Celebrating aluminum Christmas trees, Giannis dunks more than basketballs, Grammy nominees
Happy Friday, Wisconsin! And happy December! Cold enough for ya? Get your Christmas shopping in? Yeah, me neither.
I'll admit to having some very Grinch-like attitudes this season, but then I read this story by Rebecca Loroff:
Not only did I find myself hankering for a brandy slush, I also happily tumbled down the rabbit hole that is the Evergleam Christmas tree story, and it all rejuvenated my holiday spirit.
The Manitowoc-produced aluminum Christmas tree has got to be one of the weirdest — and wonderfulest — things about the state I've learned about in some time.
Manitowoc is going all-out in celebration of the aluminum trees this year:
That story led me to Patti Zarling's story about how the metal trees came about:
Manitowoc Evergleam aluminum Christmas trees: 'It’s amazing how the whole thing took off'
Let's break this down a bit. Trees have been a heart-and-soul part of Wisconsin life for years and years and years. The state has got 17 million acres of forest land, and as of 2017, an estimated 11.5 billion trees were growing here, according to a study done by the U. Department of Agriculture. (I know that's a lot. Still not enough.)
Wisconsin also ranks fifth in the nation in sales of real Christmas trees, according to the Wisconsin Christmas Tree Growers Association. In 2017, more than 700,000 Christmas trees were sold in the state, making it an $18 million industry.
And yet a Wisconsin company, best known for making pots and pans, Aluminum Speciality, designed an imitation tree that became a sensation, selling as many as 1 million per year.
The best part? The Manitowoc metal workers took an idea that originated in Illinois, refined it and totally made it better.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Evergleam trees, Grammy nominees, Giannis dunks
