Tom Keilholtz is an up and coming author who brings his personal experiences and a litany of colorful characters from his life to the page. Growing up on a farm in Rocky Ridge, Maryland just below the Mason Dixon line from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania he was introduced to a wide variety of people and experiences. Being constantly surrounded by the monuments and cannons of the Civil War with the weight of history and the lives lost for others, he was immersed in the importance of the stories that make us who we are.
As a small child, he attended beef cattle auctions with his grandfather who was one of the largest cattle brokers for Eskay Meats out of Baltimore, Maryland. He traveled with his other grandfather on the local railroad, of which his grandfather was the engineer. These experiences and the people that he met along the way helped him to realize early on that there was a bigger world beyond that of just his family’s farm.
On his family farm, he learned from his father how to ride horses, and how to raise and care for animals such as beef cattle, sheep and horses. He helped his mother with their extensive vegetable gardens, much to his dismay. When not in school or helping with the farm, he was able to sneak away to hunt or fish with his brothers. Being the middle of seven children, he navigated his childhood between mischief and his extra chores after being caught.
Growing up in small-town America in the 1950’s and 60’s he learned from his father who was a firefighter and his mother who was a nurse important life lessons such as perseverance and to judge a person based upon their character and not merely what’s on the surface.
As an adult, Tom spent much of his career in law enforcement but never lost the love of horses, owning several on his own small farm. In the 1980’s he took his first trip West to Wyoming to hunt and he was instantly in love. He loved it’s wide open spaces and ever changing scenery. He loved the people and their views on life, especially the belief in slowing down the hectic pace to life that is commonplace in the East. While he continues to live near Gettysburg, PA because of his extensive family, he continues to visit his cousin in Wyoming as often as possible.
In the early 1990’s he organized a mounted historical living history unit; Company A, 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry and he was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the one hundred historical reenactors nationwide to work on the set filming the movie Gettysburg.
Now retired from his career in law enforcement, he continues to spend much of his time outdoors hunting, fishing and experiencing life. He understands the everyday adventures which can sometimes bring heartache and grief also present each new day with joy and love. Each of his experiences, good and bad, shape his words as they grace the pages of his work. We are pleased to introduce to you his first book entitled: Somewhere as we impatiently wait for his future works to come.