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Chapter Two
 pg 3  The Middle?

How did the Mackinaw become the Christmas Tree Ship 4 years ago (in 2000?)

This was the hard part of the research, but I finally found my answer in a copy of "Yachting in Chicago 2001" (in PDF format) which is the annual publication of the Chicago Yachting Association. I actually found the article (and explanation) in "Yachting in Chicago 2002" under the heading "Selected Articles From Recent Issues," and the actual article "Chicago's Christmas Tree Ship 2000". How did the Mackinaw become the Christmas Tree Ship?  The article states:

"During the 2000 Chicago to Mackinac Race activities, a conversation aboard Mackinaw turned to the story of Captain Herman Schuenemann and his ship Rouse Simmons - the ship was lost on November 23, 1912 bringing Christmas trees to Chicago. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to remember the old Christmas Ship in some way?

A unique coalition of marine related organizations and individuals formed a committee to do that and something more by raising funds to buy 500 Christmas trees for the less fortunate of the city of Chicago."   (ed. note: The committee was aptly named the Christmas Ship Committee.)

To read the full article, click on The Chicago Yachting Association page "Yachting In Chicago 2002 Issue", scroll down to "Selected Articles - Recent Publications", and click on "Chicago's Christmas Ship 2001" to open/read the PDF file.

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Story copyright © 2003 Lloyd Cook - Images copyright © 2003 A Crane Project