He would spend three months recovering from hypothermia, frostbite, and other injuries. Thats one of the reasons why he didnt talk about it anymore.". As a child living with an aunt in Ohio, he used to open his bedroom window in the dead of winter, while covered only by a sheet. A plane freak. Weather conditions were reported to be 6-28mph westerly winds around 3pm by the Townsend who was trailing the Daniel J Morrell. Probably the most emotional part of this whole study was when one of the Norkunas men walked up to me and asked me for my hand. Her captain and crew believed that they had reached the end of another long and arduous shipping season. No distress signal had been transmitted, and no one had seen theMorrellon radar. Amazingly, after the bow went down, the stern blindly powered itself through the stormy seas for another five miles! More than 90 percent of homes did not have a telephone, and just one in seven had a bathtub. No joke, I thought it might sink on the way to Turkey. Two developments kept Hale from initially sharing his story with the public. It wasn't until almost dusk that they would find and rescue Hale. @exage03040 that one was pretty well documented from a few view points. www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO%20Documents/5p/CG-5PC/INV/docs/boards/danmorrell.pdf Please download a browser that supports JavaScript, or enable it if it's disabled (i.e. The men on the raft never saw another crew member besides one that they could see still on the forecastle. Shortly after, the bow section sank enough that the men and the life raft were washed over the starboard side. DeBeck was just 15 years old when he first met Dennis Hale and heard his tale as the sole survivor of the Morrells 29-member crew after a wicked Lake Huron gale broke the laker in two. "Because God wants you to be alive," the priest replied, according to the UPI story that appeared in the Dec. 1 edition of the Buffalo Evening News. Half asleep, he guessed it was the sound of the anchor against the ships bow. Now, imagine five of these magnificent bodies of water, all connected, whose basins were gouged out of the earth thousands of years ago by crawling glaciers and then filled with the remnants of their melted bodieswater. Author Kathy Groth, of Hayward, Wisconsin, will be in Duluth from 1-3 p.m. Sunday signing books outside the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center. Dennis Hale. Clinging to life, he was adrift with the bodies of his three shipmates. "He said he was put into a situation, and he happened to survive it.". About sixty years after Champlains exploration of the lakes, the wealthy French explorer Ren-Robert Cavalier de La Salle built and sailed the Griffon, a handsome sixty-foot craft named after a mythical creature that was half lion and half eagle. The Fitzgerald has remained a popular subject, thanks in part to the 1976 Gordon Lightfoot song about the tragedy. Hales mother died during his childbirth. Your browser does not seem to support JavaScript. And he even practiced "remote viewing," picturing himself on a warm, sun-splashed beach. In fact, the first documented wreck on the lakes, theGriffon, went down on Lake Huron in 1679. And after leaving the hospital and returning to Ashtabula, Hale went to visit the wife of one of his late crewmates. During that same 1966 storm a relatively new ship, the Edward L Ryerson, had been sailing Lake Michigan with strain gauges recording hull stresses proving out some of that theory. Over the next few years, DeBeck reached out to the families of the Morrells crew members, gathering photos and stories of the deceased from around the nation and Canada. From the early morning hours of November 29, calls were coming in about ships that were struggling in the late-November gale. DeBeck is still moved by the memory of the exchange. The exhibit has generated a lot of interest, according to Bruce Lynn, director of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. Hale recalls hallucinating and being in and out of consciousness for most of the night of the 29th. This topic has been deleted. @exage03040 No, the photos of the other ship actually breaking up, something that usually is not a priority to photograph. "He basically was immobile," said Mixter, the friend and president of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association. Tom Norkunas said his father, Daniel, his Uncle Ted and his Uncle Al all worked on the Great Lakes, and the watch carries a lot of family meaning. Winds were blowing up to 65 mph and with it waves had built to 20-25 feet. "When he became a sailor, he learned the value of family," said Carl W. Jahn, a good friend and lighthouse enthusiast in Michigan. Only 6 years earlier the similarly sized Carl D Bradley also broke in two while running in heavy seas in ballast. The 1979 dive also discovered that the clocks on the bow and the stern stopped some 3 hours apart. ToT: https://opposite-lock.com/topic/51833/this-or-that-209. Color enthusiast, Citron fanatic, and Cruze driver, Daniel J Morrell was a Representative of Pennsylvania to the US House from 1867 to 1870, but before that he was president of the Cambria Iron Company (likely why the ship was named for him). Between the waves, he caught sight of a life raft and swam to it, where he was joined by three other crew members. Captain Connelly of theTownsendhad last communicated with theMorrells Captain Crawley just after midnight. The captain never had a chance to get a radio call out. He said a few words about it and felt better. morrell daniel data ss Desperately hungry and thirsty, Hale wanted to eat the ice off his peacoat. Someone had that camera ready in case the front fell off. Hale, who died last fall at the age of 75, was the only person with a firsthand account of the Morrell shipwreck. Each one had its own story. But DeBeck wasnt buying that as the sole reason for the lakers demise, referring to the initial report as a sloppy excuse answer.. "She was yelling at him, asking him why he survived and her husband didnt," Barbara Hale said. The 1966 storm was the proof that this theory was true. During his hundreds of speaking engagements over the last 25 years, Hale often recounted the vision he had as he drifted in and out of consciousness aboard the raft. Several remembrances of the 50th anniversary are being held this week, including a memorial service Tuesday in Ashtabula, when a bell will be rung for each of the 28 victims, his wife said. It was horrible.". After getting into some trouble in California, serving in the U.S. Army, working as a chef, painting bridges and doing odd jobs, Dennis Hale became a deckhand in 1964, riding the Great Lakes freighters and making a strong connection with his crewmates. He bounced among various relatives, even hitchhiking several times between Ashtabula and California while in his early teens, according to Barbara Hale. The man started coughing and soon died. "There was no question he had a will and a survivors mentality from birth.". G. Postsaw a body floating eight miles off of Harbor Beach. So, it was amazing to me how I very quickly gained 28 new friends and still have those friends today, because I showed an interest in something that was near and dear to their hearts," DeBeck said. But an elderly man with a white beard implored him not to eat it. They headed into Lake Huron on November 28, 1966 around 1 pm. Dennis Hale survived for 40 hours in only a pair of boxer shorts, a lifejacket, and a pea coat before being rescued. And because their words https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.14321/j.ctt1j1w0wv, (For EndNote, ProCite, Reference Manager, Zotero, Mendeley). Plenty of theories have surfaced about his survival. Probably the first white explorer to encounter the Great Lakes was Samuel de Champlain, who was searching for a Northwest Passage that would connect the Atlantic and Pacific. By midnight the weather was bad enough that both the Daniel J Morrell and the Townsend reported having difficulty maintaining their course. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, Tops on Elmwood Avenue closes early following threat, New stadium, new experience: More details emerge on Buffalo Bills facility, The store gives you a sense of healing: A look inside the newly renovated Tops on Jefferson Avenue, 16 cars stolen from dealership in Hamburg, Company that sold Tops gunman body armor left controversial digital trail, Saying Trump 'lost his mind,' Jacobs urges GOP to choose another nominee in 2024, Woman who had been reported missing is found dead in Tonawanda, Mike Harrington: It's tough to see Ottawa and Detroit going for it, but Kevyn Adams is staying on his own course, Neighbors appear to have few qualms with Bills' stadium plans, Sabres prospect Lukas Rousek making 'jaws drop' with his passing, playmaking, Inside the NHL: Michael Peca sees the shift in the Sabres' organizational culture and in their talent level, Buffalo man accused of stealing fire truck and burglarizing restaurant, Restringing a flagpole turns into flap over Cheektowaga highway crew on private property, Mike Harrington: Even though he's not on the ice, Matthew Savoie already finding his comfort zone with the Sabres, These strange blue wisps aren't your typical clouds, Historic heat wave disrupts travel in the UK, Norman M. Bragg, 40, of Niagara Falls, watchman, Chester Konieczka, 45, of Hamburg, fireman, Valmour A. Marchildon, 43, of Kenmore, first assistant engineer, Henry Rischmiller, 34, of Williamsville, wheelsman, Stanley J. Satlawa, 39, of Buffalo, steward, Charles J. Sestakauskas, 49, of Buffalo, porter, Arthur E. Stojek, 41, of Buffalo, deckhand. As she was towed across the Atlantic she broke free of her tow in a storm and sank. Around sundown one of the men while looking towards shore collapsed and told Hale that he was, "going to throw in the sponge" and then he just passed on. Now, fortunately, because of the research that our team did over a period of three years from 2018 to 2020 we uncovered a lot of the things that had been hidden for a long time and were able to determine the true cause of the wreck and give some closure to these families, DeBeck said. Meanwhile, Hale and his shipmates on the raft were beset by 60-70 mph winds, tossing them amid up to 30-foot waves. In Dennis Hales own words, The sea was a terrible rage. Alone and at the mercy of the lake, nobody on the raft By nine oclock on that cloudy Tuesday morning of November 29, theMorrellhad been lost for seven hours. After breaking apart the stern had managed to float and power on for 3 hours and about 5 miles before finally sinking. "There's theoretically more than 6,000 shipwrecks in the Great Lakes and some statistics say as many as 10,000," he said. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). At first, DeBeck didnt know how his inquiries would be received. As the ship began to break apart the wind began to push the bow to port. It mentions some of the crew jumping off before the lifeboat washed overboard, but not whether remains were recovered from the bow or stern. For someone who had never met me or talked to me, to come up to me and put that watch in my hand and ask me to do that," he said. www.facebook.com/detroitfreepress/videos/hear-from-sole-shipwreck-survivor-of-the-daniel-j-morrell/10154818405380530/. DeBeck was passing through the Twin Ports and arranged to meet them for dinner at Barkers Island, where about two dozen relatives gathered to learn more about the project. military.wikia.org/wiki/SS_Daniel_J._Morrell Like most of the Great Lakes big ships she was a bulk carrier and spent her career hauling limestone, coal, iron ore, and taconite. By the time he was rescued Hale had spent 40 hours in the elements wearing only shorts, a pea coat, and his life jacket. (Later tests on the 1000 foot lake freighter Stewart J Cort would measure up to 29,500 psi in 15 foot waves whereas a similarly sized 900 foot ocean freighter SeaLand McLean would measure up to 13,000 psi in 30 foot waves). Like so many other stories on the Great Lakes, this one starts with what was to be the last trip of the season heading into late fall. Maybe someone DID photograph their ship's demise. Its about the same equivalent as what they would have moved in ore. The four shipmates huddled together against the brutal elements, for the start of what would be a 38-hour ordeal for Hale. "That was very therapeutic for him," his wife said. Unfortunately for the men no one was looking for them yet as no distress signal was ever sent. In an interview with National Public Radio, Hale said: You could see sparks. www.facebook.com/detroitfreepress/videos/hear-from-sole-shipwreck-survivor-of-the-daniel-j-morrell/10154818405380530/ DULUTH Great Lakes historian and transportation buff John DeBeck visited Duluth on Friday, March 4, to talk about an event that has become a bit of a personal fascination or obsession: the sinking of the Daniel J. Morrell. In fact, the roller coaster ride was just beginning. But Lynn said people often seem inclined to forget just how dangerous a job it was to work the lakes and how many lives have been lost. That vessel also had a cracked deck. 'Too much evidence to acquit,' so why did 2 men walk away after the kidnapping of Virginia Piper? Upon inspection at Sault Ste Marie the Coast Guard discovered severe fractures in the hull in a similar location to where the Daniel J Morrell broke apart. "He told himself he had to stay warm, because he may need to do that some day," his wife said. The watchman knew something was seriously wrong. @skyfire77 But soon he heard another bang, and this one was even louder. Real slow like a piece of paper. I thought he wanted to shake it, but he put a watch in my hand, DeBeck said. The 28 victims included eight local men seven from Buffalo, Hamburg, Kenmore, Williamsville and Niagara Falls, plus a South Buffalo native who had moved to Wisconsin. Early on Monday morning, November 28, while theMorrellslowly lumbered up the Lake Huron coast, Michigan was being socked hard by a blizzard that would become the worst snowstorm in a decade. Thats the only way they knew he was alive.". His life jacket being under the peacoat helped insulate his heart and lungs. As they talked it over and considered what Hale would have wanted, the two agreed donating his collection to a marine museum would be the best way to keep the memory of the Morrell alive. Thats why the first few years after his rescue proved so tough for Hale. The afternoon of the 29th the two remaining men saw land, but were so cold and exhausted they didn't have the strength to try rowing to shore. This is what most likely happened to the Edmund Fitzgerald, too. The power to the pilothouse was cut almost as soon as the ship began her death throws. We were able to determine, without a doubt, that the ship was taking on water because the waves that were hitting the ship, going from starboard to port, actually bent a lot of the hatch clamps that were holding the telescoping hatches down, DeBeck said. Four hours later, seven more bodies were recovered, bringing the total to eight. But the case was far from over. After all, she was being knocked around pretty well by the storm. So were trying to find all these families, and theyre telling me stories that are contrary to what was reported at the time, and theyre giving us clues. Life was a daily challenge, full of hardships and inconvenience. "There have been a lot of good comments, and I think people have been particularly happy about the focus on the crew.". His friend Fuzzy had died just a few hours before, and darkness was once again closing in. Together they stretch east to Long before French explorers of the early seventeenth century discovered the Great Lakes, Indians lived and traded on their shores. And that was kind of the start of us thinking: Somethings not right, he said. "So the crew on the ship was the first real family he knew. The raft drifted away from the bow and about 15 minutes later the bow finally sank completely below the waves. Of course, the most famous Great Lakes shipwreck was that of the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975, with none of the 29 members of its crew surviving the waters of Lake Superior. www.mlive.com/entertainment/erry-2018/04/6584b3a8243241/daniel_j_morrell.html Wearing only undershorts on his lower body, he wasnt bogged down by heavy, frozen pants. Here is Part 3 of "The Kidnapping of Virginia Piper 50 years later. "Each one of them had a crew. 50 years after shipwreck took 28 lives, the lone survivor's tale. @shrimphappens the Fitzgerald was more likely just poor design and her being loaded beyond her design weight for most of her life. Finally, the next day, the raft drifted into shallow water close to shore, near Harbor Beach, Mich. At about 4 p.m. Nov. 30, a helicopter appeared overhead. Just three years earlier, two brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, had created and launched a strange flying machine that would, in 1905, be refined into the worlds first airplane. Wearing only boxer shorts, a lifejacket, and a pea coat, Hale clung to a life raft in near-freezing temperatures for 38 hours until he was rescued late in the afternoon of the following day. We could never catch our breath. She was new enough to not have the brittle steel these older ships did. I dont think theres a better place for it,. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. As often happens with national tragedies, the disaster had a strong Western New York connection. Investigators also later learned that the metal used in such pre-1948 ships the Morrell was built in 1906 was way too brittle to stand up to such harsh weather conditions. Immediately visible after a shipwreck is the scattered debris that drifts and floats aimlessly, bobbing with the rhythm of the waves, sometimes for days. Aircraft enthusiast. And you can see the shuffling action occurred because of the waves, DeBeck said. The life jackets, life rings, fragments of wood and shards of metal, perhaps a disengaged lifeboat oar are all remnants of an earlier violence. @mastermario An incredible survivor story. And the most deadly event was the 1958 sinking of the Carl Bradley in Lake Michigan, claiming the lives of all but two of 35 shipmates onboard. Sole survivor of Lake Huron ship disaster. Norkunas thought the watch might reveal exactly when the Morrells stern sank, as thats where the engineer had been at the time the ship broke in two. 26 of the 28 men who perished were found. The loss of theBradleyin 1958 claimed the lives of thirty-three men, and the sinking of theMorrellabruptly ended the lives of twenty-eight men. Our president was Teddy Roosevelt, the flag had forty-five stars, and Las Vegas was home to only thirty hardy souls. At this point the raft had run aground and was bouncing between boulders. You could hear it ripping. Thats the question Hale supposedly asked Father Cornelius McEchin in his hospital room in Harbor Beach. The stern, still under power, was banging into the bow section and was pushing it to the side. Frostbitten on his feet and hands, exhausted, and nearly starving, the once robust Hale had now lost nearly twenty-five pounds and was too weak to move. The next day, a headline in theChicago Tribunetrumpeted in giant bold letters: 1,000 marooned by snow! This was serious weather. Her outbound voyage to pick up valuable beaver pelts was not an easy one. "It wasn't a pleasant moment from the time the alarm sounded to the time I was picked up. Paintings my friend. And then the winds hit us and it felt like your skin was being peeled off. She was definitely was taking on water. You hear all about the Fitzgerald. From there he could see the forward section of the ship was dark while the aft section remained lit and in between the ship was hogged up. The freezing air temperature was 33 degrees, the fierce winds were gusting to sixty-five miles per hour, and the icy waves were cresting at a staggering twenty-five feet. Great Lakes sailors had always claimed heavy seas were much harsher than the ocean, explaining that Great Lakes waves were short and steep whereas ocean waves were long and rolling. Now that the initial shock and horror of theMorrells loss had vanished from the newspapers, who would listen to the lone survivor and all of the families? Dreams of shifting sweet and smooth Those who heard Hales presentation, including his wife, Mixter, Jahn and Morin, marveled at how he inspired regular people dealing with hardships, convincing them never to give up. The noise. It was so violent the books by his bedside avalanched to the floor. First, early news reports suggested that Hale survived partly by covering himself with the bodies of his three raft-mates. When dawn broke on the 30th Hale recalls, "Praying to live, but hoping to die". And the ship had left Lackawanna on a planned route heading from Lake Erie to Lake Huron and, ultimately, to Lake Superior to pick up iron ore in Taconite Harbor, Minn. Oddly enough, the Morrell had the same number of people on board, 29, as the much more heralded SS Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank in another November storm, on Lake Superior, nine years later. He had sailed for three years, and he knew that these freighters could make a lot of noises. But no one knew. It wouldn't be until 1979 that the bow would be located 5 miles from the stern. Besides making public appearances, writing his book, contributing to another one on the Morrell and appearing in documentaries, Hale also started his own website, greatlakessurvivordennishale.com, before he died from cancer on Sept. 2, 2015. The measurements showed stresses north of 23,000 psi, far greater than what was generally measured on ocean going vessels. Ten thousand homes were without any electricity, and whole communities lost contact with the outside world. ", At 8 p.m. Nov. 28, 1966, Hale, then a 26-year-old watchman, finished his four-hour shift, grabbed some dinner and then crawled into his bunk aboard the Morrell at about 9:30 p.m., according to the book "Queen of the Lakes.". Rather, he would have wanted it to pay tribute to his lost shipmates. What really intrigues me are those photos of the other ship breaking in half. Hale died last year. At this very moment Charlie Fosbender was still alive, lying next to Dennis Hale. It was under tow to be scrapped and they probably knew it had a structurally compromised hull. He asked DeBeck to please include the watch in the exhibit, as a way to honor his Uncle Al. Through her working career the Daniel J. Morrell was updated and refitted. @exage03040 Ships under tow are under constant monitoring, the best sinking photos tend to come from scrapyard trips inadvertently cut short. Experts have said the ice would have lowered his body temperature further, providing him with less chance of survival. It was right around 2am that watchman Dennis Hale was woken from his sleep by a loud bang. You have permission to edit this article. Hale asked the man whether he could cough. The fact that the lifeboats didn't seem to have been prepped even to launch indicates they didn't find out until it was too late to launch the boats. Although theMorrelldisappeared in the early morning darkness during a blizzard on Tuesday, November 29, the first victim was not spotted for thirty-four hours. Hale tried to turn on his light but it was inoperable. @mastermario Excellent write up, thanks for sharing it. The sinking of the Morrell occurred on Nov. 29, 1966 50 years ago Tuesday. But the real story of the Lake Huron shipwreck was the plight of its lone survivor, watchman Dennis N. Hale, of Ashtabula, Ohio. The men gathered around the forward life raft and watched as the ship broke apart. What answers can be Over the months that followed the tragedy, the families grief began to express itself as anger and frustration. At 586 feet long she was one of the biggest ships on the lakes. The watch was passed down to Norkunas father and then to himself. The men were now alone, adrift in howling winds, below freezing temperatures, and cold pounding waves. The Daniel J. Morrell under steam sometime between the years of 1900 and 1920. www.shipwreckexplorers.com/freighter-daniel-j-morrell/ ", SS Daniel J. Morrell shipwreck victims with Western New York ties, Source: Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping Online and Buffalo Evening News. By daybreak two of the four men had already passed away.