50th Anniversary of the loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald

[Walks_At_Night]

The iron ore carrier SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a gale on Lake Superior on November 10th, 1975 with the loss of all hands.

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[Walks_At_Night]

The Arthur M. Anderson was trailing the Fitzgerald by several miles when she disappeared off radar and went down.  The Anderson made it into relative safety of Whitefish Bay when the following recording was made between the skipper of the Anderson and the US Coast Guard at Sault Saint Marie.  The Coast Guard officer asks the Anderson if she could head back out into the storm to search and the Anderson's skipper responds with "God, I don't know" but ultimately heads back out to no avail.  The Anderson found debris but the Fitzgerald was on the bottom.

[Walks_At_Night]

The Anderson was still in service until 2024.  She has sat the 2025 shipping season out and her future is uncertain.

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[Bart Ell]

Gordon mentioned the Chippewa in the lyrics.

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Cameron chose to make a movie about the Titanic instead.

Bastard.

[Walks_At_Night]

In Lightfoot's song he mentions a "musty old hall in Detroit" where prayers were said for the lost sailors at the "Maritime Sailors Cathedral".
That actually refers to Mariner's Church located on Jefferson Avenue in Detroit [right by the river and the RenCen].  It was built in 1849 so it has some age and while I've walked by it before, I've not been in it so can not confirm the "mustiness".  The church was built for sailors who had a port of call in Detroit as a place for them to worship and offered a place for them to wash up and sleep. It was almost torn down in the 1950's when Hart Plaza was being planned but the city paid to have it moved, added the bell tower and stained glass.

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Mariner's Church has had a number of events for the anniversary
https://marinerschurchofdetroit.org/edmund-fitzgerald/

[Walks_At_Night]

Gordon mentioned the Chippewa in the lyrics.

Cameron chose to make a movie about the Titanic instead.

Bastard.

Well a nudie drawing of the Old Cook just would not have the same appeal.

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[Walks_At_Night]

About that Old Cook, Lightfoot states:

When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin'
"Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya"
At seven p.m., a main hatchway caved in, he said
"Fellas, it's been good to know ya"

We can't know what the cook said, if anything, but we do know that such a line had been used before.  In 1953, the SS Henry Steinbrenner sank in Lake Superior in a storm [yes named after George Steinbrenner's Dad] - there were a number of survivors including a sailor named Norman Bragg.  In 1966, the SS Daniel J. Morrell was in serious trouble in a storm on Lake Huron.  Hearing an awful sound at 2AM, sailor Dennis Hale awakens and asks Bragg what was up.  Bragg tells him and others that the ship is finished and to tie themselves to a raft along with a "It's been good to know you guys".  Hale would ultimately be the only survivor of the Morrell's sinking.

[Walks_At_Night]

Interesting video about the weather events from that day.

[KSM]

y' know I was wondering why I was seeing all these videos of black people reacting to the Lightfoot song. No documentaries, just people reacting to the poetic song. I am always amazed at how big the ship really was when I see it in pictures.

[JUAN]

Was it a portal?

[Walks_At_Night]

y' know I was wondering why I was seeing all these videos of black people reacting to the Lightfoot song. No documentaries, just people reacting to the poetic song. I am always amazed at how big the ship really was when I see it in pictures.

Those "reacts" videos are annoying.  Saw one once where a rapper and his girl were trying to find the meaning in a Dead Milkmen video.

[Walks_At_Night]

Loss of the freighters on the Great Lakes used to be more prevalent in the years before the loss of the Fitzgerald.  The steel used to build the older boats was more brittle and prone to failure under stress.  More modern builds like the Fitzgerald used better steel. The Fitzgerald was launched in 1958 whereas other famous lost Freighters - the Bradley and Morrell were launched in 1906 and 1927.

No freighter on the Great Lakes has sunk since the Fitzgerald was lost.  Better weather forecasting, better steel have helped.  It wasn't until last year when the Michipicoten nearly went down that there was a close call.  This dude was on the Michipicoten when it barely made it into Thunder Bay and when asked to help sail it back to Duluth told them to stick it.

[Walks_At_Night]

The Fitzgerald's lifeboats were recovered.  No 1. was ripped in half and No 2. was beat to hell.  They are on display at a museum at the Soo.

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