Missy Clark-Nabozny Original Interview

February 7, 2001

This is the original interview which was conducted on February 07, 2001 with Missy Clark-Nabozny, the granddaughter of John D. Simmons.  John D. Simmons was the first wheelsman onboard the Fitz when it sank.  To read a more recent, follow-up interview (some answers may be different since the interviews were completed 4 years apart), click here.

Question: How many years had your grandfather sailed on the Great Lakes before going down with the Fitz in 1975? Do you know the names of any of the ships on which your grandfather sailed?

Answer: I know that he was aboard another one when he was younger, and he was on the Fitz for 17 years (entire life of the ship).

Question: What do you think happened to the Fitz on November 10, 1975?

Answer: I think there was previous structural damage; it hit a boat seven years prior to the wreck, and I believe it was never fixed.

Question: Do you think that the U.S. Coast Guard did their best when trying to arrange search/rescue parties?

Answer: That is a tough question. I am going to say…they did their best with the knowledge they had. I think there was a delay and they could have acted quicker, though.

Question: Should the Fitz have ever left the port knowing that a storm was on its way?

Answer: They would have left anyway...as any other ore boat would have…there’s no way around it (a storm).

Question: How was your family informed of the loss?

Answer: We were not informed by the Coast Guard, or anyone, we were informed by watching the local news.

Question: The S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald did not have lifeboat drills on a normal basis as they were supposed to. If they did, could this have saved their lives? Why or why not?

Answer: No, because I believe the boat was already damaged, and I think that it happened too quickly for the crew to act on it.

Question: Were you able to attend the consecration of the gravesite or any other memorial services in the past?

Answer: Yes, we have gone twice. (1995 and 2000) Unfortunately, my grandmother never made it to any of them due to her death.

Question: Is the legend of the Edmund Fitzgerald going to live on forever?

Answer: I think so, to the people who are related to the sailors. It will always be a devastating impact in their life, and they will always pass it on; not about the ship, but about the men.

Questions: For people researching the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, what sources would you recommend?

Answer: I recommend going to the Whitefish Point museum and speaking to the locals; they know the most.  You may also want to speak with Tom Farnquist, he is a wonderful man. There is also a book written, called “The Gales of November,” which states many different theories.

Question: Should the wreck site and wreckage of the Fitz be investigated further and/or should it be attempted to raise artifacts from the wreck?

Answer: Absolutely not.

Question: Why are so many people, after twenty-five years, still unaware about the wreck of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald?

Answer: I think it is because it is more of a Midwest “type of thing”; it only has to do with the Great Lakes and nowhere else in the country.

Question: Why does the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald stand out more than all other wrecks in Great Lakes history?

Answer: That is a good question. I think one reason is because of the song, and because there are no answers. There are numerous theories, but no real answers involving the sinking.

Question: What is a memory you have of your grandfather that stands out most at the present time?

Answer: The winter before his last voyage, he came home from the boat. I wanted to go skating really bad, (I loved to ice skate) and he lived five blocks from the ice skating rink.  We ate dinner and he called my mother without me knowing, and surprised me by having my ice skates brought over by my mother, and then taking me ice skating.

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

Answer: He loved to play pool, watch basketball, and walk. His wife and he played solitaire and cribbage all the time, and they hung around the house.

Question: Some people actually believe that the wreck could have been caused by human error…do you believe this, and if not, why?

Answer: I am not saying I would rule it out completely, but I don’t truly believe it.  The crewmembers were like family, and they would never risk or be uncertain of their jobs, nor would they risk each others lives. I do not believe it for one minute.

Question: Have you ever had the opportunity to meet Frederick Stonehouse (author of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald), Gordon Lightfoot (songwriter of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald), or Shelley Russell (director of the 2000 play/production Holdin’ Our Own)?

Answer: I did meet Gordon twice, but of course he met tons of people that day, so I can’t imagine he remembered.

Question: How did the 1975 wreck of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald change/affect your life and the lives of your family members?

Answer: Well, like everyone else, it left us without any real answers. We had no place to go to pay our respects, and it left my grandmother a widow (she was a strong woman). Watching her struggle by herself was awful; you could see her sadness every time you brought it up. Mom was devastated along with her sister because she had nowhere to let it go, nowhere to say goodbye, and no way to deal with it. There were 9 of us grandchildren- the other eight might not have been impacted so much, but they saw our loss, and that hurt them.