As I sit here in my warm home the day after Thanksgiving, the wind is blowing a gale from out of the northwest, making the windows give an occasional soft moan or shudder in disgust at such treatment as they are receiving today. This cold front that passed through early this morning harkens back to 100 years ago at this hour, when the schooner Rouse Simmons settled on Lake Michigan's floor laden with 5500 balsam and spruce trees, taking the lives of as many as seventeen of her crew. We do not know exactly who was aboard the ill-fated Christmas Ship on this, her last, voyage. Because this was a special trip every year, and not part of a regular schedule kept by the vessel, records are scarce if not actually missing. But it is at times of reflection like today, an accounting of those lost so long ago seems most appropriate.
After consulting Fred Neushel's excellent book, Lives and Legends of the Christmas Tree Ships (Copyright 2007, University of Michigan Press), we do have information on most of those aboard. Certainly, Captain Herman Schuenemann was aboard and lost as was Captain Charles Nelson, a longtime friend of the Schuenemann family and most likely in command of the last voyage, having much more sailing experience than Captain Herman. Also, confirmed aboard was the first mate, Steven Nelson, sailors Charles Nelson, Frank Carlson, Engwald Newhouse, Philip Larson, Gilbert Swanson, the cook, Albert Curta and Philip Bausewein, steward. These names were reported in the German-language newspaper Die Illinois Staats-Zeitung on December 6th. Others who may have been aboard, (actually probably were aboard) were day laborers and woodcutters not mentioned in the newspapers. Theodore Charrney, a historian who interviewed family and friends of those lost that day, recorded that William Oberg, Jacob Johnson, Sven Inglehart and Andrew Danielson were, also, on that ill-fated trip. That still leaves three unaccounted for if the crew numbered seventeen. It was not uncommon for children in those days not to be included in the ship's manifest. Perhaps some extended family of the crew members were lost in that storm. I guess we will never know.
Other mysteries surround this foundering. A surviving member of the crew, Hogan Hogansen, was quoted as saying he didn't make the trip because he felt the Simmons unsafe and overloaded. He returned to Chicago by train from up north. There may have been a heated discussion between the two Captains before departing from Thompson's Pier on November 22nd. Also, why did they not find a safe harbor in the coves and anchorages around St. Martin or Washington Islands or even Sturgeon Bay when the weather turned grim. Maybe, as Fred Neushel mentioned in his book, they were not thinking about not making it, they were focused only on succeeding. Again, we will never know.
What we do know is the sinking feeling that encompasses everyone who comes into contact, one way or another, with the loss of a ship. That feeling many of us had at the news of the Bounty sinking off of the Carolina coast in Hurricane Sandy late last month with the loss of two hands. It is a grim reality check, things will forever be different. It is our responsibility to remember and grieve, but then move on with a purpose and a renewed spirit that we can do more for others with our own time that we have left on this earth. To me, that is the true message of the story about Captain Schuenemann and the Rouse Simmons. After all, it is what his wife, Barbara, did for the rest of her life, as well as his daughters, Hazel, Pearl and Elsie. Their continuing the family business long after this tragedy is a wonderful example to us all, and something to be very thankful for this weekend.
Fair Winds!
Lee
http://www.amazon.com/Lives-Legends-Christmas-Tree-Ships/dp/0472033662
Copyright November 23, 2012 by Lee Murdock
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Friday, November 23, 2012
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Radio playlist press release
Press Release: Here We’ll Stand, The War of 1812 and the Struggle that Forged Two Nations
Lee Murdock, Depot Recordings, PO Box 11, Kaneville, IL 60144 www.leemurdock.com
Internationally acclaimed folksinger and historian, Lee Murdock, from Kaneville, Illinois, has released a new CD titled: Here We’ll Stand, his 18th. The songs on this recording are centered on the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, a struggle between the young United States and Great Britain for the riches of North America. Caught in the middle were native peoples, whose land and culture were forever changing with the influx of settlers from the cities of the east coast. Also, American land speculators looked longingly north of the border to the fertile lands of Upper Canada, now the province of Ontario, to continue the “American experiment of democracy.”
The stage is set with Jefferson and Liberty, which is a traditional American song from the campaign and election of 1800 and followed quickly by Loyal She Remains (Alex Sinclair), giving the Canadian or loyalist perspective. Then Rebecca’s Lament (James Keeleghan) speaks about the American frontier and the intermingling of pioneer and native peoples.
The war starts with The Constitution and Guerriere, written by the victorious American sailors who fought on “Old Ironsides” in the mid-Atlantic in August of 1812. In The Shannon and Chesapeake, the British returned the favor the following May off of Boston Harbor. The Gullible Americans chronicles the loss of Michigan territory in the first two months of the war from the perspective of a British officer. The tales continue in Lee’s own song, The Ballad of Ned Meyers, about surviving the loss of the USS Scourge in Lake Ontario in a sudden storm in August of 1813. The rollicking tune, Perry’s Victory on Lake Erie, describes the major sea battle and American victory on Lake Erie on September 10, 1813 between the British fleet and the Americans under Commodore Oliver H. Perry.
Our Vanquished Hero is a life song about the great Shawnee leader, Tecumseh, who commanded Indian warriors allied with the British forces. It was written to a melody derived from a Winnebago warrior song. In this piece, we hear the sequence of events that marked the life and death of this amazing political and military mind and those who followed him. The Burlington Races follows and describes the last major encounter between the American and British fleets on Lake Ontario, which ended in neither side able to claim victory. This indecision proved decisive after the war, leaving the border unchanged.
Then we move to the east coast in 1814, where the full power of the British war machine is unleashed on North American ports after the defeat of Napoleon in Europe the previous year. Here We’ll Stand, is a riveting account of the defense of Baltimore in the wake of the burning of Washington D.C. Then the full version of Francis Scott Key’s The Star Spangled Banner, is performed unaccompanied and reminiscent of what could have been heard in some Chesapeake Bay tavern. The war ends with a fiddle tune, Jackson’s Victory, composed shortly after the Battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815. (Jimmy Driftwood used this tune for his hit song, The Battle of New Orleans.)
This album closes with an original song by Lee, Why Do They Have To Burn, about the power of words and a call for a return to civil discourse, certainly a worthy pursuit after a conflict of any type, military or political. It is a fitting end that is a celebration of 200 years of peace between two countries with the longest unfortified border on Earth.
Lee Murdock is available for in-studio or phone interviews schedule permitting. Please contact Joann at jmurdock@artistsofnote.com or call (630) 557-2742 for more info.
Lee Murdock, Depot Recordings, PO Box 11, Kaneville, IL 60144 www.leemurdock.com
Internationally acclaimed folksinger and historian, Lee Murdock, from Kaneville, Illinois, has released a new CD titled: Here We’ll Stand, his 18th. The songs on this recording are centered on the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, a struggle between the young United States and Great Britain for the riches of North America. Caught in the middle were native peoples, whose land and culture were forever changing with the influx of settlers from the cities of the east coast. Also, American land speculators looked longingly north of the border to the fertile lands of Upper Canada, now the province of Ontario, to continue the “American experiment of democracy.”
The stage is set with Jefferson and Liberty, which is a traditional American song from the campaign and election of 1800 and followed quickly by Loyal She Remains (Alex Sinclair), giving the Canadian or loyalist perspective. Then Rebecca’s Lament (James Keeleghan) speaks about the American frontier and the intermingling of pioneer and native peoples.
The war starts with The Constitution and Guerriere, written by the victorious American sailors who fought on “Old Ironsides” in the mid-Atlantic in August of 1812. In The Shannon and Chesapeake, the British returned the favor the following May off of Boston Harbor. The Gullible Americans chronicles the loss of Michigan territory in the first two months of the war from the perspective of a British officer. The tales continue in Lee’s own song, The Ballad of Ned Meyers, about surviving the loss of the USS Scourge in Lake Ontario in a sudden storm in August of 1813. The rollicking tune, Perry’s Victory on Lake Erie, describes the major sea battle and American victory on Lake Erie on September 10, 1813 between the British fleet and the Americans under Commodore Oliver H. Perry.
Our Vanquished Hero is a life song about the great Shawnee leader, Tecumseh, who commanded Indian warriors allied with the British forces. It was written to a melody derived from a Winnebago warrior song. In this piece, we hear the sequence of events that marked the life and death of this amazing political and military mind and those who followed him. The Burlington Races follows and describes the last major encounter between the American and British fleets on Lake Ontario, which ended in neither side able to claim victory. This indecision proved decisive after the war, leaving the border unchanged.
Then we move to the east coast in 1814, where the full power of the British war machine is unleashed on North American ports after the defeat of Napoleon in Europe the previous year. Here We’ll Stand, is a riveting account of the defense of Baltimore in the wake of the burning of Washington D.C. Then the full version of Francis Scott Key’s The Star Spangled Banner, is performed unaccompanied and reminiscent of what could have been heard in some Chesapeake Bay tavern. The war ends with a fiddle tune, Jackson’s Victory, composed shortly after the Battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815. (Jimmy Driftwood used this tune for his hit song, The Battle of New Orleans.)
This album closes with an original song by Lee, Why Do They Have To Burn, about the power of words and a call for a return to civil discourse, certainly a worthy pursuit after a conflict of any type, military or political. It is a fitting end that is a celebration of 200 years of peace between two countries with the longest unfortified border on Earth.
Lee Murdock is available for in-studio or phone interviews schedule permitting. Please contact Joann at jmurdock@artistsofnote.com or call (630) 557-2742 for more info.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Sad and Dismal is the Story
Greetings,
A very sad day on Monday, October 29th, when the Tall ship Bounty foundered about ninety miles off of the North Carolina coast while in the clutches of Hurricane Sandy. It is a very great relief that there were fourteen survivors from the crew with one crewman lost, Claudette Christian and Captain Robin Walbridge still missing. There is very little comfort for the Christian and Walbridge families, though, as well as those who live in the Bounty's home port of Greenport, New York.
The worldwide maritime community will morn the loss of the Bounty for many years to come. The sense of shock to me, a folksinger living on the prairies of Illinois, is still profound, three days later. Though I've sailed on many a tall ship over the years, I did not have that opportunity on her. Yet, the feeling I got from many of these vessels while underway, was a sense of them being alive, surging from wave to wave and reveling in a brisk gale of wind. I've heard many a sailor shouting above the wind in the rigging, "She's shaking her tail!" or "She's got a bone in her teeth!" I was stunned when I saw the photo in Wednesday's Chicago Tribune of her last moments, her decks a-wash, her spars splintered, and listing to starboard. A truly profound sadness.
Unfortunately, this is a scene that has been played thousands of times over the thousands of years of commercial shipping. Yet each time, the emptiness is all encompassing. It is not unlike what happened 100 years ago in northern Lake Michigan, when the Rouse Simmons was lost with all hands off of Two Rivers, Wisconsin in a storm that took other vessels that day, November 23rd, 1912. Carrying Christmas trees for the Chicago holiday season from northern Michigan, the "Christmas Tree Schooner" went down and her loss was felt in the city for quite a while. The tradition of going downtown to the dockside to pick out a Christmas tree from Captain Herman Schuneman was gone in the blink of an eye. And in some households, that year became a bittersweet memory, even while purchasing trees from the Captain's wife, Barbara, and their daughters in succeeding Christmas holidays.
There were many questions surrounding that sinking so long ago, as there are with this shipwreck. Of course, now is not the time for them to be answered. Now is the time for reflection and memories, for condolences and thanksgiving for all of our blessings. Also, the courage and bravery exhibited by the U.S. Coast Guard in this rescue was a marvel. Those "Storm Warriors" can stand alongside any of the other great "Coasties" throughout history! They are truly the best in their field, and underpaid at that. And to the crew of the Bounty, whose lives have been changed forever, I hope that you can find solace as you enter into a new chapter in your life's novel, a second chance if you will. May you find peace in your endeavors and may it always be a fair wind that fills your sails, from now on.
Sincerely,
Lee
Copyright November 1, 2012 by Lee Murdoc
A very sad day on Monday, October 29th, when the Tall ship Bounty foundered about ninety miles off of the North Carolina coast while in the clutches of Hurricane Sandy. It is a very great relief that there were fourteen survivors from the crew with one crewman lost, Claudette Christian and Captain Robin Walbridge still missing. There is very little comfort for the Christian and Walbridge families, though, as well as those who live in the Bounty's home port of Greenport, New York.
The worldwide maritime community will morn the loss of the Bounty for many years to come. The sense of shock to me, a folksinger living on the prairies of Illinois, is still profound, three days later. Though I've sailed on many a tall ship over the years, I did not have that opportunity on her. Yet, the feeling I got from many of these vessels while underway, was a sense of them being alive, surging from wave to wave and reveling in a brisk gale of wind. I've heard many a sailor shouting above the wind in the rigging, "She's shaking her tail!" or "She's got a bone in her teeth!" I was stunned when I saw the photo in Wednesday's Chicago Tribune of her last moments, her decks a-wash, her spars splintered, and listing to starboard. A truly profound sadness.
Unfortunately, this is a scene that has been played thousands of times over the thousands of years of commercial shipping. Yet each time, the emptiness is all encompassing. It is not unlike what happened 100 years ago in northern Lake Michigan, when the Rouse Simmons was lost with all hands off of Two Rivers, Wisconsin in a storm that took other vessels that day, November 23rd, 1912. Carrying Christmas trees for the Chicago holiday season from northern Michigan, the "Christmas Tree Schooner" went down and her loss was felt in the city for quite a while. The tradition of going downtown to the dockside to pick out a Christmas tree from Captain Herman Schuneman was gone in the blink of an eye. And in some households, that year became a bittersweet memory, even while purchasing trees from the Captain's wife, Barbara, and their daughters in succeeding Christmas holidays.
There were many questions surrounding that sinking so long ago, as there are with this shipwreck. Of course, now is not the time for them to be answered. Now is the time for reflection and memories, for condolences and thanksgiving for all of our blessings. Also, the courage and bravery exhibited by the U.S. Coast Guard in this rescue was a marvel. Those "Storm Warriors" can stand alongside any of the other great "Coasties" throughout history! They are truly the best in their field, and underpaid at that. And to the crew of the Bounty, whose lives have been changed forever, I hope that you can find solace as you enter into a new chapter in your life's novel, a second chance if you will. May you find peace in your endeavors and may it always be a fair wind that fills your sails, from now on.
Sincerely,
Lee
Copyright November 1, 2012 by Lee Murdoc
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