November 2006 Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Services

Since 1975, various sites around the Great Lakes have conducted memorial services in remembrance of the crew of the ill-fated Edmund Fitzgerald. The massive bulk carrier sank in November of that year in a shipping disaster rivaled only by the sinking of the Titanic.

The Edmund Fitzgerald 'went missing' at about 7:25 P.M. on November 10, 1975. That was the time Captain Bernie Cooper of the Arthur M. Anderson lost the image of the Edmund Fitzgerald on his radar screen. The Edmund Fitzgerald was eventually located in 550 feet of water 17 miles north-northwest of Whitefish Point, an area that would have offered protection from the gale. Three locations around the Great Lakes are remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald and her crew the first two weekends of November.

On November 10-ll, Split Rock Lighthouse State Park on the North Shore of Lake Superior will have special activities relating to the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. The lighthouse itself operated from 1910 to 1969 and is one of the most recognized landmarks on Lake Superior. On that day the visitor center, lighthouse, and fog signal buildings will be open for viewing from noon to 6:00 P.M. Throughout the day, video programs of the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck will be shown in the visitor center. At 1:00 P.M., Professor Mark Seeley of the University of Minnesota will give a 40 minute multimedia presentation about the 1975 Fitzgerald storm and other famous November Great Lakes storms. The memorial service, the "Last Muster," begins at 4:30 P.M. at the lighthouse steps. First the names of the crewmen, one of which came from Silver Bay, a company town about 7 miles northeast of the park, will be read. Following that, a bell will be rung thirty times, once for each crew member and a final ring for all mariners lost on the Great Lakes. Then the beacon, a 3rd order Fresnel clamshell design lens which can be seen for 22 miles, will be lit. This is the only time during the year when visitors can be inside the lighthouse when the beacon is lit. On leaving the park, stop at the small wayside rest at Gold Rock Cliff. This is the site of the sinking of the Madeira, a schooner-barge wrecked in 1905. The Madeira wreck was one of the reasons the lighthouse was built. From this wayside you will be able to watch as the light sweeps over the lake. The beacon is extinguished at 6:30 P.M. Admission is charged to the state park and the lighthouse.

If you are in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on November 10, you may want to attend the Edmund Fitzgerald memorial service at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Coast Museum near Paradise, Michigan. This museum is on the grounds of the 1849 Whitefish Point Light Station, the oldest lighthouse on Lake Superior that is still active. From here, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society conducted underwater expeditions to photograph the shipwreck. Perhaps because the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is so near, the surviving family members of the crewmen allowed the ship's bell to be brought up and permanently housed at the museum. A replica bell was inscribed with the names of the lost crewmen and placed on the sunken pilothouse of the Edmund Fitzgerald. On November 10, there is free admission to the museum and the Call to the Last Watch ceremony when the original bell will be rung 30 times. There will be speakers, music and refreshments. The memorial service begins at 7:00 P.M..

In Detroit at the Mariners' Church at 170 East Jefferson Avenue, the Edmund Fitzgerald tragedy will be remembered as it has since the day after the ship sank. Thirty-one years ago, Reverend Richard W. Ingalls, upon hearing of the loss, spent time in solitary prayer and then rung the church bell 29 times. Every year after, he led the memorial service. In April 2006, Reverend Ingalls passed away. The service will be held again this year.

While you are in Detroit, you might visit the grounds of the Dossin Museum at 100 Strand Drive to see the anchor of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

November 10, 2006, is the 31st anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald and any of these memorial services are a good way to remember.