Fifty years ago, the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, along with the crew of 29 men, was lost on Lake Superior. The ship notoriously sank Nov. 10, 1975, an event that has since been popularized by Gordon Lightfoot’s 1976 song, “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”
Many Wisconsinites commemorate the anniversary of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald for its mystery, Lightfoot’s song and in respect for the 29 lives lost.
For University of Wisconsin student Max Docter Maurer, the ship and its legend lives on.
“I heard of the song on social media,” said Docter Maurer. “I’ve noticed it become more and more popularized throughout the years and become more of a trend for lack of better words.”
Some people show respect for the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald by honoring the lives lost in the most Wisconsin way possible: beer.
“You drink 29 beers for all the lives lost on the Fitzgerald, commemorating the loss,” Doctor Maurer said. “It’s a really interesting story and history.”
The Edmund Fitzgerald’s normal life consisted of carrying taconite — a low-grade iron ore — across the Great Lakes, according to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.
The final voyage of the Edmund Fitzgerald began after it was loaded with 26 tons of taconite, the Edmund Fitzgerald departed on a normal route towards the Detroit area, according to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.
Weather conditions continued to worsen across Lake Superior, and at about 5:20 p.m., a wave smashed into the ship’s lifeboat, rendering it useless.
Official reports on the cause of the Fitzgerald’s sinking differ from flooding of the ship to lack of attention by the crew of the ship to safety protocol, according to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.
The true cause of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald’s sinking is an ongoing mystery, as search parties initially only found the ship’s two lifeboats and debris, with no sign of survivors, according to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.
With the Edmund Fitzgerald owned by a Milwaukee-based company and beginning its final voyage from Superior, the ship has a history in Wisconsin, and Wisconsin residents haven’t forgotten the ship in the fifty years since its sinking.
