11/11/2025
🌊 Honoring the Edmund Fitzgerald: 50 Years Later ⚓️
Fifty years ago today, the Edmund Fitzgerald was lost to a November storm on Lake Superior. Twenty-nine lives — sons, fathers, friends — gone to the depths of a lake that both humbles and defines our Michigan story.
That night, two ships — the Arthur M. Anderson and the William Clay Ford — turned back into the storm to search for her. Though they found no survivors, their courage in returning to the raging lake stands as a quiet act of heroism.
The William Clay Ford has since been scrapped, but its pilothouse and bow were preserved and now stand as part of the Dossin Great Lakes Museum in Detroit — a powerful reminder of the bravery and kinship found on these inland seas.
The Arthur M. Anderson still sails the Great Lakes today (well, expect this season), carrying both freight and the memory of that night. Each time she passes the Ford’s pilothouse, the Anderson rings her bell twenty-nine times — once for every soul lost aboard the Fitzgerald.
At Copper Learning Academy, we believe learning should connect us to where we live — to our land, our water, and the stories that shaped our state. Remembering the Fitzgerald helps our children understand not only history, but also resilience, bravery, and the quiet strength it takes to face the unknown.
May we keep their memory alive — and teach our children to listen to the wind, read the waves, and honor the stories beneath them. 🌬️🌊
