A new maritime festival is being planned in Mackinaw City, inspired by a wish to honor those who served and died on the S.S. Cedarville freighter in 1965. The festival will be May 7 and 8.

The idea for the commemoration occurred to Dick Moehl, of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association,when he was serving as the bell ringer for the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald memorial service. He thought Mackinaw City should have a similar event for the Cedarville.

While sailing in a pea soup fog near the Mackinac Bridge May 7, 1965, the 588-foot, self-unloading freighter S.S. Cedarville was rammed by the Norwegian freighter Topdalsfjord. Mortally wounded, the Cedarville rolled and sank while trying to make it to shallow water. Ten of her crewmembers perished. Twenty-five men survived the frigid spring waters of the Straits of Mackinac, with the German vessel Weissenberg responding in rescue efforts and the Coast Guard icebreaker Mackinaw bringing the survivors safely to shore.

Mr. Moehl felt a ceremony should be held in the village, where the Mackinaw is retired as a museum.

Ed Brewster, a surviving member of the Cedarville, and his wife, Jean, loved the idea, Mr. Moehl said.

"That got my juices flowing," he said.

Sandy Planisek of the Mackinaw Area Historical Society and Mr. Moehl began meeting with the Brewsters about a year ago. They listened to Mrs. Brewster talk about the sinking from a wife's point of view, which Mr. Moehl found fascinating.

"It really cemented the idea for me that we really needed to do something," he said.

Mrs. Brewster told The St. Ignace News she felt the ceremony was a good idea, but she was concerned about the day it would be conducted. Rogers City, where most of the crew members of the Cedarville were from, holds an annual ceremony in honor of the sinking. She asked them to arrange the Mackinaw City event so that it would not compete with the one in Rogers City, and the organizers took her request to heart. The ceremony was slated for Friday, May 7, a day before the Rogers City event.

As the details of the ceremony were worked out, Mr. Brewster became sick. Before he died, Mr. Moehl promised him he would make the ceremony a reality.

"This came out of the last parting moments of Ed Brewster," Mrs. Planisek said.

Mrs. Planisek and Mr. Moehl traveled to Rogers City to speak with Leonard Gabrysiak, who was at the wheel of the Cedarville at the time of the accident. Mr. Gabrysiak helped track down the remaining survivors of the sinking so they could be invited to the event. Seven survivors were found and sent invitations. So far, three have responded, saying they will attend.

While the memorial planning is underway, it has become more than a simple ceremony.

"It's evolved into a community celebration of our maritime history," said Dawn Edwards, executive director of the Mackinaw City Chamber of Commerce. The celebration also begins the Mackinaw City tourism season a week earlier than normal, she said.

The festival is centered on a ceremony on the Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum. Mr. Gabrysiak will read the names of those who died when the Cedarville sank, while Dick Campbell will ring the Mackinaw's bell each time a name is read. Mr. Campbell served on the Cedarville before it was so named, Mr. Moehl said.

Each time the bell rings, it will be echoed by the fog signal bell in Conkling Park. The fog signal echo is fitting, Mr. Moehl explained, as it was foggy when the Cedarville went down. A blessing of the fleet will follow the Cedarville ceremony. Anyone who has a vessel in the water at that time may bring it for the ceremony.

"It seems like a logical step that if we're honoring the people that died on the ship, that we have a blessing of the fleet so that it never happens again," Mrs. Planisek said.

Mr. Moehl wants to have the Coast Guard present for the ceremony, along with the new icebreaker Mackinaw to rest near the site where the Cedarville sank, about two miles offshore of Mackinaw City. He is also working to have a helicopter fly over during the ceremony, as well as launching a red flare from the site of the sinking.

Three songs have been written by musician Dan Hall about the Cedarville, the Mackinaw, and the blessing of the fleet.

Several maritime activities will follow the ceremony. Tours of the Mackinaw will be conducted, and the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse and McGulpin Point Lighthouse will open that day. Admission to the lighthouses will be free. A ride to the site of the Cedarville sinking is slated, although a price has not been set yet.

Residents and visitors will be able to talk to the Cedarville survivors at the Mackinaw Area Public Library later that day. A lighthouse slide show byTerry Pepper of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association is planned. That night Mary Steward Adams will discuss how sailors used the stars to navigate.

A free tour of the state marina will be available Saturday. The Mackinaw City Historic Village will open that day and will have free admission. At noon, the Mackinaw Area Historical Society will host a fish boil. Speakers at the McGulpin Point Lighthouse in the afternoon will wrap up the day.

As festival organizers continue to plan the event, some elements may change. Mr. Moehl says that they are doing their best to make the new attraction a memorable one.

"I want this initial event to be so special that it can never be turned down in the future," Mr. Moehl said.