Winnipesaukee Forum - View Single Post - 20 things you may not know about Lake Winnipesaukee's Mailboat

Descant · 07-28-2016, 10:32 AM

So, Marshal Foch, Dolphin, Uncle Sam, Uncle Sam II and Sophie C all followed basically the same route and were designated post offices. I recall that Ed Lavallee had a 36' steel cabin cruiser in between the Uncle Sams that he ran for a couple of years to keep the USPS franchise active until the PT boat was activated. Can't remember the name.

I believe the Tonimar delivered mail but was not a "post office". Same applies to the Gray Ghost, run by Sandy MacKenzie to deliver mail, operating out of Wolfeboro. It looks to me like Robert & Arthur, and Columbia preceded the Tonimar on the Wolfeboro mail delivery route. I also saw reference to a "Blue Ghost". Hard to tell if that was a separate boat the preceded the Gray Ghost or just a name misrecollection from the author of a blog post.

In the early days and on into the 1950's islanders did not all have their own power boats. They relied on the mail boats and taxi boats to bring some freight, mail and passengers. Of course, they rowed or sailed, but power boats really made island living possible for many more people.

07-28-2016, 10:32 AM	#18
Descant Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Merrimack and Welch Island Posts: 4,030 Thanks: 1,209 Thanked 1,509 Times in 982 Posts	How many ? So, Marshal Foch, Dolphin, Uncle Sam, Uncle Sam II and Sophie C all followed basically the same route and were designated post offices. I recall that Ed Lavallee had a 36' steel cabin cruiser in between the Uncle Sams that he ran for a couple of years to keep the USPS franchise active until the PT boat was activated. Can't remember the name. I believe the Tonimar delivered mail but was not a "post office". Same applies to the Gray Ghost, run by Sandy MacKenzie to deliver mail, operating out of Wolfeboro. It looks to me like Robert & Arthur, and Columbia preceded the Tonimar on the Wolfeboro mail delivery route. I also saw reference to a "Blue Ghost". Hard to tell if that was a separate boat the preceded the Gray Ghost or just a name misrecollection from the author of a blog post. In the early days and on into the 1950's islanders did not all have their own power boats. They relied on the mail boats and taxi boats to bring some freight, mail and passengers. Of course, they rowed or sailed, but power boats really made island living possible for many more people.