In the latest episode of Milwaukee Record 1-Minute History, written and directed by Mitch DeSantis, you’ll learn about Milwaukee’s first Christmas tree, a Christmas tree maritime disaster, and a Milwaukee-area Christmas tree innovation. Take it away, Mitch!
Milwaukee’s first Christmas came in the early 1830s, when Solomon Juneau and Horace Chase cut down a hemlock tree and Juneautown families gathered around what was likely the city’s first Christmas tree in Chase’s cabin. Imagine complaining about the drafty cabin, no cookies, drunk uncle, and the kids getting “whittled wooden Jesus” instead of a game system.
That modest hemlock helped grow Wisconsin’s Christmas tree trade, but shipping was a Great Lakes nightmare, trickier than dodging a coworker trying to push Girl Scout cookies like they’re moving product for a cartel.
The Milwaukee-built schooner dubbed the Rouse Simmons, captained by Herman “Captain Santa” Schuenemann, sank in 1912 under overloaded holiday evergreens, going under faster than my dignity at an open bar holiday party.
Fast forward to 1959, and Manitowoc debuts the Evergleam aluminum tree, the perfect tree for your tinfoil-hat uncle, convinced it blocks 5G space lasers and his ex-wife’s lawyer.
From that first Juneautown Christmas to shipwrecks and shiny Evergleams, Wisconsin keeps finding ways to gather around a tree and celebrate together. Happy holidays!
Bibliography
“Milwaukee’s first Christmas.” Milwaukee Free Press (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), Dec. 18, 1904. Wisconsin Historical Society, Wisconsin Local History and Biographical Articles collection. https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Newspaper/BA10679
Harding, Bethany. “Solomon Juneau.” Encyclopedia of Milwaukee. University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. https://emke.uwm.edu/entry/solomon-juneau/
“South Side (1867).” Wisconsin Shipwrecks. Wisconsin Sea Grant and Wisconsin Historical Society. https://wisconsinshipwrecks.org/Vessel/Details/577
“Rouse Simmons (1868).” Wisconsin Shipwrecks. Wisconsin Sea Grant and Wisconsin Historical Society. https://www.wisconsinshipwrecks.org/Vessel/Details/541
“Kate Hinchman (1862).” Wisconsin Shipwrecks. Wisconsin Sea Grant and Wisconsin Historical Society. https://wisconsinshipwrecks.org/Vessel/Details/338
“Ever Gleaming.” Wisconsin Historical Museum. Wisconsin Historical Society. https://historicalmuseum.wisconsinhistory.org/explore/ever-gleaming/
Haubrich, Paul. “Class of 1839: Horace Chase.” Milwaukee Independent, Apr. 10, 2016. https://www.milwaukeeindependent.com/articles/class-of-1839-horace-chase/
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