The legend lives on at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum
As the music scene and countless fans mourn the death of Gordon Lightfoot, a group dedicated to preserving the memories and telling the stories of Great Lakes shipwrecks is expressing its own words of reflection after the legendary Canadian singer/songwriter’s passing.
One of Lightfoot’s most famous songs — The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald — as well as memories of the singer himself hold a special significance for staff and volunteers at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum located at Whitefish Point in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
“Clearly we’re all very saddened,” said Bruce Lynn, Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum executive director, referring to Lightfoot’s death on Monday at the age of 84.
Lightfoot made several visits to the museum over the years to mark the anniversary of the ship’s Nov. 10, 1975 sinking and met several surviving family members of the doomed ship’s crew.
Lynn met the folk singer during one such visit in 2015. “He was one of the most gracious individuals,” Lynn told SooToday on Tuesday.
“He was interesting to me because he wanted to know about us and what we did, asking ‘how do you get into this kind of work, working in a museum?’ It was interesting because we were asking him all kinds of questions about himself. There he was, this internationally famous, extremely well-known and well-liked presence and he’s asking us questions about our work.”
Lightfoot visited the museum on Nov. 9, 2015, one day before the annual Fitzgerald ceremony.
“He really didn’t want it to be about him. He wanted that event on the 10th to be about the Fitzgerald and her crew and I thought that was really nice of him,” Lynn said.
Lynn recalled that he enjoyed watching the interaction between Lightfoot and Fitzgerald crew members’ families as they strolled around at Whitefish Point.
“There was mutual admiration. We know that he always had them in mind because in the lyrics he referenced ‘the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters.’ We’ve all lost loved ones but they did in such a dramatic and public fashion and I think Mr. Lightfoot recognized that,” Lynn said.
“We were fortunate to be able to meet him and spend a little time with him and be in his presence for a little while.”
New tour boat operator looks to launch at Sturgeon Bay
Sturgeon Bay, WI – For the first time since the former Chicago Fire Boat Fred A. Busse sailed south for a new life in the Windy City in 2019, you could soon see regular boat tours resume in Sturgeon Bay.
The Sturgeon Bay Common Council will weigh in on a new lease agreement between the city and DoCo, LLC for the former launch ramp south of the Michigan Street Bridge and north of 120 N. Madison Avenue. The site near the Door County Maritime Museum was where the former Door County Fireboat was moored for several years before being sold to a Chicago touring company. The city has not had a tour boat operator since the Fire Boat’s departure.
DoCo, LLC’s proposal includes installing a floating dock system that would allow it to tie off a pair of 40-foot tour boats. The company plans to offer tours between Lake Michigan and Sherwood Point during the summer season. The proposed lease runs from May 1st, 2023, and ends on December 31st, 2026, and could be extended automatically on a year-by-year basis.
Door County Daily News
Help Wanted: Assistant Engineer, M/V Ranger III
Isle Royale National Park – Houghton, MI. Isle Royale National Park is seeking candidates for an immediate position as Assistant Engineer of the USNPS Ranger III, a 165’, 1700 hp passenger (H), tank (D) and miscellaneous cargo (I) vessel. The Ranger III provides logistical support and commercial passenger/freight service during the months of April – October to a wilderness island national park located approximately 70 miles north of park headquarters in Lake Superior. During the off-season months (November – March), this position will be duty stationed onboard the vessel at Park Headquarters in Houghton, MI.
The Assistant Engineer serves as assistant to the Chief Engineer in the operation, maintenance, and repair of all engine room and associated machinery, refrigeration, plumbing, heating, and mechanical/hydraulic and electric/electronic systems.
Requirements include a current USCG License as “3rd Assistant Engineer of Motor Vessels of Unlimited Horsepower” OR as “Assistant Engineer of Motor Vessels, Limited 2,000 Horsepower” or greater.
This is a permanent-full time, federal government position, with a competitive wage and benefits package. Contact Aaron Persenaire, Ranger III Captain, at (906) 487-7163, for further job-related information or with questions. Please email resumes/qualifications to (aaron_persenaire@nps.gov) or mail to: Isle Royale National Park, 800 E Lakeshore Dr., Houghton, MI.
