s. Mel opened the "Dells Amphibian
Line", which gave 90-minute tours in the Wisconsin River, exposing
tourists to the area's famous sandstone formations. Mel eventually sold his
duck fleet to the Associated Boat lines in 1952, which renamed the company the
Wisconsin Ducks, Inc. In 1952 the Wisconsin Ducks, founded by Jack B. Olson,
began offering tours of the river dells and adjacent areas using decommissioned
amphibious DUKW vehicles from World War II. However, duck competition was far
from over after the 1952 sale. Flath opened up a duck ride again briefly from
1964 to 1966. When he was bought out again, the Soma Boat Company opened its
own duck ride on Mirror Lake, near Lake Delton, which it called the Aquaducks.
In response to the competition, Wisconsin Ducks, Inc. assumed the name
"Original Wisconsin Ducks". Aquaducks existed from 1968 until its
sale to the boat lines in 1976. In 1977 yet another duck ride began, this one
by Flath's daughter and son-in-law, George and Suzanne Field, named Dells Duck
Tours, Inc., operating from the same property as Mel had 30 years earlier. This
time sporting a red, white and blue exterior, these ducks, while not the
"original" ducks that were first brought to the dells, were still
World War II production models. Today, the Dells Duck Tours, Inc. are known as
the Dells Army Ducks after a paint scheme change in 2002.
Growth
Lake Delton, Wisconsin Dells's sister city
to the south, gradually became popular as the Dells attractions spread out. The
Wonder Spot was founded in Lake Delton in 1952, and remained open until 2006.
In 1952, a new traveling performance from Chicago called "Tommy Bartlett's
Thrill Show" came to Lake Delton on its second stop. Following the show's
huge success in the city, its owner, Tommy Bartlett, chose to keep the
performance
