Dr. Cato Holler is one of the most prolific spelunkers in the Southeast. As a National Speleological Society board member, Dr. Holler often spoke at NSS conferences and shared his enthusiasm for responsible cave exploration. He also won the 1979 Francis McKinney Award from the Southern Regional Association of the NSS as well as the 1992 Peter M. Hauer Spelean History Award from the American Spelean History Association. A retired dentist and a resident of Old Fort, N.C., Holler has shared his passion for caving with his famiky. His wife and three daughters are avid cavers also, and one daughter—Nancy Holler Aulenbach—has appeared in three celebrated caving documentaries.

Cato’s father was a caver as well as an expert angler. One of the founders of the N.C. Council of Trout Unlimited and an early advocate of stream management, Cato Holler, Sr., was renowned as a champion fly creator best-known for the fly pattern “Infallible.”

Previous Pioneer

Anne Riddle

Next Pioneer

Chris Hipgrave