Meet Gus Gaspardo, St. Paul’s riverboat captain

Padelford Riverboats seems like it’s been part of St. Paul’s downtown river scene forever, but the company actually got its start in 1969 when Capt. Bill Bowell — he of the handlebar mustache and Greek fisherman’s cap — and his wife, Lillian, launched the Jonathan Padelford in 1970.

Gus Gaspardo, 60, started as a summer worker in 1984 and worked his way up to captain, then operations manager, general manager, vice president, and finally president. He and his wife, Tammy, who began as a deckhand in 1989, now own and operate the three-boat sightseeing fleet from St. Paul’s Harriet Island.

Eye On St. Paul visited with the Gaspardos on a gorgeous morning last week to learn more about their life on the Mississippi and the riverboats that are a summer staple of the Capital City. This interview was edited for length and clarity.

Q: Tell me about the fleet.

A: It started with the Jonathan Padelford. And then over the years, he expanded the fleet. They had an overnight boat at one point that ran between here and LaCrosse. And then we ran down in Florida in the wintertime. That one they sold in 1988.

We built the Anson Northrup and the Betsey Northrup in the late ‘80s to run in Minneapolis. We got out of the overnight business when we expanded up to Minneapolis.

Q: What is the voyage?

A: All three boats kind of do the same type of thing. We run sightseeing cruises. We go up to the Minnesota river mouth — 4 miles upriver. We do dinner cruises. And we do a lot of charter business.

Q: When is your season?

A: Our season is mid-April through October. After this week -— this being the last week of September — our schedule lightens up.

Q: Did you ever see yourself running the company?

A: No. I started working here in 1984 as a summer job when I was going to college. I was going to what used to be Mankato State is now Minnesota State [University Mankato]. I was going to school to be an accountant, and in what would have been my last year of college, [I worked] the overnight boat. And then they needed help down in Florida. And I said, “You know, do I want to go sit in an office for the rest of my life? Or do I want to do this?” So I went down to Florida to work the winter down there, and then when I came back, they said, “We want you to go get your captain’s license.”

Q: What was the pull of working on the river?

A: Well, you’re outside every day. And you meet new people every day. And even though you might run the same stretch of river every day, you still see different things. It’s always changing. This is my 40th year.

The founder sold to his children and his nephew in 2001 or so. And then we bought the company from them in 2016.

Q: Why did the Florida cruise stop?

A: It was just, it was a 32-passenger boat, and it was a little primitive for what customers are looking for nowadays.

Q: How else has the company changed in your 40 years?

A: Our demographic is ages 3 to 93. But the city has grown and changed. Our offerings have grown and changed too, from cruise style to menus. We have hour-and-a-half cruises, and we do a four-hour cruise that goes up to Lock One [the Ford lock and dam]. We’re looking at the most scenic stretch. If we were to go downriver from the Robert Street Bridge all the way down to 494 in South St. Paul, it’s pretty industrial.

Q: How has the river changed in 40 years?

A: You just look across the river there, and now we have townhouses and condominiums. That [grain] elevator, that’s now a restaurant. It used to be a working elevator when I started here. You used to have a scrapyard where there are apartment buildings. And you had the old coal-fired NSP power plant right there.

Q: The river has always held something for people. What does it mean to you?

A: Well, just being on the water is always calm. I mean, you sit out here and you’re looking at a river that’s always moving. It’s kind of like sitting and watching a campfire when it gets down to the coals, you know?

Q: How many people do you carry in a season?

A: Eighty thousand to 90,000.

Q: How long do you see yourself doing this?

A: Oh, I don’t know. We’ll see. Being a small, independent family business is far more difficult in today’s age than it ever was in the past.

I met my wife working here. Both of us have a lot of passion for the company. We care deeply about our employees. And we care about our customers. And that’s not always the norm in this industry. We want our customers to have a great experience so that they want to come back. We have season pass holders that have been with us since we started selling them 10 years ago.

Q: What does the Padelford company mean to St Paul?

A: Well, I would like to think it’s an historic attraction — 1970 to 2024 is a pretty good run.

Q: You said being on the water is magical. Do you take cruises for vacation?

A: No. When we are off, we will not be on a boat. I like to golf. And my wife and I camp a little bit. We have a travel trailer, so we like to sneak away for a month or so in the winter. We do like to be around water, I can tell you that. Two winters ago, we did the Southwest. We started in southwest Texas at Big Bend National Park, and worked our way through New Mexico, Arizona. By the time we were getting into Arizona, we both said, “You know, we’re not desert people. Let’s go over to the coast in California. Find some water.”

I need to see water.