# Remembering the Fitz - November 10, 1975 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 10, 2010, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remembering-the-fitz-november-10-1975/560151 "2010-11-10T06:19:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remembering-the-fitz-november-10-1975/560151/21 "2010-11-10T18:07:20Z")
I just finished an excellent book, _Safe from the Sea_ by Geye Peter. While fiction, it gives a lot of astonishing information about the ore ships, the sailors who manned them, the tremendous storms, an ore ship wreck and Lake Superior and the surrounding area. Very informative and also a wonderful story. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remembering-the-fitz-november-10-1975/560151/22 "2010-11-10T18:11:22Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Otherwise, it would seem that these men died in vain-sailing on a leaky ore carrier, into a storm that would sink a larger, safer vessel. [It’s still not clear what caused the wreck](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Edmund_Fitzgerald#Theories_on_the_cause_of_her_sinking), but if it was leaking, it sounds as if it was due to damage that occurred on that voyage, by hitting a shoal, that the crew did not notice - not that it was a chronically leaking vessel. Lightfoot has commented that the verse where he sings that a hatchcover gave way is pure artistic licence, and in fact he has changed the words about that in live concerts, since it is not clear if the hatchcovers actually failed.. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remembering-the-fitz-november-10-1975/560151/23 "2010-11-10T18:13:38Z")
According to [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=573134) thread I started, the #1 historical event people only remember because of a song is The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remembering-the-fitz-november-10-1975/560151/24 "2010-11-10T18:18:19Z")
Huh, I’ve always assumed that the wreck had happened about 100 years before it actually did. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remembering-the-fitz-november-10-1975/560151/25 "2010-11-10T18:19:42Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I think the song is obviously the prime reason most people remember the Fitz. I lived on Lake Huron at the time (well, not ON the lake itself!) and it was pretty big news for people who were members of the Great Lake family. > > I doubt very much we’d still be talking about it without Gordon Lightfoot’s song, but then again we all, who are old enough, still remember where we were for Challenger and Columbia, so who knows? When the EF sank, shipwrecks had been commonplace for thousands of years. The space shuttle disasters were shocking because they were rare occurrences. It’s interesting to me, though, that while there was a [song](http://www.musicsonglyrics.com/K/kingstontriolyrics/kingstontrioballadofthethresherlyrics.htm) about the USS Thresher, nobody really remembers that disaster. ---
**Author:** ![MN\_Maenad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e95f7d/32.png) [@MN\_Maenad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MN_Maenad)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remembering-the-fitz-november-10-1975/560151/26 "2010-11-10T18:26:29Z")
I’m usually surprised that people outside MN or the Great Lakes area comment on it, since I’ve always thought it was a regional thing. Much like tomorrow’s anniversary of the [Armistice Day Blizzard](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armistice_Day_Blizzard), which my grandparents spoke of frequently - 154 deaths. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Kiber](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiber/32/317_2.png) [@Kiber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiber)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remembering-the-fitz-november-10-1975/560151/27 "2010-11-10T18:29:21Z")
I grew up on Lake Superior and have a deep rooted respect and awe for the power of her storms. So for me - the fact that a storm on Lake Superior could sink a ship the size and power of the Fitz isn’t any suprise (I remember that specific storm, as well). But I think for many - the reason it sticks out is that, it just seems impossible that a mere inland lake could sink a modern ship of that size. The ocean? Sure - of course those storms are big enough. But a storm on a lake? No way . . . . ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remembering-the-fitz-november-10-1975/560151/28 "2010-11-10T19:12:27Z")
Here’s another trying-not-to-be-rude question - why is the Fitz a big deal _this year_? I only ask because I woke up today to three Facebook mentions (one person who grew up in Dearborn and did some geological work in the Great lakes; the others are Ohio history buffs) and now two-merged-as-one SDMB threads about it…but in the past 31 years I’ve been around, I haven’t heard a thing about it. I also didn’t know it happened in 1975. I’ve actually never heard the song. It could be some sort of bias on my part in that I’m exposed to more rapid-fire information than any other time in my life. Or, did the wreck become especially important this year? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remembering-the-fitz-november-10-1975/560151/29 "2010-11-10T19:40:30Z")
It’s the 35th anniversary, so as is normal on all 0s and 5s it becomes somehow more significant. Wait till next September 11! And you’ve never heard the song? How is that even possible? ---
**Author:** ![kath94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/67e7ee/32.png) [@kath94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kath94)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remembering-the-fitz-november-10-1975/560151/30 "2010-11-10T19:41:05Z")
> [@Kiber](#): > > I grew up on Lake Superior and have a deep rooted respect and awe for the power of her storms. So for me - the fact that a storm on Lake Superior could sink a ship the size and power of the Fitz isn’t any suprise (I remember that specific storm, as well). > > But I think for many - the reason it sticks out is that, it just seems impossible that a mere inland lake could sink a modern ship of that size. The ocean? Sure - of course those storms are big enough. But a storm on a lake? No way . . . . I \*\*have \*\*heard the great lakes referred to as “inland oceans.” ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remembering-the-fitz-november-10-1975/560151/31 "2010-11-10T20:18:36Z")
I caught the Mighty Ships episode on the [M/V Paul R. Tregurtha](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Paul_R._Tregurtha) yesterday. At almost 300 ft longer than the Fitz, she in now the largest vessel in the Great Lakes complex. In the episode she passed near where the Fitzgerald now rests. ---
**Author:** ![mrklutz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@mrklutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrklutz)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remembering-the-fitz-november-10-1975/560151/32 "2010-11-10T20:33:07Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > …It’s interesting to me, though, that while there was a [song](http://www.musicsonglyrics.com/K/kingstontriolyrics/kingstontrioballadofthethresherlyrics.htm) about the USS Thresher, nobody really remembers that disaster. My dad had a book titled “The Thresher Disaster”, so I was aware of that one. Had Dad not been a navy veteran, though, I doubt I’d have heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remembering-the-fitz-november-10-1975/560151/33 "2010-11-11T14:19:39Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Huh, I’ve always assumed that the wreck had happened about 100 years before it actually did. Me too. I was amazed to find out it happened when I was an adult. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remembering-the-fitz-november-10-1975/560151/34 "2010-11-11T23:40:10Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > But still, this sinking, while bad, was hardly unique, and didn’t have any great significance except for the Great Lake sailors. So far as I know, though, it was the _last_ Great Lakes sinking to involve such a large loss of life. (I welcome correction if I’m wrong.) If there had been comparable tragedies every few years since, I think the Fitz would be less remembered, despite the song. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remembering-the-fitz-november-10-1975/560151/35 "2010-11-12T01:11:12Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > So far as I know, though, it was the _last_ Great Lakes sinking to involve such a large loss of life. The last commercial wreck with loss of life _of which I am aware_ was the [Linda-E](http://www.milwaukeemagazine.com/currentIssue/full_feature_story.asp?NewMessageID=18838) which went down not far from my home in 1998, taking 3 men with her. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remembering-the-fitz-november-10-1975/560151/36 "2010-11-12T07:23:18Z")
I don’t think I’m alone in saying that, yes, I know about this boat and this crew from the song, but remembering this one is something of a way to remember them all. Those people who work out there on that water, work in dangerous conditions. And sometimes those dangerous conditions get the better of them. They’re all part of our history, and they all had someone who missed them when they didn’t come back. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remembering-the-fitz-november-10-1975/560151/37 "2010-11-12T08:41:14Z")
It always amazes me that the Fitz is remembered, yet so few people know of the [“Big Blow” of 1913](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes_Storm_of_1913), which killed 250 people in and around the lakes (mostly Huron), sank 12 Lakeboats with all hands (4 of which, 98 years later still haven’t been found), and stranded 30 more. Good book on the subject: [White Hurricane](http://www.amazon.com/White-Hurricane-November-Americas-Deadliest/dp/0071435417) by David Brown. I first read of this disaster in an old book called [True Tales of The Great Lakes](http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Great-Lakes-Dwight-Boyer/dp/0912514485) by Dwight Boyer. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remembering-the-fitz-november-10-1975/560151/38 "2010-11-12T13:39:12Z")
It seems Mr. Lightfoot has changed the words: [http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/local&id=7775182](http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/local&id=7775182) ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remembering-the-fitz-november-10-1975/560151/39 "2010-11-12T14:29:44Z")
Another question: Lake Superior is a very deep, very cold lake. Is it possible that the bodies are still down there with the wreck? As I recall, the wreck is in pretty good condition-very little decay, due to the cold water. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remembering-the-fitz-november-10-1975/560151/40 "2010-11-12T15:39:20Z")
The bodies were not recovered, so what’s left of them is down there, but after 35 years, it’s not going to be much. It’s not a freezer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remembering-the-fitz-november-10-1975/560151.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remembering-the-fitz-november-10-1975/560151.md?page=3)