New Findings on Fate of the Christmas Tree Ship
From the website: 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
