Today is a perennial reminder of that power. It was on this day in 1975 that the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, one of the largest ships ever to sail on the Great Lakes, was claimed by Lake Superior, the greatest of the lakes; it remains the region’s largest shipwreck. This time of year, the transition from fall to winter, can bring sudden storms on Superior. That day’s storm claimed the ship’s entire crew of 29 sailors. Today, a Lake Superior Twitter account is tweeting out their names in memory.

That is hardly the only tribute the Edmund Fitzgerald has received over the years. The most famous one is Gordon Lightfoot’s 1976 hit song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” …

Gordon Lightfoot died earlier this year at age 84. I learned today that the Mariners’ Church of Detroit marked his death in a singularly appropriate way.

[What a generous gesture to the man who used his art to ensure that the Edmund Fitzgerald would never be forgotten. I loved Lightfoot’s music, especially this song, and how he never failed to evoke emotional bonds with his lyrics and melodies. — Ed]