Coast Guard ship to deliver Christmas trees

[December 03, 2013]  CHICAGO (AP) — A Michigan-based Coast Guard ship will carry on a holiday tradition by delivering Christmas trees across Lake Michigan to Chicago.

It was in the late 1800s that Herman Schuenemann (SHOO'-nay-mehn) captained ships carrying evergreens from Michigan to Chicago. He carried on that tradition for three decades until his Christmas ship sank in 1912, killing him and more than a dozen crew members.

Chicago's boating community has been organizing Christmas tree deliveries for 14 years, in part, to honor Schuenemann and his ill-fated crew.

This year, the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw will haul more than 1,200 Christmas trees across the lake. It's scheduled to arrive in Chicago on Friday morning.

En route, it'll pay tribute to Schuenemann and his crew by dropping a wreath into waters where their ship went down.

[Associated Press]

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