48 years past 11/10/1975; For the Edmund Fitzgerald and her crew.

48 years ago, November 10th 1975
For the Edmund Fitzgerald and her crew.

The Edmund Fitzgerald entered Service on 6/8/1958 and was Lost 17 years 5 months and 3 days later. I was 18 years 5 months and 3 days old on that day, November 10th 1975.

This is a story of my experience with that storm.

I was there in the area the day the Edmund Fitzgerald was lost. That storm almost took my life also.

In 1975 my Dad worked for Cloverland Electric in Chippewa County and to save money he stayed in our travel trailer that was parked along East side of the Power plant. I had taken a week off school to be with him and get some Hunting time in.

I went out that early morning on November 10th 1975 with my 22 rifle in hand to grab a squirrel or snowshoe hare for dinner. From the power plant I had to walk South East about 1-2 miles across an open field to a large wooded area where I was going to hunt.

That morning started out as a beautiful partly sunny day. I entered the woods about the time the first clouds started rolling in. The first thing that struck me when I entered the woods was the silence, no birds were flying around and no other critters were out. I continued on and walked further into the woods. Around noon the wind had started to pick up and the tree tops were swaying. At about one in the afternoon the sky had turned grey and the wind started to come in gust, the temperature was rapidly falling. Around 1:30 pm a cold freezing rain had started falling. I knew then it was time to start heading back, I turned around and started the long walk out.

The Storm came in fast and hard, by the time I reached the edge of the woods the winds were roaring and coming dead on from the direction I had to travel. The freezing rain by then had turned to hard pellets that stung as they hit my face. The wind at that time was steady and had to have been up to 40 to 50 mph. I remember standing at the edge of the woods looking across the field in front of me thinking “shit this is going to be a bitch” that thought turned out to be quite an understatement. I slung my rifle onto my shoulder and started across the field. It took me more than 2 hrs to walk the one to two miles across that open field.

At first the snow was only inches deep but as I slowly progressed across the field it became deeper and deeper, by midpoint I was hitting knee deep snow drifts. My face was numb and feet and hands frozen. The wind continued to grow stronger, every step forward was like swimming upstream against a swift current. At times a wind gust would hit almost blowing me backwards or over, I fell down onto my knees more than once.

As I walked into the wind I could feel it sucking the life out of me, it was a cold piercing knife. I wondered if I would make it several times, thinking they might find me frozen in the snow on that field. I prayed to God several times on that forsaken walk.

There was no windbreak anywhere along that field except for the Power plant itself. When I was about 1/8th mile away from the power plant I altered my direction to a longer path, but one where the power plant would serve as a wind break. That was probably was one of the smartest decisions I have ever made. Once the wind was lessened I started to warm back up, that cold knife was no longer was cutting my life away. I picked up speed and covered the remaining distance to the power plant. It was getting dark when I entered the trailer I warmed up for a bit then went next door to the power plant.

Upon entering the plant the first things I heard were alarms going off, they were losing power lines and the local grid system was faltering. My Father upon seeing me ¾ frozen just said “Thank God” and “stay out of the way”. I went into the main office to warm up more, and helped out by keeping the coffee pot full as the power line workers were coming in and out of the storm to warm up.

Inside the office I could hear the chatter on the company’s radio communications to all their trucks and the emergency response frequencies. I remember hearing the US Coast Guard calls going out in an attempt to reach the Edmund Fitzgerald and for any ships in the area to help. I also remember the final call for all ships to seek immediate shelter.

Twenty Nine died on the Edmund Fitzgerald that night and the number almost doubled when including those that perished on the inland lakes and in the forest that day. Hunters and fishermen who went out on a beautiful November morning on a day that became a living hell. Gordon said it right, the Gales of Lake Superior in November and the cold they can bring will cut like a knife right to the bone. Been there, never care to be there again, but I still love that big Lake they call Gitche Gumee.

edit added 11/7/2017{I posted the above in the story about the 11/10/1975 storm, but I left something very important out of it. That being why I altered my path of direction to the longer way to shelter that day.

They say the winds that day hit Hurricane force, I agree. The walk across the field turned into a fight for survival. The snow made a white out situation where I could only see several hundred feet at ahead at best and only several feet at other times. I kept my bearings by walking the furrows of the field as I had that morning on the way in. I prayed to God more than once on that trek across that field, finally tired and frozen I prayed once more to Father that if this was my end so be it, my life was His to do what he wanted to do with me. At that point I was half frozen and hypothermia was setting in. The snow by then was at least 1 foot deep with drifts up to at least 24”. I was in serious trouble. Then something happened I can’t quite explain except for it being a divine guidance. In the story as posted above I said it was my decision to alter my course but actually it wasn't. I was given the instruction to walk away diverting my direction of travel to the right which almost doubled the distance to shelter, it was my choice to make the change of direction given. I did make the change and found myself in a area where the wind was much less. I know that I would not have made it if I hadn’t found that sheltered area.

I was then able to again start walking within a wind break to the shelter of the power plant. I truly think if I hadn’t been directed to that area they would have found me frozen to death in that field.

Our Father speaks to us

we just

need to hear His words and obey His commands, then we will arrive at His sheltered place.} End edit.

Peace be with all who perished that day November 10th 1975

Michael. (MRK)



Last Edited by Michael. on 11/08/2023 10:21 PM