At some point in the late 1800s, an American by the name of Herman Schuenemann started a uniquely generous (maritime) Christmas tradition.

He took as many freshly-cut evergreen trees as he could fit on his boat in Michigan, and sailed them south on the lake to Chicago and handed them out to families in need when he docked. They dubbed his vessel the “Christmas Ship.”

Sadly though, years later, one night in 1912 to be exact, tragedy struck. The Christmas Ship, packed with trees and bound for the Windy City, sunk en route to do its charitable and festive duty.

Every person on board was killed.

For decades the tradition was defunct — all but history.

Then, in 2000, the United States Coast Guard decided it needed to be restored, and that they were the ones to do it.

So they did.

Today, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw is the modern day “Christmas Ship” and on Saturday it arrived at the Navy Pier in Chicago with 1,200 trees in tow for area families in need. With the help of volunteers, every single one of the holiday pines was unloaded and given away.

“You can see by the amount of people that came out, the number of organizations that volunteered their time to get these Christmas trees and bring them from Michigan, has been an amazing thing,” Coast Guard Commanding Officer Zeita Merchant told the CBS affiliate in Chicago over the weekend.

“I was born in Chicago, on the West Side. As a child growing up, not always getting a Christmas tree. To be able to do this, this really means a lot to me.”

According to the news outlet, the great granddaughter of the man who started the ritual, Schuenemann, was in attendance for the grand delivery.