It was a stormy night on Lake Michigan in November 1912 when a schooner laden with a festive cargo disappeared.
When the 205-gt Rouse Simmons (built 1868) sank off the shore of Wisconsin, everyone and everything else was lost, including many Christmas trees and its very own Santa.
The incident was recalled recently in a tweet by the American Association of Port Authorities, which said “US ports have a long history of delivering Christmas trees during the holiday season”.
