Holt & Bascom Logging Camp Museum will be open this summer

After an unprecedented year of being closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Holt & Balcom Logging Camp Museum will reopen this summer. With maintenance and cleaning done by volunteer staff, the site is ready for school field trips and regular summer activities. School visits began May 17 when Suring students came for their annual field trip outing.

“Hopefully, other schools will be able to fit us into their year’s end busy schedules,” says Bob Brown, school tours coordinator and camp curator. “It’s always fun to watch the excitement as the children enjoy a hands-on interactive look at their logging heritage.”

As in the past, the museum will be open on Summer Saturdays. A special 2021 program, “Lucy Loved Lakewood,” will be presented at 1 p.m. July 17. Joining camp director Kathleen Marsh, who will portray Lucy Holt, will be Lakewood historian Tom Thielke. “Lucy” will share some fond memories of her first visit to the Logging Camp in 1894 with her future husband, W.A. Holt, as well as precious time spent vacationing at the Holt family’s iconic Island Lodge at Archibald Lake.

Thielke will pick up the story of Lucy’s deep connection with Lakewood, including her use of a movie camera (1920s cutting-edge technology) to record local history for posterity. Thielke’s presentation will show rare vintage video of the Cathedral Woods, Holt logging crews at work and Holt’s sawmill operation in Oconto.

The museum is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. To arrange special tours on other days, call Brown (715-276-3505) or Marsh (715-276-6515).

Holt & Balcom Logging Camp Museum is the oldest logging camp in America still sitting where it was built. Tax-deductible contributions may be sent to: Kathleen Marsh, Director; Holt & Balcom Logging Camp Museum; 16965 Nicolet Road, Townsend, WI 54175.