A Cheboygan holiday tradition that has been in place for more than 25 years continues this month with the annual Christmas Card Campaign coordinated by the Cheboygan Area Chamber of Commerce and its Coast Guard Connection Committee.
This year, about 1,400 holiday cards will accompany a similar number of locally grown Christmas trees that will be shipped on the United States Coast Guard’s Mackinaw from Cheboygan to Chicago in late November. The USCGC Mackinaw is a cutter that is home-ported in Cheboygan and hosts around 150 temporary residents of the Coast Guard.
The trees and cards are delivered to low-income families in the Chicagoland area, thanks to the financial support of local donors there who want to provide their neighbors with a festive tree during the holiday season. Those donors pay for the cost of the Northern Michigan trees. Once the trees arrive in Chicago, local charities like the United Way distribute them to local residents.
“It’s a big deal over in Chicago both for the families and the donors,” said Cheboygan Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Carole Yeck.
She added that Chicago donors also hold an annual celebration dinner after the trees are delivered.
“But here in Cheboygan we have fun with this event as well,” Yeck said.
That’s because Cheboygan’s connection is just as unique. Once the Christmas trees are loaded onto the Mackinaw, there is a community celebration held at the Cheboygan County Marina docks. That celebration is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 29. Members of the public in attendance can enjoy caroling, light refreshments and a festive atmosphere along Lake Huron.
Before that, the chamber of commerce is collecting holiday cards for the Christmas tree recipients in the Chicago area. Cards can be filled out and dropped off to the chamber offices along Main Street in downtown Cheboygan by Monday, Nov. 17. Those cards and the donated Christmas trees will begin loading onto the Mackinaw the week of Thanksgiving.
Local volunteers collect and prepare the cards, applying a small sticker or QR code so that recipient families can share photos of their decorated trees. The committee was established many years ago to help integrate sailors on the Mackinaw with the Cheboygan community.
Over time, the Christmas Card Campaign has grown from a symbolic gesture into a logistical feat requiring careful coordination between the chamber, the Coast Guard, local schools and volunteers.
“It’s a true labor of love and a great tradition.” Yeck said. “We love to be a part of it and there’s a wonderful turnout every year for the cards and the (launch of the Mackinaw) to Chicago.”
Once the Mackinaw leaves the dock, it will travel through the Straits of Mackinac, into Lake Michigan and down to the Chicago Harbors. Along the way, it will pick up buoys for the winter before frozen ice hits the Great Lakes. This will be the 26th year that the vessel will also be delivering Christmas trees.
To learn more, contact the Cheboygan Area Chamber of Commerce at 231-445-9045 or by visiting cheboygan.com.
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Call for holiday cards to accompany the USCGC Mackinaw and Christmas tree cargo
Reporting by M. Alan Scott / Cheboygan Daily Tribune
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