1969-- Children's educational show "Sesame Street" made its debut on PBS.
1975-- The ore-hauling ship Edmund Fitzgerald and its crew of 29 vanished during a storm on Lake Erie.
1982-- The newly finished Vietnam Veterans Memorial was opened to its first visitors in Washington, D.C.
1989-- Workers began punching a hole in the Berlin Wall, a day after East Germany abolished its border restrictions.
--Cooter
Showing posts with label Edmund Fitzgerald. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Edmund Fitzgerald. Show all posts
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Friday, August 8, 2014
Chicago's Eastland Disaster-- Part 3: Comparing the Disasters
It was July 15, 1915, and the time for the fifth annual employee picnic for the workers at Chicago's huge Western Electric plant.
Five ships had been hired to take the people to Michigan City. One of the five was the ship heralded as the "Speed Queen of the Great Lakes," the SS Eastland.
Twenty-two entire families died in the tragedy.
And now, that tragedy has been largely forgotten. Not all tragedies in Chicago have been though. Most everyone knows about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, you know, the one supposedly started by Mrs. O'Leary's cow. Somewhere between 300-400 died in it.
Then there was the Chicago Iroquois Theater fire in 1903, which killed 606. People remember that.
Another disaster most people know is the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, especially thanks to Gordon Lightfoot's song about it. Twenty-nine died in that one.
Somewhat forgotten, though, is the wreck of the ship Lady Elgin in Lake Michigan in which 279 perished.
Five ships had been hired to take the people to Michigan City. One of the five was the ship heralded as the "Speed Queen of the Great Lakes," the SS Eastland.
Twenty-two entire families died in the tragedy.
And now, that tragedy has been largely forgotten. Not all tragedies in Chicago have been though. Most everyone knows about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, you know, the one supposedly started by Mrs. O'Leary's cow. Somewhere between 300-400 died in it.
Then there was the Chicago Iroquois Theater fire in 1903, which killed 606. People remember that.
Another disaster most people know is the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, especially thanks to Gordon Lightfoot's song about it. Twenty-nine died in that one.
Somewhat forgotten, though, is the wreck of the ship Lady Elgin in Lake Michigan in which 279 perished.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
The Edmund Fitzgerald Legend Lives On
From the Nov. 10, 2010, Detroit Free Press "Sunken ship's legend lives on" by Eric D. Lawrence.
On the anniversary of the ship's sinking, November 10, 1975.
Frederick Shannon, 64, retired from diving about five years ago because of declining health. He is best known for his exploration on the SS Edmund Fitzgerald when he spent $75,000 to lease a 2-man submarine and made sevendives at the ship's site in July 1994.
On his first dive, he set a record for manned submersible vessels at 211 minutes.
Family members of the dead crew were angry about his exploration and sued. Shannon found two large sections of the ship about 17 miles from Whitefish Point.
There are still many theories as to what caused the ship to sink.
This Was the Last Major Great Lakes Shipwreck. --Cooter
On the anniversary of the ship's sinking, November 10, 1975.
Frederick Shannon, 64, retired from diving about five years ago because of declining health. He is best known for his exploration on the SS Edmund Fitzgerald when he spent $75,000 to lease a 2-man submarine and made sevendives at the ship's site in July 1994.
On his first dive, he set a record for manned submersible vessels at 211 minutes.
Family members of the dead crew were angry about his exploration and sued. Shannon found two large sections of the ship about 17 miles from Whitefish Point.
There are still many theories as to what caused the ship to sink.
This Was the Last Major Great Lakes Shipwreck. --Cooter
Saturday, November 19, 2011
36th Anniversary of the Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald
November 10, 1975
This one slipped by me. The last ten years I taught, every year my students would have a lesson on this ship, tied in with the Great Lakes and art.
I was reminded Thursday when one of the patrons at Donovan's Reef in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, tried to play the song on the jukebox, only to find it was not offered. Nor was it on the jukebox at Dry Dock in Antioch, Illinois, yesterday.
These new jukeboxes with the huge numbers of expensive songs available really should have Gordon Lightfoot's "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."
Worth remembering.
This one slipped by me. The last ten years I taught, every year my students would have a lesson on this ship, tied in with the Great Lakes and art.
I was reminded Thursday when one of the patrons at Donovan's Reef in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, tried to play the song on the jukebox, only to find it was not offered. Nor was it on the jukebox at Dry Dock in Antioch, Illinois, yesterday.
These new jukeboxes with the huge numbers of expensive songs available really should have Gordon Lightfoot's "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."
Worth remembering.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
35th Anniversary of the Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald
On this date 35 years ago in 1975, the Great Lakes freighter Edmund Fitzgerald, once the largest ship operating, sank in a huge storm that swept across Lake Superior, taking all 29 aboard to their deaths.
It had been launched in 1958.
The wreck was located that same year by US Navy planes using detectors that usually searched out submarines. The ship was lying in two pieces. Quite a few dives have been made on the Fitzgerald since then.
In 1976, singer Gordon Lightfoot had a big hit with his account of the sinking called "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."
The last ten years I taught, my students had a two day unit on the sinking of the ship, partly using the song. They also had the opportunity to draw the ship.
One of the Last Great Lakes Shipping Disasters. --Cooter
It had been launched in 1958.
The wreck was located that same year by US Navy planes using detectors that usually searched out submarines. The ship was lying in two pieces. Quite a few dives have been made on the Fitzgerald since then.
In 1976, singer Gordon Lightfoot had a big hit with his account of the sinking called "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."
The last ten years I taught, my students had a two day unit on the sinking of the ship, partly using the song. They also had the opportunity to draw the ship.
One of the Last Great Lakes Shipping Disasters. --Cooter
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