The Christmas Tree Schooner of Chicago and the Ship Delivering Trees Today | North Coast Chronicles

The Rouse Simmons was the original "Christmas Tree Ship" that came to Chicago at the beginning of the holiday season for over 30 years in the early 1900's.  The ship was a three-masted schooner that was easily recognized by waiting crowds when they saw a Christmas tree tied to her main mast and her decks loaded with thousands of Christmas trees destined for Chicago families. The story of the beginning of the Christmas Tree Ship is the story of the Schuenemann family, particularly Capt. Herman Schuenemann and his last ship, the Rouse Simmons, that was lost with all hands. She was last seen on November 23, 2012, between Kewaunee and Two Rivers Wisconsin, with distress signals flying. Join Dr. Theodore Karamanski from Loyola University Chicago and CAPT Scott Smith (USCG, ret), as host, Helen Brohl, gathers the history of the Christmas Tree Ship tradition in Chicago that still lives today on this special holiday episode of North Coast Chronicles!