Today marks the 42nd anniversary of the sinking of the Great Lakes freighter the Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior. The ship was one the largest and fastest ships in the lakes when it was launched in 1958. 24/7 News reports the ship carried iron ore between steel mills from Minnesota to Detroit and other ports.
The ship went down in a fierce storm in 1975 after encountering problems and was trying to get to Whitefish Bay but never made it. The crew of the S.S. Arthur Anderson was trailing the Fitzgerald and discovered wreckage and lifeboats several hours later but no survivors.
The Edmund Fitzgerald's story was immortalized in a song by Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot. It is one of my favorite songs and I wish I had remembered to play it on the show today; I did remember last year if that counts for anything!
Photo: flickr, Michael Coghlan