Lighthouse to Allow Visitors Again for Fitzgerald Memorial

BEAVER BAY, Minn. (AP) — A Lake Superior lighthouse plans to welcome visitors back for an annual memorial honoring the sailors who died when the Edmund Fitzgerald sank.

Every Nov. 10, the day the ship sank in a gale in 1975, the Split Rock Lighthouse just south of Beaver Bay holds a beacon lighting. Lighthouse officials announce the names of all 29 sailors who died as a bell tolls, Minnesota Public Radio reported Sunday.

The lighthouse didn’t allow visitors to attend last year’s ceremony due to COVID-19 concerns. People had to listen through an online livestream.

Lighthouse officials say this year’s ceremony will be a hybrid, with the lighthouse grounds open to the public and a livestream on the Minnesota Historical Society’s Facebook and YouTube pages for those who can’t attend. The ceremony will begin at 4:30 p.m.

“There’s something about being here on-site and hearing the bell ring, and the names being read off and then seeing the beacon turned on right after that. There’s just something very special about that,” said Hayes Scriven, the lighthouse site manager. “It’s just a way to connect with the past and remember that Lake Superior is a fickle animal and you’ve got to respect the power, and not take it for granted.”

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