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        New Message Board Archives >> 2005 General Board Posts >> In Memory of....
        
(Message started by: pattik on Nov 10^th, 2005, 11:08am)

Title: In Memory of....
Post by pattik on Nov 10^th, 2005, 11:08am

30 years ago today, Edmund Fitzgerald, a 729 foot ore carrier sank in a storm on Lake Superior. All 29 crew members drowned when the ship, carrying 26,000 tons of ore to Detroit broke in two and sank. The company which owned the ship, wouldn't even put on a memorial for the crew members. Here's a pic of the ship. Disturbance of the site is still a controversial issue regarding divers.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y71/northcolor/edfitzbig.jpg

Title: Re: In Memory of....
Post by minnie on Nov 10^th, 2005, 11:15am

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Song by Gordon Lightfoot

Many people are not aware that the song, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, by Gordon Lightfoot, is associated with a real life event. Even fewer people really know where he first got the idea to write the song The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. When Gordon Lightfoot first heard about the wreck, he did so through a newspaper. Some reports indicate that in the newspaper, the name Edmund Fitzgerald was spelled wrong. Lightfoot was insulted that someone had so much disrespect for the ship that they actually spelled the name wrong, and as a commemoration to the wreck and to the men, Lightfoot composed a song. The song was released in 1976 by Moose Music, which is located in Canada and became a top ten hit!
Gordon Lightfoot usually is very protective of this song and the wishes of the family members and is in no way "for" exploiting the victims, or their family members. He also appeared at several 25th anniversary memorial services in support of the families and is in personal contact with many of them. Every family member that we have interviewed on this website agrees that Lightfoot is "a good guy," "a genuine man," and even "blessed."
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is still popular today and Lightfoot performs it at every concert he performs.

The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald

©1976 by Gordon Lightfoot and Moose Music, Ltd.

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
of the big lake they called "Gitche Gumee."
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
when the skies of November turn gloomy.
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty,
that good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
when the "Gales of November" came early.

The ship was the pride of the American side
coming back from some mill in Wisconsin.
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
with a crew and good captain well seasoned,
concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
when they left fully loaded for Cleveland.
And later that night when the ship's bell rang,
could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?

The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
and a wave broke over the railing.
And ev'ry man knew, as the captain did too
'twas the witch of November come stealin'.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
when the Gales of November came slashin'.
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
in the face of a hurricane west wind.

When suppertime came the old cook came on deck sayin'.
"Fellas, it's too rough t'feed ya."
At seven P.M. a main hatchway caved in; he said,
"Fellas, it's bin good t'know ya!"
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
and the good ship and crew was in peril.
And later that night when 'is lights went outta sight
came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Does any one know where the love of God goes
when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
if they'd put fifteen more miles behind 'er.
They might have split up or they might have capsized;
they may have broke deep and took water.
And all that remains is the faces and the names
of the wives and the sons and the daughters.

Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
in the rooms of her ice-water mansion.
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams;
the islands and bays are for sportsmen.
And farther below Lake Ontario
takes in what Lake Erie can send her,
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
with the Gales of November remembered.

In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed,
in the "Maritime Sailors' Cathedral."
The church bell chimed 'til it rang twenty-nine times
for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
of the big lake they call "Gitche Gumee."
"Superior," they said, "never gives up her dead
when the gales of November come early!"

Title: Re: In Memory of....
Post by echo on Nov 10^th, 2005, 11:21am

Thanks for sharing and helping us all to remember this tragic shipwreck.

Title: Re: In Memory of....
Post by minnie on Nov 10^th, 2005, 11:23am

A storm in November 1975 changed the lives of countless people when it took the 29 crew members of the Edmund Fitzgerald. There have been many storms and many lives lost on the Great Lakes that are no less important than those aboard the Edmund Fitzgerald. As we come upon the 25th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald please remember all the sailors lost on the Great Lakes.

In memory of all the sailors lost on the Great Lakes. This is the crew list for the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Ernest M. McSorley, 63, Captain
John H. McCarthy, 62, first mate
James A. Pratt, 44, second mate
Michael E. Armagost, 37, third mate
George J. Holl, 60, chief engineer
Edward E. Bindon, 47, first assistant engineer
Thomas E. Edwards, 50, second assistant engineer
Russell G. Haskel, 40, second assistant engineer
Oliver J. Champeau, 51, third assistant engineer
David E. Weiss, 22, deck cadet
Eugene W. O'Brien, 50, wheelman
John J. Poviach, 59, wheelman
John D. Simmons, 60, wheelman
Ransom E. Cundy, 53, watchman
Karl A. Peckol, 55, watchman William J. Spengler, 59, watchman
Thomas Bentsen, 23, oiler
Ralph G. Walton, 58, oiler
Blaine H. Wilhelm, 52, oiler
Gordon E. MacLellan, 30, wiper
Robert C. Rafferty, 62, steward
Allen G. Kalmon, 43, second cook
Frederick J. Beetcher, 54, porter
Nolan E. Church, 55, porter
Thomas E. Borgeson, 41, able seaman maintenance man
Joseph W. Mazes, 59, special maintenance man
Bruce L. Hudson, 22, deckhand
Paul M. Riipa, 22, deckhand
Mark A. Thomas, 21, deckhand

MAY THEY ALL REST IN ETERNAL PEACE

Title: Re: In Memory of....
Post by Jeepgun on Nov 10^th, 2005, 11:32am

:'(

Title: Re: In Memory of....
Post by echo on Nov 10^th, 2005, 11:34am

Does anyone know how deep of water the wreck is at?

Title: Re: In Memory of....
Post by pattik on Nov 10^th, 2005, 11:38am

a depth of 530 feet.

Title: Re: In Memory of....
Post by vig on Nov 10^th, 2005, 11:45am

an interesting but tragic tale....

Title: Re: In Memory of....
Post by pattik on Nov 10^th, 2005, 2:34pm

on 11/10/05 at 11:15:18, minnie wrote:

Thanks for finding those great lyrics, Minnie.
;)

Title: Re: In Memory of....
Post by Jimmy B. on Nov 10^th, 2005, 2:56pm

!st song I learned to play on the Guitar. Very moving & haunting...Always had a fascination of the sea. One of the main reasons I went into the Navy.

God Bless all the Sailors...Blue Water or Brown.

Title: Re: In Memory of....
Post by Kevin_M on Nov 10^th, 2005, 7:41pm

Hell of a wind whipping blizzard that night. The upper peninsula's Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum has gathering of relatives, the recovered ship's bell rings 29 times.
Mariner's Church in Detroit has a mass and rings the same.

U.S. Marines are 230 years old today.

Salute to all