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Person

Dennis Wagner

Also Dennis Wagner · Dennis B. Wagner

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

TypePerson
WithinBeaver Island
ErasModern era
On this page
Person
Active
fl. 1972–1974
Work
Garden and snow-removal service provider
Spouse
Bonnie Jean Mason
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
economycommunityheritage
Within
Beaver Island

Summary

Dennis B. Wagner, son of Bernard “Bill” and Marge Wagner of St. James (Bernard W. "Bill" Wagner), married Bonnie Jean Mason on March 11, 1972. Two years later, the Beaver Beacon’s classified pages repeatedly name “Dennis Wagner” offering garden and snow-removal work by power tiller, and he appears in the paper’s community reporting — a 1974 snowmobile ice crossing to Naubinway, beaver trapping, birth notices for two children with Bonnie — into the late 1970s. This record merges what were originally two article stubs, one built from the 1972 wedding notice and one from the 1974 classified ads.

History

The March 1972 Beacon reports the marriage of “Miss Bonnie Jean Mason, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John F. Sipes, to Mr. Dennis B. Wagner, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Wagner, of St. James, Michigan,” at Calvary Baptist Church.1 Beginning in September 1973 and repeating through 1974, the Beacon’s classified pages carry a “Wanted: Garden and Snow Removal work done by power tiller and snow blower. Contact Dennis Wagner” notice, giving a St. James address and the phone number 448-2227.23456 In February 1974 Dennis Wagner is named among thirteen islanders who snowmobiled across the ice to Naubinway.7

The bridge between the 1972 groom and the 1973–74 classified-ad Dennis Wagner rests on repeated, independent naming of the same family. An October 1972 birth notice announces a son, Craig Allen, to “Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Wagner,” naming the grandparents as “Mr. and Mrs. Bill Wagner of Beaver Island and Mr. and Mrs. John Sipes of Lake City” — the same Sipes family as Bonnie’s parents, and a “Bill Wagner” independently documented as Bernard “Bill” Wagner.89 A June 1973 item reports a surprise 25th-anniversary party for “Bill and Marge Wagner,” arranged by “their son and daughter-in-law, Bonnie and Dennis Wagner” — directly naming Dennis’s wife as Bonnie and his parents as Bill and Marge.10 A March 1976 birth notice for a second child, Milissa Joy, again names “Bonnie and Dennis Wagner” with the identical pair of grandparent couples.11 An April 1978 classified lists “Dennis Wagner - 448-2227” beside “Bill Wagner - 448-2340,” the same phone number given in the 1974 garden-work ads.12 Beacon game reports continue to place Dennis Wagner on the island through the late 1970s, trapping beaver together with Bill Wagner — for example, February 1977’s report of “Jerry Van Arkle, Dick Burris, Bill and Dennis Wagner making sets on both Beaver Island and Garden.”13

Significance

Dennis Wagner’s record illustrates how thoroughly the Beacon’s small-town reporting can corroborate an identity across a fifteen-year span — wedding notice, birth announcements, an anniversary party, classified ads and a recurring trapping partnership — even though no single item gives him a complete civil biography.

Evidence and limits

No single source states outright that the 1972 groom and the 1973–74 classified-ad Dennis Wagner are the same man. The identity rests on a converging set of independent notices that name the same spouse (Bonnie, née Mason), the same parents (Bernard “Bill” and Marge Wagner, also reported as “Mr. and Mrs. Bill Wagner”), and the same in-laws (Mr. and Mrs. John Sipes of Lake City) across 1972, 1973 and 1976 birth and anniversary notices, plus a repeated phone number (448-2227) linking the 1974 and 1978 classifieds. No source gives a birth date or full civil identity.

Open questions

  • Is a Holy Cross Cemetery or parish record available to supply exact life dates?

See also

Footnotes

  1. Beaver Beacon, March 1972, “Mason – Wagner.” ↩

  2. Beaver Beacon, September 1973, classified advertising. ↩

  3. Beaver Beacon, January 1974, classified advertising, “Wanted.” ↩

  4. Beaver Beacon, April 1974, classified advertising, “Wanted.” ↩

  5. Beaver Beacon, May–June 1974, classified advertising, “Wanted.” ↩

  6. Beaver Beacon, August 1974, classified advertising, “Wanted.” ↩

  7. Beaver Beacon, February 1974, “Ice Trip To U. P.” ↩

  8. Beaver Beacon, October 1972, “Flash” birth notice. ↩

  9. Bernard W. "Bill" Wagner. ↩

  10. Beaver Beacon, June 1973, “Newsy Notes.” ↩

  11. Beaver Beacon, March 1976, birth notice. ↩

  12. Beaver Beacon, April 1978, classified advertising. ↩

  13. Beaver Beacon, February 1977, “Game News.” ↩

Kin

Bernard W."Bill" Wagner1925 – 1986This articleDennis WagnerBonnieJean Mason
Only relations stated in the sources are drawn; absence means unrecorded, not childless or unmarried.

The dated record

2 dated events · 1974–1974These years on the timeline →

Sources

  1. Names Dennis Wagner as the contact for garden and snow-removal work by power tiller and snow blower; it supplies no biography or business record.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-01_Beaver-Beacon
  2. 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 · 1974-01_Beaver-Beacon
  3. Names Dennis Wagner among the 13 Beaver Island snowmobilers who traveled to Naubinway; it supplies no additional biography.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-02_Beaver-Beacon
  4. 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 · 1974-02_Beaver-Beacon
  5. Names Dennis Wagner in a request for a garden power tiller; it does not establish a transaction, equipment ownership, service booking, or completed work.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-04_Beaver-Beacon
  6. 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 · 1974-04_Beaver-Beacon
  7. Repeats the garden-work offer through Dennis Wagner; it does not establish a business, booking, rate, or completed work.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-05_Beaver-Beacon
  8. The held eleven-page combined May–June issue scan is paired with the OCR source stored under the archive 1974-05 key 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 · 1974-05_Beaver-Beacon
  9. Repeats the garden-work offer by power tiller through Dennis Wagner; it does not establish a business, booking, rate, or completed work.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-08_Beaver-Beacon
  10. 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
  11. 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 · 1974-01_Beaver-Beacon
  12. 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 · 1974-02_Beaver-Beacon
  13. Identifies Dennis B. Wagner as the son of Bernard Wagner of St. James, reports his March 11 marriage to Bonnie Jean Mason, and reports their March 24 Beaver Island open house; it gives no birth date or complete civil identity.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1972-03_Beaver-Beacon
  14. 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 · 1972-03_Beaver-Beacon
  15. Reports "Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Wagner announce the birth of a son, Craig Allen, on November 8th," and names "Mr. and Mrs. Bill Wagner of Beaver Island and Mr. and Mrs. John Sipes of Lake City" as the grandparents. This ties the classified-ad Dennis Wagner to the same "Bill Wagner" named as father-in-law in the 1973-06 anniversary item below and identified independently as Bernard "Bill" Wagner ([[person/bernard-w-bill-wagner]]) — the father named in the March 1972 wedding notice.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1972-10_Beaver-Beacon
  16. Reports a surprise 25th-anniversary party for "Bill and Marge Wagner," arranged by "their son and daughter-in-law, Bonnie and Dennis Wagner" — directly naming Dennis Wagner's wife as Bonnie, matching Bonnie Jean Mason of the March 1972 wedding notice, and his parents as Bill and Marge Wagner. 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 · 1973-06_Beaver-Beacon
  17. Reports "Bonnie and Dennis Wagner are most happy to announce the arrival of Milissa Joy," with grandparents "Mr. and Mrs. John Sides of Lake City and Mr. and Mrs. Bill Wagner of Beaver Island" — the same two grandparent couples as the 1972 Craig Allen birth notice, confirming the same Dennis-and-Bonnie household four years on. 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
  18. Lists "Dennis Wagner - 448-2227" alongside "Bill Wagner - 448-2340" as contacts, the same 448-2227 number given in the January 1974 garden-work classified. 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
  19. Carries the same "Wanted: Garden and Snow Removal work done by power tiller and snow blower. Contact Dennis Wagner, 448-2227" notice repeated through 1974.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1973-09_Beaver-Beacon
  20. Reports beaver trapping activity by "Jerry Van Arkle, Dick Burris, Bill and Dennis Wagner ... on both Beaver Island and Garden," an example of the recurring Bill-and-Dennis-Wagner trapping partnership the Beacon reports in several other seasons not individually cited here. 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 · 1977-02_Beaver-Beacon

Added 1 August 2026 · revised 5 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Dennis Wagner”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/people/dennis-wagner/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, January 1974, classified advertising, “Wanted.” (and 17 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.

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