Regional

NPR Takes a Ride with Lake Geneva’s Mail Jumpers

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Published August 4, 2014 at 9:28 AM CDT

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Mail jumpers have to audition for the physically demanding job. On tryout day, Dan Sepe prepared for a mock delivery by standing on a narrow ledge outside the boat, as it approached a dock.

Cynthia Hoffman

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Veteran jumper Garrett Robers demonstrated his technique on tryout day.

Cynthia Hoffman

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On tryout day, Shelby Peck raced to the mailbox to make a sample delivery, before the Walworth pulled away from the dock.

Cynthia Hoffman

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Shelby Peck jumping back onto the Walworth, after a completed delivery.

Cynthia Hoffman

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In addition to being athletic, candidates for mail jumper must have public speaking skills. The position requires them to double as narrators for the boat tour. Dan Sepe got high marks from the judges and landed the job.

Cynthia Hoffman

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Teens and young adults gathered in June to test their skills, in hopes they’d get one of the coveted mail jumper positions.";

Cynthia Hoffman

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Captain Neill Frame has decades of experience steering the 75-foot Walworth around the piers on Geneva Lake.

Cynthia Hoffman

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Former mail jumpers serve as judges on tryout day, determining who gets the job.

Cynthia Hoffman

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Mail jumpers roll up letters, magazines and newspapers, securing the bundle with rubber bands, to make the items easier to handle. The mail is stacked at the front of the boat in the order the Walworth will pass homes during the tour.

Cynthia Hoffman

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Garrett Robers straddles the open window near the front of the Walworth, mail in hand.

Cynthia Hoffman

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As a pier approaches, Garrett Robers hangs on the outside of the boat until it’s time to jump to the dock. A young boy is one of the many lakefront residents who’ve come out to greet the mail boat.";s:

Cynthia Hoffman

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Some residents have snacks for the mail jumpers. Today, Garrett Robers gets a bag of Goldfish crackers at one stop.

Cynthia Hoffman

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Garrett Robers says timing is everything. If mail jumpers have to dodge inner tubes or plants on a dock, or if a mailbox door is stuck, the jumper might not have time to make the quick delivery and get back to the boat on time.

Cynthia Hoffman

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When there’s a lot of mail at a stop, such as when the Walworth stops at a campground or the Gage Marine offices, mail jumpers put letters and packages into bags.";

Cynthia Hoffman

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Garrett Robers says the running and leaping he does as a mail jumper uses skills he’s developed as a football player. He’s on the team at UW-Whitewater.";s:

Cynthia Hoffman

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After mail jumpers leap onto the boat, they use a narrow ledge and handrail to walk to the front of the boat.

Cynthia Hoffman

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Tourists who have mail to send can get it hand canceled on the Walworth with a special stamp.

Cynthia Hoffman

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The mail boat stamp features the image of a mail jumper in mid-air.

Cynthia Hoffman

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Andy Loughlin has a home on Lake Geneva. He says his teenage granddaughters who visit him during the summer watch the mail boat and dream of one day becoming a mail jumper. That would thrill him, because the grandkids would live with him for the summer.

Cynthia Hoffman

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The job of mail jumper once was tougher than it is today. The Walworth was shorter, giving jumpers less room to grab onto the boat as it pulled away from docks.

Cynthia Hoffman

NPR is spending time with folks who do odd or unusual summer jobs. Ann-Elise Henzl observed one in southern Wisconsin, requiring perfect timing.

She visited Lake Geneva, the body of water that gives the resort town its name. Historic mansions dot the lake's 20 miles of shoreline.

Tourists crowd onto sightseeing cruises to gaze at the summer homes, and on one ride each day, they can also watch the Lake Geneva mail jumpers in action, as they deliver mail by boat. The job is trickier than it may sound.