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Cathy Wurzer

Remembering a fierce Great Lakes storm

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The Mataafa
The Mataafa was one of the ships caught on Lake Superior during the storm of 1905. Duluth residents watched as the ship's drama played out only 700 feet from shore.
Hugh McKenzie, Lake Superior Maritime Collections, UW-Superior

Dozens of ships were on Lake Superior making the season's last run when the storm hit. The stories from that night are harrowing -- stories of crew members freezing to death, and others who survived by dancing around bathtubs set ablaze.

The disaster was so extreme that, in its wake, Congress appropriated money for the now-famous Split Rock Lighthouse on Lake Superior.

Split Rock Lighthouse
The Split Rock Lighthouse is an icon on the North Shore. It was the wreck of the Madeira in 1905 that prompted Congress to appropriate funds for the lighthouse, which was erected near the spot where the Madeira sank.
Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society

Curt Brown tells the story in a new book, "So Terrible a Storm: A Tale of Fury on Lake Superior." Brown is a reporter at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, where he has worked for 20 years.

Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer talked with Brown, who says the story first caught his attention when he was on a family trip up north.

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The Mataafa
The Mataafa was one of the ships caught on Lake Superior during the storm of 1905. Duluth residents watched as the ship's drama played out only 700 feet from shore.
Hugh McKenzie, Lake Superior Maritime Collections, UW-Superior
2 of 2
Curt Brown
Curt Brown is the author of "So Terrible a Storm: A Tale of Fury on Lake Superior."
Courtesy of Voyageur Press