The story behind those little trees started 72 years ago. Julius Sämann, an immigrant from Germany, worked for years in the northern forests of Canada, extracting the aromatic oils of evergreen trees. In 1952, he moved to Watertown, New York, and became a milkman — but, he couldn't stand the unavoidable smell of spilled milk.
Instead of just crying over it, he combined the fragrances of pine oil with blotter materials, and invented the first car air freshener, shaping them as evergreen trees to honor his past profession.
And so began the Little Trees Car Freshener Corporation. Soon, orders came in from all over the country. They gained a strong international following, called Wunderbaums in Germany, Arbres Magique in France and Magic Trees in England.
The company now makes aerosols in spray cans and vent strips. And they’ve branched out from the original scent of Royal Pine to 38 different aromas, hoping customers will opt for the smell of Caribbean Colada, Vanillaroma and New Car Scent to disguise the smell of sweaty clothes in a backseat gym bag.
The corporate headquarters are still in Watertown, with factories in DeWitt, Iowa. It’s big business! In of 2022, the company made 85 million dollars.
The next time you take a taxi, note that in their own small way, those Little Trees hanging from the mirror are working hard to bring the outdoors just a little closer to us.
