50 Year Anniversary of the Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Storytellers: Adam Clemens & Chris Gillcrist

Coming soon! Lakeview Cemetery and the Museum of the Great Lakes are both organizing tours for attendees of tonight’s Storyteller night. Watch for details to be added to this page soon!

 
 
 
 

Doors open at 5:00pm, with the storytelling beginning promptly at 7:00pm

• Weekly series combining great food with great stories about Cleveland’s past
• FREE ADMISSION – NO COVER CHARGE
• In addition to our regular menu, we will be offering affordable specials on these nights

Story topic this week…

50 Year Anniversary of the Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald
When the Edmund Fitzgerald was launched on June 7, 1958, it was the largest lake freighter that had ever sailed and the launch was a spectacle attended by thousands of onlookers. The Fitzgerald continued to make history for 17 years with record breaking cargoes and shocked the nation when it sank with its full crew of 29 men during a storm on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. This tragedy inspired Gordon Lightfoot’s 1976 song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” Christopher Gillcrist, the Executive Director of the National Museum of the Great Lakes will explain the variety of ways that this freighter and this shipwreck had deep ties to the Cleveland community.

Adam Clemens, special programs manager at Lakeview Cemetery, will share stories of people buried in Lakeview that are tied to the Fitzgerald.

Adam Clemens Bio

Adam Clemens is the Special Programs Manager at Lake View Cemetery Foundation, putting together the public programs and tours, as well as managing the tour guides for the James A. Garfield Memorial and Wade Memorial Chapel. Through the Walks, Talks, & Tours at Lake View, the guides share the rich history of the Cemetery and tell the tales of fascinating lives from diverse backgrounds and industries. The knowledge of Cleveland History and want to share those stories has led to Lake View Cemetery to be on the top 10 list of places to visit for many years. If you haven’t taken a drive through the cemetery or gone on a walking tour, you are missing out!

Christopher Gillcrist Bio

Christopher Gillcrist is Executive Director of the National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo, Ohio. He has a BA and MA in History from John Carroll University and is ABD in Social Policy at Case Western Reserve University. He has served as Associate Professor of History at Notre Dame College of Ohio and Instructor of History at Ursuline College. Prior to his current duties he served as Executive Director of the Lake County Historical Society.

The goal of the Cleveland Stories Dinner Party is to bring to life some of the fun, interesting stories about Cleveland’s past – from sports, to rock ‘n roll, to Millionaire’s Row, — the series will focus on tidbits from Cleveland’s past that will really thrill the audience. The Music Box is presenting this series in partnership with the Western Reserve Historical Society’s new Cleveland History Center. We think the Cleveland History Center is one of the most important museums in Cleveland. An unknown gem that Clevelanders should know more about, and support. It is the only museum in Cleveland dedicated to preserving and documenting the history of Cleveland. The Cleveland History Center includes two mansions, the Crawford Auto Aviation Museum, Chisholm Halle Costume Wing, Research Library, Kidzibits Hands-On Gallery, rotating exhibitions, and the Euclid Beach Park Grand Carousel.

See all Cleveland Stories dates here.