Detroit, MI
Edmund Fitzgerald life ring to be auctioned in Detroit this month
A life ring from the Edmund Fitzgerald, the famous Great Lakes freighter that was shipwrecked 50 years ago, will be auctioned in Detroit this month.
The orange life ring washed onto the Lake Superior shore after the Fitzgerald sank off the coast of Whitefish Bay on Nov. 10, 1975.
Larry Orr, who was 27 at the time, found it leaning against a tree alongside a plank from one of the Fitzgerald’s lifeboats, according to DuMouchelles, the auction house coordinating the sale. Both the life ring and plank likely came from one of the Fitzgerald’s lifeboats.
Orr took the ring and plank. Ten years later, he loaned them to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in the Upper Peninsula’s Chippewa County. He decided this year to sell the ring, DuMouchelles President Joe Walker said.
Walker said the life ring is unlike anything the auction house has sold before. It’s an artifact from arguably one of the most famous shipwrecks in the world and the most famous to take place on the Great Lakes. He said he hopes it is purchased by a museum.
“It’s just a piece of Great Lakes history,” he said.
The life ring has a history of its own. It was featured in a lawsuit Orr filed against the state in which he accused a state police officer of violating his rights during a sexual assault investigation, the Associated Press reported last month. The state had initially asked for the life ring as part of a settlement deal in which the state would give Orr $600,000. After the AP called MSP spokeswoman Shanon Banner, the life ring was removed from the deal.
The unusual almost-arrangement shows the resiliency of the Edmund Fitzgerald’s legacy in Michigan.
The ship was built at Great Lakes Engineering Works at a shipyard on the border of Ecorse and River Rouge. Thousands of people crowded around the dock to watch it launch into the Detroit River in 1958. At the time, it was the largest freighter on the lakes. It remained a notable ship until its famous end in Lake Superior.
Other artifacts from the Edmund Fitzgerald are scattered across the Great Lakes. One of the ship’s anchors, which it lost in the Detroit River before it wrecked, is outside the Detroit Historical Society’s Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Detroit’s Belle Isle park. A life raft and oars are on display at the National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo.
Selling an artifact from the Fitzgerald is a rare and emotional process, Walker said. DuMouchelles is on East Jefferson Avenue near Mariners Church, so Walker grew up listening to the bells toll each November to honor the 29 men who died on the Fitzgerald and the thousands of other mariners who have died on the Great Lakes.
DuMouchelle’s wouldn’t have auctioned the ring if it had been removed from the wreck site, Walker said, but the ring was legally acquired and Orr is selling out of financial necessity.
“It’s a mixed bag for us, emotionally, to be honest with you,” Walker said. “A lot of what we do is (for) people experiencing emotional, physical, economic hardship, right? And this is one of those cases.”
The life ring will be on display for public viewing at DuMouchelles on East Jefferson Avenue on Dec. 12, 13, 16 and 17. The auction is scheduled for Dec. 19. The starting bid is $11,250.
ckthompson@detroitnews.com
A water main break in Detroit Saturday night has forced lane closures on a road on the city’s east side, according to city officials.
The incident on East Jefferson Avenue near Burns Avenue was reported around 9 p.m. Officials said a 42-inch water main in the area ruptured.
“Crews responded immediately early Sunday morning to shut off the main and to begin preparing for repairs,” Detroit officials said in a news release.
All residents in the area should have service “due to redundancy in the water system,” according to officials. Anyone who doesn’t is asked to call the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department at 313-267-8000.
As of Sunday afternoon, the city has not issued a boil water advisory and says there are no issues with street flooding.
Repairs are expected to begin on Monday and officials estimate they will be completed “around the middle of the week.”
One lane in each direction of East Jefferson Avenue will remain open at and around the area of the break until repairs are done, and bike lanes at the repair location will be closed.
Officials are asking motorists who drive through the area to budget additional time for their commute or seek an alternate route until all lanes reopen.
Dajanae Frazier, 14 (Photo: Detroit Police Department)
DETROIT, Mich. (FOX 2) – Detroit Police say 14-year-old Dajanae Frazier has been missing since Tuesday, March 3.
What we know:
She was last seen leaving her residence to walk a dog in the 19400 block of Biltmore St. She was wearing a pink shirt, black pants and black boots.
Frazier has black hair with red braids and brown eyes. She is between 5 feet 2 inches and 5 feet 7 inches tall, and weighs approximately 100 to 125 pounds.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Detroit Police Department’s 8th Precinct at 313-596-5840 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAKUP.
The Source: Information from the Detroit Police Department was cited for this story.
Police in Detroit are asking for the public’s help after they say an individual stole a handgun and credit cards from a truck on the city’s west side last month.
According to investigators, the suspect, identified as a male of undisclosed age, broke into a GMC Sierra between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. on the 1400 block of Holden Street on Feb. 15. He stole the gun and a black bag, which contained medications, eyeglasses and the credit cards, officials said.
Police said the male then left the scene in a white Chevrolet Tahoe.
Anyone who recognizes the male, the Chevrolet or has any information about the incident is asked to call the agency’s 3rd Precinct at 313-596-1340 or Crime Stoppers of Michigan at 1-800-773-2587, or submit a tip here.
This is a developing story.
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