tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post5471024762992572453..comments2024-03-26T16:46:21.764-04:00Comments on Doctor Grumpy in the House: November 10, 1975Grumpy, M.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09858110332436246760noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-83387246714855290922016-01-14T00:40:32.842-05:002016-01-14T00:40:32.842-05:00Have been to the shipwreck museum. When you get th...Have been to the shipwreck museum. When you get there it doesn't look like much, but inside there is a ton of information on the many, many ships lost on the lakes.<br /><br />We also waded in to the water, in August...and waded right back out. Very, very cold.<br /><br />Rick, yet another theory is that the ship hit the bottom during drop in between the huge waves. Oh, and also that a hatch cover was leaking. Both of these theories are supported by the reported listing.LCBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03146393047895889252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-72074406916622382682015-12-19T20:37:37.264-05:002015-12-19T20:37:37.264-05:00Thanks for the thought-provoking post. My husband ...Thanks for the thought-provoking post. My husband and I are both Wisconsn natives; he's from the northern part, I'm from the southern. His father grew up on the lakeshore and still remembers the foghorns trying to keep the boats safe. Sadly, they couldn't help the Edmund Fitzgerald.<br /><br />As for me, Gordon Lightfoot's ballad was my mother's favorite song. I remember bundling up against the winds many a November morning before the walk to school, and my mother exhorting me, "Be thankful you're not out on the Great Lakes." Believe me Mama, I am.<br /><br />We live in the Twin Cities now, but every November the Witch still howls over the Mississippi to remind us we're lucky not to be on the Lakes.<br /><br />.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-40839228575836121272015-12-05T19:12:28.658-05:002015-12-05T19:12:28.658-05:00The suspicion is that the ship got the stern and b...The suspicion is that the ship got the stern and bow caught high on waves on each end leaving the middle unsupported and the taconite load heavy enough to split the ship. The other hypothesis I've heard is that the bow submerged and the engines/props drove the ship into the bottom of the lake, the collision causing the ship to split. In either situation there would be no time to react. I always wondered what type of lifeboats they had on board and if the captain ordered any of the crew to be at the ready.Ricknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-12983657680515728952015-11-16T06:05:03.388-05:002015-11-16T06:05:03.388-05:00My family is from a little island off of Sault Ste...My family is from a little island off of Sault Ste Marie Michigan. We use to go to the Locks in the Soo and watch the big boats going through the locks. My brother had a book that named the large boats on the Great Lakes and he always wanted to go so he could check off the biggest. The summer before the Edmund Fitzgerald went down we saw it going through the locks down toward the lower UP. There were a couple of crew members on the deck and they were throwing iron ore pellets to the kids watching the boats and waving. We were just a bunch of kids but we had so much fun running around trying collect the pellets. It was one of those magical childhood days. After the ship went down that winter my family always wondered if it was the same crew. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935017174619899507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-39245107150386808602015-11-14T20:51:35.852-05:002015-11-14T20:51:35.852-05:00Love your history lessons - was also hoping you wo...Love your history lessons - was also hoping you would write about this! I grew up in Superior WI and the lake is a scary force up there - and we are all too aware of the danger.... I still love visiting my family up there and watching the boats come in under the lift bridge in Duluth. Thanks for the powerful write-up and reminder about how important shipping is. PS the Brewers trivia I so didn't know!SheMozarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14824776719909389093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-88892576568029913652015-11-14T18:02:59.601-05:002015-11-14T18:02:59.601-05:00Thanks for the respect to both the shipping indust...Thanks for the respect to both the shipping industry and the great lakes. Lake Superior is not one to mess with in late autumn. Watching the heat inversion effect on the waves from the safety of the shore is enough for me. Add a storm to that and I'll be tucked away somewhere dry, warm, and far enough away from the shore for safety.Shashnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-87450081151877525152015-11-12T16:15:05.403-05:002015-11-12T16:15:05.403-05:00I'm so impressed that you can write in several...I'm so impressed that you can write in several styles so very engagingly. Thank you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-69553440729472661322015-11-11T13:17:35.364-05:002015-11-11T13:17:35.364-05:00Another interesting great lake ship meets a differ...Another interesting great lake ship meets a different ending:<br />http://www.retrokimmer.com/2014/02/the-benson-ford-ship-cottage-on-put-in.htmlstaceyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08872800621811343464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-30758959599113251692015-11-11T11:52:03.972-05:002015-11-11T11:52:03.972-05:00Thank you.Thank you.Magehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17333086721654817750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-12633837401832321822015-11-10T21:36:53.042-05:002015-11-10T21:36:53.042-05:00I worked with a woman younger than I whose father ...I worked with a woman younger than I whose father died on one of these vessels in the Great Lakes off Michigan. My folks settled on the St. Lawrence Seaway in the late 1600s, but it is still a little strange to learn that these channels were an extension of the northern seas.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-10754484029164194672015-11-10T13:24:36.009-05:002015-11-10T13:24:36.009-05:00I live in Southeast Michigan and saw the Fitzgeral...I live in Southeast Michigan and saw the Fitzgerald a few times as a kid when my parents took us to Algonac (read, cheap entertainment) as well as at the Soo locks. Thanks for the remembrance of the ship and her crew.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-2621783565598581252015-11-10T12:14:45.752-05:002015-11-10T12:14:45.752-05:00I attended college in Marquette Michigan, which wa...I attended college in Marquette Michigan, which was a port of the ore boats which carried taconite. One of the first things that you learned about Lake Superior was that survivability was measured in minutes due to the cold water temperature. So even swimming in September was a cruel experience. We were also told that the wave frequency on the lakes was different than on the ocean and as such the boats were designed differently than ocean going ships, so that they would not ride on the peaks of waves.They rode lower because of buoyancy difference between fresh and salt water. I do not know if the latter is true or not, but I can attest to how awful it was to be submerged in Lake Superior from our cliff diving at Presque Isle.<br />I got to see the Edmund Fitzgerald while out there, guys used to go to "The Soo" to see boats move through the locks. Ford Motor Company, of all unlikely companies, was one of the largest shipping companies on the lakes during that period of time. It was a fascinating introduction to a completely different life.Packerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10790343423937405624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-5928596254843265432015-11-10T11:51:44.080-05:002015-11-10T11:51:44.080-05:00Amen, Grumpy. I've visited the Great Lakes Mu...Amen, Grumpy. I've visited the Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle many times just to see the ship's bell. Wreck diving is a popular pastime in Michigan, but everyone knows the Edmund is hallowed ground. May the families of the men of the El Faro find the answers they seek and ultimately some peace. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-45280323752902879502015-11-10T10:52:36.671-05:002015-11-10T10:52:36.671-05:00A sad anniversary ~ a beautiful tribute by GLA sad anniversary ~ a beautiful tribute by GLbobbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14353836074794786357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-24870560379474637182015-11-10T09:47:28.829-05:002015-11-10T09:47:28.829-05:00And one can't forget Gordon Lightfoot's tr...And one can't forget Gordon Lightfoot's tribute to the Edmund Fitzgerald: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vST6hVRj2A Syrlinushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04623341997583616428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-85982189443803943422015-11-10T09:10:00.219-05:002015-11-10T09:10:00.219-05:00I love your history posts - the song has been runn...I love your history posts - the song has been running through my head for the past few days and this morning I thought "Bet Dr. Grumpy posts about it!" Thanks - I really appreciate the history lessons and learning new things about things I thought I already knew.<br /><br />(Your post about Sen. Inouye still stands out as a personal favorite - I didn't know the half of it and I am so glad I do - INSPIRING!!!)Carolynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12191934136558101400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-53906943556600673042015-11-10T09:01:18.956-05:002015-11-10T09:01:18.956-05:00A play was written about this incident, "Ten ...A play was written about this incident, "Ten November," commissioned for Actors' Theater of St. Paul. I saw it there in the 1980s. See it if you ever have the opportunity.Ivan Ilyichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03188429891387548730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-74535683028552999632015-11-10T08:36:51.637-05:002015-11-10T08:36:51.637-05:00Wow. Thanks for the history lesson. This is trul...Wow. Thanks for the history lesson. This is truly one of those Paul Harvey "The rest of the story" lessons.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com