Ride The Ducks
Ride the Ducks is a Branson original. The business began in May of 1971, a local doctor along with a couple of area businessmen brought amphibious tours (using World War II era DUKWs known as "Ducks") to Branson, taking Branson visitors on a tour of the town, and the area around Table Rock Dam, also including a thirty minute cruise on Table Rock Lake. The businessmen had gotten this idea from seeing a Duck ride in Hot Springs, AR and hearing about the one in Wisconsin Dells, WI, which has been operating since 1946.
The first Duck to arrive in Branson in early 1971 was a 1944 model DUKW that was purchased in Texas and shipped to Branson on the train. The vehicle was in running condition and after some modifications, adding a canopy and bus seats, as well as receiving certification from the U.S. Coast Guard, by May, the new Branson business, Ozark Scenic Tours, was ready to go. The vehicle was painted fire engine red with a white stripe down the center, and some lettering which read, "RIDE 'THE DUCK'." Soon two more DUKWs were added, painted yellow and given the names "BJ" and "Don." Ride the Ducks was on its way.
My connection kinda goes like this. My family and I lived on a portion of the Ride the Ducks tour route. A section of Hwy 165, a hill known by the locals as "RC hill" since Robert Coffelt ( a cousin by the way) lived across the road from us and his parents lived at the top of the hill. As far back as I can remember Ducks were always a part of my life, going by the house, slowly going up the hill numerous times each day, hauling tourists to the lake and back. I vividly remember when I was no more than three or four and I'd hang out in the yard and wave at the Ducks as they went by. Over time all the Captains knew who I was, just a fan of the Ducks, and before long, I was a small feature on the tour route. When I was in the fifth grade I drew posters and placed them next to the road, advertising my favorite Branson attraction.
My first ride on a Duck was June 29, 1984. I rode with my family on the "Duke" Duck. On that particular day, they were giving all water Duck rides from the Dewey Short Visitors Center next to Table Rock Dam, honoring the 30th anniversary of the construction of the Dam (1954 - 1984). My first official ride would be nearly a year later, once again onboard the "Duke." The "Duke" was added to the fleet in 1981 and came from Republic Studios in Hollywood. They used the vehicle in the 1950s and 60s as an equipment truck to haul camera and lighting crews around on sets that featured water scenes.
All the Ducks were named and by 1984, the McDowell family added four more Ducks. Along with "The Duck," "BJ," and "Don," which were still in operation, the fleet now included Ducks "Baby Huey," "Hodad," "Duke," and "Super Duck." In 1985 a new company logo was introduced and all the Ducks received white paint jobs with the new logo, yellow and red lettering and double blue stripes down the center. By 1986, four more Ducks were added, "GG," "Feef," "Homer" and "Patches." In 1987 Ride the Ducks signed up an agreement with Branson music shows to place their logos on the Ducks, the agreement being, the Ducks would mention the music show featured on the Duck, the music show would mention Ride the Ducks. For a long time their were more shows in town than Ducks, But by 1993, there were 28 Ducks in the fleet and each featured a Branson theater logo, so just about every Branson show had their name on a Duck. This relationship continued thru 2000.
Growing up and spending the summers observing every Duck tour that went by the house, drawing posters and displaying them next to the road encouraging visitors to take a Duck ride, and riding myself on a frequent basis, the Captains, staff and management became like family to me. Each day, the Ducks always went by in the same order, each Captain always drove the same Duck, I knew by the sound of the engine usually which Duck was coming up the hill. Life for me was Ducks!
In the summer of 1992, our family sold the farm, and we moved to a ranch east of Branson, where the family still lives to this day. The only thing that would be missing would be Ride the Ducks of course and it took months to get used to the quietness! Even though I was 20 minutes from the Ducks, I still cherished my experiences with them, but the next four years would be spent pursuing my other love, Western music and the Sons of the Pioneers.
I got so tied up in the research of Western music, and learning multiple instruments and harmony parts, the four years in high school quickly passed, and I had not set foot on a Duck since April of 1992. In May of 1996 I graduated from Branson High School and while making a few appearances as a performer, a steady day job would be needed. Late that summer, in August I went to Ride the Ducks and approached my old friend Jim Smith, who I had known since I was four when he was a Captain. Big Jim as he is known to the Duck family had been general manager since around 1987 and is still in that role today. On Friday morning August 16, 1996, Jim and I visited and talked about the old days and I asked if there were any positions available. It just so happened that one of the jocks (Duck Jockeys) would be going to the ticket office which would leave an opening. Big Jim simply said, "Come in tomorrow morning at 8, let's go to the office so we can fill out your paper work!"
And on Saturday morning August 17, 1996 my childhood dream was fulfilled. Duties of a jock were simple. The main thing was to prepare the guests for a Duck ride, answer any and all questions, assist in boarding, taking tickets, cleaning the grounds, taking out the trash, moving Ducks and keeping them in their daily rotation, have them looking neat and clean at all times, and just have good clean fun.
When I arrived on the scene in 1996, there were around 20 Ducks in the the fleet and Bob McDowell had introduced a new Duck called the "Stretch" Duck. The first Stretch Duck was added to the fleet in May of 1996. Eighteen inches longer and seating for up to 38 passengers, this would soon become the new work-horse of the Ride the Ducks fleet. In 1997, three more Stretch Ducks joined the line-up, and soon after, the old fleet Ducks that I had grown up with, "Duke," "GG," "Homer," "Super Duck" and others were going through this new rebuild process and becoming Stretch Ducks. Now there are nearly 50 Stretch Ducks in operation, and are being used at the other Ride the Ducks locations in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Seattle and now Boston.
Over the years of following the Ducks, I've collected and saved a lot of things. Ticket stubs, t-shirts, souvenir photos, brochures and so on. And in recent years since being employed by Ride the Ducks, a lot of company memorabilia has been passed on to me, with the intent of displaying it in my museum someday, should I ever open one up to the public!
Right here you can view some of the Ride the Ducks goodies that I've collected from their 36 year history in Branson. A special thanks goes out to the McDowell family and Herschend Family Entertainment for letting me do this, to Jim Smith (Big Jim Retired in early 2007) and operations manager Joe Purma for putting up with me every day, and simply letting me relive my childhood at Ride the Ducks!
Click here to see the Duck stuff!