For the summer residents and campers who live on the many islands of New Hampshire’s largest lake, seeing the MV Sophie C. mail boat pull up to their dock is part ritual and part lifeblood.
Seasonal mail delivery by ferry began on Lake Winnipesaukee in 1892, and an official postal route was designated in 1902 — making it one of the Postal Service’s oldest water routes. In 1916, Congress recognized the lake’s mail boat Uncle Sam as the only floating Post Office in the United States because it had its own mail cancellation stamp.
MV Sophie C. has been the mail boat since 1969. The 76-foot steel vessel is operated by the route’s independent contractor, Mount Washington Cruises.
It is part Post Office, part sightseeing vessel. Passengers who ride on either of its two daily mail cruises between June and September get a look at the lake’s islands, but they also eagerly watch as USPS business is conducted at each stop.
Residents can receive mail, buy stamps and get their outgoing letters hand-cancelled with the route’s distinctive postmark. Passengers can buy and mail postcards from the boat.
Anne Nix first came to Lake Winnipesaukee when she was 10 days old, and she hasn’t missed a summer since. She was the full-time contract associate on MV Sophie C. for 26 years before semi-retiring last year.
On the smaller islands, Nix leans off the boat to swap mail bags hanging from dock posts. On the larger islands, she ties up the boat and hops off to grab outgoing mail and fill aggregated rows of brightly painted mailboxes.
She knows all the islanders by name, and she makes sure to bring treats for the dogs that they bring to the docks.
Nix, whose brother captained MV Sophie C. for many years, said mail service on the boat is nostalgic.
“Nothing is electronic, and there is no computer. I use an old-fashioned scale to weigh packages, and I use pay tables to determine prices.”
For customers who want tracking, she will walk their packages directly to the Laconia Post Office after completing her water route.
“Our service is very personalized. It’s Americana,” she said.
This floating Post Office handled 18,000 pieces of mail last summer. A significant portion of that haul is letters written by summer campers to their parents back home, since camp rules prohibit cellphones, email and video chats.
Recognizing that many kids are not familiar with mailing letters, Nix created posters and instruction sheets to explain how to properly address envelopes and affix stamps.
“My favorite service that the boat provides is delivering the care packages that parents mail to their kids at the camps,” said Amanda Carleton, postmaster of the Laconia, NH, Post Office, which encompasses the water route.
MV Sophie C. is part of the fabric of island life, and the residents’ routines are set according to its schedule. Children wait on the docks to buy ice cream from its snack bar, while adults look forward to chatting with one another and with the crew.
“Growing up here, we set our daily routines around the mailboat,” Nix said. “We never wore watches. When we saw the mail boat go by, we knew what time it was.”
Residents say being reachable by mail brings a sense of connectedness to the mainland.
“The mail boat is the island boat,” said Nix, who works as a nurse and dietitian in Vermont during the non-summer months. “It’s the hub of the lake, and it’s what makes this such a tight-knit community.”
Email us your feedback. Your comments could be included in our “Mail” column.
