Along the shores of Bear Island in Lake Winnipesaukee, summer residents gathered as the M/V Sophie C. pulled up to the dock.
As children scampered on board, eager to spend their allowance on ice cream, candy and drinks, mail clerk Anne Nix made her way off with her mail bag, ready to plunk letters and packages in their corresponding mailboxes on the dock.
The Sophie C. is one of a long line of ships to deliver mail on the lake, assuming its role in 1969, after the previous boat, the Uncle Sam II, was deemed too expensive to operate.
“It’s a tradition. … Mail service started in 1892,” said Nix, the boat’s mail clerk. “We are actually considered the oldest post office in an inland waterway.”
The Sophie C. makes trips throughout the islands twice a day – delivering mail and treats to both large and single-resident islands, as well as summer camps.
The trips aren’t limited to the mail clerk and skipper, though – from mid-June to after Labor Day, any paying community member is invited aboard to take the journey, which begins at Weirs Beach.
Often captaining the ship is Bob Reed of Melvin Village in Tuftonboro.
Throughout the journey, Reed shares his knowledge of the region with guests at a frenetic pace, pointing out every mountain he can and sharing local myths and legends about the island.
Reed, a former teacher who has captained the ship on and off since 1994, said a tour on the nimble Sophie C. is the best on the lake.
“We get into little coves and areas where the big ships can’t go,” he said. “Meeting the islanders is great.”
Nix, who grew up spending her summers on Winnipesaukee, said the boat helps create a sense of connectedness on the lake.
“We kind of bring the different island communities together,” she said. “When Sophie comes in for her stop, it’s a social event for people. People come down to collectively greet us and chat with other residents on the island. We consider ourselves island folks.”
Among these “island folks” who greet the Sophie C. when she makes her rounds is Kelly Rich of Palm Harbor, Fla. Rich spends her summers on Bear Lake with her husband’s family, which has owned property on the lake for years.
“It’s my daughter’s favorite,” she said. “All day long she waits for the mail boat to come. … It’s a huge event, a favorite on the island.”
One of Rich’s favorite Sophie C.-related traditions is the dock jump. When the ship pulls out, a group of kids line up on the dock and jump into the water, waving goodbye to the boat.
The Sophie C. is greeted with a thrill on Three Mile Island, as kids from across the island come to get ice cream and see the ship.
“Everyone looks forward to the ‘ice cream boat’ every day,” said Paul Flanagan, who’s from Massachusetts but spends his summers on Winnipesaukee. “It gives them something to do; there’s not much to do on the island.”
Nix said spending time on the Sophie C. and delivering mail to people like Rich and Flanagan is the perfect way to spend her summers.
“It’s just a fun, non-stressful summer job,” she said. “Why wouldn’t anyone want to be cruising on a vessel all day?”