is our Wisconsin Life.
>> We welcome you
to the Geneva Lake area
on this beautiful, beautiful
August day here in Wisconsin.
>> Lake Geneva,
where tourists flock for
fun in the sun, surf and sand.
Down on Main Street,
it's an early start to the day
for siblings Elle, Anna,
and Keith.
They're on a mission,
and there's no time to waste.
The tourists
are already arriving,
and they come by the busload.
To catch the main attraction,
you need to get out on the water
for something so unique,
even the ducks get excited.
Tickets are at a premium.
>> Watch your step.
>> And cameras at the ready.
>> Best seats in the house
are downstairs, if you want
to see the whole show.
[toots boat horn]
>> And with a toot of the horn,
they're off and running.
But this isn't
your ordinary lake tour.
This is one of the oldest
mail delivery routes by boat
in the United States.
>> Sorry we only sell alcohol
on Sundays...
>> The stars of this show,
the mail boat jumpers.
And they're ready for action.
>> Marine delivery began
out here many, many years ago,
in fact, way back
in the late 1800s.
>> People get their mail
delivered by land, as well.
This is just more for tradition,
and we do it
only during the summer.
>> Through the years,
mail delivery by boat
has been a three-step process.
One, jump from a moving boat
with mail in hand.
Two, deliver the mail,
grab outgoing mail.
And three,
return to the moving boat.
One false step
and the water awaits.
No worries however for Keith,
who selected his own nickname.
>> The "Mail Man."
They look at me as the
Mail Girl, the Mail Boy,
so I'm the Mail Man.
[laughs]
>> Expectations are set for the
"mail man" and the mail girls,
and everyone is watching.
First up, Anna.
She's the youngest
and has been mail jumping
for only two years.
One down.
They'll land on more than
50 docks during this trip
around Geneva Lake.
Keith is on deck
with four years' experience.
He's confident
he'll never end up in the lake.
Another perfect delivery.
These siblings are good.
Now the pressure is
really on Elle to deliver.
With six years in the bag,
she's ready to maneuver
this horseshoe-shaped dock,
and that's no easy feat.
>> To be a mail jumper,
you have to be quick.
>> You've gotta be semi-athletic
to get back on the boat.
>> Aw...
>> That's cheating!
>> Along with the fun
comes a little danger.
On a good day, no one gets wet.
That's on a good day!
>> I was mail jumping,
and I missed just the last part.
I grabbed onto the railing
and I just didn't make it.
I got the very end
of the railing.
I hit the water, and I was like,
"Oh, man!"
>> Well, the first time I fell
in the water was my second year.
I was just untying the boat, so
I don't like to count that one.
>> That was just mainly
for the camera.
We like to put on a little show
every once and a while.
I've almost fallen in
a couple times.
Last year, I had a plate of
brownies and a plate of cookies
in one hand, so I had to get
back on the boat with no hands.
>> If you mess up,
just keep smiling.
That's probably what saved me
my first year.
>> And on this day,
it was the sisters
who were smiling...
>> Oh!
>> And dry.
The fisherman
weren't all that impressed,
but it made a big splash
with the judges.
[bell dings]
Let's look at that again
and see what went wrong.
>> I jumped off and I stumbled
a little bit, because
I was staring at the mailbox.
You kind of have to watch
your footing a little bit.
I got to the mailbox
and I turned around, and
he was basically pretty far out
already, and I'm like,
"Oh no, I better get back there
pretty quick."
>> But wait a minute.
Remember what Keith said
earlier.
Rewind the tape.
>> That was just
mainly for the camera.
We like to put on a little show
every once in a while.
>> Putting on a little show
is all well and good, unless
the mail goes in the water.
>> Then we do a loop to get the
mail if it goes in the water.
You get the big blue net
to scoop it out.
>> But a lot of time
when you drop it,
the wake from our boat sinks it,
and it just sinks to the bottom.
It can't be too important
of mail.
Then we gotta give them
a phone call, and our boss
doesn't like that very much.
>> Two doors down...
>> In addition to their mail
duties and jumping abilities,
the siblings are also part-time
tour guides, sharing the history
of this fabled lake.
>> I would say
the most fascinating part
is just how big the old homes
used to be,
and the ones that are here.
Just the way that they built
them back in the late 1800s
is pretty amazing.
>> The most interesting would
probably be Stone Manor over on
the south shore over there.
It just has so much history
to it.
>> It's part history
and part tradition when
the mail jumpers abandon ship
and take off on foot.
>> There's about seven or eight
different stops along that
stretch of the shoreline,
so what we would do
is hop off there and deliver
to each one of those mail boxes.
That's how we used to do it
back in the olden days, too.
We got to the top of the hill,
and Elle's like,
"Let's make it a race,"
so I just took off running
right then.
I can't lose to my two sisters!
It's an exciting job, and
people really enjoy the tour,
especially
the jumping part of it.
>> Great job...
>> A job that just might inspire
future mail jumpers.
>> Have a great afternoon!
[toots boat horn]