New Hampshire
Secret, mobile home multi-millionaire who drove lawnmower leaves fortune to small town
A New Hampshire man who lived in an unfurnished mobile and drove a lawn mower around his small town died a secret multi-millionaire and bequeathed his fortune to the tight-knit community.
Geoffrey Holt, who died in June at the age 82, was known as the caretaker of a Hinsdale mobile home park where he lived in a unit with no computer or TV and a bed with legs that went through the floor.
Holt rarely left the town of 4,200 on the Vermont and Massachusetts border and did not have a car.
He was often seen riding his mower to the local convenience store, clad in threadbare clothes.
Edwin “Smokey” Smith, Holts best friend, former employer and a former Republican state lawmaker, learned shortly before his death that the divorced and childless man had made investments that had paid off in a big way — to the tune of $3.8 million.
“He seemed to have what he wanted, but he didn’t want much,” he said.
Smith suggested that Holt think of the community, but never expected him to will the entire lump sum to its coffers, with the instructions that it be spent on education, health, recreation and culture.
“I was sort of dumbfounded when I found out that all of it went to the town,” said Smith.
He was well-liked in the community, where he often did odd jobs for others, but what most residents didn’t know was that he was living vastly below his means.
“I think for Geoff, lawn mowing was relaxation, it was a way for him to kind of connect with the outdoors,” his physical therapist Jim Ferry said.
“I think he saw it as service to people that he cared about, which were the people in the trailer park that I think he really liked because they were not fancy people.”
“I don’t think anyone had any idea that he was that successful,” said Steve Diorio, chairperson of the town selectboard who’d occasionally wave at Holt from his car. “I know he didn’t have a whole lot of family, but nonetheless, to leave it to the town where he lived in … It’s a tremendous gift.”
Town officials were debating how best to use the substantial shot in the arm, and organizations were invited to apply for grants.
Hinsdale will “utilize the money left very frugally as Mr. Holt did,” said Kathryn Lynch, town administrator.
Holt, a former production manager at a grain mill, used to comb through financial publications and had invested in a communications mutual fund before the advent of the digital age.
His sister, 81-year-old Alison Holt of Laguna Woods, California, said that Holt learned from his father the importance of not wasting money and investing.
“Geoffrey had a learning disability. He had dyslexia,” she said. “He was very smart in certain ways. When it came to writing or spelling, he was a lost cause. And my father was a professor. So, I think that Geoff felt like he was disappointing my dad. But maybe socking away all that money was a way to compete.”
Holt, who had served in the Navy and collected history books and records by composers like Handel and Mozart, didn’t talk about money with his sister but had often asked her if she needed anything.
“I just feel so sad that he didn’t indulge himself just a little bit,” said Alison, who is also childless.
“He always told me that his main goal in life was to make sure that nobody noticed anything,” she said, adding that he’d say “or you might get into trouble.”
With Post wires
New Hampshire
Sens. Sharon Carson & Regina Birdsell: We’ll keep New Hampshire on the path to prosperity
New Hampshire State Police responded to a crash Friday evening on Interstate 95 northbound in Portsmouth.
The crash happened near Exit 5 and closed the highway in the northbound direction, but police said around 7:45 p.m. that one lane had reopened.
Authorities did not have any word on injuries.
Drivers are being asked to avoid the area if possible. Delays and detours are expected.
No further details were immediately available.
CONTACT:
Heidi Holman, NH Fish and Game: 603-271-2461
Haley Andreozzi, UNH Cooperative Extension: (603) 862-5327
January 10, 2025
Concord, NH — Butterflies serve as important biodiversity indicators for ecosystem health and provide food for many speciess, such as migrating birds. There are more than 100 typess of butterflies in New Hampshire, but data on their presence and distribution is limited. With butterflies using forests, fields, wetlands, and backyards all over the state, volunteer observations are critical to providing a landscape view of these species.
A five-part online training series hosted by the NH Butterfly Monitoring Network will provide information on butterflies in New Hampshire, butterfly biology and identification, and how to get involved with the Network. The NH Butterfly Monitoring Network is a collaborative effort with a goal of engaging volunteers in counting and identifying butterflies across New Hampshire. Data collected by volunteers can contribute to the understanding of long-term trends in butterfly populations and inform conservation actions for both common and declining species.
Webinars in the series will include:
February 12, 6:30–7:30 p.m.: Intro to New Hampshire Butterflies
Mark Ellingwood, Wildlife Biologist and Volunteer with the Harris Center for Conservation Education
February 26, 6:30–7:30 p.m.: Wetland Butterflies of New Hampshire
Rick Van de Poll, Ecologist and Certified Wetland Scientist
March 12, 6:30–7:30 p.m.: Butterflying New Hampshire’s Woodlands
Levi Burford, Coordinator of the Errol Butterfly Count
March 26, 6:30–7:30 p.m.: Identifying New Hampshire’s Grassland Butterflies
Amy Highstrom, Coordinator of the Lake Sunapee Butterfly Count, and Vanessa Johnson, NH Audubon
April 9, 6:30–7:30 p.m.: Become a Volunteer Guide with NH Butterfly Monitoring Network
Haley Andreozzi, UNH Extension
All butterfly enthusiasts are welcome, with or without prior experience. For more information and to register for the session(s) you are interested in, visit nhbutterflies.org.
The NH Butterfly Monitoring Network is led by the NH Fish and Game Department and UNH Cooperative Extension with collaboration from partners statewide, including NH Audubon, Tin Mountain Conservation Center, the Harris Center for Conservation Education, and Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust.
Seymour P. Lachman, Who Exposed Political Cabals in Albany, Dies at 91
Firefighters race to contain Los Angeles wildfires with menacing winds forecast to return
Weird and wonderful cars we saw at this year’s Detroit Auto Show
At least 66 people die after a truck plunges into a river in southern Ethiopia
Why Mission Bay is recovering faster than anywhere else in SF
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
Why Marjorie Taylor Greene was ‘kicked out’ of the Freedom Caucus according to Rep. Buck
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
Tulsa Massacre Was a ‘Coordinated, Military-Style Attack,’ Federal Report Says
'Space coast' congressman sets bold goal for American moon missions
Brussels, my love? Poland's New Year's resolution
Fox News headed for trial, again, over 2020 election fraud claims
Trump Blames L.A. Wildfires on Newsom Using Familiar Tactics
-
Politics1 week agoNew Orleans attacker had 'remote detonator' for explosives in French Quarter, Biden says
-
Politics1 week agoCarter's judicial picks reshaped the federal bench across the country
-
Politics7 days agoWho Are the Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom?
-
Health6 days agoOzempic ‘microdosing’ is the new weight-loss trend: Should you try it?
-
World1 week agoSouth Korea extends Boeing 737-800 inspections as Jeju Air wreckage lifted
-
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25822586/STK169_ZUCKERBERG_MAGA_STKS491_CVIRGINIA_A.jpg "Meta is highlighting a splintering global approach to online speech")
Technology2 days agoMeta is highlighting a splintering global approach to online speech
-
World1 week agoWeather warnings as freezing temperatures hit United Kingdom
-
News1 week agoSeeking to heal the country, Jimmy Carter pardoned men who evaded the Vietnam War draft