Split Rock Lighthouse commemorates 50th anniversary of Edmund Fitzgerald sinking

TWO HARBORS, Minn.– Today marks the 50th anniversary of the well-known Great Lakes tragedy.

During a fierce storm, the Edmund Fitzgerald went down, resulting in the loss of its 29-man crew.

And for forty years, the Split Rock Lighthouse has acknowledged the great loss.

“We’ve never had to cap the event before, but we knew, because of the 50th anniversary and it being the 40th of actually doing the ceremony, that we were going to have a lot of interest. And last year, we had 1700 people here on the site for the event, and we figured we figured we could handle that,” said Hayes Scriven, Split Rock Lighthouse site manager.

The light house anticipated thousands to show up for this ceremony.

For some of the attendees, it was just a quick drive up the North Shore.

But no matter the journey, there was an end goal for each of them.

“I think that for me, it’s just remembering and honoring the men that lost their life, and to remember everyone. To me, the bravery of these people to make that journey and to make their livelihood on it is so important to remember what they have done and what they did and how they had all impacted even today’s industry of shipping,” explained Lori Mickelson, a visitor from Danbury Wisconsin.

To honor each individual of the 29-crew members, their name was announced, followed by a bell toll.

But this year, they decided to add an additional bell toll.

“The 30th is to remember the other the other victims of shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. And it’s not to, not to shorten any respect for them, because there were so many there through three, over 300 shipwrecks on Lake Superior alone. said Lee Radzak, former Split Rock Lighthouse site manager. “And to see that that how organized Hayes has it now, and what he’s done, and what the staff here and what the Minnesota Historical Society does to help promote it and make it remain a commemorative event.”