Local siblings leap at the chance for national exposure
By Jennifer Eisenbart
Staff Writer
Call mailboat jumping a family tradition for the Vogt siblings of Burlington.
And call a little national media attention for the Lake Geneva Cruise Line some welcome exposure.
Put the two together, and it was a match made in heaven recently.
With all three Vogt siblings currently employed by the cruise line – and all three performing as mail jumpers at least on a part-time basis – NBC Nightly News had a definite hook for its broadcast on July 18.
Placed together on the mailboat – the Walworth – for a special tour, Elle, Anna and Keith Vogt performed admirably, and earned their 15 minutes of fame, perhaps, in the process.
“It was two minutes on NBC,” clarified Anna with a laugh. “(But) it was worth it.”
Features on the mailboat on Lake Geneva are nothing new. Because of limited road access in the 1800s, mail was originally delivered by boat.
Now, the Lake Geneva Cruise Line has contracted for many years to combine the mail delivery – for those who choose to have it delivered by boat – with a two-and-a-half hour boat tour of the lake.
Anna Vogt is one of four regular jumpers this summer, the others being Dan Sepe and Zach Aspinall of Lake Geneva, and Kylie McCarter of Naperville, Ill.
In addition, Keith and Elle Vogt are both alternates, as is fellow Burlington resident Garrett Robers.
But for the Vogts, it’s become a little bit of sibling rivalry. Elle, who graduated from Burlington High School in 2007, was the first to become a mail jumper.
“I don’t really remember (why I tried out),” said Elle, who added that she suspects she heard about it from now-BHS principal Eric Burling (whose wife, Ellen, works in marketing for the cruise line). “It was the end of my track season my senior year, and I was so sad to be done with sports, and this was kind of an extension of sports.”
Elle said public speaking “was not my forte” and was most nervous about that. She tried out after being hired by the cruise line, and found out immediately after tryouts that she’d been hired.
“I was pretty excited,” she said.
Keith, now in his fourth year with the cruise line, followed.
“She really enjoyed it, and I thought it would be a good idea to get a job here,” Keith said.
And finally came Anna, who was nervous when she first auditioned last year.
“You have to do a part of the script, and you also have to do a few jumps,” said Anna, who added that she’s grown into the tour guide role over time. While she handles other duties for the cruise line – like serving on the ice-cream social and dinner tours – it is the mailboat that is the most work.
“It’s the most challenging, but it’s also the most fun,” said Anna, who, like the other mail jumpers, has to balance somewhere between 40 and 50 mail deliveries in addition to narrating the tour.
Keith agreed that the mailboat provides the biggest on-job challenge.
“The mailboat is one of the more challenging ones, because you have to give the tour for two and a half hours, and you have to do the mail jumping at the same time,” said Keith. “You’re running back and forth.”
Of course, it’s also that job that seems to draw the most interested crowds.
“I like the people that come on, because they’re really interested in watching, and they’re really into what we do,” said Anna.
Elle added, “It makes the whole trip more fun. They really want the full experience. Other tours don’t get the same love.
“These people really want the history.”
That was evident Saturday. Anna earned wild applause at times for her deliveries, and was asked to pose for photos with some of those who took the mailboat tour after it was over.
She said she’s used to the requests – and also used to the unusual nature of her job.
“No one else does that, does mail jumping,” explained Anna. “When I say mail jumping, people are like, ‘What is that?’”
Last week’s broadcast turned into a family moment, though. While Elle called the whole experience “nerve-wracking,” she also had a great time – especially since the mailboat run isn’t her primary job at the cruise line anymore.
“It was really exciting,” Elle said. “I don’t mail jump a whole lot anymore. I was just kind of excited to do it again.”
With the cruise line setting the schedule up so all three were on the boat at the same time – normally just one does the mail deliveries – Keith was thrilled to be working with his siblings.
“It was a little bit different, but it was fun,” he said. “I don’t normally get to work with them too much.”
In Elle’s eyes, it was only fitting that the piece focused somewhat on family, because that’s how she views the entire cruise line.
“It’s kind of like a little family,” Elle said.
Click here for a link to NBC’s story on the Vogts and the mailboat deliveries.
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