Tuesday, Nov. 11, 1975: Edmund Fitzgerald reported missing
Posted on November 8th, 2005 – 7:59 PMBy Ben Welter
Lake Superior Maritime Collection November 1975 doesn’t seem that long ago until you consider how old a recap of that month can make you feel. New York City was on the financial rocks. Karen Ann Quinlan was on a respirator. Lynette (Squeaky) Fromme was on trial, accused of attempting to assassinate President Gerald Ford. Movie buffs were flocking to the Downtown Mann to see Redford and Dunaway in “Three Days of the Condor.” Pot roast cost 79 cents a pound at Penny’s Super Markets, a Northland Bantam hockey stick cost $1.29 at Holiday Village, and a brand-new AMC Gremlin would set you back $2,889.
Gordon Lightfoot could have written a song about any of those things. Instead, he chose the Edmund Fitzgerald. The Minneapolis Tribune’s night crew hustled to get this first sketchy report on Page One within hours of the ship’s disappearance.
Cargo ship, crew
Of 35 missing
in Lake Superior
By Harley Sorensen
Staff Writer
A cargo ship with 35 crew members was reported missing Monday night in treacherous waters in Lake Superior, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
The 729-foot Edmund Fitzgerald was last heard from at about 7:30 p.m. about 15 miles north of Whitefish Point near Sault Ste. Marie off the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, officials said.
The ship radioed coast guard officials at Sault Ste. Marie that it was taking water. The coast guard asked another vessel, the Arthur M. Anderson, to follow the Fitzgerald.
A spokesman for the U.S. Steel Great Lakes fleet said he learned the Anderson was following the Fitzgerald at a distance of about five miles in an easterly direction toward Sault Ste. Marie. He said the Anderson, a U.S. Steel fleet vessel, reported that the Fitzgerald disappeared from sight and the radar scope at about the same time.
The Associated Press said the Fitzgerald departed Duluth-Superior at 1:15 p.m. Sunday with a cargo of 26,216 tons of taconite pellets loaded at the Burlington Northern docks in Superior.
However, a spokesman for Oglebay-Norton Co. Cleveland, the ship’s owner, said, that the Fitzgerald departed Silver Bay, Minn., Sunday bound for Great Lakes Steel Co. in Detroit.
Ed Schmid, assistant to the president of Reserve Mining Co., Silver Bay, said the Fitzgerald is the largest ship to come into Silver Bay. He said Silver Bay is its most frequent port of call.
The coast guard in Duluth said that a 180-foot seagoing buoy tender, the Woodrush, left Duluth last night to search for the Fitzgerald. He said a coast guard tugboat, the Nawgatuck, departed Sault Ste. Marie in the search. Also, he said, airplanes from an air force base in Michigan joined in the search. An Oglebay-Norton spokesman said shortly before midnight that “we haven’t given up hope yet.”
A coast guard spokesman said bad weather had plagued the search. “The seas are so bad,” he said, “it’s almost hazardous for a boat to go out tonight.”
Waves in the area were reported at 25 feet high. They were accompanied by winds gusting to 75 miles per hour, the coast guard said.
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| A UPI photo appeared in the Tribune on Nov. 12, 1975, with this caption: “A coast guardman at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., reached for some of the debris that washed up Tuesday from the sinking of the ore carrier Edmund Fitzgerald. The life preservers, life raft, oars and other small items were brought to Sault St. Marie by helicopter from points along Lake Superior.” |
33 Responses to "Tuesday, Nov. 11, 1975: Edmund Fitzgerald reported missing"
My 83 year old grandmother’s brother (Eugene O’Brien) died on this ship. She still talks about it today. It was pretty devastating.
I seem to rember the Gordon Lightfoot song saying that a bell was rung 29 times once for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald. The article states there were 35 men on the ship??
Good eye, Ed. This initial story, pulled together quickly just hours after the ship was reported missing, is wrong on that point and several others. Another example of why newspapers are called the first (rough) draft of history.
I was invovled in a little known event that occured on the White Earth Indian Reservation, actually at the Chippewa Ranch. A shoot out involving AIM, my uncle Jerry Roy a AIM member, 2 of my cousins (Miles & Josh)and myself. I was 13-yearold boy at the and my one cousin was only 10. We shot 4 men who were ransacking a house that Vernon Belcourt resided in but was not home in at the time. My uncle was shot and seriously wounded and 4 others were also shot from the opposition “Goons”. I remember it well 31 years ago, the blizzard that first occured and then the shoot out. Verify by contacting Vernon Belcourt or Clyde Belcourt or Kathy Roy sister of my uncle Jerry Roy. The bigger story was the sinking of the Edmund Fritzgerald on Lake Superior.
This is a story that should be in history books. It is a sad story, but one that should always be told as long as the families carry on.
Me and my college roommate road tripped to Duluth six years ago to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the ships demise. There was not a dry eye in the place when the rang the bell 29 times.
Is it possible to see the pictures of the crew of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald?
You’ll find photos of some of the crew here:
I was stationed at K.I. Sawyer AFB, Marquette, Michigan.
I remember the storm well, as my friend Jim and I watched the waves of Superior pound the shoreline the night the Fitz went down.
We sent aircraft out from our base to try and help locate that carrier. I will never forget that experience, and the fury that can be brought upon Lake Superior from the gales of November.
I was sitting home that night, listening to both the CB & scanner, when it seemed like everyone who owned a CB radio started talking at once. Shortly after, all the horns & whistles down at BayShip began blowing, followed by the siren iat the east side firehouse. It was a chaos that seemed to never end. Finally, one of the local CBer’s was able to overpower everyone else and broadcast: “THE FITZGERALD IS GONE!” - The radio went so quiet after that, that it sent a shiver down my spine.
I hope to never see another storm like that in my lifetime - I thought the house was going to be ripped apart around me.
The sinking of the ship was definitely tragic. However, I remember the storm itself was really amazing. I was 15 and living in the Twin Cities. I recall a large, fast change in temeperature and amazing wind. Is it my imagination or am I correct that the temperature dropped 75 or more degrees in 24 hours? The tragic story of the shipped overshadowed the story of the storm itself, and I can’t find evidence to back up my claim.
See new information about the Fitz at http://www.ssedmundfitzgerald.com
Hello, I am writing a speech about the law, does anyone know if there was a suit involving the sinking of the Fitz, likely against Northwest Mutual Life Ins. Co.?
If someone knows the name of the case could you email it to me?
My step-dad, Bert Johnson, just passed away March 30th, 2007. He was the first mate on The Anderson who had last voice contact with The Fitzgerald. He was always haunted by this major event in his life. He always said that if they’d been 15 miles further, those 29 would never have perished. One of the last times I spoke with him, he reminisched about “The Fitz” and still voiced regrets of not being “just 15 miles further”. May all crew members who perished in ships that have gone down rest in peace.
I was only 7 yrs old when it happened and I remember my parents talking about it. We lived in Chicago and all the newspaper headlines had something about it. I asked my dad to read me some and he could barely get thru any because we both started crying.
I listen alot {have it on CD} to the song about the wreck, by gordon littlefoot.It’s so sad and makes you feel like your almost on the ship during the trip. I also get the feeling that I want to meet the whole crew,, of brave men to do the job they did.They must of loved the lake,the ship and to travel.I don’t understand why some of them didn’t put on life jackets or used the life boat. It’s like none of them wanted to leave any of the others behind. God Bless Them All
I read that Mr. Lightfoot wrote the song because he was upset about the lack of respect to Captain McSorley. Apparently his name was spelled incorrectly in a newspaper article he had read. Maybe it was one of the early sketchy reports.
Paul Wrubel
Is it possible to see all of the pictures of the crew of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald?
http://www.ssefo.com/crew/profiles/index.html
The above listed website has photos and profile information on the men that lost their lives on that night.
I am in the process of writing my final term paper (essay) on The Fitz for my Engl Comp class.
Also, you can read the 121 page US Coast Guard report online as well… http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/moa/boards/edmundfitz.pdf
May God bless and be with the families of those that perished…
See more information about the Edmund Fitzgerald.
http://www.ssEdmundFitzgerald.com
I moved to northern Minn in 1975. I remember the storm–about +45, strong winds and rainy at 7:AM. That changed to snow and still windy in the afternoon. Really miserable. By the next morning it was -30, but sometime during the night the wind had gone down. It was too late, the ship was gone. I lived there over 11 years and never saw such a drop in temp. God bless the families.
I teach 3rd grade at an elementary school and “The Big Fitz” (the book title) is one of the non-fiction stories that is part of our curriculum. The students are fascinated by the idea that something so big could vanish so quickly. I am amazed at how many details they remember from the story and how inquisitive they are about such a tragic loss that happened before some of their parents were even born.
I remember learning of the Fitz when I was twelve, at the 10th anniversary of the wreck. We lived north of La Crosse, WI, and I asked my dad and grandfather about the storm. They remembered it well. My dad said he wasn’t surprised that the Fitz was lost from that big of a storm. My grandfather told me it reminded him of a storm in November many years earlier where many men went out hunting along the Mississippi River because of beautiful weather, and in only a few hours the temperatures dropped about 70 degrees, and turned into blizzard conditions. Many hunters were lost to exposure. I will always be leary of the gales of November.
I lived in Duluth in 1975 when the Fitz went down. On the very evening of the tragedy, I wrote the song “Twenty-Nine More Men” which was the first song ever written about the Fitzgerald. Although Gordon had the hit song, my song still sells as a collector’s item. List to a 30 second clip of the song at http://www.ssedmundfitzgerald.com Roscoe Clark has a wonderful website about the Fitzgerald! May God Bless all the families who lost loved ones that night!
November 11, 2007 Paradise Michigan…
After breakfast I met up with a Man and his young daughter in the gift shop area. He informed me that he was very interested in the Fitzgerald, and admitted that he was a “boat nerd”. That he learned allot on the “boat nerd website”. The little girl was admiring stuffed animals that were there on display. I took several down for her to examine closer, and after hugging each one, and softly rubbing the fur against her little angelic face… she found the one she liked the best. It was a dog.
In a split second, my memories raced back in time, to when my uncle Buck brought a puppy home for us. And I felt a need and desire to purchase that dog for the little girl. And I did.
Now I don’t know who that little girl was, but I hope wherever she is, that she will remember the dog that she got while visiting the Fitzgerald Memorial at Whitefish Point, and that it was a gift from a Fitzgerald Family member. The Nephew of Oliver J. “Buck” Champeau, the 3rd engineer of the Edmund Fitzgerald. It was from the heart, and if she reads this, she will know why I did it.
I was attending UM-Duluth that fall in 1975 and remember seeing the news flash on t.v. while I was visiting a friend on the UW-Superior campus. That night driving back to UMD over the bridge I saw the Woodrush steaming out of the harbor and glanced down to the Aerial Lift Bridge and the waves were pounding high against, and over the twin lighthouses at the entrance! My 1971 Hornet was pounded by the wind and sleet and I will never forget that fateful night of 10 November 1975! My father bowled with Al Kalmon who was 2nd Cook on the Fitz as he was from my home town of Washburn Wisconsin! The Fitz and Arthur M. Anderson were familiar sights in the early 1970’s at anchor in Superior harbor, and I can still vividly recall that terrible night like it was only yesterday! I will never forget how violent Lake Superior got that day, and remembered praying for the safe return of the Edmund Fitzgerald crew, and for the Woodrush who bravely steamed out into the dark gales of November that terrible night!
Here we are in 2007 and I still remember that awful day like it was yesterday. I was an oiler on the Canadian Progress and we were in that storm.
We were on Lake Huron , heading up to the Soo . What a horrible night that was , I remember having to go to the Engine Room and help tie down any thing that could move. The boat was rolling and shaking violently.
On deck , all available hands were out tying down the unloading boom - the Canadian Progress was a Self Unloader . The violent rolling and pitching had broke some of the wire stays and turnbuckles.
But it was breakfast the next morning I will never forget . I was on the 8 to 12 watch so came into the Galley with most of the crew . First thing Cookie told us all was that the Edmund Fitzgerald had gone down the night before. 29 men gone.
Not one man ate anything . We sat with our coffees and teas , in stunned silence. Even writing this now is bringing it all back . We all knew the horror those men must have felt as they tried to save their ship , and the finality of their demise was so emotionally felt by all Great Lakes sailors that morning.
God keep those brave warm in their ice water grave
i was borned november 29 1975 and its a special thing to find out what happenned before i was born thank you
A friend of mine sailed and would come back into Duluth every few weeks so we could help blow his paycheck, just a couple young guys being wild occasionally. Bill sailed as a Bosun’s Mate, I believe, on the Anderson. They were a few miles behind the Fitz and did their best to find survivors. He told me some of the Anderson crew were injured that night by flying rivets down in the lower forward quarters. The ship was sagging and twisting so violently from the huge seas that the rivets would sheer off the bulkhead and fire across the room like a ricocheting bullet. They had to lay down on the floor to put on their “Gumby suits”, as a precaution if they went down, which are one piece rubberized survival outfits.
After the Fitz incident Bill changed, becoming more quiet and introspective, rather than the rollicking sailor he used to be. In fact, a couple weeks after the Fitz sank, his ship arrived back in Duluth and he walked down the gangway with his last check, signed his Sailor’s Discharge papers – and never went back. He was thoroughly shaken by the events that November. I went on and stayed in the maritime trades and am now a Captain myself, mainly working locally in and around the Duluth-Superior harbor and Lake Superior running tugs and Pilot boats. Some of the Fitz crew were acquaintances and when she kicks up a storm and I’m rolling around out there looking at walls of water as high as a building, I often think of them.
I arrived in the Twin Cities on November 10th, 1975, pulling the smallest U-haul trailer you can rent behind my 1967 Chevrolet, Impala; but, containing all of my worldly possessions. The major items in that trailer were a twin bed, bicycle, clothes, books and papers. And, I’m sure the car was also fully packed. I had visited Minneapolis several times before, but this was the biggest move of my life, leaving my birth family behind in Cleveland, Ohio. I was 23-years-old.
Back in Cleveland I had started packing the trailer in dry/ temperate conditions, and by the time I drove away from my inner-city apartment it was a full-blown blizzard. Due to the conditions, I decided to stay one last night in the suburbs, and after a short 10-mile drive, backed the trailer into my parent’s driveway overnight to weather the worst of it, before starting out again in the morning. I still remember my mother saying that she was glad that I had the sense not to continue on in that storm.
I can’t remember whether I made the trip in one or two days, but I pulled into a parking lot in the darkness of evening on Lexington Ave in Shoreview, MN on November 10th, where I was to share an apartment with someone I had met from a local, church youth group on a previous trip. The cold and blustery wind whipped around the parking lot, and I remember that I thought it was strange to be North of downtown, as I’d be out in the middle of Lake Erie if I were still back in Cleveland!
Over 32 years later I still reside in the Twin Cities. I‘ve contemplated over the years, wouldn’t it have been great if my grandfather, Murdock, who emigrated from Scotland to Cleveland, via Canada in the 19-teens, were still alive to talk about the ships of the Great Lakes; and, share in the excitement of my move from Ohio to the iron ore producing state. You see, he had worked on the ore boats plying those waters in the 1930’s, sailing from the Cleveland steel mills to Duluth to pick up the precious ore. However, he passed away 5 years before my move to Minnesota; and, that fateful day for those seamen of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
I was in 6th grade when the Fitz went down. It was my day for a current events article in school that Tuesday. The biggest news, and the one I choose, was the loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald. I gave what amounted to a briefing of loss of 29 lives.
I was 11.
I get emotional still when I hear that song.
A couple comments..
The crew would not have benefitted from life jackets. Lake Superior water temps average in the 40s, and hypothermia would kill almost as quickly as drowning.
The crew never had a chance to get to the life boats. The ship went down in seconds - there was virtually no realization it was sinking until it was too late.
Also, it would have been almost impossible to launch lifeboats in the heavy seas that night. Even getting getting out on deck near the boats, would have been extremely dangerous.
What is really interesting is how the official government ruling on the cause of the sinking is not widely accepted by the maritime community.
There are a thousand books on the sinking, if you want to learn more.
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