Loup Generator — Fall 2020
The Ruthie cabin cruiser makes a big splash in 1939, the Lake Babcock Amusement Resort works to develop the lake into a "boating mecca", protecting the piping plover and interior least tern at the Genoa Headworks.
The Ruthie cabin cruiser makes a big splash in 1939, the Lake Babcock Amusement Resort works to develop the lake into a "boating mecca", protecting the piping plover and interior least tern at the Genoa Headworks.
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Ruthie’s<br />
BIG SPLASH<br />
THE<br />
<strong>—</strong> Columbus Telegram, May 27, 1940<br />
In 1939, Leonard Fleischer bought a boat from Chicago and<br />
brought it south to Richland where it was reconditioned.<br />
He named it Ruthie, after his soon-to-be wife, Ruth Schmid.<br />
The boat was big news when it hit the waters of Lake Babcock<br />
the following spring. It was, after all, one of the largest boats in<br />
Nebraska. His sons, Len and Bud, were small children during its<br />
heyday and remember only a few details.<br />
“He would give rides for 25 cents a gallon or a gas coupon,”<br />
said Len. “They were short of gas. He was a salesman and needed<br />
gas for his car.”<br />
His efforts to operate his cruiser began in March of 1940 when<br />
he petitioned <strong>Loup</strong> President Harold Kramer for permission.<br />
“I would like to ask permission from the <strong>Loup</strong> River Public<br />
Power District to launch and keep on Lake Babcock for the<br />
summer, a thirty-one foot cabin cruiser. I would also like to have<br />
a private dock for loading and anchoring of a craft of this size,<br />
which is greatly in need of this protection,” he wrote.<br />
<strong>Loup</strong> told Leonard his request was approved in a letter dated<br />
May 11, 1940. He signed a year-long permit “to operate motor<br />
boat on Lake Babcock for commercial purpose” the next month<br />
with the Lake Babcock Amusement Resort (more about this on page<br />
6). The cost was $25.<br />
Sometime in the early 1940s, the boat was requisitioned by<br />
the United States Coast Guard for use in World War II where<br />
it patrolled the Gulf of Mexico near New Orleans. It came back<br />
painted another color with mounting holes from a machine gun,<br />
Len said. It was repainted and repaired once more.<br />
Leonard received the boat back before 1944. The <strong>Loup</strong> Board<br />
minutes from Aug. 4 that year state that he removed his boat<br />
and housing from District property with the exception of a small<br />
screened shelter. He requested permission to move that shelter to<br />
higher ground off the south reservoir embankment. Permission<br />
was granted.<br />
The boat remained popular at the lake until the late 1940s<br />
when his sons estimate he sold it.<br />
4 GENERATOR
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