Detroit museum hosts four-day memorial for Edmund Fitzgerald crew
The Dossin Great Lakes Museum will hold ceremonies from November 7 to 10, including free admission on the anniversary of the 1975 sinking.
By Alina Campbell ·
Detroit has a direct link to the 1975 tragedy in Lake Superior, where a 729-foot freighter vanished with all hands. The Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle is opening its doors for four days of events to honor the 29 men who died on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The museum scheduled a series of commemorations for November 7 through 10. The centerpiece is the Lost Mariners Remembrance Ceremony on November 8 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. This event includes a memorial wreath traveling from the Detroit River to shore. Participants will place the wreath near the ship's anchor outside the museum. Bells will ring 29 times, once for each crew member lost.
Admission to the museum is free on two of the four days. The November 8 ceremony and November 10, the 51st anniversary of the sinking, both offer free entry. On the evening of November 10, the museum will screen a new documentary titled "We Finished Their Journey: the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Swim." The film covers a 411-mile swim from the wreck site to Detroit.
Other events include a special radio session on November 7. The Livonia Amateur Radio Club will operate Special Event Station W8F from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. On the morning of November 8, a brunch event features a presentation and music by Lee Murdock. The meal costs $85 and includes recipes inspired by the ship from George Yaworski's "Ships of the Great Lakes Cookbook."
The Edmund Fitzgerald departed Superior, Wisconsin, on November 9, 1975, bound for Detroit's Zug Island. The vessel carried 26,116 tons of taconite pellets, a processed form of iron ore. A storm with hurricane-force winds and 25-foot waves hit the ship. The U.S. Coast Guard ordered vessels to seek safe harbor, but the freighter never made it.
Captain Ernest McSorley's final radio transmission stated the crew was "holding our own." Minutes later, the ship disappeared from radar 17 miles from shore, northwest of Whitefish Point. The vessel sank to 530 feet of water. No distress call was ever received. The ship now rests in the lake, where it remains the largest vessel ever lost in the Great Lakes.
