The Christmas Tree Ship

With the scrumptious smell of Grandma's ginger cookies surrounding them, the cousins would gather around Grandpa as he sat close to the crackling fire in his "remembering rocker." Grandpa Axel's story of Captain Herman Schuenemann, known to many as Captain Santa, was our favorite.

In November of 1912 the Great Lakes schooner *Rouse Simmons* set off from a small town on Michigan's Upper Peninsula with its traditional load of trees, bound for Chicago. The captain would sell the trees for 50 cents or $1.00 and even gave many away to needy families. The ship had been affectionately nicknamed the "Christmas Tree Ship." These trees would be sold, as many had been throughout the years, at the docks in Chicago.

Author Carol Crane recalls her grandfather telling of the storm that took the shipmen's lives, their festive cargo, and the schooner down to its final watery resting place. True to the newspaper accounts of the day, Carol eloquently includes in her story how Captain Schuenemann's wife, ever dedicated to her husband's memory, carried on his tradition of delivering Christmas trees.

Using oils and acrylics, Chris Ellison captures the humanity and emotion of this timeless tale.