Gathering 55 Years After Ship’s Sinking Prompts Museum’s Special Offsite Lecture
Thursday, July 21, 2022 (Toledo, Ohio) – On Saturday, August 13, at 1 p.m., the National Museum of the Great Lakes will host a special lecture at Fifth Third Center Auditorium titled: Daniel J. Morrell: Lost but No Longer Forgotten. The presentation, given by Great Lakes marine historian John DeBeck, will share stories from his research about the loss of the Morrell as well as discuss new discoveries and include the dive footage from DeBeck’s research team.
“In November of 1966, the Daniel J. Morrell, broke in half in a strong storm on Lake Huron— taking with her 28 of the 29 crewmen, “shares Chris Gillcrist, Executive Director of the National Musuem of the Great Lakes. “Only one of her crew, Dennis Hale, lived to tell the story of what happened.”
In 2018, presenter John DeBeck began the research that would become his book The Daniel J. Morrell: Lost but No Longer Forgotten. DeBeck was a 33 year friend of Dennis Hale, who passed away in 2015. DeBeck spent months re-locating the families of the 29 crew members to learn their stories. With his research bringing up more questions than answers, DeBeck then assembled a team to get to the bottom of what really caused the ship to sink.
“After being separated for 55 years, many of the families and important guests stated they would like to have an annual gathering to stay in touch,” recalls DeBeck about his upcoming lecture in Toledo. “As a fair number of the families are within a day’s driving distance or less of Toledo, I thought working in partnership with the museum would help provide the ideal place for our gathering.”
Due to capacity limitations and because a large crowd is expected to attend, the lecture will not be held at the National Museum of the Great Lakes and instead will take place at the auditorium located on the 2nd floor of Fifth Third Center. Tickets are $5 for NMGL Members and $8 for non-members. For additional information and to purchase tickets visit nmgl.org/events or call 419-214-5000.
