Interview with Joe Sajdak

This is an interview which, though it was conducted on February 08, 2001 with Joe Sajdak, it was not released until mid 2005.  Joe Sajdak is the nephew of Joseph Mazes, special maintenance man onboard the Fitz when it sank. Here are the questions asked and Mr. Sajdak’s answers.

Question: How are you connected to the wreck of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald?

Answer: He [Joseph Mazes] was the brother of my mother; my uncle.

Question: What was the onboard occupation of your uncle on the Edmund Fitzgerald?

Answer: He was the special maintenance man onboard during the final voyage of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Question: Do you think that if there had been more lifeboat drills onboard the ship that they may have survived?  Why or why not?

Answer: No, there was no chance at all.  It was such a vicious storm that they had no time, it just sank too fast.

Question: Do you think the wreck was investigated enough, or was the investigation shut down too soon to find out what really happened to the ship?

Answer: It was investigated enough, but there are many guys that are sailors that didn’t agree with the findings of the U.S. Coast Guard; other sailors think it bottomed out.

Question: What do you think happened to the Big Fitz the night that it sank...over 25 years ago?

Answer: I think it just took on too much water and it broke in half and sank.

Question: What are your feelings about the raising of the bell of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald in 1995?

Answer: I think that it was okay.  There was no harm in it since they put one back, but I want them to do nothing else on the boat.

Question: Have you ever had the opportunity to speak to or thank Reverend Richard Ingalls concerning his yearly church service honoring the men of the Edmund Fitzgerald?

Answer: No, I have never had the opportunity of meeting him.

Question: Do you think that the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald has become too commercial, or that people are exploiting it too much?

Answer: Well, no, I think that it is fine the way it has been going, but I want nothing commercialized on it. If profits are made from anything, I think that some of the money should go to a charity.

Question: How was your family informed about the loss of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald?

Answer: Well, most of them were notified by the television.

Question: Do you think that people who say they are commemorating the ship are really honoring the men, or trying to make a profit from this tragedy?

Answer: Well, I am sure there are some that are trying. If they did make a movie, I would like to see the profit go to some charity.

Question: What did your uncle like to do most in his spare time?

Answer: Fish….he sailed on the lakes the whole season and then he went ice fishing all winter. His first love was fishing.

Question: How long had your uncle been sailing on the Great Lakes before going down in 1975?

Answer: Well, he had been on the lakes for thirty years.

Question: What ships, other than the Fitzgerald, had your uncle sailed on before?

Answer: Not offhand do I know of any.

Question: Was you uncle ever married, and if so, to who?

Answer: No, he was never married. It was hard being a sailor since he wasn’t home much; he would only be home for about 2 months in the winter.

Question: Have you ever had the opportunity to go to the consecration of the gravesite, or to any of the memorial services for the Fitz?

Answer: No, I never did go to any of the memorial services.

Question: What is the best commemoration to the Edmund Fitzgerald that you have come across?

Answer: I have not seen many because I have not been to any other than going to the Soo and seeing the lifeboats. I also went to a museum in Duluth. I do not remember any of it that well, though.

Question: Is there any possibility, in your opinion, that the wreck could have been caused by human error?

Answer: Well, the captain put his ship where others would have never went-he was too close to the island and shoals-and The Anderson said he’d never go where the Fitz went, but we do not know.