The Edmund Fitzgerald, 1971
SS Edmund Fitzgerald is an U.S. Great Lakes freighter that sank in a great storm on Lake Superior, November 10, 1975, taking 29 crew members to the bottom of the lake with her. When launched on June 7, 1958, she was the largest ship on the Great Lakes and she remains the largest vessel to have sunk there.
The Fitzgerald, almost ready to launch.
For seventeen years, the Fitzgerald carried taconite iron ore from mines near Duluth, Minnesota, to iron works processing plants in Detroit, Toledo and other Great Lakes ports. She was one of the fastest vessels afloat and set seasonal haul records six times, many of those records being her own previous record.
Carrying a full cargo of ore pellets with Captain Ernest M. McSorley in command, she embarked on her ill-fated voyage from Superior, Wisconsin, near Duluth, on the afternoon of November 9, 1975. En route to a steel mill near Detroit, Fitz joined a second freighter, SS Arthur M. Anderson. By the next day, the two ships were caught in a severe storm on Lake Superior, with near hurricane-force winds and waves up to 35 feet (11 m) high.
Captain Ernest M. McSorley
Shortly after 7:10 p.m., Fitzgerald suddenly sank in Canadian waters 530 feet (160 m) deep, about 17 miles (15 nautical miles; 27 kilometers) from Whitefish Bay near the twin cities of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario—a distance Fitzgerald could have covered in two hours at her top speed. Although Fitzgerald had reported being in difficulty earlier, no distress signals were sent before she sank; Captain McSorley's last message to Anderson said, "We are holding our own." Her crew of 29 perished, and no bodies were recovered.
Many books, studies, and expeditions have examined the cause of the sinking. Fitzgerald might have fallen victim to the high waves of the storm, suffered structural failure, been swamped with water entering through her cargo hatches or deck, experienced topside damage, or shoaled in a shallow part of Lake Superior.
The list of those souls who were lost on that fateful day is as follows:
Armagost, Michael E. (Third Mate) 37
Beetcher, Fred J. (Porter) 56
Bentsen, Thomas D. (Oiler) 23
Bindon, Edward F. (First Assistant Engineer) 47
Borgeson, Thomas D. (Maintenance Man) 41
Champeau, Oliver J. (Third Assistant Engineer) 41
Church, Nolan S. (Porter) 55
Cundy, Ransom E. (Watchman) 53
Edwards, Thomas E. (Second Assistant Engineer) 50
Haskell, Russell G. (Second Assistant Engineer) 40
Holl, George J. (Chief Engineer) 60
Hudson, Bruce L. (Deck Hand) 22
Kalmon, Allen G. (Second Cook) 43
Kohler, Tim F. (Crew) 45
MacLellan, Gordon F. (Wiper) 30
Mazes, Joseph W. (Special Maintenance Man) 59
McCarthy, John H. (First Mate) 62
McSorley, Ernest M. (Captain) 63
O'Brien, Eugene W. (Wheelsman) 50
Peckol, Karl A. (Watchman) 20
Poviach, John J. (Wheelsman) 59
Pratt, James A. (Second Mate) 44
Rafferty, Robert C. (Steward) 62
Rippa, Paul M. (Deck Hand) 22
Simmons, John D. (Wheelsman) 62
Spengler, William J. (Watchman) 59
Thomas, Mark A. (Deck Hand) 21
Walton, Ralph G. (Oiler) 58
Weiss, David E. (Cadet) 22
Wilhelm, Blaine H. (Oiler) 52
The sinking of Edmund Fitzgerald is one of the best-known disasters in the history of Great Lakes shipping. Gordon Lightfoot made it the subject of his 1976 hit song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" after reading an article, "The Cruelest Month," printed in Newsweek's November 24, 1975, issue.
Artists depiction of how she sits on the bottom.
The sinking led to changes in Great Lakes shipping regulations and practices that included mandatory survival suits, depth finders, positioning systems, increased freeboard, and more frequent inspection of vessels.
One of the Fitzgerald's lifeboats.
Conflicting theories about the cause of the tragedy remain active today. There have been many expeditions to the wreck, and the three main theories that have the most merit, according to shipwreck experts, revealed that it is likely she "submarined" her way to the bottom, bow first into an enormous sea, as damage forward is indicative of a powerful, quick force to the superstructure. But what caused the ship to take on water, enough to lose buoyancy and dive to the bottom so quickly...without a single cry for help, cannot be determined.
The restored ship's bell from the Fitzgerald
Twenty-nine men were lost when the Fitzgerald went down. There is absolutely no conclusive evidence to determine the cause of the sinking. The bell of the ship is now on display in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum near Whitefish Point, in Paradise, MI, as a memorial to her lost crew.
Mariner's Church
Originally built in 1849, Old Mariners’ is the oldest surviving stone built church in Detroit. It was moved from its original location at the foot of Woodward Ave to the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street in 1955 to make room for the Civic Center project.
In a rustic old hall in Detroit they prayed,
In the Maritime Sailors’ Cathedral.
The church bell chimed till it rang twenty-nine times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
People around the world know about Mariners’ Church of Detroit from those famous lines in Gordon Lightfoot’s ballad “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”
But you may be surprised to learn that Mariners’ was unique in many respects long before that song was written in the mid-1970's.
Old Mariners’ Church was founded by a woman, Julia Anderson, as a result of her bequest of the lot on which her own mansion stood at the corner of Woodbridge and Woodward streets. The completion of the Erie Canal increased shipping traffic in the area, and the seamen, Anderson felt, were in need of spiritual support and care.
Mariner's Church as it appeared in the 1880s with the lower-level as "Wholesale groceries" to help financially support the church.
Mariners' Church was established in 1842 and incorporated in the state of Michigan in 1848; the present structure was consecrated the following year. The original woodframe church was sold to the congregation of Historic Trinity Lutheran Church for $200 when the current structure of Mariner's was completed. The Trinity congregation moved the building to Larned and Rivard streets.
Ms. Anderson's will had established Mariners’ Church in and specified a stone church (built for the ages) with “forever free” pews. It’s now listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
1934 view of Mariner's Church
Mariner's was incorporated by an act of the Michigan legislature and is the only church in Michigan to be honored by this distinction, bestowed by Act 142 of 1848.
The church is explicitly "non-diocesan", meaning that it does not have one specific religion or teaching that the parish follows. It was founded as, and continues to be, a self-perpetuating parish especially for sailors, but not exclusively for those that sail the waterways and seas of the world.
Mariners Church Altar 1936
During it's first century, in the bottom floor of the building, it rented retail space to businesses in order to support the church and its membership.
The church was slated for demolition along with many neighboring structures in 1955 to make room for the new civic center. Trustee and Detroit News columnist George Stark urged his readers to help save the historic building and asked for small contributions of $5 or $10 to move the 60,000 pounds (27,000 kg) limestone edifice 880 feet (270 m) east.
Mariner's Church on the move, 1955
During the move, workers discovered a tunnel under the building that led to a spot on the Detroit River Waterfront. This tunnel had been constructed during the Civil War and had allowed the Church to function as a stop on the Underground Railroad
The undertaking of moving the church was detailed in the April 25, 1955, issue of Life magazine. Stark's appeal raised enough money to cover moving costs with money left to add stained glass windows, a west entry and a tower and to redecorate the interior of the church.
Panoramic aerial view of the Detroit Riverfront showing the area cleared for the construction
of the Renaissance Center (far left), Mariners Church (lower left),
the Tunnel to Canada (center), and Ford Auditorium (right-center)
The new site for the church on Jefferson Avenue is where the Indian Council House was constructed after the Great Detroit Fire of 1805. The house was used for meetings with local tribes and the first Protestant worship services in Detroit. It later was the site of the Army Corps of Engineers Topographical Corps offices. The office was established by Col. John Anderson, husband of Julia Anderson, Mariners' benifactress.
Since the disaster with the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975 gave some notariety and fame to Mariner's Church, some new traditions were created that have continued since that time.
Some of those new traditions for Great Lakes sailors have included annual services for Blessing of the Fleet, Navy League Sunday and the Great Lakes Memorial Service.
1988 Service for the Edmund Fitzgerald anniversary
For the parishoners and public, some folks just attend and visit Mariners’ Church as they find it nourishes them spiritually, uplifts them emotionally and gives them strength for another week. Many enjoy the classical worship music and have made lasting friends that give a sense of family and bonding to help them through the "rough seas" that we all face.
About the geocache:
This is a THREE STAGE MULTI. The first and second stage are related-to one another, and the final is a small hidden-container near an appropriate location for the theme of this geocache. The final is within 1 mile of the start of this multi and is recommended for walking, biking, or driving.
BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS AT ALL THREE STAGES.