Ceremony Saturday to commemorate 50th anniversary of ‘Fitzgerald’’s launch
June 06, 08 by TheFleetIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
by David Patch | Source: Toledo Blade
Fifty years ago tomorrow, one of the most celebrated ships in Great Lakes history was launched from a Detroit-area shipyard.
Of course, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald didn’t gain renown outside of boat-aficionado circles until more than 17 years later, after it sank in a Lake Superior gale, taking all 29 officers and crewmen aboard 530 feet to the bottom.
A commemorative event tomorrow at Lake Erie Metropark, in southeastern Wayne County near Gibraltar, Mich., will mark the anniversary not of the sinking, but rather the launch of the ship that was the Great Lakes’ largest for more than a decade.
Richard Orgel, a Toledo man who sailed aboard the Fitzgerald during his career as a ship’s mate and was later subpoenaed to testify during the inquest about its sinking, said he plans to attend the event.
“I had friends on that ship,” he said.
Fascinating story, interviews and details at the Toledo Blade >
