Thanks for posting this...I’ve always been interested in this tragedy. And to think that I was only 3 years old when this happened.
There are three theories about the sinking:
1. Unsecured or leaky hatches or vents on deck.
2. Wave action that lifted the bow and the stern up-no support for the center-the ship was loaded and she had been cut in half and lenghten some years before.
3. There were part of the lake where she went down that were shallower than what was on the charts and with the wave action, she may have scraped the bottom which in turn damaged her deck platings.
A good friend of ours had a relative on the Fitz when it sank. I never knew about it until I stumbled on a book on the sinking and the author mentioned our friends name. I was shocked. He had never mentioned the connection during all the years we knew him.
I was also fortunate to have the opportunity to follow the Arthur M. Andersen up the channel into Toledo one summer day. My guests on board didn’t understand why I was so excited to follow the boat. They just thought it was just another lake freighter.