Ashley "Ray" Adair on his 60th Wedding Anniversary with Marie, July 16, 1990, in Munising.

Ray Adair was born November 19, 1901,
in Latty, Paulding County, Ohio.
He died in Munising on November 13, 1993.

Ray Adair was a well known Munising fisherman. He started in 1927 with Ray Hinz on the IRMA O. The next year he bought his own boat, the ALICE L., and fished set hooks and trolled for trout. But he lost his boat in a vicious northwest storm which struck suddenly while he and Louis Powell were fishing--each in his own tug--off Pictured Rocks on "the big reef". They attempted to anchor overnight offshore, but were swept in toward the Rocks. Powell's boat ended up on Beaver Beach with no harm done. Ray's, however, foundered after the engine failed, and he had to abandon ship. He made it to a ledge, now known as "Adair's Promontory", and waited more than 72 hours before being rescued by other fishermen. The Grand Marais Coast Guard search party sent after him had gone right by without spotting him!

Ray did not give up after that experience. He built up his equipment and was soon running a good operation.

Robert Matson (of the Charles Matson commercial fishing family) worked for Ray when he first started out as a young man.

Thinking that the larger boat he could acquire, the safer he would be, Ray bought the 50-foot ELEANOR in 1934. With a 75-horsepower diesel engine, there were few days when the ELEANOR could not venture out on the lake. The crew was well-seasoned, and in rough weather the men simply braced themselves for the pitching and rolling. Once, however, it was reported that, at times, they had to lie down, wedged in, to eat lunch!
Hard luck again struck Ray when, in a heavy, December 1950 snowfall, the ELEANOR ran aground on the flag sandstone ledge northeast of Wood Island. Two Coast Guard cutters--first the KAW, and then the MACKINAW--tried to pull her free, but Ray finally gave the word to give up before any of the crew were injured in the struggle which carried on in running seas. Where his 50-60 foot ELEANOR sank off the shore is so noted as "Ray Adair" on at least one map of Wood Island.
Ray did not give up fishing, but bought the tug, EVELYN S. in 1951--a time when the lampreys were about to take their toll on the fishery. He fished until 1960 and retired. (By 1932, the Munising fishing village was home to at least 17 fishermen, including Ray's brothers, Fay and Jim Adair.)

During his summer vacation in 1916, Ray Adair worked as a deck hand on the R.T. ROY, a steam tug that belonged to the Levi Brown Fisheries. He recalled the lumbering activities of the Jackson & Tindle at Jaspers Landing, just east of Sand Point where the company had a large supply of hardwood decked on the bluff. Ray remembered, "That is the only time I ever heard of rafting hardwood, and the loss must have been substantial, even hauling slow. Jackson & Tindle had another huge pile of logs just east of Miner's Castle, between the top of the bluff and Bridal Veil Falls. It was really a sight to see those huge logs come falling down that high bluff and splashing into Lake Superior!" Ray continued, "There being no road then to Sand Point, Tom King and a crew were in tents on the east end of Sand Point; in the morning they climbed the bluff, probably about where the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore starts the present backpackers trail. The boat crew strung their 'booms' attached to iron bolts drilled into he rock, then hooked on to the center of the booms, pulled out into the lake a couple hundred feet and dropped anchor in order to create a pond t hold the logs. Tom's crew rolled the logs over the bluff and into the lake. When they had enough logs, the 'boom-man' and helper closed the two ends with a skiff, and the tug took off for the mill. This took all night, as the hardwood had to be hauled very slowly, or lots of logs would roll under the booms and be lost."

Ray Adair remembers, "Where the new high school is located (1981) was the location of the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company's combination sawmill, lath-mill, shingle-mill and planing mill. When I got out of school, I worked there in the office for three years."

Ray Adair & Marie Ripley Adair on their wedding day. They were married by First Presbyterian Church Minister, Rev. Broughall, on July 16, 1930, in Munising. They celebrated more than 60 years of marriage and attended Munising's First Presbyterian Church, where all of their children were baptized.

Ray Adair was born November 19, 1901,
in Latty, Paulding County, Ohio.
He died in Munising on November 13, 1993.

Ray & Marie Adair at First Presbyterian Church, Munising, Michigan.

Ray Adair was born November 19, 1901,
in Latty, Paulding County, Ohio, to:

Harley Elmer Adair (Engineer, Millwright)
&
Sallie Riley Adair

Ray Adair died in Munising on November 13, 1993.

Ray's family was on Munising Avenue in Munising by 1910; 920 W. Superior in 1920 & 1930.

During his summer vacation in 1916, Ray Adair worked as a deck hand on the R.T. ROY, a steam tug that belonged to the Levi Brown Fisheries.

In 1920, he was a Laborer at the Woodenware factory.

He was 28, a Fisherman, and Marie was 24 when they were married in 1930.

In 1903, the Harley Elmer Adair family, including nine sons and a daughter, moved from Ohio to Munising. A millwright, Harley was the son of Samuel Adair, a Civil War veteran who lost three brothers in that conflict. The family can be traced to British diplomats and prominent Presbyterian ministers, one of whom, the Rev. John Adair from County Down, Ireland, was the first of the family to come to America in 1640.

1940 Census, W. Superior St, Munising:
Ray A Adair 38, Fisherman, Fishing
Marie E Adair 33
Shirley Adair 8
(After Shirley moved from Munising, she continued to visit our FPC Family regularly.)
Herbert Adair 7
Richard Adair 6
Royce Adair 2

Royce Adair married Al Gelbke's daughter.

Alfred M. "Al" Gelbke, age 92, (formerly of Munising) passed away at his home in Appleton, Wisconsin on Sunday, June 3, 2001. Al was born on October 16, 1908, in Garfield, New Jersey, to the late Carl A. and Anna (Koenig) Gelbke, Sr. He married Mardelle Reimer on August 11, 1936 in Menasha, WI. Al will be remembered for his love of gardening, his tree farm, his golfing and fishing skills, not to mention his "whoppers". He enjoyed 43 years in the pulp and paper industry with a special interest in research and the development of new products. His career began with the Fox River Paper Company and ended with Kimberly-Clark in MUNISING, MICHIGAN. He retired in 1973 and returned to Appleton in 1987. Al was always involved in numerous clubs and activities, including Rotary Club, Alger County Historical Society, and various fishing and hunting clubs.

Survivors include his wife of 64 years, Mardelle; his daughter, NANCY (ROYCE) ADAIR, Montrose, Colorado; his four grandchildren, Scot Adair (Judy Desjarden) of Munising, Michigan; Tamra Adair (Jay Hiserote), Portland, Oregon; Mark (Susan) Adair, Muncie, Indiana; Brian Adair (Cindy Wong), Newark, California; his six great-grandchildren, Mara and Ashlyn Hiserote, Jordan Heathfield, and Amy, Michael and Matthew Adair; his brothers, Paul (Dorothy) Gelbke, Appleton, and Carl (Evelyn) Gelbke, Appleton; his sisters-in-law, Agnes Gelbke, Appleton and Katherine Gelbke, Green Bay; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by 2 sisters and 4 brothers.

A. RAY ADAIR Gravestone
&
ADAIR Family monument,
BLOCK D LOT 6,
Maple Grove Cemetery, Munising, MI

Ashley Ray Adair was born November 19, 1901, in Latty, Paulding County, Ohio.
He died in Munising on November 13, 1993.

Memorial Stained Glass Window "IN MEMORY OF the Adair Family" at First Presbyterian Church, Munising, Michigan, where Ray & Marie served so faithfully.

Ray Adair was born November 19, 1901
in Latty, Paulding, Ohio to:
Harley Elmer Adair
(Engineer, Millwright)
&
Sallie Riley Adair.
Ray Adair died in Munising on November 13, 1993.

In 1903, the Harley Adair family, including nine sons and a daughter, moved from Ohio to Munising. A millwright, Harley was the son of Samuel Adair, a Civil War veteran who lost three brothers in that conflict. The family can be traced to British diplomats and prominent Presbyterian ministers--one of whom, the Rev. John Adair from County Down, Ireland, was the first of the family to come to America in 1640.

Ray's family was on Munising Avenue in Munising by 1910; 920 W. Superior in 1920 & 1930.

During his summer vacation in 1916, Ray Adair worked as a deck hand on the R.T. ROY, a steam tug that belonged to the Levi Brown Fisheries.

In 1920, he was a Laborer at the Woodenware factory.

He was 28, a Fisherman, and Marie was 24 when they were married in 1930.

1940 Census, W. Superior St, Munising:
Ray A Adair 38, Fisherman, Fishing
Marie E Adair 33
Shirley Adair 8
(After Shirley moved from Munising, she continued to visit our FPC Family regularly.)
Herbert Adair 7
Richard Adair 6
Royce Adair 2

Royce Adair married Al Gelbke's daughter.