Events to mark 40 years since Edmund Fitzgerald sank
A number of events are planned Tuesday to mark the 40th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior. The disaster Nov. 10, 1975, killed all 29 crew members aboard the ship.
■“Iron Hulls and Turbulent Waters,” 7 p.m. in the North Conference Room, 449W, Michigan State University Main Library, 366 W. Circle Drive, East Lansing. Archaeologist Dean Anderson and MSU professors Peter Kakela and Michael Velbel will discuss the nature and shipping of iron ore and Great Lakes shipwrecks. Information: http://museum.msu.edu/index.php?q=node/1313
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■The Dossin Great Lakes Museum, 100 Strand Drive, Belle Isle, will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a variety of programs in honor of the loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Illustrations and photos of the ship from the collection of the Detroit Historical Society will be on display all day. From 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., a brief film on the 1958 launch of the ship at the Great Lakes Engineering Works will be shown, plus a video documenting the recovery of the anchor from the Detroit River.At 1 p.m., a newly commissioned sculpture by Canadian artist Timothy P. Schmalz, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," will be unveiled. At 1:30 p.m., Pam Johnson, whose father was a cook on the Edmund Fitzgerald when it sank, will speak about her relationship with the ship and the families of other crewmen. NOTE: The Lost Mariners Remembrance program set for 6 p.m. is sold out; any released tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis when the museum opens at 5:30 p.m. A free memorial wreath ceremony is scheduled for 7 p.m. outside the museum. Information: (313) 833-1801.
■“Gales of November: The 40th Anniversary of the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” begins at 7 p.m. at the Michigan Maritime Museum, South Haven, 260 Dyckman Ave., South Haven. Jim Spurr will discuss the difficulties of travels on the Great Lakes from November 1816 through the Fitzgerald sinking in 1975. Admission is $8. Information: www.michiganmaritimemuseum.org.
■A 40th anniversary memorial ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Gallery, 18335 N. Whitefish Point Road, Paradise, Michigan. The bell from the Edmund Fitzgerald as well as other artifacts from the boat will be on display. In remembrance of each crew member, the bell will toll 29 times, plus a 30th time for all lost on the Great Lakes. Information: www.shipwreckmuseum.com.
■The documentary “A Good Ship and Crew Well-Seasoned: The Fitzgerald and Her Legacy” will be premiered at 7:30
p.m. at the National Museum of the Great Lakes, 1701 Front St., Toledo. A reception is at 6 p.m., followed by a remembrance ceremony at 7 p.m. Tickets are $45 for members and $60 for nonmembers. Information: www.inlandseas.org.