Remembering The Bradley

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The bell-ringing ceremony and release of a new documentary, “November Requiem,” which examines the tragedy’s lasting impact, are among the events Rogers City residents will host the week of Nov. 15.

On Nov. 18, 1958, the Bradley went down in a violent Lake Michigan storm. All but two of the 35-man crew were lost. Twenty-three of the dead were from Rogers City, and four more were from nearby communities. Virtually everyone in town was affected by the disaster and suffered from grief and loss. Unbelievably, the community was struck by tragedy again in 1965 when the Cedarville went down in the Straits of Mackinac. Of the 10 lives lost in that sinking, nine were from Rogers City.

Built in 1927, the Bradley was a self-unloading freighter operated by the Bradley Transportation Line. Named for Carl David Bradley, president of Michigan Limestone & Chemical Company and the Bradley Transportation Company, both were headquartered in Rogers City. Mark Thompson, author and curator of the Presque Isle County Historical Museum, explains that in every respect, Rogers City was the Bradley fleet’s home port.

“It’s safe to say that at that time, everyone in Rogers City was either a sailor, a former sailor, or the friend, relative or family member of a sailor,” Thompson explains. “The boats were part of everyday life in Rogers City, and local residents were immensely proud of the Bradley fleet.”

On its fateful day, the Bradley was returning to Rogers City after delivering stone to Gary, IN. When the ship left, moderate winds were blowing, but the forecast warned of gale winds. Captain Roland Bryan set a course skirting the Wisconsin side of Lake Michigan for the protection it could afford. While most freighters were waiting out the storm, the Bradley altered course in late afternoon and began angling toward the Straits of Mackinac. By then, the storm had intensified, with winds reaching 65 mph and nearly 40-foot waves. Despite these conditions, the boat seemed to be holding it’s own, but around 5:30 p.m., two loud thuds were heard, the boat began to shake, and the captain and crew knew they were in grave danger. A general alarm was sounded, followed by the signal to abandon ship. “Mayday! Mayday!” radioed First Mate Elmer Fleming. “This is the Carl D. Bradley, about 2 miles southwest of Gull Island. We’re breaking up! We’re going to sink. We’re going down!”

Fleming and fellow shipmate Frank Mays were the only survivors. In his book, “If We Make It ’til Daylight,” Mays recalls how he was going about his duties as a deckwatch and the next minute fighting for his life. When it became clear the ship was sinking, Mays worked feverishly to free the forward life raft from its bindings. Suddenly, a massive wave struck and Mays and the raft were thrown into the water, but he managed to climb aboard and was soon joined by Elmer Fleming and two other crewmen. During the ordeal, the raft flipped three or four times and each time, Mays and Fleming managed to get back on.

“It took too much energy to look around, so I seldom knew when the next wave was going to hit,” Mays recalls in a recent telephone interview. “The first warning was when I felt the raft being dragged upward to a near-vertical position. The raft would hesitate at the wave’s crest, before either sliding down the backside or flipping again, tossing me back into the water.” The second time the raft flipped, Mays grabbed the lifeline. As he clung, gasping for breath, he realized that the water was warmer than the air. “I wanted to remain in the water, but common sense told that I couldn’t. Water will take away body heat more quickly than air. I had to get back on the raft, or I would die here.” So Mays gathered all his strength and struggled back onto the raft, only to be thrown off and struggle back on again later, weaker and colder than before.

Eventually, Mays and Fleming managed to put the raft’s sea anchor out. With the anchor dragging, the raft stabilized and provided some relief and hope of surviving until morning. “There was never any doubt in my mind that someone would find us if we could last through the night. I prayed a lot and I got pretty scared when I found that there was ice forming on my hair and crusted on my jacket, but I still felt if we could make it ’til daylight, we’d be okay.”

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and some commercial ships were quick to respond to Fleming’s “Mayday” messages and searched for survivors throughout the long, perilous night. On the morning of Nov. 19, the USCG cutter Sundew located the raft with Mays and Fleming aboard. Sadly, the other crew men, Dennis Meredith and Gary Strzelecki, were unable to endure the nearly 15 hours adrift on the raft in pounding waves and freezing temperatures.

On the raft, Mays and Fleming watched the Sundew approach with growing excitement. When the Sundew crew threw lines down, Mays and Fleming were too weak to even reach for the ropes. With the ship and raft still being tossed in nearly 25-foot waves, the crew draped a cargo net over the side and two men, with ropes tied around their waists, jumped down to the raft and passed the men up to others positioned on the cargo net, who then passed them up to other deckhands. While covered in ice and suffering from shock and exposure, the men were finally safe.

In port, Rogers City residents kept a hopeful vigil while a major sea, air and land search ensued. Eighteen bodies were recovered, but the rest were never found. Mayor Kenneth Vogelheim proclaimed Nov. 18 as an annual day of mourning for those lost and some churches held one funeral after another in the same day. At noon, all work stopped on Bradley Transportation Company boats not in port and memorial services were held.

Rogers City resident Betty Kowalski turned 21-years-old on the day of the funeral for her brother, Bernard Schefke, who at age 19 was one of the youngest sailors to lose their lives. “I remember that day as if it were yesterday,” she says. “The weather was gray that day, like the atmosphere in town.”

“When we heard that the boat went down, we did the same thing as everyone else,” she explains. “We waited, we hoped. When we heard that there were survivors, we hoped like everyone else that my brother would be among them. Then we were told that bodies had been recovered and two of my brothers went to Charlevoix to see if Benny was one of them. He was.” It was a time of terrible despair. “The whole town was affected, and it affected everybody for a long time,” she adds. “We were in a state of shock and disbelief. How could this have happened? Was it an accident? Was it neglect? Who was to blame? We imagined the terror that the sailors must have experienced when they realized that the only place they were going was into the water. We relived everything over and over again.”

A U.S. Coast Guard inquiry, launched almost immediately after the sinking, found that the cause was excessive “hogging,” where a drooping bow and stern and bending upwards in the middle cause stress to the hull. Findings also indicated that an undetected structural weakness aggravated by the relentless waves could have contributed to the sinking. Despite Mays’ testimony that he saw the Bradley break in two, it was not until 1997 that an underwater expedition proved that the Bradley was positively in two pieces.

“The actual reason for the Bradley’s loss was hull failure; it pretty much broke in half,” explains Pat Labadie, maritime historian at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Alpena. “Great Lakes ships are very shallow and long compared to any other ships, anywhere. Because they are so long, they bend a lot. In older ships, cracks and weaknesses are accumulated over a period of years and unless they are very carefully watched and maintained, they are at risk of breaking,” he says.

In Rogers City, despair eventually turned to fear, Kowalski says. “Until the Bradley went down, we didn’t think of sailing as a dangerous job,” she explains. “We considered the modern freighters to be safe. We never believed that something like the Bradley going down could really happen. We came to fear the lake and the boats. We feared for our husbands and sons, and I imagine they feared for themselves, too. It was constant fear. Every night I prayed for the sailors and I still do, especially when there are bad storms. At some point though, you have to deal with your fear. You feel it and you know it’s never going to go away, but at some point you have to handle it. You just get the strength from inside and you just deal with it the best that you can.” Kowalski’s husband sailed for many years and she now has a grandson who sails. “Every time I see my grandson, I give him a big hug and tell him to take care,” she adds.

Today, Kowalski is committed to keeping the Bradley story alive. “Because of Gordon Lightfoot’s song, everyone remembers the Fitzgerald. Sometimes it feels like the Bradley has been forgotten. But we’re never going to forget. For me, it’s helpful and healing to talk about it. When I talk to people about my experience, I feel like I’m doing something to keep the memory of the sailors alive. Benny was my youngest brother. At 19, he was a fun-loving kid who was still growing up. I wish I could have experienced him as an adult. I will never forget him and I will do what I can to be sure that he and the other sailors are never forgotten.”

The sinking of the Bradley had a profound, lasting impact on the residents of Rogers City. But according to Mark Thompson, this is not a story of grief and loss alone. It is a story of the community’s persevering spirit. “The Bradley says a great deal about both unimaginable loss and incredible strength of character,” Thompson said. “When people talk about the ‘survivors of the Bradley,’ they are generally referring to Elmer Fleming and Frank Mays, but there were many more survivors than that. The wives, children, and families of all 35 of the Bradley’s crew members all deserve to be considered survivors, and that’s probably also true for almost everyone who lived in Rogers City when the ship went down. It was a tremendously sad and difficult time for our entire community, but we managed to get through it, and I think we were all strengthened by the experience.”

Mays’ life continued to be an example of that strength, and the determination that enabled him to survive in the water enabled him to keep moving forward. He recalls that his dad always told him he could handle any challenges that came along. “My dad would say, ‘Hold your breath and grit your teeth. You can do anything,’” Mays says. “I would remind myself of my dad’s words when life was a little hard.”

In 1959, the Bradley wreckage was located. A sonar recording seemed to indicate that the Bradley was in one piece. “I knew what I saw,” Mays explains. “I saw the Bradley break in half. Suddenly, people were saying that I must have been too young to understand what I saw or maybe I was delirious. I was hurt.” Mays never really forgot the Bradley, but years passed and he made a life for himself. Then, in 1997, Mays was present on a ship exploring the Bradley with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). “We had monitors that showed us everything the ROV saw. We examined both the stern and the bow section…which were approximately 120 feet apart. It was definitely two pieces on the bottom. Seeing the Bradley in such detail made me feel good.”

With the renewed interest in the Bradley, Mays began to receive invitations to participate in special ceremonies and activities, which enabled him to meet Dennis Hale, sole survivor of the Daniel J. Morrell and Harold Muth, captain of the Sundew, whose crew risked their lives in order to save his. Mays was glad to talk with someone like Hale, who could relate to his experiences, and happy to be able to thank Captain Muth again.

In 1999, Mays met Jim and Pat Stayer and Tim Juhl, all of whom collaborated on “If We Make It ’til Daylight,” which was published in 2003. The book is dedicated to Mays’ shipmates who perished in the Bradley, and to the hope that their families find peace.
Mays has led an active life, including working for the Peace Corps and traveling extensively around the world. He is grateful for the selfless acts that resulted in his life being saved. “I have made the most of my life that I possibly could and I do not intend on slowing down anytime soon,” says Mays, now 76. “Take my advice, life is a precious gift and should be enjoyed to the fullest.”

Commemorative Week, More History, and The Documentary
Remembering the Bradley crew and recognizing those that lived beyond the tragedy is the focus of a number of special activities to take place Nov. 15-23 in Rogers City. It includes presentations from divers, historians and authors, and special photography and maritime art exhibits. A bell-ringing ceremony and release of the new documentary are also among the events.

On Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 5 p.m., a commemorative ceremony will be held at Rogers City High School, and will include the ringing of the Bradley’s original bell.

The ceremony will include a memorial roll-call and film that shows the bell removal and replacement with the replica. Family members will each ring the bell in honor of their loved ones, and Betty Kowalski will ring the bell in memory of her brother Bernard. She says the returning the bell to Rogers City was a comfort to the families and a significant step toward healing.“When they brought the bell back, my brothers Joe and Bob and I were able to touch it and that brought us some relief,” she says. “Touching the bell was like touching Benny. It was like a piece of him had been brought back to us.”

In 2007, divers removed the bell and returned it to Rogers City, where it was restored and placed at the Great Lakes Lore Maritime Museum. A replica bell engraved with the names of the lost crew was placed back on the Bradley after the original was removed.

The “November Requiem” documentary will premier on Nov. 18 at Rogers City Theater, where it will be shown several times during the month.

According to Anne Belanger, documentary producer and project director at the Presque Isle District Library, the documentary explores how a small community copes with a disaster that even a half-century later remains vivid in the minds of those who remember. The filmmakers have interviewed witnesses, including Frank Mays, maritime historians and wreck divers familiar with the Bradley’s story, as well as psychologists who explore the grief experienced by the community. Extensive stills, newspaper headlines and home movies of the Bradley and her crew are included. “The documentary shows how the townsfolk have found closure with this 50 year-old tragedy, and what has happened to Rogers City, both emotionally and economically,” Belanger says.

All Michigan Public Broadcasting stations will air the documentary in November (see local listings). DVDs and a soundtrack will be available in early 2009. You can see a film trailer of “ November Requiem ” on YouTube.

Frank Mays, now a Florida resident, will return to Rogers City to speak at a dinner in his honor on Nov. 19.

For details on all commemorative week events, visit carldbradley.org.

Exploring the Bradley
• Presque Isle County Historical Museum: Located in Rogers City on Michigan Street, this museum offers exhibits about local history in the restored Bradley house. The museum typically closes at the end of September, but will re-open Nov. 19-22 as part of the Bradley commemorative activities. A special display entitled “Carl D. Bradley, the Man and the Ship” will run through the end of the year. The photo exhibit traces Bradley’s careers and the ship that bore his name. The museum also has a supply of four different books associated with the Bradley that may be purchased. In addition to Mays’ book, the selection includes “Mayday! Tragedy at Sea,” a recently published book that chronicles the sinking of the Bradley and the Cedarville.

Museum hours each day will be noon until 4 p.m. The museum will again re-open at the end of November for “Christmas at the Bradley House” festivities. See their website for details or call 989-734-4121.

• Great Lakes Lore Maritime Museum: Located in Rogers City on north Third Street, this offers an opportunity to learn about Great Lakes maritime commerce and the stories of men and women whose vocation is connected to this industry. Uniforms and personal possessions of ship captains and sailors offer a glimpse into the daily lives of Great Lakes mariners. Visitors can see a number of ship miniatures, photographs and drawings of Great Lakes vessels, lighthouses, docks and shipping offices.

The museum is also a “Great Lakes Maritime Hall of Fame” with annual inductees joining those whose lives and accomplishments on the Great Lakes are permanently stored and chronicled. Hours through the end of November are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., seven days a week. Hours shorten after the end of November, so call ahead. For more information, visit their website or call 989-734-0706.

• Lakeside Park, Sailors Memorial: This impressive park in Rogers City, on Lake Street between Ontario and Huron streets, stretches over 10 acres of waterfront and beautifully maintained grounds dotted with playgrounds, picnic areas, and a variety of recreational areas. A special feature is the Sailors Memorial, constructed in memory of those lost on the Bradley and Cedarville.

Reader Comments

November 13th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Kate Smith of Port Huron Said:

I have been in the Rogers City area several times, and I knew nothing of this tragedy. I will be sure to visit the museums and park next time I visit! My heart goes out to the families and town affected by this tragedy.
November 13th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Greg Gothro of Grayling Said:

I know just a little bit about the Bradley but have visited the area. I think it is a awesome story. The writer did a good job and thank you for the added information on where to go and see more on the Bradley.
November 14th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Cathryn Allen of Plain City, Ohio Said:

This is a wonderful article – Deborah’s deep passion for reporting and preserving the history of this and similar tragedies gives a depth to her writing that is unparalleled.

I hope you will run more articles from Deborah in the future – she is a credit to her organization and wonderful spokesperson for the importance of remembering those who forged the way for the future of our country’s shipping industry.