The Witch of November

Every year the approach of November 10 still gives me chills and a deep sense of horror. It was on that date in 1975 that the sturdy Edmund Fitzgerald disappeared beneath the always icy waters of mighty Lake Superior, the victim of a deep low pressure system that developed in the southern plains before racing up across Lake Superior into Ontario and up to James Bay. After a terrifying and sleepless night on the raging lake, buffeted by waves of 25 feet and more, the ship went down in total darkness without sending a distress signal. All 29 officers and crew were lost. The 729-foot ship broke in two and lies on the bottom of the cold lake to this day. It was only 17 more miles to the slightly more protected waters of Whitefish Bay.