63 Year Old Christmas Tree
I first shared the story about this Christmas tree a few
years ago. It is not a family heirloom or any thing of the like, at least not
my family heirloom. I bought this from an ad on Craig’s List some years ago. One
of those situations where a senior family member passed and there were some
things that no one wanted. Little did I know what history would unfold.
As best as I can determine, the tree is 63 years old this
year. It has no great monetary value. It does have a lifetime and history of
hopefully happy times with family and social gatherings – none of which we will
ever know. Perhaps history is best seen through the sparkle still within this
tree and the spirit of Christmas wherever its destiny may lead it next.
In my 2019 post https://www.sanantoniorealestate.blog/2019/12/a-christmas-tree-story.html , I mentioned that the original carton had a date stamp that appeared to be either 1953 or 1958. The condition of the carton and disintegration of the carboard made that a challenge. So, this year, I took it a little further and checked the patents. Based on a patent filing approved in 1959, and some historical research about the company, 1958 can best be assumed the correct year. I learned something about patents too as it was not unusual to go into production while the patent was being registered.
Most of what follows in a repost of what was in my 2019
article about this tree….
The tree was manufactured in
Wisconsin by the Evergleam Company. There is a great article about Evergleam
written by Dave Hoekstra (1) and another by the Manitowoc County Historical Society
(2). It goes back to a time when manufacturing in America was the norm and
aluminum Christmas trees have a history of their own in that era – more can be
found in Wikipedia (3). Aluminum trees were “the rage” for quite a while in
homes across America and the American spirit of competitiveness kicked in
creating a market for trees having under 100 branches to those with over 400
branches and everything in between depending on the height of the tree. There
was an appliance - furniture retailer in Chicagoland known as Polk Brothers
(now gone) and it’s leader, Sol Polk known for his marketing savvy who
popularized aluminum trees and plastic Santa’s that were about 5 feet tall (4)–
by making either available for $5 with a purchase!
Aluminum tree popularity continued,
and folks tried hard to make theirs “different”. The trees came with a warning
not to use string lights that were so popular on “live” trees – and some folks
were “shocked” to find out that was good advice!
The lighting of the day was
typically a flood light. The flood light was either white, a static color or
even more popular was a rotating wheel that caused the tree to change color in
a slow continuous cycle. Today, I create that effect with a low energy led.
And then there was the pink aluminum
Christmas tree – check an article by WUWM (5) from Milwaukee. You can buy
aluminum trees today on eBay (6) and Esty (7).
The tree is still not for sale! But the challenge is on to
find a new home and someone who will care for it for at least the next 37 years
and share the story on its 100th birthday!
Hope y’all have a very Merry Christmas – just about a week
to go!
Aluminum Christmas Tree Pictures 2021
None of the links below are monetized. If you want to read more, these are a start. If you are curious and research leads you to discover any other cool information, please share it with me.
http://www.davehoekstra.com/2018/12/05/imy-first-evergleam-christmas-tree/
https://www.manitowoccountyhistory.org/programs/aluminumtrees
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminum_Christmas_tree
https://www.ebay.com/b/Aluminium-Christmas-Tree/33849/bn_55186952?rt=nc&_pgn=5
https://www.etsy.com/market/evergleam
And, since I never ever want to do the patent research again, sharing screen captures from that...
