Coast Guard participates in Wisconsin holiday festivities

TWO RIVERS, Wis. – The crew at Coast Guard Station/Aids-to-Navigation Team Two Rivers offloaded Christmas trees at the Roger’s Street Fishing Village and participated in the city’s annual Holiday Parade Saturday.

In honor of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the original Christmas Ship, the schooner Rouse Simmons, a crew from STANT Two Rivers brought 15 evergreen trees on one of the unit’s 26-foot Trailerable-Aids-to-Navigation-Boats as part of a re-enactment.

The schooner Rouse Simmons carried Christmas trees and wreaths from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to Chicago for more than 30 years until Nov. 23, 1912, when it sank off the coast of Wisconsin between Kewaunee and Two Rivers.

For two days, the citizens of Two Rivers paid tribute to the sinking of the Christmas Ship. The community presented a musical, re-enacted the transiting of the Rouse Simmons, and honored George Sogge, captain of the Two Rivers Life-Saving Station.

“It was a great experience being a part of the local history and traditions that make the city of Two Rivers what it is today,” said Petty Officer 1st Class William Blair, executive petty officer of STANT Two Rivers.

Continuing with tradition, crewmembers from STANT Two Rivers also participated in the annual Holiday Parade through downtown Two Rivers.

Each year, the city of Two Rivers encourages organizations to build floats and asks children to bring letters written to Santa Claus for a holiday celebration that runs through the city’s downtown.

This year, the crew from STANT Two Rivers trailered a 25-foot Response Boat-Small decorated with lights and carrying Santa Claus.