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Person

Ed Ladd

Also Ed Ladd · Edward S. Ladd · Edward Ladd

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

TypePerson
Born1910
Died1995-07-14
WithinBeaver Island
ErasModern era
On this page
Person
Born
1910
Died
1995-07-14
Work
Employee, "the National Bank," Pontiac, Michigan (32 years) · Board member, Beaver Island Historical Society · Board member, Beaver Island Civic Association · Treasurer, Beaver Island Bicentennial Committee · U.S. Navy (WWII service); U.S. Naval Reserve (20 years)
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
governancecommunity
Within
Beaver Island

Summary

Edward S. Ladd and his wife Lorena (Hale) Ladd moved from Pontiac, Michigan to Beaver Island in 1973, settling in a new home on the back beach.1 A retired bank employee and University of Michigan graduate, Ladd became a fixture of island civic life for over two decades — Civic Association board member, Historical Society board member and later vice-president, maple-syrup maker, rug-hooking artist, and adult-education teacher — until his death on July 14, 1995, in Charlevoix, at age 84.2

History

Ladd was nominated for the Civic Association’s Governing Board in the January 1975 election and served on the board that year.34 He and his wife donated weights to the newly established Youth Center at Holy Cross Hall in 1975.5 That winter he fished for perch at Font Lake with Perry Gatliff and Father Herbert, and a March 1975 Game News column credits his using a kernel of canned corn as bait after minnows had been the usual choice.6 By the mid-1970s he was also known for tapping maple trees along Sloptown Road and boiling the sap in his back yard, a practice the Beacon later said he carried on alone after fellow sugarer Fr. Donahoe’s death.7 He taught an accounting class through North Central Michigan College’s island adult-education program in the mid-1970s; a 2006 “Thirty Years Ago” retrospective restates the same October 1976 item, that the college was offering two courses on the island, “including accounting, taught by resident Ed Ladd.”8

Ladd served for years on the Beaver Island Historical Society’s board. A September 1976 officer listing already names him a Society vice-president, alongside Archie LaFreniere – a year earlier than the October 1977 vice-presidency documented from the Society’s expanded board – and he re-appears in board rosters printed in 1978, 1979 and February 1980, helping run its annual meetings and elections through the early 1980s.910 Away from civic office, an October 1979 Beacon game-news column credits improved duck hunting that fall to a wild-rice planting Ladd had done two years earlier with Steve Connaghan, Glen Arden and Stan Floyd. In 1981 he designed and hand-hooked a 48-by-63-inch rug map of the Beaver Archipelago in turquoise and cream, raffled to benefit the Historical Society; the winners, announced that September, were Bussy and Eleanor LaFreniere.1112 He served as treasurer of the Beaver Island Bicentennial Committee in 1976.13 In a July 1986 St. James Township meeting he suggested checking the 1968 township minutes on an unspecified matter, evidence of his continued attendance at township government meetings a decade after his elected civic terms.14 In August 1988 he played for the “Old Timers” team in an island softball game, alongside Curt Petrak, Fr. Bob Miller and others.15 In 1988 he and his daughter, Susan Schwartz of Albany, New York, traveled to Prince Edward Island to trace his grandmother’s Saville family, later corresponding with cousins located there.16 A 1982 school notice names a grandson, James E. Schwartz — son of Susan and James H. Schwartz — as co-salutatorian of his graduating class at Guilderland High School, New York.17

His wife, recorded in her own 1987 obituary as Lorene R. Ladd and in his 1995 obituary as Lorena Hale, died April 12, 1987, at 76; she had married Ladd at Pontiac on July 3, 1936, worked as a receptionist at the Oakland County Road Commission from 1944 to 1954, and moved with him to Beaver Island in 1973.182 Ed Ladd died July 14, 1995, in Charlevoix, at 84. His funeral was held July 17 at the Beaver Island Christian Church, with Phil Gregg officiating, and he was buried in the Beaver Island Cemetery with honors from the U.S. Naval Reserve of Cadillac. The obituary states he was born in Pontiac in 1910, served in the U.S. Navy during the Second World War, and completed twenty years in the Naval Reserve; that he earned a master’s degree in business from the University of Michigan; and that he was employed by “the National Bank” in Pontiac for 32 years before retiring to the island. Phil Gregg was quoted: “He was the kind of person with whom people naturally felt at ease… A gentle person with a ready smile, he never failed to voice his appreciation of family, friends, and surroundings.” A correction printed the following month restated that “Ed was born in Gaylord,” and gave Lorena and Ed’s marriage as having reached its 51st year at her 1987 death — consistent with the 1936 marriage date, but directly at odds with the original obituary’s claim that he was born in Pontiac.19

Significance

Ladd’s twenty-two years on the island — civic officer, maple sugarer, craftsman, teacher — made him enough of an island fixture that a grandson-by-marriage, Saginaw newspaper copy editor William Cornish, wrote a December 1996 reflection describing “Grandma and Grandpa” on Beaver Island as a lasting source of peace amid his own working life.20 A 1989 Beacon item locating a newly arrived couple’s cabin “right next door to Ed Ladd” also shows how the island’s newspaper used him as a navigational landmark in its own community reporting.21

Evidence and limits

Ed Ladd’s July 1995 Beacon obituary and a September 1995 printed correction disagree on his birthplace: the obituary states Pontiac, the correction states Gaylord. This article carries both without resolving the disagreement. His occupation, described only as “Banker, Pontiac, Michigan” in earlier drafts of this record, is corrected here to the obituary’s own wording: employment “by the National Bank” in Pontiac for 32 years, without a University of Michigan-conferred title beyond his master’s degree in business. A previous draft of this article placed Ladd’s death “by August 2005,” relying on a Beacon item that in fact appears under a “Ten Years Ago” retrospective heading in the August 2005 issue, recalling news from August 1995 — the month after his actual death. That misreading is corrected here against the directly dated July 1995 obituary and its September 1995 correction.

Open questions

  • Which is correct, the 1995 obituary’s claim that Ladd was born in Pontiac, or the September 1995 correction’s claim that he was born in Gaylord?
  • What was “the National Bank” of Pontiac’s full name, and what position did Ladd hold there over his 32-year career?

See also

Footnotes

  1. Beaver Beacon, August 1973, “New Residents.” ↩

  2. Beaver Beacon, August 1995, “Edward S. Ladd,” obituary. ↩ ↩2

  3. Beaver Beacon, December 1974, “Election.” ↩

  4. Beaver Beacon, January 1975, “New Officers.” ↩

  5. Beaver Beacon, February 1975, “Youth Activities.” ↩

  6. Beaver Beacon, March 1975, Game News column. ↩

  7. Beaver Beacon, February 1976, sugar-bush notice. ↩

  8. Beaver Beacon, October 1976, adult-education notice. ↩

  9. Beaver Beacon, September 1976, Historical Society officer listing. ↩

  10. Beaver Beacon, October 1977, April 1978, February and May and June 1979, February 1980, and December 1980, Beaver Island Historical Society board and election notices. ↩

  11. Beaver Beacon, May 1981, Historical Society rug raffle notice. ↩

  12. Beaver Beacon, September 1981, rug raffle winner notice. ↩

  13. Beaver Beacon, July 1976, Bicentennial Committee notice. ↩

  14. Beaver Beacon, July 1986, St. James Township meeting report. ↩

  15. Beaver Beacon, September 1988, softball game report. ↩

  16. Beaver Beacon, July 1989, “Ed Ladd in Search of His Ancestors on Prince Edward Island.” ↩

  17. Beaver Beacon, June 1982, school notice. ↩

  18. Beaver Beacon, May 1987, “Lorene R. Ladd, 76,” obituary. ↩

  19. Beaver Beacon, September 1995, “Correction.” ↩

  20. Beaver Beacon, December 1996, “Grandma and Grandpa,” by William Cornish. ↩

  21. Beaver Beacon, February 1989, community column. ↩

The dated record

3 dated events · 1910–1995These years on the timeline →

Sources

  1. Lists Ed Ladd as a nominee for one of five Beaver Island Civic Association Governing Board seats in the announced January 9, 1975 election; it provides no biography or result.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-12_Beaver-Beacon
  2. 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 · 1974-12_Beaver-Beacon
  3. Names Ed Ladd as a Civic Association board member elected January 9; it provides no term dates or complete civic biography. 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 · 1975-01_Beaver-Beacon
  4. The scan confirms the board roster.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1975-01_Beaver-Beacon
  5. Reports Ed and Mrs. Ed Ladd donating a set of weights to the Youth Center after Holy Cross Hall was obtained for school youth activities. It does not provide a receipt, valuation, or complete youth-program 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 · 1975-02_Beaver-Beacon
  6. The scan confirms the donation report.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1975-02_Beaver-Beacon
  7. Reports Mr. and Mrs. Edward S. Ladd of Pontiac, Michigan as new island residents, recently moved into a new home on the back beach.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1973-08_Beaver-Beacon
  8. Reports Ed Ladd teaching a North Central Michigan College accounting class on the island. 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 · 1976-10_Beaver-Beacon
  9. Describes a hand-hooked 48" x 63" rug map of the Beaver Archipelago in shades of turquoise and cream, designed and executed by Historical Society board member Ed Ladd, raffled to benefit the Society. 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 · 1981-05_Beaver-Beacon
  10. Reports Ed Ladd and his daughter Susan Schwartz of Albany, New York traveling to Prince Edward Island in summer 1988 to trace his grandmother's Saville family, and later corresponding with newly located cousins there. 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 · 1989-07_Beaver-Beacon
  11. Reports the April 12, 1987 death of Lorene R. Ladd, 76, at Grandvue Medical Care Facility, East Jordan; she married Edward Ladd at Pontiac on July 3, 1936, lived in the Pontiac area until 1973, was a receptionist at the Oakland County Road Commission from 1944-1954, and was survived by her husband, daughter Susan Schwartz of Albany, and son David A. Ladd of Cadillac. 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 · 1987-05_Beaver-Beacon
  12. Beaver Beacon, August 2005, passings notice.
    Reports Ed Ladd among recent passings, describing him as "another U of M grad," a "gentle, smiling ex-Pontiac banker who lived on the Back Beach, and was frequently seen tapping maple trees on Sloptown Road or boiling the sap in his back yard." Gives no exact death date. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2005-08_Beaver-Beacon
  13. Reports Ed Ladd elected to the Historical Society's expanded seven-member Board of Trustees, then elected Vice-President a week later. 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 · 1977-10_Beaver-Beacon
  14. Reports Ed Ladd re-elected to the Historical Society Board at its November 13, 1980 annual meeting. 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 · 1980-12_Beaver-Beacon
  15. Reports Ed Ladd tapping his sugar bush and notes that, with Fr. Donahoe's death, he was the only one the paper knew of still making maple syrup on the island. 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 · 1976-02_Beaver-Beacon
  16. Lists Ed Ladd as Treasurer, Beaver Island Bicentennial Committee, in a contributions notice; he and the Boat Company also represented "Present-Day travel" with a boat and plane float in a Bicentennial parade or display. 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
  17. Full obituary: Ed Ladd, 84, of Beaver Island, died July 14, 1995, in Charlevoix; funeral July 17 at the Beaver Island Christian Church, Phil Gregg officiating; burial in Beaver Island Cemetery with U.S. Naval Reserve of Cadillac honors. States he was born in Pontiac in 1910, served in the U.S. Navy in WWII and completed twenty years in the Naval Reserve, graduated University of Michigan with a master's degree in business, and was employed by "the National Bank" in Pontiac for 32 years before retiring to the island. States he married Lorena Hale in Pontiac in 1936, and she preceded him in death April 12, 1987. Corrects a previous draft of this article, which had misread an August 2005 "Ten Years Ago" retrospective item (recounting this same news from August 1995) as a contemporary 2005 report and placed his death "by August 2005." 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 · 1995-08_Beaver-Beacon
  18. States "Ed was born in Gaylord. His wife was Lorene, and they were in their 51st year of marriage at her death" -- correcting the prior month's obituary, but itself disagreeing with that obituary's statement that Ladd was born in Pontiac. This article carries both claims without resolving the disagreement. 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 · 1995-09_Beaver-Beacon
  19. Repeated Historical Society board-member rosters naming Ed Ladd, confirming continuous board service across these 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 · 1978-04_Beaver-Beacon
  20. Names Bussy and Eleanor LaFreniere as winners of the hand-hooked rug of Beaver Island "made by Ed Ladd." 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
  21. Records "Ed Ladd suggested checking the minutes of the Township meetings of 1968" at a St. James Township meeting. 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 · 1986-07_Beaver-Beacon
  22. Lists Ed Ladd among the "Old Timers" team, with Curt Petrak, Fr. Bob Miller and others, in an island softball game. 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 · 1988-09_Beaver-Beacon
  23. Names James E. Schwartz, son of Susan and James H. Schwartz and "grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Ladd (of Beaver Island)," as co-salutatorian of his graduating class at Guilderland High School, New York. 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 · 1982-06_Beaver-Beacon
  24. A reflective essay by Saginaw News copy editor William Cornish, identified as "grandson by marriage of the Ed Ladds of Beaver Island," recalling memories of them as a source of peace. 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 · 1996-12_Beaver-Beacon
  25. Describes a newly arrived couple's log cabin, built by Walt Wojan, as located "right next door to Ed Ladd." 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 · 1989-02_Beaver-Beacon
  26. Beaver Beacon, August 2005, "On This Date" ("Ten Years Ago").
    A "Ten Years Ago" retrospective column recounting August 1995 news, including Ed Ladd's recent death, described as "another U of M grad ... a gentle, smiling ex-Pontiac banker." A previous draft of this article misread this retrospective item as a contemporary 2005 report; it is retained here only as the source of that correction, not as evidence of a 2005 death. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2005-08_Beaver-Beacon
  27. Beaver Beacon, October 2006, "Thirty Years Ago" retrospective column.
    Restates the October 1976 item that North Central Michigan College was offering two courses on the island, "including accounting, taught by resident Ed Ladd"; the same 1976 fact already cited directly, not new information. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2006-10_Beaver-Beacon
  28. Lists "Vice-Presidents - Archie LaFreniere and Ed Ladd" for the Historical Society, showing he held that office by September 1976, a year before the October 1977 vice-presidency already documented from the Society's expanded 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 · 1976-09_Beaver-Beacon
  29. Credits improved duck hunting to wild-rice planting done two years earlier by Steve Connaghan, Ed Ladd, Glen Arden and Stan Floyd. 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 · 1979-10_Beaver-Beacon
  30. Reports Ed Ladd, Perry Gatliff and Father Herbert had good luck perch fishing at Font Lake that winter, and that Ladd found success using a kernel of canned corn as bait. 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

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

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Ed Ladd”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/people/ed-ladd/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, December 1974, “Election.” (and 29 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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