'Poor' New Hampshire Man Leaves Millions to Small Town
2023-11-22
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1When Geoffrey Holt of Hinsdale, New Hampshire died earlier this year at 82, not many people knew he had over $1 million.
2He wore worn-out clothes.
3He did not do jobs that paid a lot of money.
4He rode a bicycle instead of owning a car, and he had a small home.
5But when he had extra money, he invested it well.
6One friend said he put money into a mutual fund that held stock in communications companies.
7This was in the days before mobile phones.
8Holt told one friend, Edwin Smith, that the money had grown more than he expected.
9Holt died with $3.8 million.
10He left all the money to the town of Hinsdale.
11The town has about 4,200 people and is about 160 kilometers northwest of Boston, Massachusetts.
12In Holt's will, the document he left when he died, he said the money should be used for education, health, recreation and culture.
13Steve Diorio is one of the town leaders.
14He called the money "a tremendous gift."
15No determination has been made yet about how the town will use the money.
16However, it seems as if the money will go into a special fund, and organizations can submit their ideas for approval.
17Some have suggested upgrading the town hall clock, others have talked about repairing civic buildings or buying a vote-counting machine.
18Kathryn Lynch is another town leader.
19She said Hinsdale will use the money carefully, or "frugally," which is how Holt lived.
20Smith, Holt's friend, said "he seemed to have what he wanted, but he didn't have much."
21Holt would ride his bicycle or his lawn mower around town.
22He would go to a small store to buy a newspaper and he would sit on the lawn mower reading it or watching cars pass.
23When he was younger, he worked as a manager for a grain production center.
24After the center closed, he did small jobs around town - helping people fix things in their homes or teaching teenagers how to drive.
25He did not have a television, and his friend said his home was not in perfect condition - the legs of his bed made holes in the floor.
26But Smith said Holt studied financial magazines and carefully decided how to invest his money.
27He also liked reading about history - some of his favorite topics included World War II and learning about the auto manufacturer Henry Ford.
28He also enjoyed listening to classical music and had a record collection that included works by Handel and Mozart.
29Holt's sister, Alison, is 81.
30She lives in California.
31She said she knew her brother invested his money and did not like to spend wastefully.
32She said their father passed the ideas along to his children.
33Alison said her brother had a learning disability called dyslexia, so he had trouble reading and writing.
34"But he was very smart in certain ways."
35She thought that Geoffrey was disappointed he could not succeed in education, so "maybe socking away all that money was a way to compete."
36The Holts grew up nearby in Springfield, Massachusetts.
37Geoffrey Holt went to Marlboro College in Vermont and also served in the U.S. Navy.
38Neither Geoffrey nor his sister had any children.
39Alison said her brother did not need a lot to be happy.
40But she is sad he never used the money to "indulge himself a little bit."
41I'm Dan Friedell.
1When Geoffrey Holt of Hinsdale, New Hampshire died earlier this year at 82, not many people knew he had over $1 million. 2He wore worn-out clothes. He did not do jobs that paid a lot of money. He rode a bicycle instead of owning a car, and he had a small home. 3But when he had extra money, he invested it well. One friend said he put money into a mutual fund that held stock in communications companies. This was in the days before mobile phones. 4Holt told one friend, Edwin Smith, that the money had grown more than he expected. 5Holt died with $3.8 million. 6He left all the money to the town of Hinsdale. 7The town has about 4,200 people and is about 160 kilometers northwest of Boston, Massachusetts. 8In Holt's will, the document he left when he died, he said the money should be used for education, health, recreation and culture. 9Steve Diorio is one of the town leaders. He called the money "a tremendous gift." 10No determination has been made yet about how the town will use the money. However, it seems as if the money will go into a special fund, and organizations can submit their ideas for approval. 11Some have suggested upgrading the town hall clock, others have talked about repairing civic buildings or buying a vote-counting machine. 12Kathryn Lynch is another town leader. She said Hinsdale will use the money carefully, or "frugally," which is how Holt lived. 13Smith, Holt's friend, said "he seemed to have what he wanted, but he didn't have much." 14Holt would ride his bicycle or his lawn mower around town. He would go to a small store to buy a newspaper and he would sit on the lawn mower reading it or watching cars pass. 15When he was younger, he worked as a manager for a grain production center. After the center closed, he did small jobs around town - helping people fix things in their homes or teaching teenagers how to drive. He did not have a television, and his friend said his home was not in perfect condition - the legs of his bed made holes in the floor. 16But Smith said Holt studied financial magazines and carefully decided how to invest his money. He also liked reading about history - some of his favorite topics included World War II and learning about the auto manufacturer Henry Ford. He also enjoyed listening to classical music and had a record collection that included works by Handel and Mozart. 17Holt's sister, Alison, is 81. She lives in California. She said she knew her brother invested his money and did not like to spend wastefully. She said their father passed the ideas along to his children. 18Alison said her brother had a learning disability called dyslexia, so he had trouble reading and writing. "But he was very smart in certain ways." 19She thought that Geoffrey was disappointed he could not succeed in education, so "maybe socking away all that money was a way to compete." 20The Holts grew up nearby in Springfield, Massachusetts. Geoffrey Holt went to Marlboro College in Vermont and also served in the U.S. Navy. 21Neither Geoffrey nor his sister had any children. Alison said her brother did not need a lot to be happy. But she is sad he never used the money to "indulge himself a little bit." 22I'm Dan Friedell. 23Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based a story by the Associated Press. 24________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26tremendous -adj. very large or great 27fund -n. an amount of money that is meant to be used for or serves a specific purpose 28civic -adj. related to a city or town 29frugally -adv. being careful not to spend money when it is not necessary; the careful use of money 30sock away -v. (phrasal, informal) to save a supply of something, often money, by putting it in a safe place 31indulge -v. to permit yourself or someone else to do something purely for the pleasure of it 32We want to hear from you. How would you use the money if you were a town leader?