SHORTLY BEFORE 8 THIS MORNING, I listened to “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” by Gordon Lightfoot pulse from my radio. It was an auditory reminder that today marks the 50th anniversary of the sinking of that freightliner on November 10, 1975, in Lake Superior some 17 miles from Whitefish Point, Michigan.
This shipwreck holds great interest in Minnesota as the Edmund typically left loaded with taconite from Silver Bay, on the Minnesota side of Lake Superior, headed for the steel mills of Detroit and Toledo. But on this last fateful trip, the Edmund departed from Superior, Wisconsin, aiming for Detroit.
The ship sank in the gale force raging winds and waves of a November storm claiming the lives of all twenty-nine aboard. That tragedy has been forever immortalized in Lightfoot’s 1976 ballad.
Today, in ceremonies both in Minnesota and Michigan, those who perished in this disaster on an inland “sea” will be honored. At 2 pm, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Whitefish Point, Michigan, holds a public remembrance service. At 7 pm, a memorial service is set, but for Fitzgerald family members only with the museum closing at 5 pm in preparation for that event.
Here in Minnesota, the 50th anniversary focus today happens at the Split Rock Lighthouse Historic Site located along the shore of Lake Superior southwest of Silver Bay, which is north of Duluth and Superior. The Annual Memorial Beacon Lighting ceremony, beginning at 4 pm, is sold out.
For those able to secure tickets, the Minnesota ceremony is sure to be emotional as the names of the twenty-nine crew members are read aloud to the tolling of a ship’s bell. Lighting of the lighthouse beacon follows with the light shining for two hours.
Many years have passed since I’ve visited the lighthouse. Decades have passed since I first heard Gordon Lightfoot’s ode to the Edmund Fitzgerald as a young adult. Despite the passage of time, this tragic story remains imprinted on my mind, as it does the collective memories of Minnesotans old enough to remember this November 10, 1975, tragedy on Lake Superior.
FYI: I’ve previously written about the Edmund Fitzgerald. That includes a 2014 blog post about a presentation at the Rice County Historical Society by a diver who explored the wreck of the freightliner. Click here to read that story. The presentation coincided with the opening of the play, “Ten November,” at the Paradise Center for the Arts in Faribault. Click here to read an introspective piece I also wrote.
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
The song Gordon Lightfoot put to music that reminds us of the loss of that ship and is a constant reminder of how fragile life can be.. November is a series of up beat dates and downers for me as November has birthdays, wedding anniversaries, the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Marine Corps Birthday. Too much going on! A”Norther” blew in 2 days ago. Chilling the weather drastically. November for me could easily be an emotional roller coaster. You all would laugh at us Texans, Temps went from 80s to 60s overnight!
November 10, 2025
50th year of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald ( I share the grief)
250th year of the Birthday of the Corps (Happy Birthday Marines!)
Happy 250th birthday, Marine Corps. Thanks for sharing that, Gunny. I’m sorry for the grief you’re feeling in November, especially. Hugs to you from a cold (in the 30s) Minnesota to your balmy Texas.
LOL! Winter set in Early in MN. Texas – a later period. I will try and THINK balmy as I grab my jacket to step outside!
I’ll be thinking of you tomorrow, Gunny, on Veterans Day. Thank you for serving our country.
Here in Michigan, we have never forgotten this very sad event. When I was in the U.P. this summer we were near Whitefish Point and we spent a lot of time in and around Lake Superior, thinking about what happened and talking to locals. The song still makes me tear up and even when I visit Canada, the song is sung in local pubs. This was such a tragedy and his song is so haunting
Thank you, Beth, for sharing your Michigan perspective on the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Always an intriguing story, with a beautiful, but haunting song to make it legendary. The annual Beacon Lighting seems fitting to mark the anniversary of the sinking ship, and the 29 lost crew members.
Haunting and legendary are fitting words for Gordon Lightfoot’s song.
I’ve been reading quite a bit about the Edmund Fitzgerald so enjoyed reading this blog post and the earlier ones as well. Also, I recently attended The Gales of November, the performance featuring Kevin Kling and several vocalists. Well done but they did not include the Gordon Lightfoot song. I bet just about everyone in the audience was waiting for that. No doubt that has kept the memory of this tragedy alive. Thanks to you and all those who are paying tribute to the 29 crew members.
I’ve always wanted to see Kevin Kling perform. Where did you see “The Gales of November?” I bet you’re right that everyone was waiting for Lightfoot’s song. It’s such a part of this story.
At Worthington’s Memorial Auditorium. We saw it on Sunday, so timely! The show was adapted from a play called Ten November by Stephen Dietz.
“Ten November” is the play I saw at The Paradise Center for the Arts in 2014. I surely would have gone to Kling’s show in Worthington. So glad you could see it.