Don Winton, actor William Holden and the Mt. Kenya Safari Club

In 1959, American Actor star actor William Holden, alongside his friends, Ray Ryan and Swiss financier Carl Hirschmann, founded the beloved MT. KENYA SAFARI CLUB in Nanyuki, Kenya. When actors and others donated and joined the Safari club some members were given a elephant clock and or bookends that were designed and sculpted by Don Winton when they became members of the Mt.Kenya Safari Club. Don Winton was commissioned by William Holden, and created and sculpted the elephants that you see on the clock and bookends. The founding of the Safari Club in 1959 is the reason the 1959 date is seen on the elephants. The elephants that are occasionally seen for sale on Ebay are taken off the book ends or clock.

William Holden was a wildlife conversationalist. Some of the prominent people who became club members and graced the Mt. Kenya Safari club include Winston Churchill, Ernest Hemingway, Charlie Chaplin, and John Travolta among others.

The Mt. Kenya Mission statement reads as follows;

To focus on the educational component of wildlife and environmental protection and habitat conservation. To foster a better understanding of the crucial role flora and fauna plays in the quality of life and its sustenance on our planet with emphasis on practical methods of sustainability accessible to all. To teach alternatives to habitat destruction for man and animals. To enlighten students and visitors to the available innovations in energy production techniques with low environmental impact. To inspire a personal commitment in all who participate.

The Mt. Kenya Game Ranch consisted of 1800 acres on the slopes of Mt. Kenya. Over time 37 species in breeding herds were captured and brought to the ranch to create the first game ranch of its kind in East Africa. The effort was inspired by observing the diminishing herds due to over-hunting, poaching, and population encroachment.

William Holden carried on with his acting career, providing the financial support for the operation, and visiting whenever possible. Holden always spoke of the importance of education for local people in order that they might learn the valuable role wildlife plays in the balance of nature.

Mr. Holden was a recognized actor whose career spanned 40 years with 80 films and a Oscar award. After his death in 1981 his longtime life partner actress Stefanie Powers, created the William Holden Wildlife Foundation as a fulfillment of his desires and as a tribute to his dedication.