Lydia Holman

Lydia Holman (1868–1960) was an American nurse who dedicated her life to promoting rural public health. She worked as a nurse and provided social services in the community in Mitchell County, North Carolina. She also served in the United States Army Nurse Corps during the Spanish-American War.

Early life and education Holman was born in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, on January 5, 1868, to Robert Holman and Elizabeth Ann Holman. She graduated from the Philadelphia General Hospital School of Nursing in 1895.

In 1911, she moved to Altapass, another small town in Mitchell County. Next to the Holman Hospital, she founded and ran a library that lent books to children and schools in the area. Every year, she collected toys and warm clothing, and on Christmas she would dress up as Santa Claus and distribute a gift to each child in the community, earning her the nickname “Santa Claus’s Helper.” She also fought to improve roads in the area, and her efforts led to the improvement of the road to Altapass. She received funding and supplies from Holman Committees in Brooklyn, Boston, and Philadelphia, which circulated yearly reports on her and her work.

Leadership and awards Holman served on the first board of directors of the National Organization for Public Health Nursing. When state and federal funding for public health became available in Mitchell County, she was put in charge of these funds, and in 1936 she was elected a member of Mitchell County Board of Health. Her work was endorsed by the Russell Sage Foundation, the American Red Cross, and the National Organization for Public Health Nursing.

Death and legacy On February 25, 1960, at age 92, Holman died in the Oteen Veterans Administration Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina. She is buried in Memorial Cemetery in Spruce Pine, North Carolina.

Her papers are now in the Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University.