Home of: Ed and Caroline Hollowed

MEEKER | After 36 years in Meeker, Ed and Caroline Hollowed feel pretty comfortable calling this town home.
Ed came to Meeker in 1977 after graduating from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, where he obtained his degree in wildlife biology. Caroline came a short time after his arrival.
Ed has been a wildlife biologist with the Bureau of Land Management since 1977, and, upon her arrival, Caroline joined the BLM as a temporary worker. That is where they met.
Caroline’s resume is a bit more varied than Ed’s but the theme of being close to the land has followed her. After her stint as a temporary worker with the BLM, she worked for the U.S. Geological Survey, then returned to the BLM, where she worked as a hydrologist. The stint before her recent retirement was as a member of the U.S. Forest Service TEAMS, which Ed described as a group of project manager specialists. There, she worked with the BLM on that agency’s resource management plan.
The two were joined in marriage in June 1982, in Caroline’s home town of Holland, Mich., They have two daughters, the eldest being Meg, who is currently a civil engineer in Champlain, Ill., and the younger Beth, a civil engineer with Peabody Coal in Gillette, Wyo.
Ed and Caroline have been highly active in the community and local organizations over the years. Ed served time as secretary/treasurer of the Meeker Sportsmen’s Club and served a couple years as a 4-H leader.
Caroline has been and continues to be involved with the St. James vestry over the last 20 years, served on the swim team board for about 10 years, which evolved into 15 years with the Rio Blanco County Recreation Board, she spent six years as a member of the 4-H Foundation as well as led the 4-H Weed program for a couple years. She also led a DI team with Paul Daggett for a couple years.
Ed and Caroline were involved in the SOS program at the elementary and middle schools for about 10 years and participated as science fair judges in the elementary school for about as long.
As hobbies, Ed said they both love hunting; Caroline being more into big game and him being more into bird hunting. He has also judged hunting dogs, which he truly enjoys.
As to why the Holloweds like living in Meeker, Ed said, “It is a toss-up between the friends we have made here, the friends who have passed on and this just being the type of country we love. Regardless of its many qualities, this is where we grew up and where we raised the family. The kids got a great education here, and now Caroline and I can sit back a bit and enjoy it.”
As being a special point in their lives, Ed pointed to getting to travel with, and “through” their girls.
“We traveled with the girls through their involvement with DI (Destination Imagination) and even went with them to Tennessee. Then we were able to travel through them related to their travels with Ecology International as they went to Costa Rica and Italy and some other countries. We didn’t travel with them, physically, but we feel as though we traveled through them with all the plans, experiences and places they visited.”
While the girls were in school, Ed also followed them all around to summer club swim meets, Destination Imagination competitions and basketball, volleyball, track and cross-country meets.