For whom the bell tolls: The 29 men lost on the Edmund Fitzgerald, 50 years ago

TOLEDO, Ohio — On Nov. 10, 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald disappeared beneath the frigid waters of Lake Superior — and with it, all 29 crew members aboard. The shipwreck became one of the most infamous maritime disasters in Great Lakes history and remains the largest freighter ever lost on the inland seas.

The 729-foot ore carrier, nicknamed “The Toledo Express,” was beloved in ports from Duluth to Detroit. Its disappearance during a fierce November storm left a permanent scar on the maritime community, especially here in the Midwest. The legacy of the Fitzgerald still echoes across the region — in museums, in music and in the families of the 29 men who never came home.

Of those 29, at least 10 men had ties to Ohio — including the ship’s captain, Toledoan Ernest McSorley — and at least