LAKEWOOD – By KATHLEEN MARSH, Correspondent

Volunteers at the Holt & Balcom Logging Camp in Lakewood have completed a thorough cleaning and sprucing up of the site in anticipation of the annual school tours. In keeping with a decades-old tradition, fourth graders from area elementary schools will visit the camp in May to learn about their logging heritage. In 2026, students from Pembine, Laona and Oconto are in for a great experience in living like a lumberjack.

We love hosting the students as well as all our guests who tour the camp each summer. We extend an invitation to members and friends of OCHS to visit us this year. In that regard, it seems like a good time to review some Oconto County logging history. Reading about it is good, but the best way to learn this history is to visit Holt & Balcom, the oldest logging camp in America sitting exactly where it was built in 1880-81.

Photo Credit: Kathleen Marsh