50 Years After the Edmund Fitzgerald Sank

Fifty years ago, the Witch of November came stealing.

On November 9, 1975, the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, loaded with more than 26,000 tons of taconite pellets — vital elements in the steelmaking process — set sail from Superior, Wisconsin, with a final destination of Zug Island in Detroit.

It never made it.

Gale warnings were issued that day, and by the following morning, the Fitz was buffeted by waves, wind and snow squalls. The ship had been in contact via radio with the Arthur M. Anderson, which had left Two Harbors, Minnesota, and was following a similar course. The two captains talked around 7 p.m. November 10, with Ernest McSorley, captain of the Fitz, saying, “We are holding our own.” It was the ship’s final transmission.

It's estimated that the ship — with all 29 crew members aboard — sank about 15 minutes later. No distress call was made. No lifeboats were deployed. All that rescue workers found in an immediate search of the area were an oil slick and some scattered debris. The Fitz became one of the thousands of ships that ended up at the bottom of the Great Lakes, but it’s maintained an outsized spot in the collective consciousness.

“I really think it took the whole nation by surprise,” says Kate Fineske, executive director of the National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo. “To think that in 1975, a vessel of that size could go down was unheard of.”

The museum is one of many sites around the Great Lakes hosting events to commemorate the 50thanniversary of the sinking. Their slate of events begins Nov. 7, with a special dinner and beer tap at Quenched and Tempered Brewery in Toledo, Ohio. The dinner will be chicken paprikash — believed to be the last meal served on board the ship — and a new copper ale, the Toledo Express, the Fitz’s nickname, will debut.

Saturday, author Christopher Winters will be at the museum to sign copies of his book, “The Legend Lives On: S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald.” On Monday, the anniversary of the sinking, there will be hourly screenings at the museum of the documentary, “A Good Ship and Crew Well-Seasoned: The Fitzgerald and Her Legacy,” as well as a panel discussion and remembrance ceremony that evening.

In connection with the museum, Meredith Moon will perform at the Valentine Theater on November 9. Moon is a Canadian singer-songwriter, and the daughter of Gordon Lightfoot, who released a song about the ship’s sinking, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” in 1976 — one of the keys to the ship’s enduring popularity.

The museum will also be offering tours all weekend on the James M. Schoonmaker for the “Edmund Fitzgerald Experience.” The Schoonmaker predates the Fitz, but Fineske says it has many of the same characteristics and can show what sailing on the freighter was like. Details on all museum events can be found at https://nmgl.org/fitzgerald50/.

The Mariner’s Church of Detroit —  where “the church bell chimed till it rang 29 times for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald,” as Lightfoot sang — will also host events.

·      Friday, Nov. 7 – concert by Mike Fornes, 6 p.m.

·      Sunday, Nov. 9 – Great Lakes Memorial Service, 11a.m.

·      Monday, Nov. 10 – Eucharist service, 12:10 p.m.

Further details can be found at https://marinerschurchofdetroit.org/edmund-fitzgerald/.

The Fitz had a brief but illustrious career. When it put to sea in Detroit in 1958, it was the Queen of the Lakes, the Great Lakes’ biggest ship. It was also luxuriously appointed — with guest rooms furnished by J.L. Hudson, the Detroit department store — and for its entire existence, was aspirational for Great Lakes sailors.

“The Fitzgerald was unique,” Fineske says. “When it was built, it was beyond its time. No expense was spared.

“It was the ship people worked to get to. It was a showcase ship.”

One of the reasons the ship is remembered is because there remains an element of mystery of its sinking. Wreckage has been found in pieces at the bottom of Lake Superior Did the Fitz break up and then sink? Or did it sink and then break up when it hit the bottom of the lake? Did it capsize amid waves, estimated to be as much as 25 feet high? The National Enquirer even suggested that aliens were involved.

Fineske notes that the Fitz’s sinking was instructive, leading to wholesale changes and improvements to try to ensure that something like it never happens again. Technology has changed, making it easier to track a ship’s location. Weather prediction has changed, and safety procedures on ships have changed as well.

It’s worthwhile to remember it not just for the tragedy it was, but how far we’ve come since then,” she says. “There hasn’t been a major incident like that since then. Things have been updated, and it’s a much safer environment today sailing the Great Lakes.”

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