HINSDALE, N.H.

(AP) — Geoffrey Holt was unassuming as the

caretaker of a mobile home park in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, where
he lived a simple, but curious life.
Residents would see Holt around town in threadbare clothes — riding
his lawn mower, headed to the convenience store, parked along the
main road reading a newspaper or watching cars pass.
He did odd jobs for others, but rarely left town. Despite having taught
driver’s ed to high schoolers, Holt had given up driving a car. He
opted for a bicycle instead and finally the mower. His mobile home in
the park was mostly empty of furniture -- no TV and no computer,
either. The legs of the bed went through the floor.
“He seemed to have what he wanted, but he didn’t want much,” said
Edwin “Smokey” Smith, Holt’s best friend and former employer.
But Holt died earlier this year with a secret: He was a
multimillionaire. And what’s more, he gave it all away to this
community of 4,200 people.
His will had brief instructions: $3.8 million to the town of Hinsdale to
benefit the community in the areas of education, health, recreation and
culture.
“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."
The money could go far in this Connecticut River town sandwiched
between Vermont and Massachusetts with abundant hiking and fishing
opportunities and small businesses. It's named for Ebenezer Hinsdale,
an officer in the French and Indian Wars who built a fort and a grist
mill. In addition to Hinsdale's house, built in 1759, the town has the
nation’s oldest continually operating post office, dating back to 1816.
There's been no formal gathering to discuss ideas for the money since
local officials were notified in September. Some residents have
proposed upgrading the town hall clock, restoring buildings, maybe
buying a new ballot counting machine in honor of Holt, who always
made sure he voted. Another possibility is setting up an online drivers'
education course.
Organizations would be be able to apply for grants via a trust through
the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, drawing from the interest,
roughly about $150,000 annually.
Hinsdale will “utilize the money left very frugally as Mr. Holt did,”
said Kathryn Lynch, town administrator.
Holt’s best friend Smith, a former state legislator who became the
executor of Holt's estate, had learned about his fortune in recent years.
He knew Holt, who died in June at age 82, had varied interests, like
collecting hundreds of model cars and train sets that filled his rooms,
covered the couch and extended into a shed. He also collected books
about history, with Henry Ford and World War II among his favorite
topics. Holt had an extensive record collection too, including Handel
and Mozart.
Smith also knew that Holt, who earlier in life had worked as a
production manager at a grain mill that closed in nearby Brattleboro,
Vermont, invested his money. Holt would find a quiet place to sit near
a brook and study financial publications.
Holt confided to Smith that his investments were doing better than he
had ever expected and wasn't sure what to to do with the money.
Smith suggested that he remember the town.
“I was sort of dumbfounded when I found out that all of it went to the
town,” he said.
One of Holt's first investments into a mutual fund was in
communication