Videographer and author Ric Mixter has spent decades following … and even once visiting … the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. He has done a video compiled his investigations in the past and now has released a book based on his reporting and personal experiences. He tells us Tattletale Sounds, The Edmund Fitzgerald Investigations, has "30 new unpublished about the Fitz." The book benefits from Ric's numerous interviews with major connections to the sinking, from those who built it to crew members not on the ship that day to those who searched for the wreck. Several have since passed on, and this is a record of their observations. The book covers the building to the flight that located the wreck and beyond. Ric also was on the 1994 "DeepQuest" expedition to the site mounted by Frederick Shannon that resulted in a controversial long-distance shot of a lost crewman underwater. Ric tells about the decision to use that shot, how the intention was respectful and the person was not identified or even prominently in view. He also describes his sub dive to the site. The book brings Ric's fine sense of storytelling, honed through years of broadcast reporting and now decades of maritime interest and history gathering. We asked Ric a few questions about his latest work and how he came to his love of maritime heritage.
What got you interested in maritime heritage?
I grew up south of Marquette, and we'd ride our bikes to the docks to swim. The stories of the lakes really caught my attention, so we added a stop to the library as part of our
trek to town. Fred Stonehouse's books were a fave. My real maritime journey began as a TV cameraperson covering the Jupiter tanker explosion in Bay City. It was a shipwreck in my town, and I was there for two full days in a live truck. I walked the deck of the melted ship after it was extinguished and caught the bug. I was certified in SCUBA in 1991 and won several awards for underwater video in Lake Huron. I wrote the 1913 Storm documentary for WNEM in 1993 and my first Fitzgerald documentary in 1994.
How many books have you written on maritime topics?
Three books and about a dozen magazine articles; 15 podcasts including a four-hour cast on the Edmund Fitzgerald. Also the first CDROM on the Fitzgerald and three documentaries on the Fitz: "Expedition '94 to the Fitzgerald", "The Fitzgerald Investigations" and "Tattletale Sounds" for PBS. My books include The Wheelsmen and Bottled Goodbyes.
It seems like there are a dozen or more Fitz themed books. Why do you think this one wreck so resonates with people?
When 29 men vanish on a lake during a "recent" storm, it tends to bring attention. The loss seems to resonate with some folks while the mystery of why it sank attracts many others. Some are very angry about dives to the wreck, and others want to know every detail. Regardless, I find many people who come to lectures who aren't interested in any other shipwrecks … and others who think the Fitz gets too much limelight.
What sparked this book for you, and what was the path to researching the topic?
I had such great access to the men who built the ship near Detroit, and I had met three third mates from the Fitz. I had interviewed Jean Michel Cousteau and Capt. Jim Wilson from the original Coast Guard investigation, and I felt my thoughts on the 1994 dive that found the first and only crewman from the Fitz was worth sharing. All of the materials I had found wouldn't fit in a 60-minute documentary or a four-hour podcast, so the book was the best place to share what I had learned. And when our expedition leader (Frederick Shannon) passed away without publishing his book, I felt that chapter needed to be told as well.
What is the fresh perspective you are bringing? Do you feel this is the "definitive" what happened to the Fitz history?
Everyone on board died, so I can't say it's definitive. What I can say is it's not my opinion. It's the professional opinion of every person who built, sailed and investigated the ship. It's a fly-on-the-wall perspective on all of the details that were missing from all of the other books published. Who were the men who built the ship? Who found the ship and how did they do it? What was the ride over Lake Superior like for the Woodrush? What were the issues with every expedition and what did they add to the story? Everyone who has read the book has told me they learned something new, and many have a new opinion on what happened. That's very gratifying with a topic that seemingly has been explored in books since 1978.
What has been some of your favorite responses to the new book?
Fred Stonehouse was very kind to share his positive thoughts on the book – his opinion (along with Capt. Wilson's) were the most important. Capt. Jim attended my PBS fundraising appearance in Royal Oak, Mich., just before he passed. His thoughts about my lecture are also close to my heart. Other comments have been on the details that few people knew – (Capt. Bernie) Cooper's first testimony vs his recorded comments. (The Arthur M. Anderson added the search.) Comments from Anderson First Mate Morgan Clark and the transcript of the search. People seem to love the flight commentary from the Illinois squadron that pinpointed the wreck 500 feet below the waves. My personal dive (and the cameraman who dove after me) also make the book unique. I saw details that no one else has published and I think that makes Tattletale Sounds special.
Anything you wish we'd asked?
I am most excited that maritime museums have embraced my books. These are places that still captivate my imagination when it comes to maritime history, and it means the world to me that groups like the National Museum of the Great Lakes, The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society and the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association can make money to continue their efforts through material I write and produce. My book is a top seller at the museum at Whitefish Point and that brings a great smile to know shipwrecks are being discovered thanks to the revenue that Tattletale Sounds and Bottled Goodbyes brings in.