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A Michigan Backcountry Search and Rescue Op
for
Joseph Robert Clewley
Missing since July 13, 2008

by
Michael A. Neiger (a.k.a. LandNavMan)
Senior SAR Team Leader
Michigan Backcountry Search and Rescue
Marquette :: Michigan

Introduction:
Joseph Clewley, the missing man

Page contents
     • Joseph Robert Clewley, the man

As you sit on the hillside,
or lie prone under the trees of the forest,
or sprawl wet-legged by a mountain stream,
the great door, that does not look like a door, opens.
—Stephen Graham, The Gentle Art of Tramping, 1926

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According to those who are lucky enough to know him, Joe Clewley is a kind, gentle man, one who would give you the shirt off his back, even if he'd just met you.

...Joe is my Uncle. I want to thank you for the time and effort you are putting into finding him. If you had known him, you would have loved him like we do.....loved his family, great sense of humor, and would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. Thanks again.
—Tom Rausch, writing about his Uncle Joe, on July 23, 2008

Joe Clewley was born in 1934 in Lansing, Michigan, where he and his three siblings attended elementary school and high school. He attended Lansing Community College where he studied electrical design.

During the 1950s, Joe served a tour of duty with the United States Navy Seabees on the island of Guam, a U.S. territory in the western Pacific Ocean.

He married his wife, Loraine, in Lansing. Together, they had five children: two boys and three girls. In 1972, the Clewley family moved to the Roscommon area where Joe founded and operated Industrial Control Resources for 25 years.

Now retired, he enjoys spending summers at his circa-1920, two-room, log cabin—The Chippewa Hunting Post—along the north bank of the Tahquamenon River. He spends his winters in Panama City, Florida.

Visitors to Joe's well-kept cabin feel as though they are stepping back in time.

Joe Clewley's circa-1920, two-room, log cabin—The Chippewa Hunting Post—along the north bank of the Tahquamenon River. (Photo by Michael Neiger)

A small, simple, wooden "Welcome to the River" sign greets those who call on Joe at his Chippewa Hunting Post. Just inside the back room is a picture of his log cabin, taken from the vantage point of the Tahquamenon River. It's captioned:

Welcome...

Things are a lot more
like they used to be
than they are now.

We Love It!

Joe Clewley's circa-1920, two-room, log cabin—The Chippewa Hunting Post—along the north bank of the Tahquamenon River. (Photo by Michael Neiger)

Inside the main front room, one finds simple gas lights and an old, wood-fired, cookstove. No noisy generators, electric lights, or solar panels. No running water either as Joe preferred to haul his from a local spring.

It is one of the blessings of wilderness life
that it shows us how few things we need
in order to be perfectly happy.
—Horace Kephart, Camping & Woodcraft, 1917

His bookcase and coffee table overflow with a wide variety of books. Taped near his comfortable, old reading chair is the following quote:

When we cannot bear to be alone,
it means we do not properly value
the only companion we will have
from birth to death—ourselves
—Eda Leshan, (1922-2002), American writer

As you watch the slow-moving Tahquamenon River through one of the cabin's front windows, a small wooden placard nearby sums up life at the Chippewa Hunting Post—"Silence spoken here."

Conversation enriches the understanding,
but solitude is the school genius.
—Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

Joe's hobbies and favorite pastimes include hiking, fishing, bird hunting, white-tailed deer hunting, and wildlife watching, particularly for moose, black bear, and white-tailed deer.

I can enjoy society in a room;
but out of doors, nature is company enough for me.
— William Hazlitt, English essayist, 1778-1830

Top of page

In God's wilderness lies the hope of the world,
the great, fresh, unblighted, unredeemed wilderness.
 —John Muir (1838-1914), Alaska Wilderness, 1890

If you've been able to read this Web page...
thank a Teacher;
If you've been able to read this Web page in English...
thank a Veteran.
—Author unknown

Learn about upcoming trips and expeditions of the Michigan Bush Rats

Joe Clewley, Joe R. Clewley, Joe Robert Clewley, Joseph Clewley, Joseph R. Clewley, Joseph Robert Clewley

You're here: MiBSAR :: SAR Ops :: Joe Clewley SAR Ops Page :: The missing man
You're here: Backpacker Magazine's Midwest Forum :: Joe Clewley Discussion Thread :: Joe Clewley SAR Ops Page :: The missing man