It's a bit early in the season, but I am just turning this out for the
December issue of a particular publication and there's a pretty decent
sea story (even if not told all that well) he



Of Christmas Ships

In maritime communities all across North America, it has become
customary for boaters (in regions not frozen over for the winter) to
decorate vessels with electric lights. Flotillas of sparkling,
flashing, and glowing boats parade for the sheer joy of spectacle and
the benefit of spectators ashore. Lighted boat parades and other
holiday cruises can be a very good excuse to enjoy boating during a
month when conditions may be less than ideal.

A remarkable tale of some famous ships closely associated with the
Christmas holiday is better known in the Midwest than out here on the
Pacific Coast, and may be worthy of a moment's consideration as we
busily prepare for Seafair's (Special People's) Holiday Cruise,
community lighted boat parades, or make plans to be aboard or follow in
the wake of the Argosy Christmas fleet.

It is said that the tradition of erecting a Christmas tree can be
traced to Martin Luther. Luther may have been among the first to adopt
as "Christian" an ancient pagan custom of bringing evergreens into
a home during the winter solstice, but Christmas trees were not in
common use in America until the latter half of the 19th Century.
Clement C. Moore's 1822 poem, "A Visit from Saint Nicholas"
(commonly referred to as "The Night Before Christmas") mentions St.
Nicholas driving a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer and a "jolly old
elf" sliding down the chimney to deliver presents, but makes no
mention of a Christmas tree at all. In the decades following the Moore
poem, Christmas trees eventually joined "stockings hung by the
chimney with care" as indispensable trappings for a proper observance
of Christmas.

Chicago was a full scale metropolis in the 1890's, and the burgeoning
population created an enormous demand for Christmas trees every winter.
The evergreen saplings were typically cut in Wisconsin or Michigan, and
hauled to Chicago as the last voyage of the year for lumber schooners,
barges, tugs and other vessels ready to lay up for winter. Some of the
vessels used were in questionable condition, and captains were known to
try to redeem an otherwise unprofitable year by overloading a ship with
Christmas trees. Catering to a seasonal market, the Christmas tree
ships would try to sail as late in November as possible. Late November
is a time infamous for stormy weather on the Great Lakes.

Most of the Christmas trees were wholesaled to dry goods stores and
grocers, and then retailed in turn to families throughout Chicago. The
Schuenemann family became famous for retailing trees directly from the
decks of the family lumber schooners, decorated with strings of
electric lights and tied up at the Clark Street Bridge. A good tree
sold for 75-cents, and families unwilling to settle for less than the
finest available would spend up to $1 for the premium specimens.
Beginning in 1887, the arrival of the Christmas tree ship at the Clark
Street Bridge signaled the official beginning of the holiday season for
many residents of Chicago. The Schuenemann family gave away hundreds of
trees each year to needy families unable to afford the 75-cents
required for purchase.
In November 1898, Augustus Schuenemann arrived at Jacksonport,
Wisconsin with a newly acquired ship, the "S. Thai." Schuenemann
had purchased the 30-year old boat for $300 and hoped to recover his
investment with a profitable Christmas tree run. Schuenemann and his
crew of ten loaded a cargo of trees and sailed for Chicago. The weather
didn't hold. Bessie Stone, daughter of the general manager of
Associated Press, lived along the lake shore, not far from Chicago, at
Glencoe, Illinois. Ms Smith observed "S. Thai" about a mile and a
half from shore and foundering in a gale. Smith alerted the Life Saving
Service, but the seas were too dangerous for the Service to risk a boat
and crew.

Reporters from various Chicago newspapers heard of the ship's
distress and raced to the train depot to catch any available train
headed to Glencoe. Before the reporters arrived, "S. Thai" broke up
on a sandbar and all hands were lost. One reporter borrowed a lantern
and went down to the beach, where he discovered "Chests, doors,
pieces of rail, broken timbers showing rot where the bolts had pulled
through" and Christmas trees. Hundreds and hundreds of evergreens
washed up on the shores of Lake Michigan, and for many Chicago families
(particularly the poor) 1898 would be a Christmas without a tree.

The Schuenemann family persisted in the Christmas tree trade.
Augustus' bother Hermann would bring trees to the Clark Street Bridge
and sell them directly to the public. Perhaps Hermann believed he had
escaped his brother's fate when another overloaded Christmas tree
ship, the "Mary Cullen," went down in a storm but Hermann and his
crew were saved.

In 1910, Hermann Schuenemann acquired a 1/8 interest in the "Rouse
Simmons." This vessel was built in 1868 and was about 120-feet LOA,
and large enough to carry a sufficient supply of trees to a growing
number of annual customers. On November 21, 1912, the Rouse Simmons
departed Thompson, Michigan, with a load of Christmas trees for
Chicago. The weather appeared threatening, but despite misgivings among
the crew the "Rouse Simmons" set sail. One crewman concerned about
the weather, (Bill Sullivan), left the ship as it was departing and
said he intended to take the train back to Chicago. Bill Sullivan was
the only man aboard "Rouse Simmons" for any portion of November 21,
1912 ever seen alive again.

Thompson, Michigan is about 240 miles from Chicago. In good weather,
sailing ships routinely allowed two days to make the passage. The
weather turned wicked, and seven days after leaving Thompson the
"Rouse Simmons" was spotted about halfway along the route and in
serious distress. The revenue cutter "Tuscarora" was dispatched to
rescue the crew of "Rouse Simmons", but was unable to locate the
vessel in the storm.

Scattered evergreens and scraps of a broken schooner once again began
appearing along the shores of Lake Michigan. The storm was so intense
that as the wind shifted through different quarters Christmas trees
were driven onto the beaches all around the lake. A bottle was
discovered years later (1927) with a note that read, "These lines
were written at 10:30 PM. Schooner R.S. ready to go down about 20-mi SE
of Two Rivers Point, between 15-20 miles offshore. All hands lashed to
one line. Good-bye."

It looked as though the wreck the "Rouse Simmons" might put an end
to the tradition of Christmas trees sold at the Clark Street Bridge,
but Hermann's widow (Barbara) and his daughter collected some of the
trees washed ashore and ordered others brought to Chicago by train. By
mid-December of 1912 the Schuenemann's were selling Christmas trees
at the Clark Street Bridge from the deck of the schooner "Oneida".
Schuenemann Christmas trees continued to be popular in Chicago until
the early 1930's when Barbara Schuenemann passed away. Assisting the
Schuenemann family each year at the Clark Street Bridge was "Big
Bill" Sullivan, the crewman with the premonition of disaster who
returned to Chicago by train and thereby avoided the fate of his
shipmates aboard "Rouse Simmons".

As we participate in lighted boat parades, host the developmentally
disadvantaged, and engage in other holiday related activities this
season, it may be well to consider that boats and ships have long
"brought Christmas" to waterfront communities. The bittersweet tale
of the Schuenemann family reminds us that in some years, Christmas may
come at quite a cost. Amidst visions of storm tossed evergreens washing
ashore on moonless winter nights, it may be comforting to consider that
Christmas will find a way, nonetheless.