Chicago’s “New” Christmas Ship

Chicago’s “New” Christmas Ship

     “The story of the Rouse Simmons refuses to end.”

Shipwrecks of Lake Michigan

Benjamin J. Shelak

          John Quincy Adams, sixth President of the United States, once said, “The influence of each human being on others in this life is a kind of immortality.”

          I couldn’t help but think of these words on December 6, 2003, as I stood on Chicago’s lakefront, my collar up, braced against a brisk breeze blowing off Lake Michigan. Others were gathered with me – many others. Each had come to Grand Avenue at Navy Pier to pay tribute to the lives lost nearly a century ago on the Rouse Simmons, Chicago’s legendary Christmas Ship. Each had come, also, to see Chicago’s “new” Christmas Ship, the United States Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw. 

          The Mackinaw had sailed into harbor just one day prior with a load of Christmas trees, cut and bundled in Upper Michigan. For four consecutive years, more than fifty organizations, including the United States Coast Guard and its Auxiliary members, as well as the Chicago Christmas Ship Committee, a non-profit charity, have worked diligently to resurrect the spirit of the Rouse Simmons and its captain, Herman Schuenemann. Thousands of Christmas trees have been distributed over the past few years to needy families. The tireless dedication of countless volunteers has made this possible.

A memorial ceremony honoring the sailors lost on the Simmons, as well as all those lost on the Great Lakes in the merchant marine trade, is held each December. The ceremony precedes the distribution of trees.

December 2003 marked the first year I was in attendance at the solemn ceremony, a service filled with emotion and reverence, and held, appropriately, in front of the Navy Pier statue “Captain on the Helm” – an impressive bronze work of art depicting a sea captain fighting for his life in the midst of a storm. The statue pays tribute to sailors lost at sea on the Great Lakes while transporting cargo to Chicago.

The ceremony commenced when the crowd, gathered in front of the statue (and beside the Mackinaw), fell silent. Lake Michigan was the backdrop for the ceremony since the statue is erected at the water’s edge.

Uniformed Officers were present from the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, the Chicago Marine Police, the United States Coast Guard, the International Shipmasters of the Merchant Marine, the Colin Powell Naval Cadets, the Sea Scouts, the Salvation Army, Commodores from area yachting clubs, as well as representatives from many other organizations.

Commanding officers “offered a few words in memory of all lost mariners and, in particular, the mariners lost on the Rouse Simmons,” said Lynn Koepke, a founding member of the Chicago Christmas Ship Committee and former Executive Officer of the Marine Safety Office in Chicago, during an interview I later conducted with her. 

          Also present at the service was an Honor Guard of Shipmasters, assembled near the “Captain at the Helm.” The Honor Guard stood at attention before placing a memorial wreath at the statue. A second, larger wreath was then placed on “the grave” of the fallen sailors and buried at sea.  The wreath had been loaded aboard a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter that approached from the distant horizon, its engines roaring. Hovering above the crowd, the helicopter pilot paused and then “dipped” the front end of his craft slightly forward in a “salute” to the statue below. Honor Guard Shipmasters, in turn, saluted the craft, and the wreath it carried, in an act of respect.

Slowly, the helicopter then flew toward the open waters, circled the lighthouse, and returned to the center of the waters where the crew paused for several moments in memory and reverence. The wreath was then released to the waters below.

While this was happening, those of us on shore stood silent as we listened to the haunting Naval hymn, Eternal Father, played by the Great Lakes Naval Brass Band, also present that day. 

Eternal Father

Eternal Father, strong to save,

Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,

Who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep,

Its own appointed limits keep.

Oh hear us when we cry to Thee,

For those in peril on the sea.

As the Naval band played on momentarily, the helicopter departed, flying into the horizon until it could no longer be seen. Then, Christmas trees began to be carried, one-by-one, on the shoulders of volunteers, off the Mackinaw. These trees were destined for homes all around the city. 

Several volunteers shared heartwarming stories with me during interviews I conducted after the event.  Fred Poppe, Chairman of the Chicago Christmas Ship Committee in 2002, remembered one little girl who was given a Christmas tree and said, “I’ve never had a Christmas tree before.”  The child’s mother, who was standing beside her daughter at the time, responded, “Neither have I.”

Volunteer Lynn Koepke recalled another little boy who received a Christmas tree at a special presentation ceremony he attended with his mom and dad. She remembered the child holding onto the tree, standing as close as he possibly could to it. “He was so excited about that tree,” she said. “And when the volunteers took it from him to tie it up so it could make the journey home, he burst into tears because he thought they were taking his Christmas tree away.” 

After volunteers reassured the child that the tree was only being tied with rope so it could be delivered to his house, his big smile returned.

“It was so special to see how much that little tree meant to him,” said Koepke.

Although the majority of the Christmas trees donated each holiday are distributed through social services organizations, a few evergreens are presented at a symbolic presentation at Navy Pier.  (Also, only a portion of the Christmas trees arrive on the Mackinaw when it sails to Chicago on its regular training mission for the Coast Guard in December. The balance is shipped by truck.)

According to Fred Poppe, every penny donated goes “solely for the acquisition of Christmas trees. Period.”

Poppe further explained to me that the Chicago Christmas Ship Committee chooses one primary charitable organization (such as the Salvation Army or the United Way) who, in turn, select recipient organizations to receive the trees.  “These are community service groups, social service organizations, and also churches that work with the underprivileged,” said Poppe. Ultimately, the trees are then distributed to individual needy families through these charitable groups.

During the 2003 event I was amazed at the number of trucks picking up Christmas trees at the lakeshore – many different trucks with many different business logos painted on the sides of them.  Mr. Poppe explained that private companies make their vehicles available so that trees can be transported to each organization’s base of operation.  The trucks “go off into the neighborhoods” after being loaded at the Army Corps of Engineering parking lot located next to Navy Pier. (The parking lot is made available for the loading of trees, as well as for volunteers to park their cars during the event. Also, the Salvation Army’s emergency service vehicle – filled with hot chocolate, coffee and donuts for everyone helping – is set up in this same area.)

          Volunteer Don Koster, an individual who has contributed countless hours to the Committee over the past few years (and who is said to be “the hardest working fellow” by other volunteers), took time to explain many details surrounding the event with me during my time in Chicago. He currently oversees several aspects of the operation including all the electrical and decorating tasks.   

Countless hands have made the “new” Christmas Ship a reality, and each volunteer has become an heir to the tradition Captain Schuenemann began so many years ago.

The Christmas Tree Ship legend is a story not simply remembered in terms of one man’s life, but rather is a story that continues to be remembered for what that one life inspired in others. Those who have carried the story forward are those who have gleaned from its telling the goodness and hope we each have the privilege of creating in the life of another human being. We literally can “step” into this story and make it our own.

And for those who choose to share a small donation, they may know the satisfaction that somewhere a child will awake on Christmas morn to a tree where no tree would have stood before had it not been for the kindness of a stranger.      

The Mackinaw has carried more than trees to Chicago. It has carried hope. With every tree handed off the ship, a message has come with it to its recipient:  “Someone cares about you. You are not alone.”

The greatness of the Schuenemann story, indeed of every story, is not how it ends, but how it begins. Not how it begins at the beginning, but rather how it begins anew in the heart of each person when the story has ended, or so it seems.

Chicago’s Christmas Ship was “born” into existence through the simple telling of a simple story in the summer of 2000. Coast Guard Auxiliary member Jay Crissey shared the legend of the Christmas Tree Ship with Ray Seebald, Captain of the Port of Chicago, and Jon Nickerson, Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw in 2000 while the Mackinaw was in port.

“Wouldn’t it be great to have a Christmas Tree Ship again?” asked the gentlemen after hearing the story.

This simple question triggered an event that has captured the hearts of many in the Windy City including those involved in the maritime community, charity personnel and civilian volunteers. It is an event that has turned into a “rich maritime tradition” for Chicago.

“By the end of the day, Captain Seebald and Captain Nickerson had jumped on the idea with two feet,” said Mr. Crissey. “From there the whole thing started.”

By Christmas 2000 (the very first Christmas after their conversation), the Chicago Christmas Ship was a reality. A small question had turned into a larger vision.

Jay Crissey served as Vice Chairman for the first two years of the Chicago Christmas Ship under the leadership of Chairman Dave Truitt.  Each of these gentlemen shouldered up many hours, along with Captain Seebald, who was also “extremely instrumental in the planning stages,” according to Captain Truitt. “He made it a point to be present during the development of the entire vision.” The overall program was formalized, and the master operational plan developed, in conjunction with Coast Guard participation.

“We needed support from the commanding officer of the Coast Guard,” said Crissey, “and Vice Admiral James Hull was the man who gave it. Admiral Hull commanded the entire 9^th District of the Coast Guard at the time – which is all of the Great Lakes.”

Mr. Crissey loves sharing his passion for the Chicago Christmas Ship with others.  He told me,  “You can’t be much prouder of this event than I am. Everything we’ve done together in delivering trees to underprivileged children has meant a lot to all of us.”

Before our interview ended, Mr. Crissey said something to me while we were discussing the “difficult places” many of the Christmas trees were destined for. “I was an orphan as a child,” he shared quietly. “It may be that sub-consciously this was a motivating factor for me to help other children whose families have fallen on hard times financially or emotionally.” And “help” he has.

Christmas 2003 marked the 4^th year anniversary of the Chicago Christmas Ship. Following the event, Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago, along with the City Council, presented the Chicago Christmas Ship Committee with a Resolution that recognized their efforts in “bringing the true spirit and meaning of Christmas” into the lives “of children in needy families within the City of Chicago.”

“Be it resolved, that we, the Mayor and Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled in meeting this fourteenth day of January, 2004,” acknowledged the Resolution, “do hereby commend the Chicago Christmas Ship on its goodwill endeavors.” 

Captain Schuenemann changed the lives of people around him, and also changed the lives of people he would never know. These include many of the individuals who have worked diligently and collectively on the Committee over the past four years, presently under the leadership of Chairman Sonny Lisowski, a man with a heart as big as life itself.

          Captain Schuenemann also left his impression on a little girl named Ruthie Erickson who never got the chance to meet him. She was five years old in 1912 and was waiting at the docks with her papa for the Christmas Ship to sail in. Captain Dave Truitt, former Chairman of the Christmas Ship Committee, shared the true story of “Little Ruthie” with me. He also told me about a play that the Chicago Underwater Archeological Society performed in 1990. The drama re-told the legend of Ruthie Erickson who “waited and waited” for the captain in 1912 at the harbor until her father finally said, “Ruthie, everybody is gone. It’s cold. The wind is blowing. We should go home now.”

          The sea of faces along the docks that day in 1912 had dwindled to only those of the Erickson Family. Yet Ruthie wanted to wait longer, telling her papa, “But Daddy, it isn’t Christmas without a Christmas tree.”

          Eventually, the family left that night, carrying only their heavy hearts home with them.

          Captain Truitt was given the honor of playing the role of Captain Schuenemann in the 1990 drama.  At the end of the play, he told the audience, “There really was a Christmas Tree Ship, and there really was a Captain Schuenemann. There also really was a Ruthie Erickson.”

          As fate would have it, Ruthie was present in the packed audience that night in 1990, unbeknownst to the actors and actresses. The 83-year-old had heard about the play and was in attendance with her daughter.

          Then, the “sweet, wonderful, soft-spoken little lady” came forward, “supported by her daughter who helped her up onto the stage one step by one step,” according to Captain Truitt.

          The coincidental meeting of “Captain Schuenemann” and “Little Ruthie” turned emotional. According to Captain Truitt, he looked into the audience which was filled with “older, successful, dignified people,” and everyone was crying.

Captain Truitt, acting on an impulse in his heart, reached for a Christmas tree on the stage and handed it to Ruthie, saying, “I couldn’t give you a Christmas tree in 1912 when you were five because of reasons you now know, but I give this tree to you today. Merry Christmas, Ruthie!”

Ruth (Erickson) Flesvig had waited 78 long years for her Christmas tree, and over the distance of this time, she had told the story of Captain Schuenemann and his Christmas Tree Ship to her children and grandchildren each holiday. Her children later wrote a children’s book about their mother’s memories.

Captain Herman Schuenemann touched the lives of people he would never know, and the volunteers of Chicago’s Christmas Ship are doing the same. They are spending their hearts each Christmas giving a charitable gift of time to others, dispelling some of the darkness in this “weary world” that there may be rejoicing in The Season of Miracles.

And somewhere, a lifetime from today, others may be telling their children and grandchildren about paste ornaments and tin foil stars that once decorated a Christmas tree they received as a child from the Chicago Christmas Ship Committee.

The strength of humanity lies herein: in the willingness for each of us to leave the walls of our own hearts, and our own lives, and connect with the hearts and lives of others. A Babe born in Bethlehem told us so. The life born in the hay had come to say, “Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, serve one another in love, and share. And do unto others, for it is more blessed to give than it is to receive.”

          Serving one another is life’s supreme effort. And may others come to know these words are true because of you.

The spirit of Christmas is found in the singing,

In the bright Christmas trees and the bells that are ringing.

The spirit is found in the lights everywhere,

But the meaning is found in the love people share.

Amish Poem

     Captain Schuenemann once told a Chicago newspaper that he shipped trees every year “because of the joy I find in the eyes of the children that come aboard my ship to find the perfect tree for Christmas.”