The “Holt Ladies” made an appearance July 16 at the Holt & Balcom Logging Camp Museum in Lakewood to present “Love Letters from the Logging Camp.”
The show, an original play by Kathleen Marsh, depicts four years in the lives of three men: one real, lumber baron W.A. Hol,t and two invented by Marsh from composite characters, Holt foreman Harold Hooker and camp cook Henry Hauser.
A number of important events of the 1892-96 logging industry were re-created through the reading of fictitious but historically accurate letters written by the men to their wives. Marsh portrayed Lucy Holt, Cindy Jonet portrayed Hannah Hauser, and Beth Hartman portrayed Henrietta Hooker.
Dorsey and Betty Holt contacted Marsh last spring to request that she arrange a special presentation of “Love Letters from the Logging Camp” on July 16 to celebrate their birthdays.
“I was delighted to say yes to the Holt request,” Marsh said.
The event began with a PowerPoint presentation showing the camp’s restoration, followed by the show. Forty people attended, including five generations of descendants of W.A. and Lucy Holt.
“We were delighted when Holt great-granddaughter Sharon Holt agreed to serve as narrator,” Marsh said. “Everyone said it was a great show, and they learned a lot about their logging heritage.”
Several unexpected guests also attended. Marsh’s brother, John Brantmeier, and his wife, Linda, brought their cousins, Sam and Kate Alexander, visiting from Germany.
The ladies staged an encore performance Sept. 19 before almost 200 people attending the Wisconsin Woodlands Owners Association Convention at the Potawatomi Casino and Hotel in Carter. Serving as narrator that evening was newcomer Shirley Ashbeck.
Again, everyone had high praise for the presentation, especially the 40 attendees who had visited the Holt & Balcom Logging Camp Museum as part of an optional tour arranged by Evelyn Charles and Nancy Bozek, convention organizers.
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