The collection is largely in the order in which it was received after Mr. Holmes' sudden death in 1946. The two boxes of general correspondence cover quite a wide field. Like all newspaper men Mr. Holmes was interested in important people and events. He wrote to various authors for biographical material and photographs, among whom were: James Oliver Curwood, Willa Cather, Mary Waterstreet Dessureau, Zona Gale, Zane Gray, Sinclair Lewis, Kathleen Norris, Herbert Quick, Booth Tarkington, Elias Tobenkin, Sophia Kerr Underwood, and many others. Letters from Walter S. Goodland, the La Follettes, J. D. Beck, Governor Philipp, and other Wisconsin political figures of importance are in this section of the collection. Affairs of the University and colleges throughout the state and elsewhere are mentioned. On July 21, 1921, Dr. E. A. Birge, then President of the University of Wisconsin, wrote to thank Holmes for the “constant and active interest” which he had taken in University matters, especially during the recent session of the Legislature. The Wisconsin General Hospital Infirmary, restoration of the old capitol at Belmont, marking of the Black Hawk Trail, and correspondence with H. L. Bancroft and others in regard to a photograph of Reverend Samuel Mazzuchelli are only part of the correspondence topics covering the years 1864, 1904-1946.
Radio broadcasts, addresses, articles, notes, and miscellaneous material that had not been published is included. If there was any question about an article having been published, it was kept in the collection. Articles that had been published were not retained during processing.
Being a devout Catholic, Mr. Holmes traveled about the country visiting various monasteries and churches in Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Iowa. The Trappist Order interested him and after several visits to New Mellery Monastery, Peosta, Iowa, and Gethsemane, Kentucky, he wrote The Voice of Trappist Silence. Correspondence concerning monasteries and the Trappists, as well as a folder about the Shaker religion are to be found in Box 4 of the collection.
Source material gathered to publish the volume Old World Wisconsin is filed according to chapters. The first copy of the publication also was retained. Most of the photographs gathered to illustrate this volume are included in the unprocessed additions to this collection.
Also in the collection are six scrapbooks of clippings and letters about Holmes' publications Alluring Wisconsin, Badger Saints and Sinners, Voices of Trappist Silence, Abraham Lincoln Traveled This Way, George Washington Traveled This Way, and Old World Wisconsin.
