50 Years ago - Edmund Fitzgerald

Apparition

Apparition

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Nov 10th, 1975. The Edmund Fitzgerald sank.


Article in the NYT on the 50th anniversary of the Fitz sinking. The reporter spent a week on the Wilfred Sykes, a laker launched in 1949, which was also in the same storm as the Fitz.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/...ytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

New book The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald, by John U. Bacon.

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Mike_H said:
Some of the office "decor" we have at my shop is the shipwrecks of the Great Lakes, inc the Lake Superior one you posted. The museum in Whitefish point is worth a visit, if you've never been.
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The wife has been wanting to take me to the museum, she's been there. Our Michigan trips were always focused on visiting her grandfather but now he's passed we may have the time to make it to the museum.
 
This is going to come across as totally random, but I have a question for you great lakes area folks...without googling...what can you tell me about the Oklahoma City bombing?

I'll explain why I asked, after I see the answers. 🙂
 
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freedom_in_4low said:
This is going to come across as totally random, but I have a question for you great lakes area folks...without googling...what can you tell me about the Oklahoma City bombing?

I'll explain why I asked, after I see the answers. 🙂
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I went to the memorial site.

My high school physics teacher’s father in law got a call from the FBI shortly after the bombing.
 
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Apparition said:
I went to the memorial site.

My high school physics teacher’s father in law got a call from the FBI shortly after the bombing.
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The driver for my question was...I was taught nothing whatsoever about the Fitzgerald, ever. No one has ever talked to me about it. If not for the internet, I'm not sure I would have never heard of it at all, and even with the internet, the extent of my knowledge about it was that it was a ship that sank. Until I saw it posted here a couple years ago and went down the rabbit hole, I couldn't have told you whether it was cargo or passenger or what body of water it sank in...and if somebody asked me, I probably would have guessed the north Atlantic.

It started me thinking about what things transcend regional knowledge and what factors contribute to that. Everybody knows about 9/11/2001 and the Challenger explosion, and in this state the OKC bombing matches that level of awareness...Perhaps excluding Gen Z I would say a supermajority could tell you how many were killed, what time of day it happened, and name the building and the two perpetrators who were arrested and charged for it and what they used to do it, and probably at least a couple of people they know who were impacted. But does somebody that grew up in Minnesota or Vermont or Florida know any more than that a building blew up; any more than the average Oklahoman or Coloradan knows about the Fitzgerald?
 
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freedom_in_4low said:
The driver for my question was...I was taught nothing whatsoever about the Fitzgerald, ever. No one has ever talked to me about it. If not for the internet, I'm not sure I would have never heard of it at all, and even with the internet, the extent of my knowledge about it was that it was a ship that sank. Until I saw it posted here a couple years ago and went down the rabbit hole, I couldn't have told you whether it was cargo or passenger or what body of water it sank in...and if somebody asked me, I probably would have guessed the north Atlantic.

It started me thinking about what things transcend regional knowledge and what factors contribute to that. Everybody knows about 9/11/2001 and the Challenger explosion, and in this state the OKC bombing matches that level of awareness...Perhaps excluding Gen Z I would say a supermajority could tell you how many were killed, what time of day it happened, and name the building and the two perpetrators who were arrested and charged for it and what they used to do it, and probably at least a couple of people they know who were impacted. But does somebody that grew up in Minnesota or Vermont or Florida know any more than that a building blew up; any more than the average Oklahoman or Coloradan knows about the Fitzgerald?
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I'm a bit older maybe, born and raised in semi-rural central Pennsylvania, but I'm aware of everything mentioned, and in some detail. And I would say that my being informed about those event occurred at the time, maybe a year or so for the Fitz due to my younger age.

Might be harder for folks nowadays, so much crap is considered newsworthy and just pollutes the flow of legitimate information. That and you can never be sure of what's true until you unravel all of the agendas involved.
 
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freedom_in_4low said:
The driver for my question was...I was taught nothing whatsoever about the Fitzgerald, ever. No one has ever talked to me about it. If not for the internet, I'm not sure I would have never heard of it at all, and even with the internet, the extent of my knowledge about it was that it was a ship that sank. Until I saw it posted here a couple years ago and went down the rabbit hole, I couldn't have told you whether it was cargo or passenger or what body of water it sank in...and if somebody asked me, I probably would have guessed the north Atlantic.

It started me thinking about what things transcend regional knowledge and what factors contribute to that. Everybody knows about 9/11/2001 and the Challenger explosion, and in this state the OKC bombing matches that level of awareness...Perhaps excluding Gen Z I would say a supermajority could tell you how many were killed, what time of day it happened, and name the building and the two perpetrators who were arrested and charged for it and what they used to do it, and probably at least a couple of people they know who were impacted. But does somebody that grew up in Minnesota or Vermont or Florida know any more than that a building blew up; any more than the average Oklahoman or Coloradan knows about the Fitzgerald?
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I see your point. The Fitz however got much attention from the Gordon Lightfoot song for those of us in that boomer age group. Also, in my case, I have always been interested in all things nautical, so I am always on the lookout for this kind of story.

I am very familiar with the OK City bombing as well. I remember the day it happened. As you may know, there were ties to Arizona as well. One of the things that was amazing to me was how they caught McVeigh 2 hours after the bombing, and how they found the rear axle to the uhaul truck 600 feet away and identified McVeigh by tracing the VIN to the rental agency. The actual day stays in my mind as it was the birthday of my ex!
 
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freedom_in_4low said:
The driver for my question was...I was taught nothing whatsoever about the Fitzgerald, ever. No one has ever talked to me about it. If not for the internet, I'm not sure I would have never heard of it at all, and even with the internet, the extent of my knowledge about it was that it was a ship that sank. Until I saw it posted here a couple years ago and went down the rabbit hole, I couldn't have told you whether it was cargo or passenger or what body of water it sank in...and if somebody asked me, I probably would have guessed the north Atlantic.

It started me thinking about what things transcend regional knowledge and what factors contribute to that. Everybody knows about 9/11/2001 and the Challenger explosion, and in this state the OKC bombing matches that level of awareness...Perhaps excluding Gen Z I would say a supermajority could tell you how many were killed, what time of day it happened, and name the building and the two perpetrators who were arrested and charged for it and what they used to do it, and probably at least a couple of people they know who were impacted. But does somebody that grew up in Minnesota or Vermont or Florida know any more than that a building blew up; any more than the average Oklahoman or Coloradan knows about the Fitzgerald?
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Most Minnesotan’s don’t know shit about fuck.

Most probably don’t know anything about the Edmund Fitzgerald.

I’m not from Minnesota. I only remember the Edmund from beer, the song and a site I’m on posts about it every year. It’s an interesting disaster.

I remember most of what you mention about the bombing but I haven’t thought about it in years so it’s a bit foggy. Doubt my kids would have any idea about any of the things mentioned except 9/11.

The reason the FBI contacted the guy I mentioned is because he bid against McVeigh at a farm sale for feed sacks or something and McVeigh tried to buy whatever it was from him afterwards so the guy gave him his phone number to reach out later and the number was on McVeigh’s fridge or something.
 
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Apparition said:
The reason the FBI contacted the guy I mentioned is because he bid against McVeigh at a farm sale for feed sacks or something and McVeigh tried to buy whatever it was from him afterwards so the guy gave him his phone number to reach out later and the number was on McVeigh’s fridge or something.
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Does anyone remember a casino in Lake Tahoe that blew up in 1980? One of my co-workers was contacted by the FBI - turns out his MOS years bevore had been explosives of the type/configuration as had been used on the casino. Apparently, very few people had that type of expertise.
 
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