Crew of the Cedarville remembered with bell tolling at Lore Museum

by Angie Asam, Staff Writer

Many people gathered at the Great Lakes Lore Maritime Museum Saturday afternoon to remember the tragedy of the sinking of the S.S. Cedarville, which took ten lives on May 7, 1965. Survivor and museum director Dave Erickson gave an account of what happened that fateful day in the Straits of Mackinac. Traveling from the port of Calcite loaded with stone headed for Gary, Indiana in a dense fog the Cedarville was struck by the Norwegian M.V. Topdasfjord.

?The Topdasfjord was an ocean vessel equipped with an ice breaking type bow. We were low in the water because we were heavy with stone and when she hit us her bow was resting on our deck,? said Erickson. The result of the crash was a 10-by-20-foot hole in the Cedarville and the captain decided to make a run and try to beach the Cedarville near Mackinaw City. ?As we headed towards the beach the bow was sinking lower and lower in the water. That?s when we decided to start getting in the lifeboats. It wasn?t long before the bow disappeared and the ship started to roll,? said Erickson.

The water temperature was 36 degrees Fahrenheit, making survival in the water nearly impossible. One of the lifeboats on the vessel did not release because a pin was rusted and not functioning, leaving only one boat for all the men.

Ten men lost their lives that day, F. Donald Lamp, Reinhold F. Radtke, Wilbert Bredow, Edward Jungman, Arthur J. Fuhrman, Stanley Haske, William B. Asam, Charles H. Cook, Eugene F. Jones and Hugh Wingo. The bell was tolled once for each of those men by family members and friends.

In addition the bell was tolled for crewmen lost since the sinking of the ship. Martin Joppich, Angus Domke, Ivan Trafelet, Elmer Emke, Harry Bey, Michael Idalski, William Friedhoff, Billy Holly, Anthony Rosmys, Arthur Martin, Ronald Piechan, Stanley Rygwelski, Harry Piechan, Walter Tulgestke, Ralph Przybyla and Elmer Jarvis.

Erickson then tolled the bell once for all sailors before blowing a salute to the men. Following the ceremony guests were invited to tour the museum, the gift shop and visit with one another.

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