MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – They call it the “Witch of November”, powerful storms that sweep across the Great Lakes Each fall, turning the waters into what some describe as an inland hurricane. And for sailors on Lake Superior, November has long been the most dangerous month of the year,
“And it’s the very nature of these different systems that are clashing over the Great Lakes at that time with the oncoming winter, and you still have the warm from the south. And these create conditions where you get these squalls that you know are very dangerous,” said Dan Truckey, Director of The Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center.
The exhibit details the tragedies of ships lost to these deadly waters, and gives us an idea of how difficult it was to rescue sailors in trouble, even when close to shore.
“Because even though you were, you know, say, beached, didn’t mean that you were safe. You know, there’s many instances of people dying on beach, even if you had a lifeboat or a life vest on, and there were ships there throwing you ropes you might not make it,” said Truckey.
This year is especially significant. November marks the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, one of the most infamous Great Lakes shipwrecks.
” And especially because of the 50th anniversary of the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking, we wanted to do something that looked not just at the Fitzgerald but other shipwrecks as well,” said Truckey.
The display includes historic photographs, weather maps from the days the ship sank, and newspaper headlines recounting the tragedies, as well as artifacts from the depths around Isle Royal.
“You know, like we have a boot from a ship. So it was somebody’s boot to think that many of the people who were on these ships didn’t survive.” said Truckey.
