Another November Victim Just Found

      Legends abound concerning Gichi Gama (big water/ Lac Superior).  "The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead when the gales of November turn gloomy."  Those words from a song by Gordon Lightfoot echo again as another lost ship has been recently found.  Being a life long resident of the Duluth, MN area, anything to do with shipwrecks is big news.  
      I still remember looking out the window of the cafeteria in Duluth Central High School watching the Edmund Fitzgerald go under the bridge and head out "to sea."  I remember watching the waves crashing against the end of the pier and lighthouse many times.  That day the waves were merely "sloshing" over.  I remember thing that I wouldn't want to be heading out on a day like that.  A couple hours later the waves had died down, so I quit thinking about it - until a day later when everyone got the news about the ship's fate.  I also remember not knowing what to say to my neighbor, and friend at the time, Brad B. when I learned that his dad had been on that ship.  Their family was so devastated.  I'm sure that every time there is news of a shipwreck, or even if they hear that Gordon Lightfoot song, their memories cascade forth, and their heart makes a small crunching sound. 
      The ore freighter Henry B. Smith, which was lost with all hands in a November gale in 1913 was found by shipwreck hunters just a couple of days ago.  Jerry and Karen Eliason found the ship near Marquette Michigan.  The Eliasons found the ship, which hadn't been seen since November 9th, 1913, after researching all the available records about the wreck.  All those records proved to be quite an accurate "X marks the spot" for the Eliasons.  The wreck was right where their research said it should be.  I'd say that's pretty dog gone impressive.  Good job, Jerry and Karen.  

      In other great Lakes Shipwreck news (that's not a statement one usually hears), just days before the Eliasons found the Henry B. Smith, another group of divers found the wreck of the Griffin, a 17th Century french ship.  This wreck was found in Lake Michigan.  

      November is a huge time for gales on the Great Lakes, and especially on Lake Superior.  In the storm that claimed the Henry B. Smith, there were many other ships that were lost.  There were a total of 42 wrecks in that storm across all the Great Lakes.  Not all the wrecks were losses.  Most of them sailed again after repairs.  
      The November 27 storm of 1905 was similar.  Many ships were lost in that storm.  Most notable of these wrecks (at least to those in Duluth) was the S.S. Mataffa.  My Grandmother and her brothers were just children when this happened, and this story was related to me many times in their lives.  
      They lived up the hill on about 11th St., and could hear a bunch of hollering through the sound of the storm.  There wasn't the continual noise of traffic then to muffle out sounds.  My great-uncles ran down the hill to the lake to see what the commotion was.  When they got there they could see the ship crossed sideways against the pier.  The waves kept slamming the ship against the concrete structure.  Half the town was gathered there, and they watched helplessly.  People wanted to help the men who were yelling for help, but there was nothing anyone could do on account of the waves.  They all just watched in horror as the ship finally broke in two.  The stern lodged in the ground against the pier.  After the storm a severe cold snap set in and the remains were frozen in place.  Some of the victims' bodies had to be chopped out of the ice,   It was amazing that only nine men lost their lives.  Fifteen survived.  

      In the early 1980's (in November) a huge ocean going vessel, the Socrates, was washed up onto the beach of Park Point.  I went down that night after work to watch the guys being rescued.  It was a very awesome sight, and the effects of the lights through the crashing waves and mist made the whole thing seem like scenes from a Steven Spielberg movie.   I'll have to tell this particular story in greater detail some other time

                                          The Socrates the morning after the storm

                                             The Socrates during the rescue

      Not only ships get claimed by the November gales, but so do mines - silver mines, that is.  The Silver Islet mine out from Thunder Bay was washed to oblivion three times in its short history.  It was built bigger after the first two times it was destroyed, but the Lake finally claimed her for good.  This story can also be found on the internet using a simple web search, and it was immortalized by the rockin' folk band Tanglefoot in the song "One More Night."