Lake Superior Project – 29 Men, Lost to a Cold, Deep Grave

Ralph Tesser sailed on ore boats and other Great Lakes ships from 1959 to 1994 when he retired. His service included a stint on the Edmund Fitzgerald, a 731 ft. freighter known as “the Queen of the Great Lakes,” when it was built in 1958. Ralph tells tales from his days sailing on Lake Superior, including the day the Fitzgerald was lost in 40 foot waves on November 10, 1975. He shares an original poem he wrote called “29 Men,” to honor the sailors who were lost.

(Photo of Ralph as a young child in a uniform hand-made by his mother, courtesy of Ralph Tesser)

Lake Superior Project is supported in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Staci Drouillard