Editor’s note: The Menominee High School Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2024 induction ceremony takes place May 4 at the Pullman House in Menominee. Tickets are on sale at the Superintendent’s office at Blesch School and the Principal’s office at the high school for $35. Each week, the EagleHerald will spotlight one of the 12 inductees. This week’s feature is on William and Benjamin C. Fernstrum, Class of 1938.
MENOMINEE — The novelty of being twins would be enough to make William and Benjamin C. Fernstrum memorable, but it is the brothers’ athletic ability and dedication to their communities that has made them legendary.
Whether as individuals or as a team, the Fernstrum brothers stood out no matter the crowd they found themselves surrounded by.
On May 4, William and Benjamin will be surrounded by fellow Maroon icons as the Fernstrum brothers take their place in the Menominee High School Athletic Hall of Fame as members of the Class of 2024.
Born on October 12, 1920 to Mary and Benjamin Fernstrum, William, the oldest, and Ben spent their childhood competing both with and against each other in a variety of sports.
Like many young men that pass through the halls of Menominee High School, Bill and Ben yearned for a chance to suit up for the Maroon football team.
Blessed with blazing speed, it would seem like a no-brainer for coach Bernard McCann to bring the Fernstrums on board. However, McCann, deeming the boys to be “too small”, had other ideas and instead encouraged them to join the Maroon track and field team in the spring.
Bill and Ben dazzled onlookers for two seasons (1937-38) for the Menominee thinclads, but it was their senior year that made everyone stand up and take notice.
Both brothers set records in 1938, with Ben setting a Menominee High School record in the 200-yard dash (0:23.6 seconds) that stood for 32 years.
In a case of “anything you can do, I can do better”, Bill established a new Upper Peninsula mark in the 440-yard dash (0:53.6) that withstood for 27 years.
As good as they were apart, the Fernstrum brothers were even better together, as Bill and Ben teamed with Ben Buckley and Herculon Bourion to set a U.P. record in the mile relay (3:34.0) at Escanaba.
The record was broken in 1970 and 1971 before being broken again by Bill’s son, Marvin, alongside Kevin Woods, Phil Zagrodnik and Tim Casperson in 1986.
With World War II raging in Europe, the Fernstrums attended Citizens Military Training Camp at Fort Brady in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan after graduating from MHS in 1938.
Bill and Ben then attended Michigan State University from 1941-42, where they both joined the ROTC program.
During their time in East Lansing, the Fernstrums decided to break some school records for MSU’s indoor track team, with the duo helping to shatter the old marks in both the 880-yard and mile relays.
Both brothers answered the call of duty and served their country during the later years of World War II.
From 1942 until 1946, Bill was enlisted in the United States Army Air Force and was stationed in Iceland as part of the North Atlantic Group of the Air Transport Command, earning the rank of First Lieutenant.
Ben was a member of the United States Army from 1942-46, serving at Camp Carson, Colorado and achieving the rank of First Lieutenant, just like his older brother.
Bill and Ben’s bond stretched to the great outdoors, where the brothers were both active members of the Boy Scouts of America, becoming the first pair of twins in the U.P. to attain the rank of Eagle Scout on April 20, 1939.
Upon returning from their military service in 1946, the Fernstrums took a group of Boy Scouts to Bear Paw Scout Camp in Mountain, Wisconsin, where they were initiated into the Order of the Arrow.
Bill served as Scoutmaster at Roosevelt grade school in Menominee and Westminster Church in Flint, Michigan from 1946 until 1955. Ben was Scoutmaster of Troop 77 at First Presbyterian Church in Menominee for over 20 years.
Both brothers were recipients of the Silver Beaver Award, which recognizes “registered Scouters of exceptional character who have provided distinguished service within a council.”
Bill and Ben also blazed trails as charter members of the Menominee Sea Scouts from 1938 through 1939.
Ben studied Forestry at MSU from 1941-42. He was a member of the American Legion and served as Deacon, Elder and Usher at First Presbyterian Church, in addition to his duties as a volunteer judge for numerous Bay Jammer events.
He married Bernice Reiter on May 15, 1946. The couple had four children: Joyce, Judy, Calvin and Gary. Bernice passed away on April 1, 1980. Ben followed her in death on December 17, 2016 at the age of 96.
Bill graduated from Michigan State with a BS degree in Horticulture in 1949 before securing a Master’s Degree in Science and Math from Northern Michigan in 1967.
He taught both subjects for the Menominee Area Public School system from 1966 until 1982. Bill also coached the Menominee boys cross country team for four seasons, winning a U.P. title in 1968.
Bill married Carol Jane Olsen on April 15, 1950, siring 12 children (Sheri, Craig, Cindy, Gail, Scot, Lary, Julee, Lee,Michael, Marvin, Mark and Mary) over a 20-year period. Carol passed away April 16, 2011, with Bill following her in death on February 27, 2021 at the age of 100.
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