First reports were in the middle of the night via shortwave and maritime radio. Anyone familiar with The Great Lakes immediately feared the worst and did the only thing we could do.
We prayed.
Today, we remember and prayers continue not just for the 29 families, but for all the maritimers who risk their lives on the seas.
11/10 - A number of memorials around the Great Lakes today and later this week will remember the Edmund Fitzgerald, lost with all hands 35 years ago with all hands in a violent Lake Superior gale.
In Detroit, the annual Lost Mariners Remembrance will be held from 6-8 p.m. tonight at Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle. This year's remembrance will focus on the Lady Elgin, which sunk after being rammed by a schooner on Lake Michigan in the early morning hours of Sept. 8, 1860. It was the worst maritime tragedy on the open waters of the Great Lakes. Event highlights will include a lantern vigil at the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald anchor, ballads performed by Lee Murdock, a color guard escort of a memorial wreath to the Detroit River for receipt by a flotilla of Great Lakes vessels with 19 international military, maritime, and community agencies participating, and a special program with author Valerie van Heest. For more information visit www.detroithistorical.org. In addition, the event will be made available as a live webcast for those unable to attend in person Click here to view.
In River Rouge, Mich., near where the Fitzgerald was launched in 1959, a ceremony is set for 6-8 p.m. tonight near the Mariners Memorial Lighthouse at Belanger Park. Several speakers will give their memories of the ship, including people who helped construct it and relatives of some of the deceased crewmen. Earlier in the day, an Edmund Fitzgerald open house will be held from 3- 5 p.m. at the River Rouge Historical Museum. For more information on either event contact Dolores Swekel at 313-842-7822.
At Whitefish Point, near where the Fitzgerald went down, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum will offer its annual memorial service beginning at 7 p.m. tonight in the Shipwreck Museum building. Public seating will begin no earlier than 6:30 pm on a first-come, first-served basis. This year's Fitzgerald service will be conducted by the Rev. Richard Ingalls, Jr., rector of the Mariner's Church in Detroit. As described in Gordon Lightfoot's song, it was the Rev. Ingalls fathers who rang the bell "29 times for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald." The public is invited to attend the service, which includes music, reflections, and a Call to the Last Watch Ceremony during which the bell is tolled for each crew member, plus a 30th ring to remember all mariners lost on the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum will be open on Wednesday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. The Shipwreck Coast Museum Store will be open that day from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Standard museum admission rates apply; admission to the Fitzgerald service is free. For more information, call the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at 888-492-3747.
Cadets from the Great Lakes Maritime Academy in Traverse City will honor the memory of cadet David Weiss, lost on Fitzgerald, in ceremonies Wednesday at noon in the courtyard of the academy. The memorial will also pay tribute to all mariners lost on the Great Lakes or ocean. As they have for a number of years, some academy cadets will leave after the ceremony and drive to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point to again honor their lost comrade.
In Duluth/Superior, annual Gales of November activities begin on Friday at Grandmas Sports Garden with a joint luncheon with the Duluth-Superior Propeller Club. The keynote speaker, Pat Labadie, former Museum Director of the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center, will present "Shedding New Light on Maritime History." Various area tour options follow lunch and the day concludes with an reception, sponsored by Lake Superior Magazine, at the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center in Canal Park. Events on Saturday, Nov. 13, all held at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center, begin at 8:30 a.m. The day is filled with maritime-related educational breakout presentations, a mini trade show, silent auction, and an opportunity to enter a raffle with a chance to win a trip on a Great Lakes freighter. The raffle drawing will take place at 5:30 p.m. at the Gales of November closing on Saturday. Tickets to Gales of November are required. Immediate details and registration information can be found at www.lsmma.com
In Rogers City, Mich., the Rogers City Great Lakes Lore Maritime Museum will honor fallen sailors throughout November at bell tolling memorials. Members of the community and families of the deceased will gather to remember the shipwrecks of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Carl D. Bradley and Daniel J. Morrell. The bell tolling service for each shipwreck will take place at 2 p.m. on the closest Saturday to the date of the actual wreck. The tolling for the Edmund Fitzgerald will be Nov. 13, Nov. 20 for the Carl D. Bradley and Nov. 27 for the Daniel J. Morrell.
Finally, in the Port Huron area, the Friends of the St. Clair County Library will present "The Edmund Fitzgerald Investigations," a documentary on the Fitzgerald, on Nov. 19 at the St. Clair County Auditorium. Hosting will be former Great Lakes sailor Frank Frisk and Historian/Videographer Ric Mixter. The documentary is the only one of its kind to include video footage from all of the ship's expeditions including some never-seen-before footage from the CURV III mission, which was used to first explore the wreck site in 1976. The 60-minute piece will feature the history of the boat including footage of its building and its launch near Detroit. Interviews with former crew members and U.S. Coast Guard investigators will also be included. Admission is free, and registration is required for the event. To reserve a spot, contact (810) 984-2406
Here are a few links.
And of course...
I heard that it was rammed by the Cat Stevens. Or was that Gordon Lightfoot?
Thanks so very much.
Raben
It was a miserable night, even as far south as Chicago.
The Great Lakes are called great for a reason. They are every bit as treacherous as any sea on Earth.
Well, I had another song running through my mind.
Now I have THIS song instead.
It really is a sad and amazing story. The Fitzgerald was so massive and the idea that a few maneuvers may have saved her is hard for anyone to really grasp.
They found her on the floor of the lake but to this day I am pretty sure they don’t know precisely why she went down.
In my mind there will be bells in remembrance of the crew and their families.
Superior it’s said never gives up her dead when the winds
of November blow early.
Chilling Words to a sad,sad story. RIP To the Skipper and
her Crew.
I was 12 when the Fitz went down. I have done my annual “listening” to the song. Can’t do it more than once a year.
A few intersting facts about the ship:
It was owned by the general account of the life insurer Northwestern Mutual.
It was named after the former CEO of the company.
I have seen this documentary aired before on either the History Channel or Discovery Channel (can't remember which)... it's fascinating.
just keeping you in the loop
I’ve been trying to get the sleep out of my eyes this morning. Misting works pretty well. Thanks.
I grew up on Lake Erie. I was a teenager when this happened. I can’t read about it without tearing up. About 7 years ago I taught my daughter about it. I found a very nice screen saver on line with pictures and the song. I no longer have it and it was a little too depressing to use after teaching my daughter. It was a nice presentation and tribute though.
Prayers for the families.
As an aside, I was doing reserve duty with VP-60 at NAS Glenview bach in the late 70's when one of the P-3 crews found the wreck of the Lady Elgin. They had been doing MAD runs looking for some WWI German subs that had been scuttled off Chicago when they came across a large contact that was later identified as the Lady Elgin's powerplant. She's a lot further north and west than originally presumed.
This tragedy would not have been remembered by as many if it wasn’t for Gordon Lightfoot’s great song.
From the mid 19th century until its end, the list of ships taken by Lake Superior is quite long. If you’re into scuba diving, you can while away the entire summer exploring shipwrecks in the cold waters around the Keweenaw Peninsula and Isle Royale in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. These same cold waters preserve these wrecks quite well in the big lake. The location of a number of these shipwrecks from that century is still to be discovered.