The following article was written by Barbara Bundy-Jost, the President of Manitowoc Aluminum Kitschmas Inc.
10 is a powerful number.
On the day we are born, people curiously inquire if the number of fingers and toes we have equals 10. In school, we learn the Dewey Decimal System (which has 10 main classes, each divided into 10 sections, which each have 10 sections) and how to count by 10s. In some sports, a “10” is considered a perfect score. Gymnasts strive for it every time they bound across the floor. In the 1979 movie, “10,” Bo Derek helped us all to understand the importance of being a “10” on the scale of physical perfection. Being a 10 was something powerful.
Like sands in the hourglass, so are the days of our lives!!!! 10 represents a decade of living life! When important events in our life go from single digit 9 to double-digit 10, it’s a big deal! This year, the “Evergleams on Eighth” display is celebrating 10 years of SPARKLE in Downtown Manitowoc! It’s hard to believe the 40 trees being displayed at downtown businesses in 2015 have multiplied to almost 200 in the decade since it all began. 10 years! How many sands traveled through the hourglass to get us to 2025?!
A monumental change since 2015 is the development of Manitowoc Aluminum Kitschmas Inc. (better known as MAKi), a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit organization. MAKi was created for the purpose of fostering an appreciation of the rich manufacturing history in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. We strive to preserve historic artifacts and pieces of art/design worthy of display and public appreciation. We hope to one day celebrate what you now see each holiday season with a brick-and-mortar museum that will be open to the public throughout the year! It’s important for us to preserve the stories of how our community’s history shaped the lives of not only us, but those who came before us and those who are yet to come!
The Evergleam Elves that started this display in 2015 are Steve Siehr, a Manitowoc native, and Cathy Karl, owner of Heart & Homestead. They worked their tails off making the town gleam in celebration of an aluminum tree story that started here in 1959. The 2015 Evergleam workforce has grown from a dynamic duo to a ratpack of groovy, hardworking Evergleam collectors. Their “Stash of Sparkle” numbers in the hundreds and they all share their treasure troves with us every holiday season. You’ll see their trees featured in downtown businesses as you travel up and down the streets of Historic Downtown Manitowoc.
Manitowoc Public Library’s role has undergone a huge change from 2015’s sparkling display. MPL joined in the fun several years after the Evergleam display started and it is now lovingly referred to as “Evergleam Central”. Library staff partners with us each year as we turn part of the main floor into “Frankie’s Forest”—a magical arboretum that illuminates the main floor with glitz, glam, and a whole lot of SPARKLE!
Fran Pfeffer-Guyette, also a Manitowoc native, shares her rarest of the rare Evergleam collection with the community each holiday. Like Steve, Fran was born and raised here, just like the Evergleam tree manufactured and packaged here. She loves giving back to the place she was born and her smile glows each time someone asks about her passion for Aluminum Specialty’s Evergleam tree. In honor of our ten-year anniversary, Fran is pushing the GLEAM by bringing together the BIGGEST Frankie’s Forest EVER!
Get yourself to the Library between November 26, 2025, and January 4, 2026, to bask in the glow of a most Exceptional Enchanted Evergleaming Forest! Manitowoc Public Library will host Sparkle! The History of Aluminum Trees, In-Person on Thursday, December 4, at 6 PM, and Virtually on Thursday, December 18, at 5 PM. Discover the story behind the Aluminum Specialty company’ s Atomic Age innovation and design with your guides, Barb Bundy-Jost and Jordan Kabat. It will warm your heart and take you back through the hourglass to a time where you were marveling at the Space Age sparkler and loving every minute of it!
Celebrate the number 10 with us this year! As luck would have it, a traditional 10-year anniversary gift is aluminum. If you can’t dig out a family heirloom sitting in the attic, basement, or hall closet, if you can’t listen to the swoosh of an aluminum branch being dragged through a paper sleeve as you free each dazzling bough from its confines and put it into holes drilled at specific angles in a wooden pole, then do this—ponder the beauty of 10. Be it 10 people you love, 10 hours with those you cherish, or 10 minutes of peace and quiet. Ponder the movement of those sands of time and appreciate each grain.
Go ahead! Fill the car with family and friends! Pick up a map at the Library or any local business and in the dark of night, do an Evergleam Drive-By. Our Evergleam timers turn on by 4 PM and stay on until midnight. Buzz the gut—get your GLEAM ON! Go around the block for another view. Put some miles on those tires! The display will be gone before you know it! Like sands in the hourglass, time will float by and the trees will be packed and stored until the next season finds the top level of the ancient timekeeper. Don’t miss this year’s 10!