Bruce and Betty Patrick Celebrate 60th Anniversary

Betty and Bruce Patrick of Cedarville flank their daughter, Peggy, at a birthday and anniversary celebration for the couple Sunday, February 24, at Cedarville Inn. (Photograph by Chris Tuckett)

Bruce and Betty Patrick of Cedarville celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with 100 friends and acquaintances Sunday, February 24, at an anniversary and birthday party at Cedarville Inn. The event also marked Mr. Patrick's 93rd birthday and Mrs. Patrick's 85th birthday.

Bruce Patrick met Betty Miller while she was on a fishing trip in the Les Cheneaux Islands with her parents, Stewart and Ruby Miller.

The Millers were a New York family who enjoyed fishing, often traveling to Canada in pursuit of a good catch. Friends recommended fishing the Les Cheneaux Islands, so one year they veered from their usual course to try the waters here. The trip resulted in the couple's first meeting.

The Patricks have two children, Margaret "Peggy" Patrick, who lives next door to them in Cedarville, and their son, Ralph Patrick of Hessel, who succeeded Mr. Patrick as manager of Patrick's Landing Resort on Snows Channel in Cedarville. They have one granddaughter, Elizabeth, who is attending college.

Bruce and Betty Patrick bought Patrick's Landing from Mr. Patrick's mother, Emma, a few years after they were married. The Patrick family has owned and managed the property, one of the first resorts in the Les Cheneaux Islands, for 124 years. Mr. Patrick's grandfather, William A. Patrick, started building Patrick's Landing in 1884.

Bruce Patrick was a fishing guide in the 1930s, and he started building flat-bottom boats as a teenager. He became a master boat builder, perhaps his best-known skill, and made hundreds of boats over the next 55 years.

Mrs. Patrick was born in Lorain, Ohio, and lived in California, Syracuse, New York, and finally Buffalo, New York, where she spent most of her youth before moving to Cedarville. She attended Buffalo State Teachers College, and later earned a master's degree from Northern Michigan University in Marquette. When she moved to Cedarville, she taught home economics, kindergarten, and special education. Following her retirement from teaching, she worked as a curriculum resource consultant for the Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District.

Mrs. Patrick was a member of the Arts Council of Les Cheneaux and served on the Les Cheneaux Community Schools Board of Education. Mr. Patrick has served on the Clark Township zoning board and planning commission. During winter stays in Florida, Mr. Patrick also helped build Habitat for Humanity homes.

They have been members of the Les Cheneaux Islands Association, Les Cheneaux Yacht Club, and Les Cheneaux Chamber of Commerce.

Members of the Hessel Presbyterian Church and Les Cheneaux Lions Club assisted Rose Miller and the Patrick family in preparing the reception.