Question for Michigan Songsters!!! - Storm of 1913

Subject: Question for Michigan Songsters!!!
From: harpgirl
Date: 30 Jul 01 - 11:02 PM

...In 1913, on the Great Lakes there were a number of shipping and sailing accidents because of a freakish bout of bad weather. Does anyone know any songs about those ships or that time period? The reference text I was reading is a fascinating book about Great Lakes history by Harlan Hatcher, a former President of UofM. I don't have the book at hand, though...harpgirl

Subject: RE: Question for Michigan Songsters!!!
From: Joe Offer
Date: 31 Jul 01 - 01:53 AM

Good question, Harpgirl. The stornm lasted 4 days, November 9-12, 1913. Eleven ships were lost, mostly in Lake Huron and Lake Superior, and many others were wrecked in all five of the Great Lakes. I'm sure Lee Murdock will know. Maybe it would be an idea to check with him. I sent a personal message to Art Thieme and asked him to check in.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Question for Michigan Songsters!!! - Storm of 1913
From: GUEST,PeteBoom (at work)
Date: 31 Jul 01 - 01:21 PM

I seem to recall a couple of songs about specific ships, tho whether they were from the 1913 storm or the Armistice Day Storm of 1940 I don't remember. I'll dig through the old memory and see what I can come up with.

(Although I did recently stumble across a ballad I had forgotten called The Battle of Lake Erie - fits really well to Lillibulero...)

Subject: RE: Question for Michigan Songsters!!! - Storm of 1913
From: Art Thieme
Date: 31 Jul 01 - 04:06 PM

I don't know anything about this but I will check with Lee about this.

Art

Subject: RE: Question for Michigan Songsters!!! - Storm of 1913
From: Art Thieme
Date: 31 Jul 01 - 05:19 PM

Abby,

Here's some of it as just told to me by Lee Murdock:

What has been called THE BIG BLOW happened November 7 through 12 in the year 1913. It is considered to've been the worst storm ever on the Great Lakes. Mainly, it was centered on Lake Huron. The worst loss of life in a storm occurred then---235 lives. 40 ships were lost. 8 of the big lake freighters were sunk or totally wrecked.

This info mainly from the book Great Lakes Shipwrecks And Survivals by ? Ratigan

Hope this helps you Lady Harp.

Art Thieme

Subject: RE: Question for Michigan Songsters!!! - Storm of 1913
From: GUEST,PeteBoom (at work)
Date: 01 Aug 01 - 09:29 AM

>> This info mainly from the book Great Lakes Shipwrecks And Survivals by ? Ratigan

Its William Ratigan (although I think his surname might be Rattigan...).

Another reference might be Ghost Ships of the Great Lakes by Boyd, Dana Boyd, I think (all that stuff is at home, no time to look it up last night...)