archie himself after coyotes; hunters returned to camp at Frances’s kitchen, where she monitored the chase by radio. Archie shot the third coyote at Donegal Bay and, after Henrietta Crawford spotted a fifth running along the King’s Highway and telephoned Frances, shot that one too.7

The Beacon announced the sale of the Shamrock Bar in April 1973 after Archie’s “illustrious and colorful proprietorship covering 36 years,” placing its founding at approximately 1937; he kept his motel units and gift shop after the sale.8 (See The Shamrock for the separate, unresolved question of whether this is the same tavern the 1945 Charlevoix County Herald described as the “Shamrock Inn.”) At a March 1974 business seminar, Archie, representing the Boat Company, described its history and “the struggle to build it up to what it is today.”9 That August, the Beacon reported him and his wife as grandparents of Brooke Elizabeth Slater, born to Kenneth and (LaFreniere) Slater of Lansing.10

Archie’s civic organizing continued into the island’s Bicentennial preparations. By February 1975 he chaired a newly formed Business Association, meeting monthly at the Circle M with secretary-treasurer Barb Beckers, dues of $10, and a stated purpose of promoting the island.11 The following month, as chairman of the Bicentennial Committee, his name appears on a printed proposal seeking matching state funds to restore historic structures, including the Protar and Bonner homes and the Mormon Print Shop, collect historical documents and photographs, record oral history, and produce a documentary and brochures.12 A November 1975 Beacon deer-season roundup lists “Archie LaTreniere” among the islanders who took a buck that year, an alternate print spelling of the family surname distinct from the more usual “LaFreniere.”13

Family

The Holy Cross Cemetery index and a 2024 Hall of Fame profile identify Archie as a son of Nelson J. “Nels” LaFreniere (1885–1945) and Sophia Boyle LaFreniere (1885–1923), and as husband of Frances Bernell Connaghan LaFreniere (1920–1990), daughter of Hugh and Katie Connaghan.14 The same cemetery index lists three brothers with the same parents: Patrick W. LaFreniere (1910–1978), Vernon H. “Dick” LaFreniere (1914–1978), and Joseph M. “Bussey” LaFreniere (1918–1995). A January 1961 wedding report, in which Archie gave away his niece Mary LaFreniere, corroborates the relationship to Patrick’s family.15 Beacon family notices from 1960–76 name at least four children of Archie and Frances: Loretta, Sandy (later Mrs. Peter LoDico), Judy, Mark, and Alvin, the last of whom joined Archie in the 1961 coyote hunt described above.7 The May–June 1976 Beacon “Births” column names Mr. and Mrs. Archie LaFreniere as grandparents of Kristen Danielle, born May 16, 1976 to Mr. and Mrs. Peter LoDico (Sandy LaFreniere) of St. Johns, Michigan — the same issue’s commencement report separately names Mark LaFreniere as “son of Mr. and Mrs. Archie LaFreniere,” and Sandy LaFreniere independently identifies Sandy as “daughter of D. Archie and Frances LaFreniere” in a February 1962 Beacon notice, so the three notices converge on the same household rather than resting on a bare name match.16

The 2024 Hall of Fame profile credits Archie with co-founding the Boat Company, establishing Isle Haven Tourist Court, creating the Beaver Island Gift Shop, co-founding the Shamrock Bar “with his Father,” and founding the Beaver Island Chamber of Commerce; it also describes him as a self-taught artist who made ink drawings on rocks, and states that after Frances’s 1990 death he had a California redwood cross built overlooking the harbor as a memorial to her.17 A September 1981 Beacon raffle notice recording “Archie LaTrenieres’ hand drawn picture on a stone” as a prize is consistent with, though it does not independently confirm, that description.18

Evidence and limits

The 1950 report supplies no age or residence address, and this record does not infer that Archie personally caught the fish he described in his capacity as Association of Commerce secretary. Family and business relationships in this article rest on a combination of contemporaneous Beacon notices, which establish who appeared together at weddings, hunts, and civic meetings, and two later, retrospective sources: the Holy Cross Cemetery index and the 2024 Hall of Fame profile, neither of which is a civil or probate record. The sibling relationships to Patrick, Vernon, and Joseph LaFreniere rest on the cemetery’s shared-parent listing and are not separately stated in any contemporaneous Beacon report. The pig-feeding contest is reported as humor copy in a “fairy tale” feature and carries no verifiable weight beyond what each household claimed. The surname is printed “Lafreniere,” “LaFreniere,” “La Freniere,” and, at least twice in the 1970s Beacon, “LaTreniere”; this record treats all as spelling variants of one name rather than evidence of a distinct person, following the pattern already documented for the wider family at Shamrock Restaurant and Pub.

Open questions

  • Can island directories, census records, or association records identify Archie LaFreniere’s Chamber of Commerce and Association of Commerce service more fully, including exact tenure dates?
  • What is the full roster and birth order of Archie and Frances LaFreniere’s children?
  • Is Daniel Archie LaFreniere, named in a 2024 Hall of Fame induction announcement, this same man honored posthumously, or a living namesake? The Hall of Fame profile’s own 1912 birth year for the inductee (used above) indicates the former, but the announcement itself does not state it explicitly.
  • Was the Shamrock founded by Archie and his father Nels alone, or with brothers Patrick, Vernon, or Joseph also involved? No held source addresses this.

See also

Footnotes

  1. Charlevoix County Herald, October 20, 1950, “Perch Fishing And Bird Hunting at its Peak on Beaver Island.” ↩

  2. Beaver Beacon, February 1960, “Big Meeting” and “Archie LaFreniere.” ↩

  3. Beaver Beacon, January 1961, “Beaver Island Fairy Tale,” “Holiday Parties,” and “Civic Association News.” ↩ ↩2

  4. Beaver Beacon, January 1962, “Civic Association News.” ↩

  5. Beaver Beacon, November 1961, “Game Club News.” ↩

  6. Beaver Beacon, December 1961, “Game Club News.” ↩

  7. Beaver Beacon, January 1962, “Big Game Hunt or Safari into the Wilds.” ↩ ↩2

  8. Beaver Beacon, April 1973, “Shamrock Sold.” ↩

  9. Beaver Beacon, March 1974, “Business Seminar.” ↩

  10. Beaver Beacon, August 1974, “Births.” ↩

  11. Beaver Beacon, February 1975, “Business Men’s Meet.” ↩

  12. Beaver Beacon, March 1975, “Beaver Island Bicentennial Proposal.” ↩

  13. Beaver Beacon, November 1975, “Game News.” ↩

  14. Beaver Island Historical Society, “Holy Cross Cemetery,” https://www.beaverislandhistory.org/holy-cross-cemetery/. ↩

  15. Beaver Beacon, January 1961, “Wedding Bells.” ↩

  16. Beaver Beacon, May–June 1976, “Births.” ↩

  17. Beaver Island Irish American Hall of Fame, “Archie LaFreniere” (Class of 2024), https://www.biihg.com/beaver-island-irish-american-hall-of-fame/. ↩

  18. Beaver Beacon, September 1981, raffle notice. ↩

Kin

Joseph “Bussy”LaFreniere1918 – 1995Patrick W.LaFreniere1910 – 1978This articleArchieLafreniere1912 – 1996Frances BernellConnaghan LaFreniere1920 – 1990
Only relations stated in the sources are drawn; absence means unrecorded, not childless or unmarried.

The dated record

20 dated events · 1912–1996These years on the timeline →

Sources

  1. Charlevoix County Herald, October 20, 1950, “Perch Fishing And Bird Hunting at its Peak on Beaver Island.”
    Identifies Archie Lafreniere as secretary of the Beaver Island Association of Commerce and attributes to him the St. James perch-run report, the one-day catch estimate, rabbit observations, and hunting information. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    charlevoix · Charlevoix_County_Herald_1950-10-20
  2. Reports Archie LaFreniere’s sale of the Shamrock Bar after 36 years of proprietorship and says he would continue operating motel units and a gift shop; it does not establish a deed, license, or complete business chronology.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1973-04_Beaver-Beacon
  3. 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 · 1973-04_Beaver-Beacon
  4. Names Archie LaFreniere as the Beaver Island Boat Company representative who described the company’s history and the struggle to build it; it does not establish a complete business biography or corporate record.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-03_Beaver-Beacon
  5. The held nine-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 · 1974-03_Beaver-Beacon
  6. Names Mr. and Mrs. Archie LaFreniere as grandparents of Brooke Elizabeth Slater; matching the existing Archie episode to the birth notice is probable from the name and family context, not a civil identity bridge.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-08_Beaver-Beacon
  7. The held ten-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 · 1974-08_Beaver-Beacon
  8. Lists Archie LaFreniere as Civic Association president and reports two nearly completed deluxe units at Isle Haven. The issue supplies no term, permit, or complete business record.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1960-02_Beaver-Beacon
  9. The held seven-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 · 1960-02_Beaver-Beacon
  10. Reports Archie LaFreniere, assisted by his hound Duke, shooting the first coyote of the season on October 27. It does not establish a complete hunting or wildlife record.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1961-11_Beaver-Beacon
  11. The held five-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 · 1961-11_Beaver-Beacon
  12. Names Archie LaFreniere as a participant in the three-day coyote hunt and as a director elected to the Civic Association; it does not supply vote totals, terms, or a complete hunting record.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1962-01_Beaver-Beacon
  13. The held five-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 · 1962-01_Beaver-Beacon
  14. Identifies D. Archie LaFreniere as born on Beaver Island in 1912 to Nels and Sophia Boyle LaFreniere, describes his tourism and business work, and names the businesses and organizations he helped found. This retrospective institutional profile is used for identity and career context, not as a substitute for contemporaneous corporate records.
  15. The cemetery index lists Archie, also called Daniel Archie LaFreniere, as 1912–1996, married to Frances Bernell Connaghan and child of Nels and Sophia Boyle LaFreniere. It corroborates the Hall of Fame profile’s identity but does not provide a civil certificate.
  16. Names Archie LaFreniere chair of the newly formed Beaver Island Business Association. The recurring full name and business context support the episode connection; the notice does not provide minutes, a charter, or a complete association history. 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
  17. The scan confirms the chair role.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1975-02_Beaver-Beacon
  18. Names Archie LaFreniere as chairman of the Beaver Island Bicentennial Committee on a proposal and matching-funds appeal. The recurring name and community business context support the episode connection; the notice does not provide a committee roster or grant 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 · 1975-03_Beaver-Beacon
  19. The held issue confirms the chairman line.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1975-03_Beaver-Beacon
  20. The held nine-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 · 1974-03_Beaver-Beacon
  21. Reports Archie LaFreniere (with Bert McDonough) raising the losing pig in a humor-column feeding contest against Lawrence and Wini McDonough's pig; reports Archie and Frances LaFreniere serving the New Year's Eve party lunch at the Shamrock; and reports Archie resigning as Civic Association president at the January 5 annual meeting, succeeded by George Van Buren, with Archie elected vice president.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1961-01_Beaver-Beacon
  22. Reports Archie LaFreniere serving as Master of Ceremonies at the Game Club's November 16 Hunters' Dinner, with Rogers Carlisle giving the year's activity report and Vernon Fitzpatrick showing Conservation Department films.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1961-12_Beaver-Beacon
  23. Lists "Archie LaTreniere" among islanders who took a buck during the 1975 deer season, an OCR/print spelling of the surname distinct from the more common "LaFreniere." 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 · 1975-11_Beaver-Beacon
  24. Lists Archie (Daniel Archie) LaFreniere (1912-1996), married to Frances Bernell Connaghan, as a son of Nelson J. "Nels" LaFreniere (1885-1945) and Sophia Boyle LaFreniere (1885-1923); lists three brothers with the same parents -- Patrick W. LaFreniere (1910-1978), Vernon H. "Dick" LaFreniere (1914-1978), and Joseph M. "Bussey" LaFreniere (1918-1995) -- and Frances's own parents as Hugh and Katie Connaghan.
  25. States Archie co-founded the Beaver Island Boat Company, established the Isle Haven Tourist Court, created the Beaver Island Gift Shop, co-founded the Shamrock Bar with his father, and founded the Beaver Island Chamber of Commerce; describes him as a self-taught artist who made ink drawings on rocks; and states that after Frances LaFreniere's death he had a California redwood cross built overlooking the harbor as a memorial to her. This is a retrospective institutional profile, not a contemporaneous record, and is used for identity and career context accordingly.
  26. Reports the January 4, 1961 marriage of Mary LaFreniere, daughter of Elizabeth and Patrick LaFreniere, to Archie Minor of Newberry, with the bride given away by her uncle, Archie LaFreniere -- corroborating a sibling relationship between Archie and Patrick LaFreniere.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1961-01_Beaver-Beacon
  27. Reports "Archie LaTrenieres' hand drawn picture on a stone" as a raffle prize, consistent with the Hall of Fame profile's description of Archie as a self-taught rock artist, though the notice does not itself state that identity. 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 · 1981-09_Beaver-Beacon
  28. Names Mr. and Mrs. Archie LaFreniere as grandparents of Kristen Danielle, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Peter LoDico (Sandy LaFreniere) of St. Johns, Michigan, born May 16, 1976. The same issue's commencement report names Mark LaFreniere as "son of Mr. and Mrs. Archie LaFreniere," and a February 1962 Beacon separately identifies Sandy LaFreniere as "daughter of D. Archie and Frances LaFreniere," which together bridge this grandparent to Daniel Archie "Archie" LaFreniere (1912-1996) at [[person/archie-lafreniere]]. 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 · 1976-05_Beaver-Beacon
  29. The held combined issue confirms the family notice.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1976-05_Beaver-Beacon

Added 1 August 2026 · revised 4 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Archie Lafreniere”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/people/archie-lafreniere/, accessed [date], citing Charlevoix County Herald, October 20, 1950, “Perch Fishing And Bird Hunting at its Peak on Beaver Island.” (and 27 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.

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