Mail jumping

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mail jumping is a type of mail delivery. The person doing the mail jumping (known as a mail jumper ) is transported on a body of water by a boat. The person jumps off the boat onto a dock , places incoming mail in a mailbox, retrieves outgoing mail, and jumps back onto the boat. [1] The boat continues to move at a slow and steady pace (about 5 miles per hour (8 km/h)) while the mail jumper is jumping. [2]

Geneva Lake [ edit ]

Walworth II on Geneva Lake

The mail jumping delivery system has been employed on houses surrounding Geneva Lake in Walworth County , Wisconsin , United States , since before first roads were built around the lake in the late 19th century. [3] Decent roads were first built around the lake in the 1920s. [4] Some residents still use boats as their primary means of transportation to their summer homes on the lake. [4]

Six jumpers are hired annually to deliver mail on behalf of the United States Postal Service each summer from June 15 until September 15. [5] Only male jumpers were used until the first woman was hired in 1974. Since then, they have been mostly women. [2] Jumpers began daily at 7 a.m. by sorting mail. Delivery begins at 10 a.m. aboard the U.S. Mailboat Walworth II . [3] Mail is delivered to approximately 60 houses. Delivery is completed by around 1 p.m. [3] A typical jumper misses the jump returning to the boat at least once in their career and works the rest of the day wet. [3]

The Lake Geneva Cruise Lines has operated the boat since 1916. [6] It takes approximately 160 tourists along. Most mail runs are at full capacity. [6] Jumpers are expected to be able to speak as tour guides as the tour passes historic summer houses and Yerkes Observatory . [3] The jumpers are privately hired by the cruise line and they work closely with the U.S. Postal Service. [3] The Walworth II is the only mail jumping boat in the United States. [1] Mail has been delivered this way since 1873. [7] A local resident said "There was a time during the war when everyone really counted on the mailboat. We didn't have TV and computers and all of that, so everyone would gather to meet the mailboat." [4]

References in popular culture [ edit ]

The Travel Channel host Andrew Zimmern taped an episode of his show Bizarre World in which he worked as a mail jumper. [1]

National Public Radio member station WUWM made an episode on mail jumping on August 6, 2014. [8]

YouTuber Tom Scott tried mail jumping on August 16, 2022. [9]

See also [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

  1. ^ a b c Seiser, Lisa. "Travel Channel's 'bizarre' host coming to Lake Geneva" . Lake Geneva News . Archived from the original on 13 April 2013 . Retrieved 12 June 2010 .
  2. ^ a b West, Dennis (August 14, 1994). "Mail Jumpin' " . Milwaukee Sentinel . Retrieved 13 June 2010 .
  3. ^ a b c d e f Hammel, Katie. "The mail jumpers of Lake Geneva" . Gadling . Retrieved 12 June 2010 .
  4. ^ a b c Brian, Dakss (June 26, 2005). "Special Deliveries" . CBS News Sunday Morning . Retrieved 13 June 2010 .
  5. ^ "Annual "Mail Jumper" tryouts held in Wisconsin" . Comcast Sports Network, San Francisco area. [ permanent dead link ]
  6. ^ a b Jacquest, Samantha (June 23, 2013). "Challenges often await mail-jumpers". Janesville Gazette .
  7. ^ Alden, Sharyn (August 3, 2008). "Letters, Leaps and Bounds on Lake Geneva" . The Washington Post . Retrieved 12 June 2010 .
  8. ^ Henzl, Ann-Elise (4 Aug 2014). "NPR Takes a Ride with Lake Geneva's Mail Jumpers" . National Public Radio . Retrieved 3 May 2020 .
  9. ^ "Delivering mail by jumping from a moving boat" . 16 Aug 2022 . Retrieved 16 Aug 2022 .
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