Marquette Maritime Museum hosting Edmund Fitzgerald Anniversary events next week

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) - Forty-five years ago from this upcoming Tuesday, Lake Superior claimed what was, at the time, the largest ship on the lake, and its crew of twenty-nine. And now, all those years later, the Marquette Maritime Museum is holding a series of virtual events to honor the memory of the Edmund Fitzgerald and her crew.

Monday kicks off the two-day run with a dramatic reading of Dr. Shelley Russell’s play “Holdin' Our Own: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” The play, which was last performed over twenty years ago, will be held via Zoom call, and run about 90 minutes. Afterwards, Lee Murdock will perform a rendition of the sobering classic “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." The event will begin at 7 p.m. Central and 8 p.m. Eastern

Tuesday will start off at 6:30 p.m. with an Edmund-Fitzgerald-centric Maritime History on Tap, hosted by Fred Stonehouse. It will be followed by a tolling of the bell for each man who lost his life on the Fitzgerald. After the tolling, around 7:30 p.m., Michael Waite and Heather Evans will be playing a concert featuring fictional and historical songs about the joys and perils of sailing.

Hilary Billman, the Maritime Museum’s Executive Director, encouraged the community to try and catch one of the shows, saying, “We’ve all been cooped up for a while, and it’s a great opportunity to learn a little about local history and support non-profits in the area."

You can find a link to both events on the Marquette Maritime Museum Facebook Page here.

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