# It's Edmund Fitzgerald Day **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 10, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-edmund-fitzgerald-day/737205 "2015-11-10T16:57:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2015, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-edmund-fitzgerald-day/737205/61 "2015-11-14T20:24:40Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > It’s one of the most tedious, monotonous songs to ever get serious airplay. **Led Zep’s** _Kashmir_ holds this title by a landslide. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-edmund-fitzgerald-day/737205/62 "2015-11-14T20:35:54Z")
^ Both of you! Got to your room! Now! ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2015, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-edmund-fitzgerald-day/737205/63 "2015-11-14T20:41:57Z")
And then we have the follow-on smash hit, [The Rectum of Ella Fitzgerald](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDW5ksq5BU4). ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2015, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-edmund-fitzgerald-day/737205/64 "2015-11-14T23:19:38Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > And then we have the follow-on smash hit, [The Rectum of Ella Fitzgerald](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDW5ksq5BU4). Ugh ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-edmund-fitzgerald-day/737205/65 "2015-11-15T01:32:59Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > It’s a [dirge](http://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/music/2015/11/06/wreck-edmund-fitzgerald-song-gordon-lightfoot-th-anniversary/75336330/). It’s not supposed to be peppy, hooky, or upbeat. :smack: > Death is a part of life, and mourning is a part of death. Sorry it harshed your buzz, but it was appropriate. Since we’re all about fighting ignorance here on the Dope, ‘solemn’ and ‘monotonous’ aren’t synonyms, you know. I can’t find Si Kahn’s “Memorial” online, alas, because it’s a song that illuminates the gulf between the two concepts very well. The fact that “Edmund Fitzgerald” is a dirge and is also boring as shit, is a fault of the song, not an essential characteristic of a dirge. FWIW, a week ago, I was giving the eulogy for my father at his memorial service. So you don’t need to fake-apologize for harshing my buzz, and you’re 'splaining to the wrong person about death. Just saying. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-edmund-fitzgerald-day/737205/66 "2015-11-15T17:33:30Z")
I don’t forget the _Fitzgerald_, because I love the song, but also because it happened right when I was on a history kick about Great Lakes shipwrecks (I was 12 at the time). So whenever I think of Great Lakes shipwrecks, I DON’T think of the _Fitzgerald_, or the _Carl Bradley_ - I think of the [_Eastland_ Disaster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Eastland) (which TECHNICALLY was a river accident - deadliest in Great Lakes history. 844 dead on a beautiful day while the ship was tied to the dock), or the [Big Blow of 1913](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes_Storm_of_1913) (which killed more than 250 people, destroyed 19 ships, and stranded 19 others). Look for the books of Dwight Boyer, such as [True Tales of the Great Lakes](http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Great-Lakes-Dwight-Boyer/dp/0912514485) (which includes the _Eastland_ and the Big Blow), and [Ships and Men of the Great Lakes](http://www.amazon.com/Ships-Great-Lakes-Dwight-Boyer/dp/0912514515) (which includes the _Fitzgerald_ and the _Daniel J Morrell_ [a ship that broke in half, and then the rear half rammed the front half. The two halves were found 5 miles apart]). ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-edmund-fitzgerald-day/737205/67 "2015-11-16T00:08:16Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > ^ Both of you! Got to your room! Now! Especially since they are both wrong; “Neanderthal Man” by Hotlegs/10cc is far and away the winner. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiWu7Csn2HY) Getting back to my post #27 I got my Google back on: http://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/05/us/photos-in-book-on-shipwreck-upset-families-of-the-victims.html I was wrong on the date; it was 1994. A little creepy and I’m curious if it tells us anything about the ethics of diving modern wrecks. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2016, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-edmund-fitzgerald-day/737205/68 "2016-10-13T05:35:02Z")
_Does any one know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?_ 10 November is coming again. I just heard the song again tonight on the radio. A sad, haunting and lovely song. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2016, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-edmund-fitzgerald-day/737205/69 "2016-10-13T05:47:18Z")
Huh. This song just came up on shuffle while I was gaming - made a comment in mapchat about how great a song it was. Funny how this thread popped up again. ---
**Author:** ![Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cabin_fever_1/32/2908_2.png) [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2016, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-edmund-fitzgerald-day/737205/70 "2016-10-13T06:43:59Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I’ll be ringing my old schoolhouse bell on the shore of Lake Michigan this evening to mark the occasion. 29 times for the Edmund Fitz. > > On November 18th, it’ll ring 33 times for the Carl D. Bradley, which sunk a little closer to my beach. > > The Mercotans were never ore boat sailors, but my ancestors plied the waters of the North Sea and Lake Michigan making a living in search of fish. More than a few drowned doing that. Having grown up around the Great Lakes and just recently returned to my old stomping grounds, it is sometimes hard to explain to “flat-landers” just how dangerous these waters can get at times. \*\* God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen\*\* ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2016, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-edmund-fitzgerald-day/737205/71 "2016-10-13T08:43:21Z")
Nm ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2016, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-edmund-fitzgerald-day/737205/72 "2016-10-13T14:06:18Z")
The names of the 29 are listed here [The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald](https://yoopersteez.com/post/the-wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald). The youngest was 20 and the oldest 63. _ **Name** _ - Age - Occupation On Board - Hometown _ **Michael E. Armagost** _ - 37 - Third Mate - Iron River, Wisconsin _ **Frederick J. Beetcher** _ - 56 - Porter - Superior, Wisconsin _ **Thomas D. Bentsen** _ - 23 - Oiler - St. Joseph, Michigan _ **Edward F. Bindon** _ - 47 - First Assistant Engineer - Fairport Harbor, Ohio _ **Thomas D. Borgeson** _ - 41 - Maintenance Man - Duluth, Minnesota _ **Oliver J. Champeau** _ - 41 - Third Assistant Engineer - Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin _ **Nolan S. Church** _ - 55 - Porter - Silver Bay, Minnesota _ **Ransom E. Cundy** _ - 53 - Watchman Superior, Wisconsin _ **Thomas E. Edwards** _ - 50 - Second Assistant Engineer - Oregon, Ohio _ **Russell G. Haskell** _ - 40 - Second Assistant Engineer - Millbury, Ohio _ **George J. Holl** _ - 60 - Chief Engineer - Cabot, Pennsylvania _ **Bruce L. Hudson** _ - 22 - Deck Hand - North Olmsted Ohio _ **Allen G. Kalmon** _ - 43 - Second Cook - Washburn, Wisconsin _ **Gordon F. MacLellan** _ - 30 - Wiper - Clearwater, Florida _ **Joseph W. Mazes** _ - 59 - Special Maintenance Man - Ashland, Wisconsin _ **John H. McCarthy** _ - 62 - First Mate - Bay Village, Ohio _ **Ernest M. McSorley** _ - 63 - Captain - Toledo, Ohio _ **Eugene W. O’Brien** _ - 50 - Wheelsman - Toledo, Ohio _ **Karl A. Peckol** _ - 20 - Watchman - Ashtabula, Ohio _ **John J. Poviach** _ - 59 - Wheelsman - Bradenton, Florida _ **James A. Pratt** _ - 44 - Second Mate - Lakewood, Ohio _ **Robert C. Rafferty** _ - 62 - Steward - Toledo, Ohio _ **Paul M. Riippa** _ - 22 - Deck Hand - Ashtabula, Ohio _ **John D. Simmons** _ - 63 - Wheelsman - Ashland, Wisconsin _ **William J. Spengler** _ - 59 - Watchman - Toledo, Ohio _ **Mark A. Thomas** _ - 21 - Deck Hand - Richmond Heights, Ohio _ **Ralph G. Walton** _ - 58 - Oiler - Fremont, Ohio _ **David E. Weiss** _ - 22 - Cadet - Agoura, California _ **Blaine H. Wilhelm** _ - 52 - Oiler - Moquah, Wisconsin ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2016, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-edmund-fitzgerald-day/737205/73 "2016-10-13T15:43:21Z")
12 days ago it was the first anniversary of the loss of El Faro with 33 souls, working my city’s route. Can’t help but have some of those lyrics resonate for that case too… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-edmund-fitzgerald-day/737205.md?page=3)