Although I usually blog on Mondays, due to a live-streamed event I will tell you about in a few paragraphs, I am publishing this week’s blog today.

The Edmund Fitzgerald

I have always loved a variety of music, but one of my favorite genres is ballads. When I think of ballads, the first one that comes to mind is “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” which was given to us so beautifully by the late Gordon Lightfoot.

Yesterday marked the 49^th anniversary of the loss of that ship on Lake Superior. I have never seen Lake Superior, so it is difficult for me to grasp its size. When measured by surface area, it is the largest freshwater lake in the world. By volume, it ranks third in the world. Its surface area is comparable to that of Austria or the State of South Carolina. Whoa!

Now that I have a better understanding of the size of Lake Superior…

The 729-foot Edmund Fitzgerald sailed from Superior, Wisconsin, headed for Detroit, Michigan. It carried 26,116 tons of taconite pellets to supply steel mills.

On November 10, 1975, the ship was driven 530 feet to the bottom of Lake Superior by 90 mile-per-hour winds and 30-foot seas. All 29 crew members perished.

The ship’s 200-pound bronze bell was retrieved on July 4, 1995. It holds a place of honor in the Great Lakes Shipwrecks Museum – Whitefish Point, Paradise, Michigan.

Why I chose to post this today

The Great Lakes Shipwrecks Museum holds a ceremony annually on November 10 to honor the memory of the 29 men who perished in the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. The ceremony today is not open to the public; however, it will be live streamed at 7:00 p.m. EST on Facebook Live and YouTube. For links to those venues, visit https://shipwreckmuseum.com/edmund-fitzgerald/.

That website includes a beautiful photograph of the ship, but I did not have permission to include it in this blog post.

Hurricane Helene Update on Western North Carolina

I live 100 miles east of the hardest hit areas, but as a North Carolinian I feel compelled to use my platform to remind the world that western NC is still dealing with Hurricane Helene. Just to give you an idea about the recovery situation 46 days after the storm hit western NC…

Roads: Interstate 40 is still closed near the TN line. As of Friday, of the 1,329 roads that were closed in September due to Hurricane Helene, 293 remain closed and an additional 95 have partial access.

Electricity: Duke Energy and other electric utility companies and co-ops are working diligently to get power restored to the most remote/rugged areas.

Water system in Asheville: The City of Asheville Water Resources serves about 160,000 people in Buncombe and Henderson counties. They are still under a Boil Water order. Water treatment and testing continue daily. Imagine being without potable tap water for drinking, cooking, bathing, washing clothes, etc. since September 26!

Blue Ridge Parkway: An 11-mile stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway has opened near Asheville after the removal of 350,000 cubic feet of storm debris! Another way of looking at that figure is to imagine almost 150 shipping containers being filled. That section of the parkway goes from the NC Arboretum to the Folk Art Center. Giving the public access to the Folk Art Center is a huge step forward as artisans of numerous crafts from throughout the Appalachian Mountains display and offer their artistry for sale there. If you’re planning a trip, visit https://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/roadclosures.htm. It is a great source for details of closures from milepost to milepost. As the fall tourist season winds down, there is still no estimated date for all the parkway in NC to be reopened.

Public School Systems: All the affected counties continue to struggle with bus routes due to so many road closures.

Tourism: Towns are opening back up to visitors, but many rural areas are still very much in recovery mode… and will be for months, if not years. Check reliable sources before making travel plans.

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book to read.

Value the time you have with friends and family.

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Remember the people of Ukraine; western NC; Valencia, Spain; and all the areas affected by the numerous wildfires in the United States.

Janet