- Born
- 1975-01
- Work
- Second pilot, Welke Aviation, Inc. · President, Welke Aviation, Inc. · Member, Peaine Township Zoning Board (temporary appointee, replaced during military service)
- Parents
- William P. "Bill" Welke · Betty Welke
- Siblings
- Mark Welke · Carl Welke
- Member of
- Welke Aviation, Inc.
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- transportationeconomycommunity
- Within
- Beaver Island
Summary
Paul R. Welke, son of William “Bill” and Betty Welke, organized the venture that became Welke Aviation, Inc. In January 1975 he asked the Charlevoix City Council for office space at the Charlevoix Municipal Airport on behalf of his preliminary corporation, Welke Aviation Service, which he described as planning twin-engine freight and passenger service between Beaver Island and Charlevoix. By May the company held an FAA operating certificate, and Welke, 26, was its president and second pilot.
Family and early record
The Welke family moved to Beaver Island in 1969 from Walled Lake, Michigan, where William Welke had run a construction business. In February 1973 the Beaver Beacon reported that Bill Welke had temporarily taken Paul’s seat on the Peaine Township Zoning Board (see Peaine Township temporary zoning-board appointments, 1973) “until he finishes his service hitch,” indicating Paul Welke was then serving in the military; the notice does not name the branch or give service dates. In February 1975 the paper announced his engagement to Erin Arvilla of Charlevoix, a Charlevoix High School graduate then attending Michigan State University, and identified Welke as a graduate of Walled Lake High School and the University of Detroit. The same issue reported him hospitalized at Charlevoix Hospital with a broken and dislocated ankle. Beacon classified advertisements from October 1971 through at least April 1976 list Paul Welke as the contact for the Welke Oil Company, a fuel-delivery business he ran alongside his other island work. By February 1976 a joint Peaine and St. James Township Boards meeting appointed a new Zoning Administrator, Bill Cashman, to a position the notice says Welke had vacated — a staff role distinct from the elected Zoning Board seat he had held before his military service.
Aviation venture
The May–June 1975 Beaver Beacon reported that Welke Aviation, Inc. had received its FAA Air Taxi/Commercial Operator certificate and would fly an Apache twin-engine aircraft carrying four passengers plus the pilot for charter passenger and freight service across the Upper and Lower Peninsulas, based at Welke Airport on the island. Welke’s father, William, was chief pilot; his brother Mark held a power-plant mechanic’s rating and pilot’s license; his younger brother Carl, 18, held a private pilot rating and was working toward a commercial rating. Betty Welke, his mother, was secretary-treasurer. Island Airways’ own company history states that Welke Aviation later merged with McPhillips Flying Service in 1983 to form Island Airways, and that Paul Welke bought out the remaining partners in 1989; this later history is not independently verified here and is reported only as the company’s own account of its outcome.
Evidence and limits
The record is built entirely from Beaver Beacon notices and one company self-history. No corporate filing, FAA certificate number, aircraft registration, or independent biography has been located.
Open questions
- What branch and dates of military service kept Welke off the Zoning Board in 1973?
- Does a surviving FAA or state corporate record give the certificate number and formation date for Welke Aviation, Inc.?
See also
Kin
The dated record
Sources
- Names Paul Welke as the organizer of a preliminary corporation for proposed twin-engine freight and passenger service. It does not supply a full biography, company filing, aircraft registry, or operating 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 · 1975-01_Beaver-Beacon
- The scan confirms the proposal and attribution to Paul Welke.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1975-01_Beaver-Beacon
- Names Paul R. Welke as Erin Arvilla’s fiancé, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Welke, a graduate of Walled Lake High School and the University of Detroit, president of Welke Aviation Corporation on Beaver Island, and a Charlevoix Hospital patient with a broken and dislocated ankle. The notice does not provide a marriage record, corporate filing, or medical 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
- The scan confirms the engagement, aviation role, and hospital note.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1975-02_Beaver-Beacon
- Identifies Paul Welke, 26, as president and second pilot of the family-owned Welke Aviation, Inc. after its FAA operating certificate, with 11 years’ experience, commercial and multi-engine ratings, and an instrument rating pending. It reports the passenger/freight charter operation based at Welke Airport and states the family moved to Beaver Island in 1969 from Walled Lake, where William Welke had been in the construction business with 10 years in the Civil Air Patrol. It does not provide a corporate filing or complete 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 · 1975-05_Beaver-Beacon
- The held combined issue confirms Paul Welke’s role and the operating report.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1975-05_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports that Bill Welke temporarily replaced Paul Welke on the Peaine Township Zoning Board "until he finishes his service hitch," indicating Paul Welke was then in military service. It does not name the branch, unit, or dates of service.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1973-02_Beaver-Beacon
- The held seven-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1973-02_Beaver-Beacon
- Company history states Welke Aviation was established in January 1975 "by Paul, Bill, and Welke" with one Piper Apache, that Welke Aviation merged with McPhillips Flying Service in 1983 to form Island Airways, and that Paul Welke purchased all remaining partners’ stock in 1989. This is a company self-history, not an independent record, and is used only for the outcome of the 1975 venture, not for facts about the 1975 episode itself.
- Recurring classified ad for "Welke Oil Company - Guaranteed Deliveries," listing Paul Welke as contact; the same ad recurs in at least the November 1971 and January-April 1976 issues.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1971-10_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports Bill Cashman appointed Zoning Administrator by a joint Peaine and St. James Township Boards meeting, filling the position vacated by Paul Welke. 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
Added 3 August 2026 · revised 5 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Paul Welke”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/people/paul-welke/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, January 1975, “Plans Beaver Island Twin Engine Air Service.” (and 10 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.