Bob Campbell/Courtesy Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society
On the 10th of November, 2025, hundreds of people gathered at the Cooperage in Milwaukee honor the memory of the Edmund Fitzgerald and her crew which sunk in a massive storm on Lake Superior 50 years ago. The event was held to ring 29 bells to commemorate that day and honor the crew. The sponsors were the International Ship Masters Association (Lodge 6) and the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society. They had hoped to draw a crowd of up to 200 people to come hear the tolling of the bell 29 times to recognize the members of that crew. The crowd exceeded their expectations by at least twice the planned number. The ship’s bell used was rung 29 times as each man’s name was called. Sally and Jim Mergener of the LMYA board attended representing the LMYA.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was commissioned by the Northwestern Mutual Insurance company of Milwaukee and built by Great Lakes Engineering Works of Detroit. She was the Queen of the lake, the largest ship the great lakes had seen up to that point. Her size was 729 feet long by 75 feet wide, and her three cargo holds could handle more cargo than any ship of the times. She was deliberately made one foot shorter than the MacArthur locks at Sault Ste Marie in case they ever wanted to take her out the St. Lawrence to the Atlantic Ocean.
She was the best of the class of over 300 lake freighters on the great lakes, built for safety, speed, and luxury. She could carry 21 thousand long tons (2,240 pounds each) of Taconite pellets from the docks of Lake Superior to the steel mills of Michigan and Ohio. She set records every year for the most ore carried per season and the largest loads ever carried through the Soo Locks. She also had two VIP suites where special guests of the Columbia Line or Northwestern Mutual could take a three day cruise and enjoy grand views, excellent white glove service, and the finest meals served on the lakes.
Her loss on the lake was the culmination of several design flaws and the most powerful storm ever to hit Lake Superior in the month of November, 1975. A massive storm from the north hit the same part of the lake as an even bigger storm swept up from the southwest creating enormous 25 to 35 foot waves just as the Fitzgerald made her final turn to head south toward Whitefish Bay. The cargo holds were overloaded, and several engineering flaws took their toll as she broke apart in the huge waves and sank to the bottom.
For more details about the Edmund Fitzgerald and the storm, please look for the new book, The Gales Of November, by John Bacon.