Holden Village, Washington

Holden Village is a year-round Lutheran Christian center in the North Cascade mountains of the U.S. state of Washington. Formerly the site of one of the largest copper mines in the United States, the Holden mine, Holden is accessible only by the Lake Chelan passenger ferry, the Lady of the Lake, or by hiking in through the Cascade Mountains.

Location

Holden Village is located in the Cascade Range in Washington. It is inaccessible by car. Visitors generally take a ferry up Lake Chelan from Chelan, WA, or Fields Point Lending to Lucerne where they board a village bus which takes them up a dirt road known as the Holden Switchbacks and into Holden Village. Holden staff and guests greet arriving busses with welcoming applause. It is also possible to hike into Holden Village over the Cascades.

History

Mining era (1896-1957)

In 1896, James Henry Holden made his first claim on the area which would later become Holden Village. However, because of the expense and difficulty involved in transporting copper from the isolated mine, the operation did not begin its full productivity until 1937. By 1938, the mine had become successful and processed 2,000 tons of copper ore daily. With the success of the mine came miners and their families, still recovering from the Great Depression. The Howe Sound Company, which owned the mine at the time, built a townsite on the north side of Railroad Creek soon after the mine began to thrive. The townsite, Holden, Washington, consisted of a number of dormitories, a gymnasium, bowling alley, mess hall, school, and hospital, among other things. West of the townsite was a patch of small houses intended for miners with families in tow.

The Holden Mine and the town of Holden flourished for many years despite the isolation. However, after World War II the price of metals fell and the resources of the mine began to diminish. The mine was closed in 1957.

The Village (1957-present)

With the closing of the mine in 1957, the Howe Sound Company sought a buyer for the Holden Mine and townsite. With an asking price of $100,000, the remote piece of property did not sell. However, Wes Prieb, a man active in the Lutheran Bible Institute (now known as Trinity Lutheran College), saw the potential for a spiritual retreat center at the old mine. Originally he asked the Howe Sound Company to give the mine to the Lutheran Church as a gift. The company initially refused, but eventually agreed to sell the mine and townsite for one dollar.

With the purchase of the mine and buildings came a multitude of problems for the Lutheran Bible Institute. The structures were old and suffering from several years of neglect. Many were becoming structurally unsafe; the remainder did not meet modernized building codes. With the help of large brigades of volunteers, the Lutheran Bible Institute successfully restored and refurbished many of the buildings. The village began to function as a summer retreat center soon afterward. Originally, the Lutheran Bible Institute imagined a summer-only center, and kept limited staff on hand for the first few winters. However, both the infrastructure needs of the community and the natural beauty of Holden Village in the winter led to the creation of a year-round retreat center.

Holden Village today

Today, Holden Village operates as a year-round retreat center. It relies heavily on volunteers for all day-to-day services. Although still operated under the auspices of the Lutheran Church, the Village respects and welcomes people of all faiths and backgrounds as a part of their community. Holden Village is inundated with visitors during the summer months when families come to stay for a few days, a week, or a month at a time. Holden Village runs a variety of programming in the summers, with classes focusing on science, theology, art and philosophy for all age levels. Winters in the village are much more quiet, although it is a popular destination during the Christmas and New Year celebrations. Holden Village receives large amounts of snow in the winter (averaging over 260") making snowshoeing and cross-country skiing favorite activities.

Transportation

Holden Village remains nearly as isolated today as it was at its founding and it is still impossible to reach the village by car alone. Buses leave Holden Village in the morning and head down the mountain on a treacherous set of switchbacks. The landing on Lake Chelan associated with Holden Village is called Lucerne, and it is here that the buses meet the daily boats coming and going. The Chelan Boat Co., located in Chelan, Washington, runs two boats (the Lady of the Lake II and the Lady Express) to and from the village. These boats ferry people up and down the lake, making stops at the resort town of Stehekin, trailheads, personal properties, and at Lucerne for visitors of Holden Village.

Community

Holden Village exists because so many people dedicate volunteer time and effort to its maintenance and growth. The year-round residents are largely volunteers who have dedicated from one week, three weeks, six months, a year, or more of their lives to Holden Village. Most residents have specific jobs—from kitchen duty and housekeeping to heavy equipment mechanic and utilities manager—which they perform throughout the year. Communal living is the rule in the village, and guests are integrated into the volunteer culture that keeps the village running. Resident families generally live in a chalet, often with another couple or a second family. Other residents live together in the dormitories, called lodges. Some visitors can stay in one of the yurts that as built down the road, too. Meals are eaten together at proscribed times in the dining hall, and meat is served sparingly. While guests and volunteers are given wide latitude concerning how they spend their time during the day, Holden Village expects everyone to come together for the evening Vespers service each day and the Sunday service. Holden Village is known for the Holden Evening Prayer service, a form of the traditional Vespers. Holden Evening Prayer was composed by Marty Haugen, a prolific liturgical composer.

Domke Lake Fire of 2007

Image from Lucerne landing during the staff evacuation of Holden Village on August 14, 2007

In August 2007, Holden Village was forced to evacuate approximately 300 guests and staff because of the advance of the nearby Domke Lake Complex wildfire, leaving about 25 staff to maintain and keep the village operational. While the village itself was never threatened directly, the fire was in danger of cutting off the single road into the village. Six weeks later, on September 21, the village reopened to guests.

External links

• Holden Village (official website)
• The Holden School
• Holden History
• Lady of the Lake - Chelan Boat Company
• Holden Village Audio Archives