Manitowoc, Wis.: An ‘All-American Christmas City’

Before shiny silver aluminum Christmas trees put Manitowoc, Wis., on the national map, this city on the western shores of Lake Michigan, was known locally as the Christmas “Tinsel Town” of the Midwest.

 

For many years, the National Tinsel Manufacturing Company in Manitowoc was the major U.S. manufacturer of the sparkly, metallic-looking strips that were carefully and artfully draped over the boughs of Christmas trees – commonly known as tinsel.

The Manitowoc County Historical Society said the company’s roots extend to 1888, when Henry C. Stolze Jr. founded his company to manufacture Christmas tree tinsel and ornaments.

 

The society’s Amy Meyer says her group has a lot of fun promoting the community as an “All-American Christmas City” – the birthplace of Stolze’s tinsel factory as well as the home of the Aluminum Specialty Company, which began cranking out its famous “Evergleam” aluminum Christmas trees in 1959.

 

Stolze’s family came to America from Germany in the 1860s, when he was 9. His parents settled on a truck farm north of Manitowoc.

Stolze had a keen mind for mechanics. For example, he invented and patented a metal clip that allowed candles to be safely attached to Christmas trees so they could be lit without igniting the tree branches.

Candles, of course, made the tinsel (also referred to as icicles) glisten and twinkle. Created in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1610, tinsel was originally made of pure silver. The silver was hammered until it was paper-thin, then cut into strips.

Modern tinsel is typically made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film coated with a metallic finish. Traditionalists say that the plastic forms of tinsel, though more affordable, do not “hang as well” as tinsel made from heavy metals like silver and lead.

Stolze got involved in local Manitowoc politics and ran for city mayor in 1905. He campaigned on the platform that the water and electric light utilities should be owned by the municipality. Stolze’s opponent, Dr. William T. Kemper, the incumbent, was opposed.

Stolze won election by a margin of 195 votes, but Mayor Stolze’s hopes for the municipal ownership of the water and power companies didn’t occur during his first term. 

Mayor Stolze

The city council tried to work a deal to buy the water utility in 1905, but the parties failed to settle. Stolze’s two-year term expired in 1907. He was defeated in his bid for re-election by Charles A. Groffman.

Stolze was elected mayor again in 1911, and this time, the city hammered out a deal to acquire the waterworks. While Stolze was still mayor in 1914, the city also obtained the electric company. Manitowoc Public Utilities (MPU) was formed and continues to operate. Stolze retired from politics in 1917 and sold his business to William C. Protz.

Stolze died in 1925. His obituary stated: “He was a man of a brilliant mind. He was a formidable opponent in any cause to which he committed himself. When he did so, he gave it all his energy. He was the kind of person who could overcome obstacles that seemed insurmountable.”

Under Protz’s leadership, the tinsel company was reorganized; he renamed the operation as the National Tinsel Manufacturing Company. The business flourished and prior to World War II, it was the largest tinsel manufacturer in the world.

Consumers’ tastes in holiday decorating began to change, and demand for tinsel declined drastically, causing the plant to close in 2019.

In a nutshell, the market dried up. Traditional tinsel users would save every strand and reuse them year after year. They didn’t need to buy new cartons to replenish their supply.

Younger generations weren’t inclined to meticulously tinsel their Christmas trees.