The Lake That Never Gives Up Her Dead

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Once in Lake Superior, always in Lake Superior.
Eternal thanks to Jon Huybrecht and his family for welcoming us and giving us insight into Lake Superior and the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. You made the creation of this video a rich, unforgettable experience.
Thanks to the excellent Kissed Her Little Sister for creating the Gordon Lightfoot cover just for this video! kissedherlittlesister.bandcam...
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**CREDITS**
Mortician: Caitlin Doughty
Producer/Writer: Louise Hung (@LouiseHung1)
Editor & Graphics: Landis Blair (@landisblair)
This video was largely informed by "Mighty Fitz: The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Michael Schumacher. Thank you to Mr. Schumacher for writing an insightful, exhaustively researched book.
**SELECTED SOURCES/ADDITIONAL READING**
Mighty Fitz: The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Schumacher, Michael. Bloomsbury USA, 2008.
"Photos in Book on Shipwreck Upset Families of the Victims"
www.nytimes.com/1995/11/05/us...
"Superior keeps its shipwrecks fresh Preservation: In the cold, almost sterile water at the bottom of the Great Lake, divers find the remains of marine disasters."
www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-...
"Lake Superior Holds Onto Her Dead ... and Her Toxaphene"
www.seagrant.umn.edu/newslette...
"The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald"
content-static.detroitnews.com...
"SS Kamloops"
iri.forest.mtu.edu/Shipwrecks/...
"Body is Spotted Near Wreckage of the Fitzgerald"
www.latimes.com/archives/la-x...
"Worries About Intruders at Wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald"
www.nytimes.com/2000/11/05/us...

[@juliaxalotol]

Gordon died recently and the church that rung the bells for the crew rang 30 times, 29 for the crew and one for gordon.

[@MarkSangamon]

Thanks, I hadn't heard that.

[@goawayleavemealone2880]

This makes me simultaneously very happy and very sad. Sad about all the loss of life, with another tally being added, but happy that not only will Gordon Lightfoot be remembered along with the men and women of the Edmund Fitzgerald. To not be forgotten is a sort of gift.

[@amandaaustin1763]

I knew this but reading it again made me tear up a bit. So respectful.

[@MrMrMrprofessor]

​@@goawayleavemealone2880I believe there were only men on board the Edmund Fitzgerald.

[@goawayleavemealone2880]

@MrMrMrprofessor - That is true, but their wives and daughters, would be the women of the Edmund Fitzgerald... they were also impacted by this terrible tragedy. Also I'm not going to leave the women out of these sentiments... because I'm not all about being moaned by Internet Karens.

[@Xosidhe]

They gotta stop building “the largest ship.” It doesn’t end well.

[@anthonyhayes1267]

USS Gerald R. Ford is doing just fine 🇺🇲

[@kingjustin1993]

all ships can be the largest ship if the prior largest ship sinks.

[@nistheelf]

Maybe they should try and build the smallest ship 🧐

[@vault42overseer91]

"the largest spaceship ever" it ain't gonna end well

[@nistheelf]

XxSavoyRigbyxX 🚢 I’m on board 😂 ... sorry I had to

[@MrSwj2009]

By the way, Gordon Lightfoot did ask permission from all the families of the lost crewmen to release his song. They all agreed after hearing the song, undoubtedly as it honored the men and the ship.

[@willasyn3136]

RIP Gordon Lightfoot 😢

[@lizfowle2473]

I love Gordon Lightfoot his music is beautiful 🥹💓

[@circuitry400]

I’m glad he asked for permission, that was very respectful of him.

[@marjoriejohnson6535]

All of the profit made from that song went to the families that lost loved ones .

[@eburel506]

Great song.

[@upsidedown1972]

The word he was looking for is "folk". Lightfoot didn't glamorize the Fitz. He turned the story into a folk tale song. And those are generationally powerful. His song will reflect the take for generations.

[@LordMizumaru]

A true bard

[@Shadoweclipse1386]

I think the word he was looking for was "notarize", not famous or infamous, though infamous kinda fits too.

[@rainjar]

"memorialise"?

[@AC-th4ci]

It truly is a folk song; it's such a huge part of Great Lakes culture, the same as Irish or Southern folk music. I grew up on Lake Michigan and I've been hearing it since I was young, it really encompasses the reverence for the lakes and awareness of death that everyone who lives on them knows well. I do wish there were more "Lake Shanties" out there, there are so many powerful stories from the Great Lakes that deserve to be shared and remembered. The sinking of the Rouse Simmons (the Christmas Tree ship), the Battle of Mackinac Island in 1812, the ancient native carvings and hunting trails at the bottom from before the lakes existed... Gordon's legacy here should be continued.

[@andromedatheharpy9087]

Lake Superior is literally just an ocean that's playing dress up as a lake

[@screaminggecko7660]

If it were salt or brackish water it would almost certainly be considered and inland sea. Its got several times the surface area of the sea of marmara and has similar average and max depths

[@catmix]

I think that the "Great Lakes" should be considered in-land freshwater oceans. They're so monstrously large, and have such dangerous conditions, that they can hardly be considered standard lakes.

[@SovereignStatesman]

@@catmix Dude, an "inland freshwater" body is a LAKE. And an ocean, by definition, is NOT inland. So it would be a freshwater SEA---i.e. a LAKE.

[@SovereignStatesman]

@@screaminggecko7660 Yeah that's a little difficult when it's 1000 feet above sea-level.

[@JonDoe-ef4tz]

They pretty much look like oceans. Ive been swimming lake MI before. The water was cold as hell and it was in June.

[@theuncannydag]

Other lakes: chill, soft, nice places for a family picnic Lake Superior: *COME AT ME, BRO, I'M FCKN JACKED*

[@rlicon1970]

Roid raging Lake Superior. 💪🏻

[@roefane2258]

Lol accurate

[@getoutofmyface]

I was about to thank my lucky stars that I grew up by Lake Michigan and not Lake Superior, but then I looked up the data and found out that Lake Michigan is, in fact, the deadliest of all the Great Lakes. So if Superior is the roided up bruiser, Michigan is the friendly looking lady with a bloody knife hidden behind her back.

[@SavageBunnyGetMoney]

Me : give me your dead 😡 Lake Superior : Nah 😂

[@danielmccoy8875]

Having grown up on the shores of Lake Erie I can tell you none of them are to be trifled with..they can whip up a storm in no time and actually have their own unique weather systems..anyone who doubts this look up the Daniel Morrell she went down in a storm in Erie with one survivor.

[@julier.1902]

I never knew of the Fitz until Gordon Lightfoot wrote about it. I understand he was upset at the lack of wide coverage of the event, so he did extensive research to write the song accurately. He also donated all proceeds from the song to the families of the Fitz crew. That is real respect.

[@austinkonrad]

Not exactly the lack of wide coverage exactly, but the fact that in the paper read the news about it relegated it to like the 9th page and had numerous misspellings which upset him.

[@user-dv6ni1sh4d]

In the early 1970s the Fitz would sale into the Detroit river through Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River. there is a State park in Algonac, MI that has both picnic area then a camping area where id you get a good spot you can see the freighters. My parents had a travel trailer and would spend from Friday night to Sunday at the park. and quite often you would be able to see the Ftix sail past.

[@alexmartinez5859]

Not only as accurately as possible, he changed some lyrics (although did leave partial truths and lies) in live shows whenever they contradicted reality. The church which he described as “musty” became “rustic,” and “At 7 p.m. a main hatchway caved in; he said..." became "At 7 p.m. it grew dark, it was then he said.…”

[@brynn1041]

I live near Lake Superior and a lot of people underestimate it. Sadly at least a few people die each year (mostly tourists). One year there was a guy who got pulled out by the current and got swept to an island with an abandon light house. At the light house he found some old food and a life vest. After waiting awhile to see if a boat would happen to come by he decided to frick it and try to swim back. Astonishingly he swam miles back to shore and he was a heavy dude too!

[@concettaworkman5895]

33 or more die where I live on the Southern shore of Lake Michigan. It's warm and full of Indiana, Ohio and Illinois tourists, and they just don't get it. It is usually a tourist who dies. They go in while I won't unless I have a boogie board and life jacket. I warn them, but they look at me with deer-in-the-headlights eyes. They'll even walk on the jetties with a stroller and baby while the waves are washing over the cement. WTH! You wouldn't get me out there!

[@psychosorcerer9438]

@@concettaworkman5895 Ohio lake erie resident here. I keep telling tourists not to go into erie because of the constant riptides and deadly algae. Also the intense rogue waves during storms.

[@psychosorcerer9438]

Especially with how quickly a storm can sneak up on you in erie.

[@shaunstrasser1]

I lived very near Lake Michigan in Navy Housing in North Chicago Illinois from 1977 to 1980 and storms do come up hard and fast and can last from minutes to days.

[@virginiapursley7082]

Beautiful tribute and very informative, thank you!

[@Account_Not_Applicable]

Two places that dont give up the dead: Mt. Everest and Lake Superior

[@warrmalaski8570]

They scower Everest every 10 years for bodies. For by law no one is allowed to be berried on Everest.

[@iambiggus]

The dead... and the garbage.

[@iambiggus]

@@warrmalaski8570 No they don't. There are over 200 bodies still on Everest, and there's a good chance they will probably stay there.

[@zach_____9266]

@@warrmalaski8570 They probably collect some bodies but many of the bodies are too high on the mountain to be worth recovering, the recovery crew would like die trying to get the bodies down

[@nickdouglas736]

The Sahara laughing in the distance

[@christhetyedyeguy3746]

The Gordon Lightfoot song didn't "glamorize" it (in my opinion) It made it a folk legend, and in turn immortalized the crew.

[@HTNPSullivan]

Yes, I don't think he meant "glamorize," he even said he was groping for the right word, and "immortalized" is a better choice. Of all people, I don't think he considers what happened romantic or glamorous.

[@hokutoulrik7345]

His song is a funeral hymn for the crew in my opinion. He tells their story and conveys the loss of the crew.

[@lagodifuoco313]

Well said.

[@RealWolfmanDan]

Agreed

[@jennifergridley8111]

Agreed. My son is 21 and the song is a favorite of his, but because he feels it immortalized the crew and how dangerous their jobs were/are. And it led him to study more about the Fitzgerald and other ships of the Great Lakes and their histories.

[@SavBee2007]

I know someone that was working in a retrieval team after Hurricane Katrina. He told me he has reoccurring nightmares of bodies floating around him because of that experience. He saw entire families. I can't believe that was almost 20 years ago now.

[@raquelnunes9793]

Portuguese here. Our media has, for more than 500 years, been mostly about our sorrowful relationship with the sea. Theres a line that read " oh salty sea, how much of you is made of Portuguese tears". A lot of respect to these people.

[@hopsiepike]

I was taught that the meaning of saudade, a word hard to translate into English, is built into the maritime history of Portugal. The longing for beloved sailors who may never return.

[@wolftamer5463]

@@hopsiepikeI’ve only heard of that word because of a song from Resident Evil 2.

[@rubyroorooroo]

I asked my mom if she recognized Caitlin and she said "ah the madam of the morgue" and honestly that sounds so badass

[@rockingrandmaof2]

Caitlin is both brilliant and beautiful! Something to be aspired to, ladies!

[@scootergirl3662]

Now I am just angry I didn't think of that first

[@chelsear9483]

Love!

[@sheilagravely5621]

And I think she looks great without makeup. Loveing the natural look.👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@IntellectualCuriosity]

@@sheilagravely5621 she looks sooooo much better without the 50’s pinup ‘look’.

[@kentcarter835]

Calling them "lakes" is a lot like calling an alligator a lizard. They are more like inland, freshwater seas. This is a fantastic video, I enjoyed it.

[@coppersandsprite]

They are clasified as lakes due to being above sea level mostly. Maybe we need a new classification.

[@kentcarter835]

@@coppersandsprite I didn't know that. You know...you hear the word "lake" and picture a place where you can see the other shore. I live I Texas, and there is only one natural lake in the entire state. Caddo Lake on the Texas Louisiana border. Cheers, and thanks for the reply!

[@coppersandsprite]

@@kentcarter835 , you're welcome

[@TreeGod.]

Kent Carter how do you feel about the 2nd amendment?

[@kentcarter835]

@@TreeGod. I'm not sure how my comments and the replies to them are connected to your question. If you'll elaborate on your post I'll do my best to answer. Cheers.

[@briannamooney2011]

Came back to rewatch and say rest in peace to Gordon Lightfoot, artist of the song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”. He was born on November 17, 1938 in Orillia, Canada and passed away on May 1, 2023 in Toronto, Canada.

[@marygard4608]

R.I.P, Gordon. Thanks for the music.

[@mikececcon6503]

And let’s not forget about the heroes of the Titanic

[@willemthijssen1082]

That day, the bell of the Mariner's Church of Detroit rang 30 times, 29 for the crew, once for Gordon Lightfoot

[@godblessamerica7048]

Rest in peace, Gordon Lightfoot! Your legend will live on in Minnesota!

[@kineahora8736]

Yeah Gordo is a legend, just like the Edmund Fitz

[@antonspivack3928]

Thumbs up if Gordon Lightfoot's recent death brought you here.

[@zack5079]

His legend lives on from the Chippewa on down of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee

[@HTNPSullivan]

The part about the poor woman who threw a message in a bottle into the lake was also very sad, starving and freezing to death, tell my mom and dad about me. God.

[@sarahcline8488]

I hope the parents never was told about the letter the sorrow of that would hurt them far more then letting there imagination tell their hearts what happened.

[@452trucker]

Naval lore says it's bad luck to have a woman on board, because the male crew affectionately call their ship an "SHE" and she is the only one they care about.

[@steveguzman6141]

Holee shit I found an article that says they found her skeleton on the island and they knew it was Alice bc she actually had a full set of natural teeth unlike the men on the ship who had lost most of their teeth from tobacco chewing icck.

[@HTNPSullivan]

@@steveguzman6141 Wow, that's some interesting trivia!

[@guineapiglady2841]

What woman?

[@andrewbuck6269]

The captain “Ahh this is my last trip” Lake Superior “yes yes it is”

[@Sarah-mp3vu]

This is borderline insensitive but I couldn’t help but laugh 💀

[@jamesrogers2963]

Same as happened to Captain Edward Smith on the Titanic many years before. I think I shall refrain from any "this is my last..." statements or notions. Seems they do not go well...

[@shane99ca]

Grim.

[@anonymousperson1987]

i’m going to hell for laughing but LMAO

[@_Spy_]

It's Titanic all over again.

[@sxty8goats]

"Does any one know where the love of God goes When the waves turn the minutes to hours? " G.Lightfoot This line has always hit me hard. I've been in pretty rough seas. Rough enough to feel this line in my soul.

[@Paulzpc]

I just heard from my nephew that 29 bells are rung to honor the dead of The Edmond Fitzgerald when Gordon Lightfoot recently died, they rang the bell 30 times to pay tribute to his life and to honor his death, which gives me the chills, RIP

[@robertyoung3992]

Edmund*

[@allie1953]

I got the chills too and got misty-eyed.

[@ace_trace_2237]

The bell in the mariners cathedral in Detroit yes

[@MarieJackson-sp3be]

That is beyond kind by that church. Thank you.

[@AvianaPenny]

That’s a damn ocean in disguise..those waves are crazy

[@floram9481]

To my knowledge, apparently, the great lakes are essentially a sea because of how they and their weather behave, size, etc, but they aren't classified as one because they aren't all at sea level. So 100% yes.

[@SovereignStatesman]

@@floram9481 No, it's because they're made of FRESH WATER.

[@TheCanadiangirl4]

Especially when the November witch hits. I live on Lake Ontario

[@StonerBaer]

I live in Minnesota. Can confirm - Lake Superior is pretty much an inland Sea. Even during the Summers, the water is fucking COLD.

[@Alexandria197]

Lake Superior is like a fresh water ocean.

[@jums7657]

"The lake was... having a moment." Yeah it does that sometimes

[@RaderizDorret]

It's Superior. It's never *not* having a moment. Even when it's calm, it's just luring you in.

[@centaurithething1649]

So lake superior cant have her period in peace? Okay

[@swirrllfolfsky9803]

Lake Superior is both beautiful and terrifying at the same time. I love kayaking and fishing on superior.

[@benedictdwyer2608]

@@centaurithething1649 yeah, NORMALIZE LAKE PERIODS

[@itsjustme7487]

@@swirrllfolfsky9803 Lake Michigan can and does have tantrums as well. Awesome to watch from a distance and NOT from one of the many piers.

[@theseanandrew]

As someone who 1) is ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED of deep water, 2) has a healthy respect for the dead/ corpses, and 3) lives exactly one (1) block away from one of the Great Lakes.... Lake Superior is my literal nightmare. Edit to say RIP to John's Uncle John. It must be absolutely awful to die like that and it must be awful to lose a loved one like that, especially when it was their last voyage. I hope Uncle John and the crew are at peace.

[@crowboy0666]

i live like dead center of michigan and i have a rlly bad tendency to like , normalize the lakes coz for us they're a thing michigan has , but they're not as constant , and then i see smth like this n i'm like oh yeah they are fuckin batshit huh.

[@JohnnyBGood11]

It's not a big deal because people have died everywhere on this earth, people pass over gravesites every day and you don't even know it and people take pictures. And I really don't think the people that have passed away really care about the site and they died well before their bodies hit the floor of the lake. People need to lighten up.

[@RobinMayhall]

@@JohnnyBGood11 How about you do you and let other people feel what they feel? 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@JohnnyBGood11]

@@RobinMayhall People today overuse the word feel or my feelings who cares...people say "I feel it should be grave site", I say who cares those people are not there that died and who cares what you feel.

[@marciawalden]

I think it was their “last voyage” because it sank, not because it was the last time it was to go out.

[@johnw9256]

I went to Pearl Harbor in early 2000's and when I went on the Arizona memorial, I felt like I was standing on top of a tomb and felt very solemn. I believe the 29 sunken crew of the Fitz should be as respected as those who lost their lives on December 7, 1941. Respect the lost.

[@GarrettWatts]

My brother is a diver who reclaims Bodies from all types of waters, dark, ocean, lake, murky... etc....and the stories he tells (respectfully) are very haunting.

[@madeleinekennedy7303]

bro imagine doing that I'd be shitting myself

[@Barbarra63297]

I was given the opportunity to accompany a recovery diver back in the early 70's at a quarry that took a lot of teenagers lives due to large shelves that went very deep into the walls of the quarry. When he found it I took one look and knew that I would not be pursuing a career in body recovery, my hat is off to your brother and all divers who undertake this sad and necessary task.

[@laurastack4633]

Garrett!!!!!!! Happy to see you on this side of youtube 😂

[@cait2994]

It's so tragic but interesting

[@wioi]

Ooh I know who you are. Lol. Never knew your brother has such an awesome job

[@KlaxontheImpailr]

Honestly, if I died on that ship, I don’t think I’d mind having a guest over occasionally.

[@Nomadcreations]

Yes Respectfull "Visitation" To The Boat is same as a Cemetary To pay respects

[@SovereignStatesman]

Eric Southard: you don't know the fame of the song, there would be people ALL over it.

[@johannageisel5390]

@@Nomadcreations The question is only: Who controls that the visitation is respectful? On a cemetary, you have staff and maybe a guard, but under water?

[@KlaxontheImpailr]

@@johannageisel5390 didn’t she say in the video that there were sensors near the wreck that alerted the coast guard of illegal divers?

[@johannageisel5390]

@@KlaxontheImpailr Ah, right. Yes, one could keep those and require everybody who wants to dive down there to register beforehand. But still, somebody would have dive down with them to check whether or not the visitors behave respectfully.

[@30AndHatingIt]

My grandfather was a first mate on these freighters for three decades, retiring in 1990 as one of the most popular and well loved sailors in the entire Kinsman fleet. His ship went out in this storm and they hugged the shoreline rather than take the lanes in the middle of the lake, obviously surviving. He died in 1999 after spending the decade as a loving grandfather and philanthropist to many struggling families in the area. Gordon Lightfoot’s song played at his funeral.

[@paulrus-keaton439]

You forgot that they cut out her bell and replaced it with a replica with the names of the crew. The original bell is at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. I went there when I was a kid, back during my shipwreck fascination phase

[@DanaDoesStuff]

She mentions this at approximately the 28:30 mark, and the bell was shown earlier in the video at the museum.

[@wrenchrat]

I visited that museum as a kid too! Very cool place

[@esinohio]

Does anyone else get the impression that she would be awesome to have around at a party? The conversations would be just legendary.

[@duewhit310]

Mortician soirees.

[@MrIsaacshepard1981]

oh hell yah

[@LovelyThought123]

James Walker bold of you to assume you’d be invited

[@abortedphoenix]

@James Walker you must be fun at parties.

[@furmidable5498]

@@abortedphoenix that would imply that someone would want to invite him

[@brooklynyancey2536]

My aunt drowned in Dale Hollow Lake in Tennessee. After a week we had given up hope that we would find her. I turned to stories about Superior to make sense of why she never surfaced. 2 years later, a diver on a training dive found her. She was in a 130 ft cold pocket and was preserved enough that she was easily identified.

[@samuel-zb4qn]

Im so sorry :(

[@brooklynyancey2536]

@@samuel-zb4qn It's alright. That was definitely a phone call I was never expecting but it gave my family much needed closure.

[@MannulusPallidus]

@@brooklynyancey2536 Glad you got what you needed to move on. It's always tough to lose someone, but it has to help to know what happened.

[@SovereignStatesman]

Damn I would hate to be that diver. One thing I always feared was a fresh corpse, it's not the same as a few bones in a shipwreck, like I'd seen in med school.

[@asherklooz6627]

I go there every summer. I didnt realize it could be a sad memories for others. Sorry for your loss

[@SunnySky-]

Can we all give a R.I.P. to Lightfoot. What a great song that gave us all wonder of the lakes! Rest in peace

[@pageribe2399]

This tragedy would have been forgotten long ago had it not been for Gordon Lightfoot. I hope people know that. He is one of my heros (listening since 1969).

[@toddprater14]

He got great songs that’s for sure..

[@kristenirwin2933]

Except for those of us who are born and raised in Michigan. I was raised on the story. The cook was supposed to be my godfather. Later on, I worked on the freights.

[@demonseed032]

Not by some of us.

[@pageribe2399]

​@Kristen Irwin & @indiejen56 Sorry, I meant for the rest of the world, not those directly involved.

[@marniekilbourne608]

I can say that most people that live in Michigan are very aware of it. Not everyone learns about it from the song.

[@ErrolFOFoor]

"The lake hates you and wants you to die." The best advice I ever got about Lake Superior.

[@davidhollenshead4892]

$hit you could have said that about the Stable Flies of the upper peninsula of Michigan & Ontario. But the flies only want your blood, all of it...

[@SewardWriter]

No, the lake loves you, and keeps what she loves. By any means necessary.

[@sigvar6795]

It is pure human conceit and arrogance to think that the lake even acknowledges your insignificant presence in the universe.

[@natmorse-noland9133]

I think it's more accurate to say the Lake gives absolutely zero fucks about you and whether you live or die. Do you care about a mite living on your skin? Do you even notice when you squash it? Probably not!

[@afrog2666]

@@sigvar6795 Not so much conceit and arrogance as desperation and fear imo, but you know, Jung works too lol. DENIAL, is the word I`m looking for ;)

[@pmb4200]

The Arthur M. Anderson is the most highly revered ship on the lakes. The only ship that turned back in the storm that sank the Fitz. Searched until daylight in that storm. To this day, when the Anderson passes thought the Sault Ste. Marie locks, the lock master and all ships in the area lower their flags in honor of the Anderson's heroic attempt to find the Fitzgerald. That's respect, in every sense of the term.

[@Mike-tg7dj]

Profound, very profound.

[@nrgltwrkr2225]

Two ships braved the storm a second time to go back out and search for the "Fitz": The Arthur M. Anderson, Capt. Bernie Cooper, and The William Clay Ford, Capt. Jim Erickson. They searched and criss-crossed the area all night, supported by Coast Guard helicopter spotlights. At around 11am the next morning, the third mate of the Anderson spotted the crumpled half of a life boat from the Fitz. They were later joined by the USS Woodrush, a Coast Guard vessel, Captained by a well-seasoned Capt. Jim Hobaugh, they continued to search for three days, in what he stated, were "some of roughest seas I've ever been in in my life, including the North Atlantic and hurricanes in the Gulf."

[@communitypark2313]

Thank you for sharing the story of the honors shown the Anderson to this day. Very moving...

[@Bald_Cat2007]

The Arthur M Anderson and William Clay Ford were sister ships. Both apart of the 8 AAA class lake freighters.

[@atticusbrown9154]

The Arthur M Anderson is one of my favorite ships. She looks nice, and has a storied, heroic career.

[@thegeneralissimo470]

Something I found while reading about the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge: “ The bridge can be raised to its full height of 135 feet in about a minute, and is raised about 5,000 times per year.[8] The span is about 390 feet (120 meters). As ships pass, there is a customary horn-blowing sequence that is copied back. The bridge's "horn" is actually made up of two Westinghouse Airbrake locomotive horns.[9] Long-short-short is known as the Captain's Salute and is the most common of the ship signal exchanges. However, on November 10th, the anniversary of the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald with all hands in Lake Superior, the Lift Bridge exchanges a special salute with the SS Arthur M. Anderson when she comes into Duluth Harbor in honor of the Fitzgerald and its crew as the Anderson was the last lake freighter to have contact with the Fitzgerald before she went down and was the first vessel on scene to search in vain for survivors. The exchange is known as the master salute consisting of the horn sequence of long-long-long-short-short.”

[@Bryan-od7nv]

I remember being down there in the early 1990s when some poor woman was crushed when she panicked after the bridge started rising with her on it.

[@watercrow9766]

Lake MIchigan is also a beast. In one week in October, 1929, she took 55 lives from two ships that sank in gales within a few miles of Milwaukee.

[@wanderinghistorian]

"The people who live there call her the biggest and baddest of the lakes." Superior, if you will...

[@FrancesShear]

She must be good at being a tour guide too then.

[@dn9463]

and thats why its called the Superior ...

[@maloo538]

I love how the “j” in your pfp looks like ن

[@wanderinghistorian]

@@maloo538 Thanks for noticing! It's actually supposed to be an Arabic N. www.i-am-n.com/

[@courtneyh9153]

I live here! It’s an amazing place to live!

[@mangot589]

I think the biggest misnomer is “Lake” for all the Great Lakes. They’re REALLY inland seas.

[@TF2CrunchyFrog]

The only reason the Great Lakes are called "lakes" and not "seas", compared to the Red Sea and the Black Sea (which is an inland sea) is that they contain freshwater, not salt water.

[@mangot589]

CrunchyFrog That does makes sense. But, They’re just so big! Like a sea.

[@fendranm2914]

Lake Baikal in Russia, too.

[@spartiate567]

The usage o teh English word "lake" always means fresh water. I can't help wonder if the English were aware of the Great Lakes a thousand years earlier, they may have come up with another term. For I must agree with Mango. Technically, they are "lakes" by the customary usage of the word, but by common sense, the are in fact inland seas.

[@VictoriaPatricia]

@Anne Frank ah, so the Pacific is a sea now and the Caspian Sea isn't?

[@Biggestgayestbird]

It’s nice to hear people who aren’t from here have reverence for Lake Superior!

[@janiesippel225]

When I saw Lake Superior for the first time, I kept asking my cousin are you sure that’s a lake? It looks like the ocean! It was incredible. The Gordon Lightfoot song did pop into our heads. 😢

[@michiganriverman]

My best friend spent about 12 years on the Arthur M. Anderson beginning in the late 80's. He said every time they pass over where the Fitz went down, they rang the ship's bell 29 times. RIP to all sailors lost in the Great Lakes.

[@robertstallard7836]

Yet they didn't bother for any of the other 350-odd wrecks? The power of publicity!

[@michiganriverman]

@@robertstallard7836 The Anderson had a special connection to the Fitz. I take it you didn't know that. Are you foolish enough to suggest they should acknowledge every wreck on their voyage?

[@TheKARI31]

@@robertstallard7836 I think they said about 6000 for all the Great Lakes 550 for superior alone.

[@KimFsharpHarp]

“Superior they say never gives up her dead, when the gales of November come early..”

[@DarthPhallix]

@@robertstallard7836 You do realize the connection between those two ships, yeah? The Anderson was right behind her when she went down and essentially sailed right over the two halves of the Fitz while the men in her engine room could very well have still been alive for a few more minutes at the bottom of the lake. Many ships, I’m told, ring their bells with respect as they sail over the wreck.

[@isabellamcavoy1750]

When I was in Oceanography my professor informed us that even though they were “lakes” the Great Lakes were collectively studied as an inland sea

[@daniellegroves4830]

I had to write a paper on the geography of Indiana. Once upon a time we and the nearby states were part of a great coral reef. Thats why the limestone has all coral and shells. I guess you can view the great lakes as all that remains of it...it just kept its temperment all these years.

[@paleozoey]

@@daniellegroves4830 not really. the oceans that once covered the midwestern states are 300+ million years old at the least, and most of the marine fossils found in indiana and ohio are well over 400 million years old. the lakes, on the other hand, are the scars of the last ice age- gouged out by a mile-high glacier that was at its greatest extent some 12,000 years ago- very recent, geologically speaking. despite having no continuity geologically, though these glacial lakes do carry on the spirit of that old paleozoic sea, i suppose.

[@daniellegroves4830]

@@paleozoey I stand corrected, thanks I should have known that.

[@KhanMann66]

granabam Ooof you’re off about 200-300 million years. Western Interior Seaway exists about 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. You’re hitting Carboniferous period to Devonian.

[@paleozoey]

@@KhanMann66 and there were seas there back then. The WIS didn't even cover that part of the midwest, that was all land in the cretaceous. There was definitely sea in the Ohio river valley in the mid-paleozoic, and the fact that Cleveland is full of cladoselache and dunkelosteus fossils only proves my point further. i've found marine fossils (mostly horn corals and fragmented brachiopod shells) in eastern ohio myself.

[@edwardroche2480]

As unimaginable as it is if you've ever been out sailing on a lake when the wind comes up you get a real rush and a real respect for water. The ocean is huge but the Lakes can be just as violent.

[@ascent8487]

Never been to Lake Superior but I have been to Lake Michigan and spent a lot of time at Tahoe. Sometimes the conditions on these lakes could easily fool a person into believing they are at sea if they didn’t know better.

[@silva7493]

I've never seen the Great Lakes. I've lived my life alongside the Pacific Ocean (I don't see what's so pacific about it). Watching recordings of storm conditions over the Great Lakes, It wouldn't take much to convince me they behaved just like oceans.

[@wrenchrat]

Grew up in Michigan. The Great Lakes are basically freshwater oceans. Not to be trifled with.

[@nancyjanzen5676]

​@@silva7493 the ocean waves roll. The waves on the Great Lakes come at tou from multiple directions. Salties get seasick on the lakes.

[@fart63]

⁠@@nancyjanzen5676I get seasick on both 😂

[@territimmerman140]

I grew up in MN and spent time in Duluth each summer.. The Edmund Fitzgerald has always fascinated me since the wreck. I've read and watched everything I can find about it. I saw Gordon Lightfoot perform The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald for the very first time. He said he felt that he had perform it for the first time to a MN audience. By the end of the song there wasn't a dry eye in the room including Gordon Lightfoot as he responded to our response and he struggled to finish the song. Thanks for this excellent coverage .

[@Godwinpounds4333]

👋i hope you're safe over there? I hope this year brings happiness prosperity love and peace 💞❤️🕊️🕊️ all over the world! Happy New year 🎆 🙏🌍 I'm originally from Canada currently living in California ☀️☀️and you where are you from if i may ask?💭

[@nancyjanzen5676]

I used to see the Fitz when she docked at Jones Island, Milwaukee.

[@TreverSlyFox]

A friend of mine, Bear, an able body seaman out of Traverse City, MI, was scheduled to sail on the Fitz but got the flu the day before she sailed and was replaced by someone else. Bear never complains about getting the flu as it saved his life.

[@ayasakurahana]

Do tell more

[@michelehood8837]

That is amazing 😳

[@pokala1828]

TreverSlyFox No proof

[@pokala1828]

@LUKE COOPER True,i do use reddit.

[@lizzdoe2821]

TreverSlyFox Thats deep...

[@YourWaywardDestiny]

"The Lake? She was... Having a moment." Yeah, that sounds about right, pretty much on brand for Lake Superior.

[@crusmonster1397]

Your Wayward Destiny that part had me in stitches 😂😂😂😂 such a great way to put it

[@ThePhantomSafetyPin]

Lake Superior is ALWAYS having a moment. She doesn't ever NOT have moments.

[@raquellofstedt9713]

@@ThePhantomSafetyPin She lives in the moment.

[@flowerfaerie8931]

The absolute gut punch of nostalgia I got when The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald kicked in cannot be understated. What a fantastic and fitting song, RIP Gordon.

[@evanp695]

as a wisconsinite whose grandparents are from the ashland area, it’s always fun seeing other people discover how powerful the great lakes are, especially superior! we grew up hearing stories about all the shipwrecks, as well as the respect we had to have for the lake. there’s a reason it’s called Gichigami, we have to respect it or it won’t respect us

[@IamPinhead]

"It takes tough people to live on this tough lake" We manage with liquor.

[@sharonmullins1957]

Hahahaha!

[@___LC___]

A lot of liquor.

[@Sithis211]

This...this is true and campfire stories and other bullshit. Crack is big in my home town of Willmar.

[@kiwifox90]

Ha probably why my uncle drinks it like water and have had a few felonies because of marijuana

[@alvatrous]

Grew up in grand rapids. Can confirm yall are a different breed up there.

[@xaviotesharris891]

Dude's talking about wanting to dive the site but also respecting the graves reminds me of something an archaeologist said about its being very difficult to distinguish between archaeology and grave robbing.

[@TwoCatsInLondon]

There’s that, but people like to visit their family’s graves, clean the headstones and leave flowers. That would be difficult to do when those graves are underwater. I think maybe for John that would be part of the draw, too, rather than grave robbery/archeology.

[@anitaevans5361]

Yes, exactly…thank u Xaviotes Harris 👍🏼

[@URBANSPCMN]

The idea that a dead person has a infinite monopoly on the land they died on/were buried on is one the most ridiculous things humanity has ever fabricated. Dead people are dead. Its that simple. They don't own anything. To believe they do is purely immature and unreasonable. A truly responsible person understands the earth is for the future generations and nobody else. Graves are an archaic tradition that needs to go away.

[@alwayslernin4400]

@@URBANSPCMN plus there's the worms...ick!

[@shedoesconcerts5762]

@@URBANSPCMN I don't see that case being made anywhere that doesn't have historical significance. These people have living relatives, it's not at all absurd that their gravesite be protected this way while they remain in living memory

[@ktanner11]

My father was part of the search. When the fitz reported a rail down thats important. It signifies a lot. She had a 30ft draft in 30ft swells she ran aground on caribou shoals and tore a hole in her. She took on water faster than she could pump it out.

[@bimobop]

Is it hard to recover the bodies? I’m curious about that when they find bodies on shipwrecks they’re usually left there

[@ktanner11]

@@bimobop they are left, the bodies in superior would be somewhat preserved i would think. They are left there for respect of a tradition, they sea has claimed them, the ship is thier grave.

[@noahlucas2453]

Lake Superior is a Lake you would not want to swim too deep, and the thing about Superior is that it has the most shipwrecks out of any of the great lakes

[@noahlucas2453]

Fact about Lake Michigan: During WW2 the Navy put a training carrier called the U.S.S Wolverine and there were a lot of accidents on the lake, mostly the planes were F4U Corsairs, F4F Wildcats, Etc. If you want to see a crashed F4U Corsair, then you can go to the Kalamazoo Air Museum, one of the only Museums that have a F-117 Blackbird in the nation

[@robertyoung3992]

@@noahlucas2453 SR-71

[@AyeliaGDoren]

So Lake Superior for shipwrecks and Michigan is the most deadly. I wonder about Ontario and the others.

[@thatonekpopaddict7835]

And people wonder why I have a HUGE fear of swimming in water I can’t see the bottom of

[@acarolinalobato]

RevolutionTwirlerYT Same!

[@rccrn0228]

Super duper same! Eeeeeeekkkkkkk!

[@stephielulu9096]

Same here. I shuddered all the way through this. Lakes with huge waves WTF

[@lorabetht9206]

Me too!! I was raised by my grandparents and my Nannie told me “stories” like “snakes build their nests in the lake and if they bite you you won’t make it back to the dock”?!? She meant well but we love near a bunch of lakes and I’ve never once swam in them... fishing on a boat is ok 👍🏻 and I have to admit I’ve tried to keep my kids from getting in the lakes as well (at least with no life jacket on- my husband offsets the fear 😉)

[@davidsiler5505]

Do you mind? You're standing on my skull not a rock.

[@BlacksmithTim]

I was 14 and going to high school in Ironwood, MI when the Fitz went down. I remember the storm and the mixture of collective grief and a kind of lack of surprise. That's Lake Superior. She does that. She'll "reach out and grab ya" even when you aren't in the water. I have a very vivid memory of fishing from the breakwater at Black River Harbor north of Ironwood. Within a few minutes it went from a decent day to waves over the breakwater. I'd run the rocks back to shore and looked back to see water covering where I'd been fishing. Also got scolded good by my folks for collecting my gear. As a river canoe guide years later one August we camped on the shore at the end of the Bois Brule. We weren't near the water, but the spectacular storm well out on the Lake turned south suddenly, demolished our camp, and was gone. Total time? No more than fifteen minutes from calm to calm. Sorry to go on. Clearly an evocative film. Thank you for both the detail and the sensitivity of your presentation.

[@xScreamingxInsanityx]

It's truly amazing that such events could happen and do happen with the fickle gitche gumee. I grew up hearing stories and being read bedtime stories like 'the gulls of the edmund fitzgerald'. None of it sounded quite believable in lieu of sounding more like the boogieman. My parents were both michigan natives born and raised and that statement of "That's lake superior. She does that. She'll 'reach out and grab ya' " was like I was a kid listening to my parents all over again. After repeated visits I have come to understand it's not really the urban myth it sounds like with out seeing her. Lake Superior is beautiful to look at but damn if she doesn't have an attitude.

[@endergamer7483]

The waves look like those my grandparents have pictures of from Ireland, angry and dark. Like if you said or looked at them funny, they’d snap back harder.

[@christinesinclair6938]

I've never been to Superior, but I've been to her much smaller sister-Erie-and I was in awe of her. I would **never** underestimate her biggest sister.

[@willsmom93]

Recently, when Gordon Lightfoot passed, the bell rang 30 times, once for each of the Sailors and once for him.

[@karly1653]

when he talked about his aunt who was probably so excited for her husband to finally retire so she could be with him more :(((

[@SteamPoweredSmurfette]

That would be his aunt excited about her father coming home as it was his great uncle who was on board. Even more sad.

[@masungayongiro]

Pennywise: "Everybody floats..." Lake Superior: Hold my beer...

[@jessebrown9186]

Best comment here

[@lisaclark1181]

Thanks..I was due for a good chuckle!

[@ssaliormoon15]

😂😂😂😂

[@giventogrow8533]

Bahahhaha

[@dollmore.8584]

Did you actually watch the whole video she told you the reasons frozen bodies won't float😔 💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝

[@redsloane9905]

Many of these fellows survived WWII, Korea, perhaps Viet Nam....others barely out of their teens. RIP ❤️

[@margaretadami6358]

That song by Gordon Lightfoot is an absolute MASTERPEICE! I play it over and over again throughout my life

[@helenadasilva9371]

I'm from Denmark and out of curiosity I discovered that Lake superior is almost twice as large as my country! The lake is around 82.000 square kilometres while my country is almost 43.000 square kilometres! All in all - that is a freaky big lake!

[@MrMitchellw16]

It also has an average depth of 489 feet (149 meters).... average

[@camisthejester]

A lake could swallow up our country? By the gods, we really are a tiny speck on the map

[@DTavona]

13,000 there was a sixth lake called Lake Aggasiz. It was bigger than ALL the other great lakes combined!

[@DTavona]

There was a sixth lake thirteen thousand years ago, Lake Aggasiz that was bigger than all of the other great lakes *combined*.

[@troytellsit493]

As someone who has grown up in Michigan, the power of the Great Lakes is astounding

[@snigglesnurf2250]

Me: I hate creepy, underwater stuff Alsp me: *Watches a video about creepy, underwater stuff*

[@punisherhulk7031]

It fascinates and terrifies me at the same time.

[@kaylynn1702]

For some reason I get creeped out the most by underwater statues

[@PixieoftheWood]

Made by someone who admits she also hates creepy underwater stuff.

[@Jules-pr9kn]

This is legit me I have thalassophobia, submechanophobia, necrophobia, and ichthyophobia, but I'm also fascinated by all of those things, so I compulsively look things up specifically to creep myself out, and then have panic attacks when I try to sleep at night :)

[@L337Dratini]

Me: *regularly has nightmares of deep waters* Also me: *watches the same video as you about creepy, underwater stuff right before bed* (Edit: likes are at 420 now friend, blaze it :D )

[@pickledragonrebel]

RIP Gordon Lightfoot. A canadian icon

[@bird1ee]

As someone who lives not even five minutes away from the lake, I've always had a heavy amount of respect for this lake. I literally grew up listening to the Gordan Lightfoot song, and I've known people who have almost drowned to the lake. My sister's best friend, who I consider family, almost drowned when she went out on it's ice and it broke underneath her. I go to the lake really often in the summers, and even then it's too cold to survive in for probably more than a half hour. Lake Superior truly is a lake that needs to be treated with the same amount of respect that you'd extend to a riptide in the ocean.

[@cindyj5522]

I have gone swimming in Superior in August, just up to my waist. Bone chilling cold in high summer and currents that are never safe even in shallow water. She gives nothing at all unless she has to and even then, she makes you pay.

[@pyrock0227]

My family used to charter a sailboat (not big, usually a 40 footer) and sail the Apostle Islands in the summer. I've swam in those waters and you do NOT want to stay out there long. One time we tried to skirt the edge of the sheltered waters to take the better winds between two of the outer islands. Worst sailing experience of my life. We cut sail and turned back about the time even my dad started getting seasick, and things were bouncing around the berths. Honestly terrifying, and it shifts so fast.

[@yeneman6110]

Caitlin :Lake Superior never gives up her dead Also Caitlin :Let's go kayaking

[@andrewworden1860]

Fun times... great way to check out the pictured rocks.

[@garyodle5663]

I was stationed at Duluth AFB when this happened . The weather was so bad that day that the base was on minimum manning with most people told to stay home. I was watching TV with some of my fellow officers in the BOQ when an emergency broadcast interrupted the show: All crew members of the Coast Guard ship Woodrush were being called to go out on a rescue mission. Here we were, forbidden to drive less than a mile to work and there they were being sent out on stormy Lake Superior to rescue people if they could. "You have to go out. You don't have to come back," is a common Coast Guard saying. I will never forget that storm or the bravery of the Coast Guardsmen stationed at Duluth on that day.

[@MishraArtificer]

Man, Coasties are a whole other breed of human. There is no other way to explain how they willingly run into some of the crazy shit they do on a daily basis.

[@samanthacallaway2276]

Our time living in the Keweenaw Peninsula has been short, but being 15 minutes from Superior’s waters basically in the middle of lake…it reminds us often how much respect it demands. In the summer it’s a totally different lake, calm and welcoming with cool waters to take the summer heat off you. In the late fall, it’s different, the lake is violent, cold, terrifying, and deep, in the dead of winter it can be worse on some shores, and others it’s calm because ice has frozen over entire bays. The blizzards on the north shore of the UP are like none other, so harsh they drive people away from these towns in troves.

[@jjmckay6man1]

There are also old houses up here that have exterior doors on the second story lol.

[@annbower6278]

Even the lakes Huron, Michigan, Erie, Ontario have are just as bad when the storms especially from November to April are particularly vicious. All the lakes have 6000 shipwrecks with 30,000 dead.

[@vanguardtrainer924]

Yeah The Great Lakes are no joke, when I was 3 I was at a beach in the Hamilton/Burlington area and I was playing in a little rubber boat and got carried out my mother almost drowned trying to save me but thankfully a couple of teenagers hanging out on some of the surrounding rocks jumped in and saved us. Even on perfectly calm days all the lakes can be deadly, and people seriously need to learn to respect them.

[@laurawendt8471]

Lake Michigan has the most deaths of individuals yearly, no idea about shipwreck numbers, but drownings are common unfortunately

[@carlaforth7707]

​@@laurawendt8471😢

[@jjmckay6man1]

there is also a lot more population surrounding Michigan, Huron, Ontario and Erie then there is surrounding Superior.

[@TheQueerTailor]

My dad is originally from Williamston Michigan and when I was very little he would sing me that song, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”. I was maybe three or four and I became absolutely obsessed with the song and with shipwrecks in general. My dad always nurtured my love of history, and now I’m a Holocaust historian!

[@itwasagoodideaatthetime7980]

You might enjoy a video about Princess Alice of Greece The Queens Mother In Law. Who hid a family of Jewish refugees in her home durring WWII. The video made by Reel Truth History is available on KZbin & its full title is Princess Alice: The Queens Mother In Law. It's worth checking out.

[@TheQueerTailor]

Amethyst that sounds interesting! I’ve heard of her, I believe she is honored at Yad Vashem

[@neuralmute]

I grew up on the north shore of Lake Erie, born in the late 70's, and my mum was naturally a *huge* Gordon Lightfoot fan. The one song that really stuck with me was "Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald", between that haunting melody and realising that it was about a *real* ship that really sank... Still living on the Lakes; now I go wreck diving at least once a summer, if I can manage it. It's an amazing way to get right up close to local history!

[@hithere911]

My mom plays that song from time to time.

[@onemercilessming1342]

Leah Sauter--Gordon Lightfoot sang it, and it was quite popular at the time. It's based on true events. The Native American tribes who lives around the 5-lake area of the Great Lakes (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior) had legends of Lake Superior, which they called Gitchee Gumee (think "the Song of Hiawatha" by Longfellow). "By the shores of Gitchee Gumee, By the shining "Big-Sea-Water"...In the Ojibwe language, the lake is called Gitchigumi, meaning "big water".

[@runchrandaismydad4419]

Me: *clicking on the video because I love her.* Her: LAKE SUPERIOR. Me: *looks out window* I live literally five minutes away.

[@Shadows1lover]

I like your profile picture and username lol. I love finding ARMY who have odd interests like myself. I love her videos so much!

[@tulganandvaldyavin6930]

Same here. The lake is boss!

[@Shadows1lover]

Gus W because they commented that they live near this location, it means they’re making an entire video about themselves? 😂?

[@colleennewholy9026]

I got to visit Lake Superior four times, and each time. I never wanted to leave... It was just so... ethereal. I felt the same way, when I got to stand in the Pacific...

[@jessismallz]

As someone from Michigan who spends a lot of time at superior! It’s super fascinating listening to people talk about our lake! So many people underestimate Lake superior’s power and there’s nothing like seeing Lake superior with a Northeast wind! It will send shivers thru your body!

[@susangrimme6267]

I know of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald from Gordan Lightfoot's song. I was always sad and haunted by the story it told. As far as the ship being declared a gravesite and to be protected and preserved, I totally agree. While I find seeing the ship and the artifacts there immensely fascinating, I feel that the men that died there should be left to rest undisturbed and in peace. The ship and the crew should be left alone, protected from those who would plunder the site. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald should be revered and protected as any other grave.

[@eltfell]

We have also a quite well-preserved corpse in a cold lake in Germany: In January 1964, a man crossed the frozen Königssee in his oval-window VW Beetle to visit someone. On his return in the night he apperently did an unvoluntary donut, lost orientation (6 V headlights) and drove straight to Falkensteinwand (Falkenstein Wall) where the lake wasn't frozen. The car sank with it's driver. 30 years later the driver was discovered during an unmanned submarine dive. He was lying beside the VW Beetle in a depth of 120 m, and both were in good condition. Both driver and his faithful vehicle are still lying in place, and his relatives decided, that this should his grave.

[@rafmonkey96]

All Germans are welcome residents in Michigan. Most of our ancestors actually came from Germany up in the northern prefectures. You guys would love Frankenmuth

[@naturbursche5540]

@@rafmonkey96 Happy German American Day!

[@joshinnc1520]

Thanks for sharing this story. 👍

[@ritamccartt-kordon283]

@@rafmonkey96 My Brother lives in Michigan and when I visited, he and his wife took us to Frankenmuth! The food was fantastic! The people were very friendly too! I would love to go back. Love those memories! GOD bless

[@Isabel-ge1ou]

if I drown please someone get my body. yikes.

[@StarTrekLivz]

I live in Detroit, and had summer jobs at the steel mill where the Edmund Fitzgerald delivered the loads of ore. I saw the ship several times, when it came into port it was An Event. There are still churches in Detroit that do memorial services on the anniversary of the day the ship was lost, although now extended to remember all those who died in shipwrecks on the Great Lakes.

[@demonorse]

The Anderson is still in service, I've seen her several times.

[@neuralmute]

Back when I lived in the area, I used to pass the Old Mariner's Church every time I crossed the border into Detroit. I even went to a few of the remembrance services there, and stood in silence while the bell tolled 29 times. That was powerful.

[@HexusoftheSheep]

Yes, I remember hearing stories about the Edmund Fitzgerald and hearing the sad songs sang at bars growing up in Michigan. I never got to see it, though.

[@fadnama]

I used to live in Port Huron and loved seeing the various shipwreck sites in Lake Huron along the “thumb” of Michigan.

[@jasonconley771]

The Arthur M Anderson is the sister ship to the Fitzgerald. Which is still in use. The Anderson still blows the horn going through the locks on the last trip of the season once for themselves and once for the Fitzgerald

[@AlanRoehrich9651]

No, the Anderson is not a sister ship to the Fitzgerald. The only sister ship to the Fitzgerald was broken up and scrapped in the early eighties.

[@jasonconley771]

@@AlanRoehrich9651 I have lived in Michigan my entire life and my father was born and raised in the upper peninsula! You really should double check that. The Anderson actually is a sister ship to the Fitzgerald. The Anderson still blows her horn extra every November 10, in honor of the Fitzgerald.

[@mildlymarvelous]

My great-grandparents lived on Lake Superior and used to listen in on the ships through their radio. They heard the Edmund Fitzgerald go down on that stormy night (presumably via the chatter of the aftermath, since the ship herself never sent a distress call). Because of that, Gordon Lightfoot’s song has always held a special magic for my mom and I. Thank you for exploring this topic with such gravitas.

[@AmericanGirlGymnasts]

“The people who make their homes on Lake Superior call her the biggest and baddest of the lakes” I guess you could say it’s *Superior*

[@nicolelivingstone6141]

As I scrolled and read your comment she said it. Weird cos it's happened 5 times with other comments ha

[@SovereignStatesman]

Or farther north than the rest.

[@pollypockets508]

Well done

[@KirstenMarie_MS3]

Lol... as someone who has lived near Lake Superior, she's always "having a moment."

[@Silver_wind_1987_]

Shes on her permanent period it would seem

[@vibockhausen9839]

Yeah. Like, she's a giant lake on her period that has a moment so often you can't tell where one stops and another starts. Whoo just thinking of the sheer size and depth of that lake gave me chills.

[@Silver_wind_1987_]

@@vibockhausen9839 hmmm its creepy very creepy.

[@KirstenMarie_MS3]

@@Silver_wind_1987_ The very reason I never applied to UW Superior is because I need to stay in MN for insurance reasons and there was no way I was driving over the bridge from Duluth every day. I dunno what it is, but that crossing, along with the one from MI into Canada give me the hibeejeebees.

[@Silver_wind_1987_]

@@KirstenMarie_MS3 I'm senstive to alot of spirits (don't judge ) it's probably because alot of them are near the bridge....and giving off a sad...cold energy

[@schneir5]

Rest in peace, Gordon Lightfoot, and all the souls on that ship too.

[@jimwatson4513]

Gorden Lightfoot, told this story best in his song !!!! This was a song I hum ,or sing years later !! 1970 's made lots of great folk songs , worth the gold in their records !!!!

[@EmilyOrriginal]

It breaks my heart that it was John's uncle and the captain's last voyage before retirement. I can't imagine being their families and how crushing that news would be. The great lakes are absolutely no joke. I was in Cleveland for my best friend's wedding and the high winds coming off lake erie blew my car all over the road on the highway. Just being around them can be super dangerous.

[@Anna-tc6rz]

Even an hour away from the tip of Lake Michigan we're constantly feeling the effects. Lake effect snow, heavy ass rain, etc. I cant imagine what living near it is like.

[@sherrythomas3028]

Yeah Lake Erie is no joke.

[@neuralmute]

Yeah. I remember one ice storm off Lake Ontario that knocked out half of Toronto's electricity for close to a week, over the Christmas holiday. Temperatures were around -20 C, and emergency warming shelters were set up so people wouldn't freeze to death in their own homes. I was out of town, but my BFF/roommate took in 3 of our friends who didn't have power so they would literally *not die* at their own place. Lake effect weather is nuts!

[@Puddingcup110]

I live on Lake Erie and it’s amazing and scary at the same time when a storm comes through. The waves are no joke!

[@DanceswithDustBunnies]

The great lakes are really inland seas, not to be messed with. I was living in Cleveland at the time the Fitz went down. Freaked me out for years after; this has renewed that feeling, even though I now live in the middle of Texas.

[@FLATTZCLUR]

I love how interactive and educational Caitlin’s videos are. It’s like Reading Rainbow but for death.

[@Thatgirlcodes]

Clare Flattery honestly her having a show on pbs would be awesome

[@rhet420]

Like butterflies in the sky!

[@PhantasmaAdoria]

Like corpses in the ocean ..🎼🎹

[@Abcdefghijk920]

Omgggg yesss!!! So good!!

[@audoldends6799]

The best metaphor ever. That should be the tagline of the show

[@Chellebelle121]

Thank you for such a fascinating tale!! I grew up on the coast as well, and the title of “lake” in this regard seems like a misnomer to me, too!! Some of the footage you showed of the insane waves hitting the shore are nothing short of terrifying!! You’re a fantastic storyteller, you kept my attention the entire time, and I was so disappointed that the video was in actuality already over! Thank you again!

[@shirleybalinski4535]

See the spot wear the waves break over those high ,black cliffs? Well, those cliffs are 80' high. That was filmed in November of 2021, I belive, along the shore of Northern Minnesota.

[@spleens4200]

I swear if it was a little bit salty, people would be all too happy to call it a sea

[@nancyjanzen5676]

A couple years ago my cousin sent pictures of Superior throwing waves onto US 2.

[@simplelivinghappyhome1623]

The sinking of the Fitzgerald is iconic for the Gordon Lightfoot song but (as is mentioned in the song) how quickly they sank. A ship that size should shouldn't have sank as quickly as it did.

[@cellarghost5478]

The phrase _"To go down with the ship"_ Means that even in the most dire of circumstances, your loyalty is unshaken. The Captain of the Fitzgerald, held his composure in the face of death, and that's absolutely remarkable. All my respect to the fallen and their families.

[@pyroshayniac1090]

Absolutely. I couldn't imagine facing your death like that. It's incomprehensible.

[@mikeborsum2953]

Also, because if you radio for an SOS, anyone who shows up, can instantly claim salvage rights. Meaning, anything of value floating in the water, or in the ship (if they reach it) is up for grabs, if the Captain of a distressed ship leaves the boat. If the Capt goes down with it, it can't be salvaged right away. "To go down with the ship" was often encouraged by the company that owned the vessel.

[@mikeborsum2953]

@Harry Lime You should look into maritime salvage law from back in the day,.

[@robertcollinsworth9113]

@@mikeborsum2953 Why don't you cite a little of it here, do it doesn't look like you're talking out your ass.

[@765respect]

Some savage comments here!

[@deannadove3505]

She is such a great story teller. I learn something with every video and in such an entertaining way.

[@mike03a3]

Is it just me, or does she make you think of Abby Sciuto (from NCIS)?

[@maryrafuse2297]

She is. I would love for her to visit The Five Fishermen Restaurant 1740 Argyle St. in Halifax NS. I have a feeling the dead would wish to speak to her. She is a great listener as well as speaker.

[@clarkbono189]

@@mike03a3 it's the bangs. I like em

[@jfilesgraphics]

Gotta admit, she's rather cute for a person in her profession.

[@reconx86]

@@jfilesgraphics Trust me if it was about looks I would've clicked away a long time ago. But her story telling is very captivating which is a first for me, because I dont like listening to stories. Many people just scream for attention and likes (and they use their looks to persuade you to stay on their channel). But with her, I got none of these vibes, she's just down to earth and tells the stories at the best of her abilities. Which is what I like about her. No pretentiousness even when she advertises she blends most of her ads so well with the story it barely breaks the flow of the story.

[@mariewoodruff1995]

RIP to Gordon Lightfoot Monday, May 1, 2023.

[@BadgerCheese94]

One of my friend's uncles, Nolan Church, was one of the 29 souls that perished. May they all rest in peace, 48 years later

[@tayloranne839]

I used to be irrationally terrified of dead bodies a few years ago, so I began to research decomposition and mortuary science to educate myself on them. Through this knowledge, I’ve lost this fear and replaced it with interest! You were who I first watched and I’m so thankful for my fear (ironically) because I discovered your videos! Thanks for what you do, we love you!

[@26muca07]

It's amazing how the spectrum of emotions work inside our brain and minds. Fear is at the same spectrum but at the opposite end from fascination. I was an arachnophobic and now that I've trained my mind, I find these creatures absolutely fascinating! They're more afraid of humans than we're from them, and jumping spiders are adorable pets, I have one in an enclosure I captured the other day in my garden. Her name is Petrova and she is basically a cat in a shape of a tiny spider.

[@26muca07]

@@kale2305 she deserved her name in radiology terminations because she was fearless and made history with stuff no human being could comprehend and would never want to be around for an hour, at the time. She's fascinating as well.

[@brittanyolson5235]

Me too!! Well said!!

[@Puddingcup110]

That’s how I got over my fear of death and seeing a Body. Although I’ve always been fascinated with the Science behind an Autopsy and finding out how someone passed. It was never something I wanted to put out there or dare googling cause of the fear or seeing it. Now, it’s all I read about and watch on KZbin Lol I’m thankful of finding her channel ❤️🖤

[@26muca07]

@@Puddingcup110 You want to know something particular about death that comforts me? I get to work with corpses constantly as I'm a makeup artist. But I don't have any family left, and at all events I refused myself to look at my dear lost parent laid in a coffin. But I used to work very well with bodies I didn't know personally.

[@SierraThunder]

Years back in 1987 I was dating this lovely lady here in California, we had been seeing each other for about 3 1/2 months when one night that I was staying at her place she received a phone call from someone. While she was talking to this person she asked me to bring this plastic tub out of her room so she could go through papers that were in it while she talked. There were tons of photos in the plastic bin as well, and one of them was a photo of the Edmund Fitzgerald on the bottom of Lake Superior. It turned out that her older brother was one of the crew that had gone down with the ship, and the phone call was about the possibility of retreiving the bodies from the ship. All of the crew's remains were present inside the ship except for one set of remains that had wound up outside on the lake bed, (I assume that the person in question was most likely one of the bridge crew & was somehow thrown free of the ship as it struck bottom). This corpse has been mentioned elsewhere over the years so I'll make no more mention of it. She did however, show me the photos of their bodies in the condition that they were in at that point in time & it was somewhat bizarre as they looked like humanoid wax figures with clothing on. It wasn't creepy or gross in any way, they just looked odd. She knew exactly which one her brother was by the clothes he was wearing in the photos The upshot of this is that the locations of all 29 bodies in both the bow & stern sections are known & at that time it was said that the bodies had all gone through the process of Adipocerication, but if all of the families wished it they could retreive the remains, but it would be really expensive to retreive them & the families would all have to come up with something like $250,000.00. That's when they decided to leave them where they were & began the legal proceedings to prohibit any more diving expeditions to the Fitzgerald. I believe that the ruling came through for that in 1995 but I can't be sure. We only dated for about 2 more months & she moved back home to Michigan. But I truly hoped she was, and continues to be okay, because after that evening there were times that the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald was all that she could talk about.

[@mihorsewoman]

Wow, I hope she is ok, too!

[@cadenchristiansen3553]

Cool story

[@HoneyIYKYK]

Wow such a dope story. I got chills reading it. I want to see the pictures so bad! I was hoping the video would reveal A snap.

[@KatTheScribe]

Fascinating story, thank you for sharing this.

[@kristimorrison6501]

Sounds like by you lending a sympathetic ear(judging by your comment you seem to have) she was able to process those feelings and heal. Sometimes all you need is someone to listen to you get it all out.

[@alexmartinez5859]

For anyone wondering why the Fitz is so well known, it’s probably not just the song. It is the last freighter shipwreck to ever take place on the lakes. That alone probably draws in some great measure of allure.

[@Instrumentjesus]

I live in Duluth, it’s awesome there (incredibly cold). My grandpa was the captain aboard the lake freighter Herbert C. Jackson, he was sailing on the night the fitz went down. I’m only 14 right now but I plan on working on a laker. It’s something I’ve always been fascinated by the lakes and the ships that sail on them. My favorite ships are the James R. Barker and the John G. Munson. Anyway, love the video great job!

[@MattysMello]

if theres one thing i've learned over my life, its this: never NEVER tell anyone you're about to retire don't even tell yourself.

[@drizler]

I always tell guys you’re going to hold your breath the last 5 years. By the time a few cancer victims and couple suicides take their toll of your office you will start to wonder ..........

[@csm5040]

Well, that’s... disturbing...

[@julianefaria7508]

And if you made the decision DONT do “one last thing”

[@pyroshayniac1090]

“Don’t even tell yourself” LMAO. Thank you for the lifesaving advice.

[@merrittmarcus13]

And never tell someone that "when you get back, you are going to get married." Death flags are called that for a reason.

[@zargoid]

I really love how Caitlyn has presented this, it was so respectful, and caring. And the beauty in sharing the names of the crew at the end, made me teary eyed.

[@kalisederoche]

i had the privilege of being born on the tip of ms Gitchi Gummi (right where the Fitz left from) and she is truly an incredible force of nature. shes freezing and crystal clear, ive drank straight from her many times. shes so vast when i looked out my window i couldnt see the other side. and i miss her everyday:,) thank you for giving her the spotlight 💙🌊

[@donnawheeler6283]

Respecting the thoughts and feelings of sailors and their families should never come into question. It's terrible that they died the way they did. My sympathies for the loss to all family and friends of the souls that perished in Edmund Fitzgerald. Rest peacefully. 🕯🕊

[@daltonsteede6482]

I live right on Lake Superior in Minnesota. I just don't mess with it. We've got more than 10000 other lakes, no reason to play a dangerous game

[@pyroshayniac1090]

Yup, when I went by to visit. I looked out over the water and had the feeling the lake was bad luck.

[@thegeneralissimo470]

She’s a mighty beast she is

[@redforman9217]

I go for swims in some dangerous waters because when I visit in the summer I swim no matter what big waves or calm

[@blackeyedchild3688]

I live a couple hours from lake superior and the one time I swam in it I ended up get pummeled by waves not that far from shore. If I'd hit my head I easily could've drowned, wouldn't recommend going into the lake lol.

[@Isaac-ob9tm]

@@redforman9217 cool guy alert 📢

[@MrGoesBoom]

When you remember that these 'lakes' are bodies of freshwater bigger than several seas

[@jimjampea]

the Lake Superior is actually bigger than the country I'm from lol

[@NonCometL]

Bigger than the state of SC.

[@GenXstacker]

Also remember that they are the melted remnants of the last ice age.

[@carsentaylor4329]

When you live by lake michigan and not lake superior but technically you live by all of them check

[@wadehm63]

@@carsentaylor4329 Back in the early 90s was team driving a semi on 28 coming out of Marquette and the wind coming off the lake nearly flipped the truck on its side. That trailer was leaning pretty good.

[@LivvyBooks]

The closed captions are so appreciated!

[@robertmcnally9305]

I’m watching this after Gordon Lightfoots passing and the same museum that rang the bell in the Fitzs memory rang it 30 times to commemorate the sailors and the man who made their ship a well known legend