Selinsgrove officials offer advice to N.H. town bequeathed $3.8 million by former resident

Dec. 2—SELINSGROVE — After reading about an unassuming Hinsdale, New Hampshire, man leaving $3.8 million to his hometown, Selinsgrove Borough Council member Shane Hendricks reached out to officials there to offer assistance in handling the unexpected donation.

"This is truly a wonderful gift for your residents, for generations," Hendricks wrote in an email sent a little more than a week ago.

He knows how much the money will benefit the New Hampshire town and its nearly 4,000 residents because Selinsgrove and its 5,000 residents received a similar surprising financial windfall when Francis "Rudy" Gelnett died in 2010 and bequeathed the bulk of his estate — $5.8 million — to the borough.

Since 2012, $1.5 million from the Rudy Gelnett Trust has been used to fund music events and various groups in the borough, including the Gelnett Memorial Library; Dauntless Hook & Ladder Fire Co.; Regional Engagement Center and the public swimming pool. The trust is worth more than $5.5 million today, with the borough using about $300,000 in proceeds from it to fund eligible organizations and projects each year.

As of Thursday, Hinsdale Town Administrator Kathryn Lynch said she had not read the email from Hendricks but would be interested in speaking with Selinsgrove borough officials.

"We were all pretty shocked. We received so many calls" after news about Geoffrey Holt's $3.8 million gift to Hinsdale was reported in several media outlets, she said. "At first it was just a lot of media. Then a lot of people were calling asking for money or telling us how to spend it."

Holt, 82 when he died in June, had been married briefly and had no children. He served in the U.S. Navy, worked as a drivers' education teacher and in a grain mill and later in life did odd jobs while investing his money. Holt lived in the trailer park he managed and was often seen in tattered clothing, riding a lawn mower. Residents noticed him around town, but paid little attention.

He was making plans for them, though. Two decades before his death, Holt met with members of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and arranged for the nonprofit to distribute his money after his death to benefit Hinsdale residents in areas of health, education, recreation and culture.

Like Holt, Gelnett served in the Navy, had no children, kept his wealth largely a secret and lived well below his means. He was seen around town by many in Selinsgrove over the years, riding his bicycle and playing piano in the basement of the former library before his passing at the age of 95.

He worked as a school teacher near Erie before retiring in 1959 and returning to his hometown of Selinsgrove. He played piano for Susquehanna University Homecoming and Alumni Day luncheons for more than 40 years. Before he died, Gelnett met with financial advisors and asked that most of his money be used to benefit Selinsgrove borough residents.

"They had the trust set up even before (borough officials) knew about it," said Hendricks, who was a member of council at the time Gelnett's donation was announced.

Different ideas were floated about how to spend the money given to the borough and there were court challenges, but it remained in the borough's control and today the council has built a reserve fund from the trust's proceeds to offset years when the financial market doesn't do well.

There's been controversy in the past year regarding a request for funding from the trust by Regional Engagement Center (REC) — which has received nearly $280,000 in Gelnett Trust funds since 2018. The center's president is Kelly Feiler, the daughter of former council President Marvin Rudnitsky who resigned last spring amid requests from several council members for more transparency and clear financial figures from the center.

Mostly, Hendricks said, the trust has proved to be very beneficial.

When Dauntless Hook and Ladder Ambulance League's vehicle stopped working, the council held an emergency meeting and were able to purchase a used ambulance within days. "Having that reserve, we were able to expend funds for the safety of residents," he said.

To show appreciation to Gelnett, the library is now named Rudy Gelnett Memorial and his bicycle hangs along a wall inside the building that bears his name. An interactive mural of Gelnett's likeness will be installed at the library early next year.

It's too early to say how Hinsdale will remember Holt and his generosity.

Hinsdale residents are sharing their thoughts online about how the money he left should be spent, Lynch said, with the most popular suggestion for lowering the tax base.

"I plan to get a group of people together to start spitballing ideas," she said.