Friday Photo Flashback

Back in the day, there used to be an event that toured the country called the Warrior Dash. The first one was in 2003. It was a 5K obstacle course with rough terrains and challenging obstacles. There were walls to climb, mud to crawl through, wrecked automobiles and tires to climb over, and fire to jump over and more.

I have never been in shape enough to do any kind of race, but my wife at the time convinced me to do it. I have to admit I was a bit freaked out when I saw the waiver we had to sign. Many of the obstacles were dangerous and we had to say that we knew of the danger. I almost backed out, but I was told that if you didn’t want to do an obstacle, you could go around it.

I believe it was in town for a couple weekends over the summer. We had booked ourselves for the last race of the event. This was a good thing because there were not a lot of participants and we had the ability to run at our own pace. The race was basically run for awhile – do an obstacle – run again for awhile – do an obstacle, etc…

Some of the obstacles were fun to do. I thought it was awesome to make my way over a bunch of beat up cars that were stuck in mud. There was a see saw type board that you had to run up and then down, which took some concentration and good balance. There was also a tree that was laid across a mud pit that you had to walk across without falling in. That was a challenge. The tight rope was easier because there was rope above you to hold onto.

At one point we were wading through a bog or something. The “water” was up to my waist and my shoes were sinking into the mud at the bottom with every step. I was so glad that I had them tied tight. One person was walking through and lost their shoe in the mud! One thing is for sure, there was no shortage of mud!

On the wall, there was a rope ladder that you climbed up one side, flipped over and climbed down the other side. Because there were only a few people running with us, as I crawled over the top of the wall, the rope slid down on the other side. I held on and climbed down.

One of the walls was just a wall with just a rope over it. There was no way I could do that one. My shoes were way to muddy and I couldn’t get a grip on the wall.

At the end of the race, there was a pile of shoes that people had worn for the race. They removed them and donated them. They would be washed and given to those in need.

There was cold beer waiting for participants at the end of the race, along with a band that played and places to get food. I remember the beer being ice cold, and it really hitting the spot. There was something else that was as cold (or colder) than the beer.

Everyone at the end of the race is a muddy mess. I mean, I had mud in places that were never made to have mud! It was disgusting. There was a place to “shower” which was literally where they hosed you down with water that was absolutely freezing!

It was awful. I was ready to go jump back in that muddy bog because it was warmer.

We drove back home still covered in mud and stinking to high heaven. I remember showering for a very long time, but when showering the days afterward I was still washing away mud! It was crazy.

As you can imagine, there were plenty of injuries related to this race. One of the Michigan participants the day before our race broke his neck. There was some confusion about the incident as to whether he fell and broke his neck or whether he jumped into a shallow mud puddle.

In 2016, the Baton Rouge Warrior Dash had an obstacle collapsed with 20 people on it. 12 of the participants were transported to hospitals by ambulance or helicopter, including a 10-year-old child. Injuries included broken bones, lacerations, and back and neck trauma. This led to an investigation into the race, the obstacles and the discovery of many safety issues at other locations in 2016, 2017, and 2018.

The race was presented by a company called Red Frog Events. The company closed up in 2019 and all of the races that were scheduled were cancelled. They offered no refund for anyone, took money from participants and continued to advertise, knowing they were going to close up shop. Red Frog has not responded to messages. Other races have attempted to fill the gap by offering free admission for those registered for a Warrior Dash that was cancelled.

The race I ran was in July of 2013, long before all of those issues. I’m glad that I was able to participate – and not get hurt. When I crossed the finish line, it was such a great feeling. I felt like I had accomplished something. I never thought I’d be able to finish, but I did.

This was the pre-race photo. I’d post the post-race photos, but I’ll need to crop out some people, LOL.

Tune Tuesday

My home state has produced some of the most amazing artists and music of the past 75 years. As a Michigander (Michiganian?), I consider Bob Seger to be Rock and Roll Royalty. In all the years I listened to his music and played his music on the radio, I had never seen him in concert.

A few years back, when he did his farewell tour, a radio pal asked if I wanted to go see his show in Saginaw. I jumped at the chance and was NOT disappointed. Despite his age, he still sounded amazing. It was a show I will never forget.

A song I have not featured by Bob is a great one called Beautiful Loser. It was the title track to his 1975 album.

Bob says, “A lot of people think I wrote ‘Beautiful Loser’ about myself. I got the idea for that song from a book of Leonard Cohen poetry by the same name. The song was about underachievers in general. I very rarely write about myself that much. I draw on my own experiences like anyone else, but I’m not what you’d call auteuristic. I’m not like my songs at all. I’m a lot more up person than what I write.”

Songfacts says: Seger took almost a year to write this. He played around with many different arrangements of the song until he got it right. In a 1994 interview with Music Connection, he explained:

“I’ve never written the lyrics and tried to build the music around that. It’s usually a feel or a verse or a chorus, and the lyrics will come after I’ve decided that a certain pattern or groove or rhythm is cool. Then I’ll start singing gibberish over that and just find a lyrical idea that fits the ideas that I started out with.

Other times I’ll just sit down and say, ‘I wanna write a song called this.’ That’s how ‘Beautiful Loser’ happened. I just loved the title, which I got from a book of poetry from Leonard Cohen called Beautiful Losers, with an ‘s,’ and I thought it was a really cool title. Actually, I wrote three or four songs called ‘Beautiful Loser’ until I came up with the one that worked. But that’s a pretty rare thing.”

Happy 80th birthday to a Michigan Legend – Bob Seger!

Friday Photo Flashback

According to the date stamp on today’s picture, it is from the summer of 1981. We spent many summers going up north to Caseville. They were usually weekend trips. Off the top of my head, I can only recall two family vacations. One of them was to King’s Island and Sea World (probably when I was in kindergarten or first grade). The other was to Mackinac Island.

As I recall, we had a hotel in Mackinaw City. It is located at the tip of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. I’m sure there were places that we visited there, but I don’t remember much of that. I do remember the day we went to Mackinac Island. As you can see, you had to take a boat over to the Island from the city.

There are no cars allowed on the island. There are plenty of horse drawn carriages and bicycles. There are also plenty of shops where you can find the famous Mackinac Fudge.

The highlight of this trip was actually visiting Fort Mackinac. This fort is located on the island. Fort Michilimackinac is actually in Mackinaw City.

Fort Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City is seen from a guard tower on Friday, Sept. 25, 2015. The fort was built by French soldiers in 1715 and was taken over by the British 1761 after the French and Indian War.

My dad took a lot of pictures from our trip, but some of them are lost. I remember he took this really awesome shot of a cannon being shot. You could see the flame coming out of the wick area and the muzzle in front. It was such a cool picture. I wish I still had it.

One of my favorite photos of my mom, my brother and me was taken at one of the forts.

With all of the trouble that my brother and I cause for my parents, my mom had to pose for the above photo! I remember her saying, “I gotta get me a set of these for at home!”

There were quite a bit of things around the fort where prisoners were held. The above photo is us in the foot stocks. There is another picture somewhere of my brother and I with our heads and hands in the stocks. This was so cool to see.

The look on my mom’s face is priceless. She is all smiles! I imagine if she did have these at home, she’d be smiling bigger! I think it is hilarious to see the two personalities of my brother and me. My brother not only has his feet in the stocks, he had his hands in there, too. No fight, he just submits to the punishment. I, on the other hand, and pulling at my feet in hopes of breaking out and getting free!

I love that the sign says that the stocks were for “petty offenses!” I am just guessing that the “offenses” my brother and I caused were more along the lines of misdemeanors or felonies! LOL

It is photos like this that make me miss my mom more than usual. I know if she was still around she’d be taking her grandkids on trips like this.

“My Glasses! My Glasses”

Every once in a while I do something really stupid. What follows is a story that illustrates my stupidity!

Here in Michigan, we’ve had some pretty hot weather. I had been outside working on the yard and when I started it was really sunny. As I continued to work, the clouds rolled in and I decided to switch from my prescription sunglasses to my regular pair. I grabbed the case, placed the sunglasses in it. We weren’t going anywhere for the remainder of the day, so I placed the glasses case on top of my wife’s car, which was next to where I was working.

Fast forward about an hour and a half. I was still outside working and my wife came out to say that she was leaving to go get her prescription at the store. I kissed her and she was off. As she pulled out of the driveway and drove down the street, the sun came back out. I went to grab my glasses case and gasped!

She had only been gone about 2-4 minutes, tops. I grabbed my phone and called her. She picked up the phone and before I could say anything she said, “Did you put your wallet on the top of my car?” I explained that it was my sunglasses and she couldn’t believe it. She said that she heard something slide off the car as they turned.

She told me to hang on as she pulled the car over. Luckily, the roads weren’t too busy. Even luckier, the case landed on the asphalt while my glasses were thrown into someone’s yard in a nice grassy area. When she returned to the car, she told me that the glasses looked ok, but the case was fairly banged up.

When she came home, she walked up to me and handed me my glasses case. She looked me dead in the eye and said, “I didn’t realize when I married you that I was required to play Frogger on a main highway because of your stupidity!”

Sorry, Babe!

White Weekend

Michigan got hit with it’s first real winter storm this weekend. It was no joke. It started Friday afternoon after I got to work. In the short couple hours I was there, the snow accumulated quickly. It didn’t take long for patients to start cancelling their appointments for that evening.

Believe it or not, despite the 6-8 inches of snow that had already fallen, there were still a couple patients who were going to drive in. The problem was that our techs were having trouble getting in. We ended up having to cancel everyone for that night. This was probably a good thing, because I got to go home early.

My wife didn’t want me driving in the storm, but I certainly didn’t want to sleep at work. So I ventured out and my normal hour and ten minute drive wound up being about 3 hours. The drive was treacherous. There were cars flipped in ditches, semi-trucks jackknifed, flares surrounding cars that had stalled, and many freeway closures. It was a white knuckle drive and I was glad to finally be home.

Saturday, the kids and I took advantage of the snow and tried out their new sled.

I pulled them all over the yard and up and down the street. It didn’t take long before my copy cat (Andrew) wanted to pull his sister in the sled. I really didn’t think he’d be able to, but he did!

Daisy was having a blast in the snow and kept trying to bite the cord we were pulling the sled with. Naturally, Ella had to pull Andrew as well.

It was very cold out, so I had to really beg them to come inside. They didn’t want to, but I promised hot cocoa, so they came in.

Sam was supposed to work Saturday, but all the patients had cancelled. So we enjoyed an evening at home. Ella decided that she would give us a spa day.

Sam got her nails done first. As I chuckled about how hard it was going to be to get that polish off, Ella informed me that I was next!

I still have nail polish in my cuticles!

Before bed, we made an obstacle course in the living room for them to burn off all their extra energy.

Sam was teaching Ella how to tuck and roll. She stood on the foam nugget (above), touched her toes, tucked her head, and they rolled over. She wanted me to try it. Three times I did it and failed miserably each time. My wonderful and loving wife took video and posted on Facebook for all to see. It is not my proudest moment and I look like hell! I will NOT be sharing here.

All the running out in the snow did tucker Daisy out. I had to laugh as I sat on the couch next to her and I looked over and saw this:

My brother and his friend had tickets to see the Madonna show in Detroit last night. He drove up on Saturday night and stayed at a hotel. He stopped by Sunday and hung out with the kids. They were so excited to see their Uncles. At one point, Andrew kept bringing books to my brother to read. He’d read it right the first time and then (when asked to read it again) would alter the story with humorous comments.

Any time I get to see my brother is treasured. We need to take a trip down to see him in Ohio this summer.

Sunday Night, the Detroit Lions beat the LA Rams in their first playoff win sin 32 years. I wrote about this in the previous blog, but had to share this. Coincidentally, the Detroit Free Press posted a picture of the temperature in the little town of Hell, MI on Sunday night.

Go Lions!!!

A Cool Place To Sit

It is finally starting to feel like Spring in Michigan. Some of the days ahead may even have summer like temperatures.

After I put together the porch rocker for Sam, the kids and I ran around the yard. Sam had got some flowers and soil to put in a planter pot and we placed it next to the front porch.

The back yard needs a good mow, but Sam had actually mowed the front lawn late last week. The kids were running around the front yard and I took advantage of the shade. I actually decided just to sit on the front lawn. The kids saw me and came over and sat with me. If there had been clouds out, I would have laid on my back with them and looked at the shapes. Skies were clear, however, and it was nice to just sit on the ground and play with them.

Sometimes, you gotta take a minute and enjoy the little things….

Of course, I did need some help getting up!

Turntable Talk – This Song’s Going Places

Once again, Dave over at A Sound Day has offered up a new topic for his Turntable Talk feature and has asked me to contribute. His thoughts of holiday getaways and Spring Break led to this month’s topic. Our instructions:

“Tell us about a song (or album) you like that is all about going places. Trains, planes, automobiles – there’ve been scores of good songs about traveling, geographically or even mentally, not to mention songs about specific destinations…”

One song immediately popped into my head and takes me back to my childhood. In order to write about the song, we have to take a trip to Michigan’s thumb area in 1979.

My great aunt had a trailer in Caseville, MI. My grandparents would go there on occasion, and we did too. At some point they decided that they also would like a little summer getaway and bought their own trailer. They placed in on a lot of land one street over from my great aunt’s place.

I have many fond memories of that place. Walks to the beach (which is now private), grocery shopping at the IGA, big breakfasts cooked by my dad and grandpa, riding the minibike around the neighborhood, and fishing at the back lake.

The thing I remember most about the trailer in that first couple years was that they did not have a TV. When they did, it only got one or two stations and you’d have to go outside and turn the antenna to get a good picture. The radio was our main source of entertainment. Even that wasn’t great, as there were very few stations that came in. We had this small, one speaker radio/cassette player that provided the music.

There were two cassettes that were at the trailer. The fantastic “Stardust” album from Willie Nelson and Johnny Paycheck’s Greatest Hits Volume 2. Each album contains a song about Georgia, but my pick comes from Johnny Paycheck. Georgia in a Jug originally appeared on Paycheck’s Take This Job and Shove It LP.

The song was written by Bobby Braddock, who wrote some of country music’s biggest hits (Toby Keith’s I Wanna talk About Me, Tammy Wynette’s D-I-V-O-R-C-E, and George Jones’ He Stopped Loving Her Today, to name a few). He is a member of the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame. As a producer, he discovered Blake Shelton and got him his record deal. He also wrote Shelton’s hit “Austin,” which was a number one song. Coincidentally, Blake Shelton also covered Georgia in a Jug.

This song’s “travel” would fall into the “mental” category that Dave mentions in his instructions to us, as it all occurs on a barstool. It is relatable in that most of us have a jar or bucket where we throw spare change in hopes that one day we’ll have enough to travel or make a big purchase. The dreams of the singer are shattered by the end of a relationship. He decides to head to the bar with his money and take his own trip. The destinations include, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Honolulu.

One reason I have always found Johnny Paycheck’s version superior to the other covers is the arrangement. After each destination, you hear a little musical bit that takes you there. “I’m going down to Mexico in a glass of tequila” is followed by the sound of a trumpet from a mariachi band. “Going down to Puerto Rico in a bottle of rum” is followed by a marimba type drum. “Going out to Honolulu in a Mai Tai mug” is followed by the sounds of Hawaiian music. Those little musical flourishes really make the song for me.

Listening to this song as a nine year old, I had no idea it was about getting drunk or drinking. I just remember it being one of those cool songs that the family listened to and sang along with as a gin rummy game was being played, while we were reading a book, or we were sitting outside eating at the picnic table. It is one of many songs that will instantly transport me in time – and isn’t that what makes a song so special?

Thanks again to Dave for allowing me to take part in this feature. As always, I look forward to reading the contributions of the other music lovers in our group. Thanks for reading!

Georgia In A Jug

Mason jars on the dresser filled with dollars and quarters
Savin’ em’ for our trip around the world
But now you’ve changed your tune, there’ll be no honeymoon
So tonight I’m going there without you girl

I’m going down to Mexico, in a glass of tequila
Going down to Puerto Rico, in a bottle of rum
Going out to Honolulu, in a Mai Tai mug
And I’m coming back home to Georgia, in a jug

We’ll never ride that bus to Mexico City, and that’s a pity
We’ll never sail our ship into old San Juan
You’ll never walk with me, on the beach at Waikiki
And we’ll never share that brick suburban home

Today I’m taking that money out of that jar
Tonight I’ll buy my ticket, at the corner bar

I’m going down to Mexico, in a glass of tequila
Going down to Puerto Rico, in a bottle of rum
Going out to Honolulu, in a Mai Tai mug
And I’m coming back home to Georgia, in a jug

Yes, I’m coming back home to Georgia, in a jug…

A Fun Family Night

Because of work schedules, it is not often that I get a night with the family. I swapped nights with a coworker because I had hoped to go to a daddy daughter dance with Ella. Tickets went fast and I was put on a wait list for that, and it never panned out. However, the program that is helping Andrew with his speech had a family night scheduled at one of the local museums, and we went there instead.

I hadn’t been to the Sloan in some time because Dante’ and Dimitri are older now. A couple years ago they had something on the ballot about funds for the Cultural Center area. I voted for it and it passed. So they put a bunch of funds into it and the newly opened Sloan Museum of Discovery was part of the results.

Thursday evening was our first visit there and the renovations are just amazing. They brought over some of the stuff from the old museum, but also added SO much more! Only parts of the building were open that night, so I hope to be able to go back and check out everything we missed.

There is an entire area of water play that the kids just loved!!

The water room was long with a TON of things to do. In the above picture, the water in front of the kids has smoke under it. When you turn the orange thing in front of that, the water turns off and the smoke rises. It’s actually very cool.

In the middle of the water is a little “Michigan” with trees and clouds to make rain. It is the little details that I was really impressed with.

Another new addition to the museum is a HUGE tree house. Both kids played in it, but Ella loved climbing up to the top!

One of the things that came over from the old museum was an ambulance. This one may have been a newer model than the old place. Andrew spent a lot of time in it!

All of the switches do something. Some turn on the siren, some turn on the flashers, some turn on the dome lights, etc. Andrew was just happy to be at the wheel!

Another things that came over from the old museum was a “car” that you can work on. Ella wasted no time tackling the battery on it!

They had crafts set up for the kids to do when we arrived. One of them was “marble painting.” You took a piece of construction paper and put it in a tray. Then you put drops of paint on the paper. Then you rolled a marble all over the place and the marbles “painted” the paper. They really came out neat.

They had a place to make friendship bracelets, but Ella saw the water room and that was where she wanted to be! At one point they gathered the families who were there into an area in front of the tree house for story time. They read a book and each kid got to take a copy home. Ella was angry that she had to stop playing for the story. All she wanted to do was run around and play. When we tried to get her to sit for story time – she dropped on the floor and it was obvious she was not happy!

I shouldn’t laugh, but this is my favorite photo from the night!

Her and I ended up walking away from the story and she played in the “store” at the museum. They have food items you can shop for and a cash register where you can scan items and pay for them. They also have a “post office” there where you can address envelopes or boxes. She kept very busy.

Andrew stayed for story time and they had some music to dance to afterward. It truly was a wonderful night out with the family. There is a planetarium nearby and I would like to take them there when Andrew is a little older. We are lucky to have such a cool place nearby!

Happy Birthday to The Mitten!

My home state of Michigan became the 26th state on this day in 1837. Happy 186th Birthday!!

Here are some cool facts:

Pledge

Did you know that there is a pledge of allegiance to the Michigan flag?? Next time you glance up at the dark blue banner with its shield, elk, moose and eagle, you’re welcome to utter these words written by Harold G. Coburn and officially adopted by the Legislature in 1972: “I pledge allegiance to the flag of Michigan, and to the state for which it stands, two beautiful peninsulas united by a bridge of steel, where equal opportunity and justice to all is our ideal.”

Michigander or Michiganian

The term many of use and love today was coined by none other than Abraham Lincoln in 1848. Then an Illinois congressman, Lincoln referred to Michigan governor Lewis Cass, who was running for president as a Democrat, as a “Michigander”, meaning he was as silly as a goose. Lincoln was mad at the Democrats for making more than they should have of Cass’ military experience, and the term was meant as an insult. “There is one entire article of the sort I have not discussed yet;” Lincoln said, “I mean the military tale you Democrats are now engaged in dovetailing onto the great Michigander.” Many prefer “Michiganian.” Neither is official.

Mining Precious Metals

Before anybody ever trekked to California to seek all that glitters in 1849, speculators flocked to the Upper Peninsula for copper in 1843, spurred by reports from the state’s first geologist, Douglass Houghton. Michigan copper was pure and plentiful, and the population of the remote Keewenaw Peninsula exploded as miners flocked from around the world, living in tent cities because houses hadn’t yet been built. Over the next 130 years, more than 5 million tons of copper would be mined. These days, the mines generate money in a different way: The Keewenaw National Historical Park draws visitors who want to learn about the area’s rich mining history.

The Lines Were First Drawn Here

We have Edward Hines to thank, who came up with the idea in 1911. He lobbied the state Legislature to give responsibility for roads to counties instead of townships and cities, a measure that was eventually adopted. As a Wayne County road commissioner, he lobbied for long-lasting concrete roads instead of gravel or asphalt. His brilliant idea came to him as he watched a leaky milk wagon drip a strip of milk down a dusty road and thought something like, “Hey! If we painted lines on our good concrete roads, drivers would know where the middle is!” It’s hard to imagine navigating Michigan road without help from Hines.

Other Random Things

In 1817 the University of Michigan was the first university established by any of the states. Originally named Cathelepistemian and located in Detroit the name was changed in 1821. The university moved to Ann Arbor in 1841.

Michigan State University was founded in 1855 as the nation’s first land-grant university and served as the prototype for 69 land-grant institutions later established under the Morrill Act of 1862. It was the first institution of higher learning in the nation to teach scientific agriculture.

Although Michigan is often called the “Wolverine State” there are no longer any wolverines in Michigan.

The Mackinac Bridge is one of the longest suspension bridges in the world. Connecting the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan, it spans 5 miles over the Straits of Mackinac, which is where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet. The Mighty Mac took 3 years to complete and was opened to traffic in 1957.

Indian River is the home of the largest crucifix in the world. It is called the Cross in the Woods.

The Kellogg Company has made Battle Creek the Cereal Capital of the World. The Kellogg brothers accidentally discovered the process for producing flaked cereal products and sparked the beginning of the dry cereal industry.

Vernors ginger ale was created in Detroit and became the first soda pop made in the United States. In 1862, pharmacist James Vernor was trying to create a new beverage when he was called away to serve our country in the Civil War. When he returned, 4 years later, the drink he had stored in an oak case had acquired a delicious gingery flavor.

Michigan was the first state to provide in its Constitution for the establishment of public libraries.

The first auto traffic tunnel built between two nations was the mile-long Detroit-Windsor tunnel under the Detroit River.

Happy Birthday, Michigan!

November 10, 1975 – On The Big Lake They Called “Gitche Gumee”

It was 47 years today that the Edmund Fitzgerald went down in Michigan’s Lake Superior. The wreck inspired Gordon Lightfoot to write “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” a song which will no doubt play on some of the local stations throughout the day today.

I don’t think they ever really taught much about it in school growing up and All I really ever knew about the wreck was because of the lyrics of the song. It wasn’t until 1999 that I learned much more about it – and got to see a piece of it up close and personal.

The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum can be found in Paradise, Michigan. It is a small museum, but was absolutely fascinating. I truly enjoyed my visit there. Their website (www.shipwreckmuseum.com) says this about the Fitz:

The legend of the Edmund Fitzgerald remains the most mysterious and controversial of all shipwreck tales heard around the Great Lakes. Her story is surpassed in books, film and media only by that of the Titanic. Canadian folksinger Gordon Lightfoot inspired popular interest in this vessel with his 1976 ballad, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”

The Edmund Fitzgerald was lost with her entire crew of 29 men on Lake Superior November 10, 1975, 17 miles north-northwest of Whitefish Point, Michigan. Whitefish Point is the site of the Whitefish Point Light Station and Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) has conducted three underwater expeditions to the wreck, 1989, 1994, and 1995.

At the request of family members surviving her crew, Fitzgerald’s 200 lb. bronze bell was recovered by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society on July 4, 1995. This expedition was conducted jointly with the National Geographic Society, Canadian Navy, Sony Corporation, and Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. The bell is now on display in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum as a memorial to her lost crew.

There was a movie showing in the museum about the Edmund Fitzgerald that told the story of the wreck. It made looking at the bell even more real.

According to the museum’s Facebook page, there will be a live stream later today as they “pay our respects and remember the 29 men who were lost on the Edmund Fitzgerald 47 years ago. Join us live at @shipwreckmuseum.com and our stream will be on our front page starting at 7pm (est).”

Here is the Gordon Lightfoot classic:

The last radio communication from the Fitz took place at 7:10 p.m.

Jessie B. Cooper, the captain of the nearby cargo ship the SS Arthur M. Anderson, asked how the Fitzgerald was weathering the storm and Captain Ernest M. McSorley replied, “We are holding our own.”

It is believed that the Fitzgerald then sank suddenly at about 7:15 p.m. without sending out any distress signals.

After conducting an initial futile search of the area for survivors, the Anderson sought safe harbor in Whitefish Bay in the early hours of Nov. 11, according to records.

The U.S. Coast Guard then requested the Anderson to reverse course and assist in conducting another search for the Fitzgerald, according to USCG records. They also asked U.S. vessels William Clay Ford, Armco, Roger Blough, Reserve, Wilfred Sykes and William R. Roesch; Canadian vessels Hilda Marjanne, Frontenac, John O. McKeller, Murray Bay and fishing tug James D.

No survivors were found nor any bodies recovered.

The Anderson sighted one piece of a lifeboat at 8:07 on Nov. 11 about 9 miles east of where the Fitzgerald disappeared and an hour later sighted the 2nd damaged lifeboat about 4 miles south of the first one.

The Edmund Fitzgerald was later found in Canadian waters 530 feet below the surface of Lake Superior. The ship had broken into two pieces.

One line from that Lightfoot song reads “Superior, they said, never gives up her dead” and the bodies of the 29 were never recovered.

They are:

Michael E. Armagost, 37, Third Mate from Iron River, Wisconsin

Fred J. Beetcher, 56, Porter from Superior, Wisconsin

Thomas D. Bentsen, 23, Oiler from St. Joseph, Michigan

Edward F. Bindon, 47, First Asst. Engineer from Fairport Harbor, Ohio

Thomas D. Borgeson, 41, Maintenance Man fromDuluth, Minnesota

Oliver J. Champeau, 41, Third Asst. Engineer from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

Nolan S. Church, 55, Porter from Silver Bay, Minnesota

Ransom E. Cundy, 53, Watchman from Superior, Wisconsin

Thomas E. Edwards, 50, Second Asst. Engineer from Oregon, Ohio

Russell G. Haskell, 40, Second Asst. Engineer from Millbury, Ohio

George J. Holl, 60, Chief Engineer from Cabot, Pennsylvania

Bruce L. Hudson, 22, Deck Hand from North Olmsted, Ohio

Allen G. Kalmon, 43, Second Cook from Washburn, Wisconsin

Gordon F. MacLellan, 30, Wiper from Clearwater, Florida

Joseph W. Mazes, 59, Special Maintenance Man from Ashland, Wisconsin

John H. McCarthy, 62, First Mate from Bay Village, Ohio

Ernest M. McSorley, 63, Captain from Toledo, Ohio

Eugene W. O’Brien, 50, Wheelsman from Toledo, Ohio

Karl A. Peckol, 20, Watchman from Ashtabula, Ohio

John J. Poviach, 59, Wheelsman from Bradenton, Florida

James A. Pratt, 44, Second Mate from Lakewood, Ohio

Robert C. Rafferty, 62, Steward from Toledo, Ohio

Paul M. Riippa, 22, Deck Hand from Ashtabula, Ohio

John D. Simmons, 63, Wheelsman from Ashland, Wisconsin

William J. Spengler, 59, Watchman from Toledo, Ohio

Mark A. Thomas, 21, Deck Hand from Richmond Heights, Ohio

Ralph G. Walton, 58, Oiler from Fremont, Ohio

David E. Weiss, 22, Cadet from Agoura, California

Blaine H. Wilhelm, 52, Oiler from Moquah, Wisconsin

For more on the famous shipwreck – check out this article:

https://www.mlive.com/news/2020/11/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald-photos-of-the-great-lakes-most-famous-ship.html