TOLEDO, Ohio — Tuesday marks the 45th anniversary of the sinking of the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald and the loss of her 29 crew members on Nov. 10, 1975.
To commemorate the event and to reflect on the memory of all lives lost in Great Lakes shipwrecks, a virtual ceremony will be held on social media platforms, and the beacon will be lit following the ceremony.
The video stream of the beacon lighting will start at 5:30 p.m until 8 p.m hosted by the Split Rock Lighthouse. Visitors interested in viewing the beacon in person will be required to purchase a state park permit.
They will then be able to view the beacon lighting from the shoreline in the State Park.
This program will be available live on Facebook and available as a recording on Facebook and YouTube.
You can join the event live here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1258910804508110/
The captain of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Capt. Ernest M. McSorley, 63, was Canadian by birth but lived in Ottawa Hills. He spent over 40 years as a mariner and was in his third year manning the Fitzgerald.
Other local crew members included Eugene "Great Lakes Gambler" W. O'Brien, 50, of Toledo; Robert C. Rafferty, 62, of Toledo; William J. Spengler, 59, of Toledo; Ralph G. Walton, 58, of Fremont; Russell G. Haskell, 40, of Millbury; Thomas E. Edwards, 50, from Oregon.
A new beer from Earnest Brew Works is paying tribute to the 29 men that perished 'when the gales of November came slashin,' as described in the 1976 folk song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot.
Gales of November is a Blackberry Sour beer that is being canned on Tuesday's anniversary of the wreck in honor of the men that were aboard the ill-fated freighter.
Along with Toledo being home to the National Museum of the Great Lakes, the fact that Captain McSorley resided in the Toledo suburb of Ottawa Hills before his death struck a chord with brewer/owner Scot Yarnell and helped in wanting him to create a beer to honor the tragic event.
The beer, named Gales of November, has blackberry flavors alongside a tart backdrop as well as Huell Melon, which gives an intensely fruity smell and taste. The beer will be released at 2 p.m., Saturday in the Earnest Brew Works taproom, 4342 S. Detroit Ave.