It's been nearly 50 years since the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior. The shipwreck is one of the most well-known in the world, yet so much is still unknown.
Twenty-nine men died in the wreck, which took place off Whitefish Point on Nov. 10, 1975. It was those 29 men who inspired Michigan author John U. Bacon to write his newest book.
"The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald" is being released on Tuesday, Oct. 7, just one month before the 50th anniversary of the shipwreck.
"I wanted to find out who these guys were, what their lives were like, who they were individually, what their families are like, what their family lives are like, what it's like to be on ship, what it's like to be on shore," Bacon said in an interview this week.
Watch our full interview with John U. Bacon in the video below
Over the course of nearly 400 pages, Bacon not only recounts the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald and the 29 men who died; he details the importance of the Great Lakes shipping industry across the world, outlines the dangers and strengths of Great Lakes storms, and tells the story of life onboard the ship.
To do this, Bacon spent four years researching the book, interviewing more than 100 people, including family members of the 29 men who were lost, people who spent time on the ship and much more.
"Of the 29 men, 14 are profiled to some degree and eight or nine in great depth. From the family members themselves, the sons, the wives, the daughters. Truly, the girlfriends, the cousins, the nephews, who remembered them quite well, what their lives were like," Bacon said. "I also got to six crewmen who'd been on the ship, served on the ship, at some point between 1963 and that summer, 1975."
Bacon also spent time on two of the most important ships in the Edmund Fitzgerald story – the SS Arthur M. Anderson, which was the last ship in contact with the Fitzgerald, and the SS Wilfred Sykes, which was also on the lake that night.
"Last summer, we ran from Duluth to Toledo, which is exactly the route the Edmund Fitzgerald often took," Bacon said. "I can't tell you exactly what changed from those two trips, but I wrote with so much more intimacy and confidence and detail by being on those ships, which are very much like they were 50 years ago."
He also visited the many towns surrounding the Great Lakes that are major ports, including the President Bar and Liquor Store in Superior, Wisconsin.
"That's where the crew had their last beers the night before. That bartender, Mr. Bolin, is still alive, and he talked to me," Bacon said.
But most importantly, as Bacon set out, he tells the story of the men who died. There's Captain Ernest McSorley, who was one of the best on the Great Lakes, was on his last run and planned to retire and spend time with his wife.
"He was going to retire after this last run, two or three days later, and have dinner at Mancy's, like always, and then celebrate with his wife. And of course, that didn't happen," Bacon said.
Eddie Bindon, 47, was the first engineer on the Fitzgerald. Bacon said he'd put in enough time on the Great Lakes and could have retired. He spent the time before the Fitzgerald's final run buying a two-carat diamond ring to surprise his wife for their 25th anniversary.
"For some reason, he gave this ring to one of his friends to mail to his wife, and therefore, it did not go down with the ship," Bacon said.
"Only Eddie Bindon knows why," Bacon wrote in the book.
Bruce Hudson, 22, was a deckhand aboard the ship. His girlfriend was pregnant, and Bacon writes that they were going to move in together and raise the child until he died.
Bruce's mother, Ruth, who was known as "Aunt Ruth," is featured in the book. Bruce was her only son, and when the ship went down, she thought she had lost everything. Six months later, she learned she had a granddaughter. Through that, she gained grandkids and great-grandkids, and one of them even looks just like Bruce.
Ruth also worked to have the shipwreck site declared a gravesite by the Canadian government, and even had the bell brought up and restored, which is now in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.
"If you think you know the story, trust me, I thought I knew the story. 95% of this book will probably be new to you, as it was to me," Bacon said.
“The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald” will be released on Tuesday, Oct. 7. Bacon is also hosting a book tour event with Schuler Books in Ann Arbor on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. He’ll also have book tour events in Grand Rapids, Traverse City and Marquette in November.
