TOLEDO, Ohio — This month marks 50 years since the tragic sinking of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald , a ship with deep ties to Toledo that was immortalized in song and history. The National Museum of the Great Lakes is preparing a weekend of events, from Friday, Nov. 7 through Monday, Nov. 10, to honor the 29 crew members who lost their lives on Nov. 10, 1975.

The S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald was launched in 1958 and named for Edmund Fitzgerald, the chairman of the board for Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, which had commissioned the ship's construction as an investment.

According to the museum, Fitzgerald himself was hesitant about the honor.

"It's my understanding he was not necessarily on board to have the boat named for him," said Ellen Kennedy, Director of Museum Operations at t

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