Ever Hear Of The "Christmas Tree Ship"?

[Dinger]

I know it isn't that time of year, but the author of books on the Christmas Tree Ship came and visited our school today. Her name is Rochelle Pennington. It was fantastic! Captain Scheunemann would give trees to orphanages and people who otherwise not have a tree. It was a very special time for the people of Chicago when the Christmas Tree Ship came to the Clark Street Bridge and delivered the trees. Christmas wasn't Christmas till "Captain Santa" brought his special cargo. Here's a link, with good background and video:



http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/highlights/archives/2006/12/tree_ship.asp


"During the 19th century, Chicago was one of the busiest shipping ports in the world. By 1875 nearly 21,000 vessels cleared the port of Chicago annually. A Great Lakes ship carried nearly every commodity that passed through the bustling city, and Christmas trees were no exception. Each year, several sailing ships ended their season by loading evergreens in northern Wisconsin or Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and setting sail for Chicago, where they offloaded their trees to end their shipping season.

Many Christmas tree ships sold their cargo to wholesalers, freeing themselves of the burden of selling off thousands of trees one at a time. Other captains, however, taken with the holiday spirit, turned their ships into floating tree lots along the Chicago River, welcoming customers aboard and taking great pride and pleasure in their business. One of these captains was Herman Schuenemann. Each November, Captain Schuenemann loaded the schooner Rouse Simmons to nearly overflowing with evergreens in Thompson, Michigan. After sailing to Chicago, Captain Schuenemann moored his vessel to a downtown pier, hoisted a decorated tree up the mast and strung electric lights throughout the rigging, turning his ship into a large Christmas ornament


Divers descend on the bow
of the Rouse Simmons.
In November 1912, however, Captain Schuenemann and the Rouse Simmons never arrived at Chicago. Following a raging storm that swept Lake Michigan, the Rouse Simmons and her crew were never seen again. Lost with all hands somewhere on the lake, the location of the Rouse Simmons' wreck would remain a mystery until 59 years later when Milwaukee diver Kent Bellrichard discovered the vessel's remains in 165 feet of water 12 miles northeast of Two Rivers, Wisconsin. The discovery solved the mystery of where the Rouse Simmons sank, but additional questions remained — why did the ship sink, and what happened during her final moments? These questions provided the focus for a two-week archaeological survey by the Wisconsin Historical Society during the summer of 2006. Led by Maritime Preservation and Archaeology Program staff, a team of primarily volunteer divers from around the country conducted the survey project. Due to the wreck site's great depth, as well as a chilly 42 degree water temperature on the lake bottom, divers only made one dive per day, spending 45 minutes gathering photographs, measurements and data, with an additional 45 minutes spent slowly ascending to the surface to avoid decompression sickness, or the bends."