“We Are Holding Our Own”
Bow anchor of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, Dossin Great Lakes Museum, Detroit. NOTE: since I took this photo a “few” years ago, the museum grounds have been improved and the anchor has a dramatic new setting. Next time I’m in The D, I need to pay a visit and take new photos!
On a stormy November evening 49 years ago, the crew of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, 29 men who thought they were on the last run of the season, made the last run of their lives.
Wheelsmen. Deckhands. Oilers. Engineers. Porters. Maintenance men. Cooks. Mates. Watchmen. Wiper. Cadet. Captain. Fathers. Brothers. Husbands. Grandfathers. Sons. Uncles. Friends.
All hands were lost when the 729-foot freighter, loaded with iron ore pellets called taconite, was swallowed by Lake Superior on November 10, 1975 en route from Superior, Wisconsin (twin port city to Duluth, Minnesota), to Detroit.
After hours of sailing through the storm, at 7:10 p.m. the Fitzerald’s veteran Captain Ernest M. McSorley radioed the captain of the Arthur M. Anderson, an ore carrier trailing the Fitz by about 10 miles and said, “We are holding our own.”
There was no further communication from, and no other sighting of, the lake boat, the largest of its kind when it launched on the Detroit River in 1958.
S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald on the Detroit River in 1960 (Detroit Historical Society photo)
Officially the reason for the sinking of the Fitzgerald in Canadian waters about 17 miles off the Upper Peninsula “remains a mystery,” according to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point, where her bell is displayed.
In his 1976 ballad “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot referenced speculation that the crew had been at fault for not correctly battening down the hatches. But Lightfoot later changed that line of his lyrics because a Canadian documentary claims to have proven that the sinking was not the crew’s doing.
Click here to listen to “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”
Books, videos, articles and additional websites about “Big Fitz” reflect the continuing fascination with the greatest modern shipwreck in U.S. waters; this website is an excellent resource.
For the 1995 Discovery Channel documentary about the disaster: CLICK HERE
In November of each year Great Lakers attend ceremonies that recognize not only the Fitzgerald but all mariners lost on Lakes Superior, Huron, Ontario, Erie and Michigan.
A LEGO fan admires a model of the Edmund Fitzgerald, built of the interlocking blocks by Kalamazoo teacher John Beck, that years ago was on display at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point in the Upper Peninsula.
MICHIGAN
Several years ago, following an Edmund Fitzgerald ceremony along the Detroit River, I was able to chat at the (now closed) River Rouge Bar & Grill with Fred Shannon (since deceased), a scuba diver who explored the Fitzgerald site, and Pam Johnson, daughter of Robert Rafferty, the cook on the ill-fated voyage.
25th Annual Lost Mariners Remembrance, Dossin Great Lakes Museum, Detroit and Facebook Live – 6-8 p.m. EST, Sunday, November 10
There will be a lantern vigil at the Fitzgerald‘s anchor outside of the museum, and Great Lakes balladeer Lee Murdock will perform, followed by the solemn dispatch of a memorial wreath to the Detroit River. Admission is charged in addition to State Park vehicle fee. Join the livestream at the Dossin Museum’s Facebook page; click here.
Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Ceremony, Livestream from Whitefish Point – 7 p.m. EST, Sunday, November 10
The seasonal Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum on Lake Superior will conduct its annual tribute, which is not open to the public but may be watched online.
Plan to visit in 2025; plans are underway for recognition of the 50th anniversary of the loss.
Located north of Paradise at Whitefish Point, 17 miles from where the freighter went down, the museum contains the Fitzgerald’s bell, recovered from the deep-water site in 1995. At the bottom of the lake rests a replica of the bell, inscribed with the names of the lost seamen.
Mariners’ Church, Detroit – 11 a.m., Sunday, November 10
The annual Great Lakes Memorial Service honors all lost on the lakes at the church on the Detroit River that is referenced in Gordon Lightfoot’s ballad, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
MINNESOTA
Beacon Lighting Commemorates Edmund Fitzgerald, Two Harbors and Livestream – 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday, November 10
The seasonal Split Rock Lighthouse opens for this annual tribute that includes a film about the freighter, a solemn ceremony and once-a-year opportunity to climb to the top of the tower after dark. The event will be streamed on Split Rock Lighthouse’s Facebook Page and the Minnesota Historical Society’s YouTube channel.
Mariners’ Memorial Lighthouse on the Detroit Riverfront in River Rouge is near the Edmund Fitzgerald launch site, which happened in 1958.
But wait, there’s more:
Read “The Legend Lives On,” Susan R. Pollack’s story in Experience Michigan magazine about the Edmund Fitzgerald and her encounter at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum with Fran Gabor, niece of one of the lost sailors. (Found at pages 46-47.)
For a new story about the tragedy, CLICK HERE.
For more about the Fitzgerald, spend time exploring the extensive information at S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald Online the website maintained by Timothy McCall.
Click here for a brief film clip of the Detroit River launch of the Fitzgerald on June 7, 1958.
Fans of or just curious about Great Lakes freighters? Click here to check out Boatnerd.com.
Story and photos (unless otherwise noted) copyright Kath Usitalo.
