Local sailors take part in Edmund Fitzgerald memorial at Whitefish Point in the UP

The 30th anniversary of the sinking of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald on November 10, 1975 was observed in a solemn ceremony at the Shipwreck Museum located at the Whitefish Point lighthouse in the Upper Peninsula last Thursday. An overflow crowd filled the museum and spilled over to adjacent buildings where television monitors were set up to display the proceedings. A live feed to Channel 9 and 10 affiliates was organized. Other media outlets were set up to broadcast from the location as well. Overall, about 300 people crowded into the sparse facilities of the Whitefish Point lighthouse park for the program. Three shipwreck survivors from the area took part in the ?Call to Last Watch? ceremony that included ringing the original ship?s bell 29 times for each sailor lost on the Fitzgerald with a final bell tolled in honor of all the sailors that have been lost on the Great Lakes.

David Erickson of Rogers City and Edward Brewster of Cheboygan, both survivors of the S.S. Cedarville that sank 10 years before on May 7, 1965, took their places in line to ring the bell as each sailor?s name was read aloud. Also in attendance was Dennis Hale, the sole survivor of the Daniel J. Morrell that sank on November 29, 1966. Hale is a part-time resident of Rogers City. The Morrell also lost 29 sailors in another ferocious November gale on the Great Lakes. Other participants came from family members of the crew, the U.S. Coast Guard, and merchant marines. The program continued at the community center in Paradise with a buffet dinner, music and a screening of a documentary about some of the crewmen from the Fitzgerald. IN 1995, the ship?s bell was recovered from the wreckage of the Fitzgerald 17 miles northwest of Whitefish Point in 535 feet of water. The recovery effort was carried out by the Canadian Navy as the Fitzgerald?s final resting place is in Canadian waters. The story of the recovery was featured in the January 1996 issue of the National Geographic magazine.

The recovery effort was supported by families of the lost crewmen and has become a symbol for those who have served on the Great Lakes. The original bell was replaced on deck with a replica engraved with the names of the 29 crewmembers that lost their lives that day. Museum director Tom Farnquist said sailors, family and friends all feel a close attachment with the artifact. ?The ship?s bell is the soul of the ship and the voice of the lost crewmen,? he said. The Great Lakes Lore Maritime Museum in Rogers City conducted a short memorial ceremony on Saturday to honor the members of the crew. Darrel R. Osborn, retired pastor, delivered the invocation. His comments included a reference to the song by Gordon Lightfoot that immortalized the Edmund Fitzgerald.

?DOES ANYONE know where the love of God goes when the gales of November turn the minutes to hours?? he asked. As the storm raged over the stricken ship, the lights went out, the radar failed and radio communication was lost. Heavy snow was pelting the ship with hurricane force winds and 30-foot waves dumping tons of green water over her decks. The master of t

he ship, Capt. Ernest McSorley of Toledo, had 44 years experience sailing the Great Lakes. He requested navigation assistance from the S.S. Arthur Anderson, following nine miles behind him, as icy winds had even made visual sighting impossible on the Fitzgerald. Capt. B.J. ?Bernie? Cook, in the wheelhouse of the Anderson, noted the seas were tremendous and on the radar the Fitzgerald kept fading in and out about 7:10 p.m. Minutes later, he spotted two salt water ships on the screen but the Fitzgerald had disappeared. The Anderson kept up its dangerous vigil through the night looking for survivors but none were found.

The next day two battered lifeboats were recovered along with other bits of debris bearing the name of the Fitzgerald. No survivors or bodies of the crewmen were ever found.

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