Local artist inks contract for private studio in Appleton
Iconic Sturgeon Bay structure gets a second life 
September 29, 2025
BALDWIN – After serving his country as a nurse in World War II, Everett Boldt – according to granddaughter Gina Sell – began his work as a plumber, sheet metal/heating installer and serviceman in the very same building Boldt’s Plumbing and Heating is located in today.
Per the Boldt’s Plumbing and Heating website – boldts.com – Everett started the business with a $2,000 loan and just two employees.
Though the company underwent a variety of changes and partners over the years, per the website, it has remained family-owned and -operated since the beginning.
Growing up, Sell – who now co-owns Boldt’s Plumbing and Heating with her husband, Joe, and her parents, Jule and Dale – said she was very close to her maternal grandfather.
“I would go [to his office] pretty much every day after school,” she said. “We would walk down to the ice cream store and get ice cream. We would play cards, and he would take me fishing.”
At that time, Sell said her parents were already involved in the family business, while Everett was nearing retirement.
Though Jule – Everett’s daughter – earned a degree in music, she said she joined the business in 1973 to help with bookkeeping.
Jule said her husband, Dale, joined the company in 1976 as Everett’s apprentice plumber and went on to receive his Master Plumber Certification, Certified Soil Tester License and continued to HVAC design.
In 2012, after years of construction management, Sell said her husband, Joe, joined Boldt’s Plumbing & Heating Inc. as an HVAC technician and later finished his plumbing education to become the leader of the company’s professional plumbing and HVAC install teams.
Sell said her involvement in the company came in 2020 – joining the business after a 15-year commitment to health care as a registered nurse, a career inspired by her grandfather’s service as a nurse in the war.
Pivoting from a career as a nurse to helping guide the family business, Sell said, “wasn’t a huge transition.”
“I don’t work with doctors and nurses anymore, but the plumbers and HVAC techs are kind of the doctors and nurses of the service world,” she said. “So, it’s similar – a lot of emergencies and serving people.”
Sell said doing whatever she can to support the community is another value she inherited from her grandfather.
“He liked to always be there for people in the community, no matter what time of the day it was,” she said. “Grandpa was a trustee for the Village of Baldwin. He was very much a serviceman and liked to help people. He was always available – even on holidays.”
Being able to work side by side with multiple family members, Jule said, “gets me choked up even thinking about it.”
Though the multi-generational aspect of that dynamic is inspiring, she said it may be even more remarkable how she and her husband have managed to work side by side for 50 years, despite the common notion that couples struggle to do so.
“Not that we always get along,” she laughed, “but we’ve worked together for 50 years. And then I get to see my daughter and her husband do the same thing – that is beyond rare, and it’s working.”
Furthering the value of the family legacy, Jule said it was inspiring to see “my husband and my dad working together on projects.”
“I love that,” she said. “My husband always talks about when he worked with my dad and how special that was. I think they were probably closer than he was to his own father because they worked together for so long.”
With three children of their own – Haily (15), Raylyn (12) and Sawyer Everett (10) – as well as five nephews already working at the company, Sell said they are already seeing hints of a potential fourth generation of company leaders.
“It’s a great family atmosphere,” she said. “Our middle daughter has already told me she’s going to work with me for the rest of her life… I mean, it would always be an open invite, but we would never pressure them to join [the business].”
Jule said she and Dale have two other daughters – Kellie (whose son now works in the business as an HVAC installer) – and Sarah – and even during family get-togethers, “shop talk” tends to make its way into the conversation.
Built on values, growing with purpose
What began as a small operation with only two employees, Sell said, has blossomed into a team of 20, servicing 400-500 jobs every month.
The business, she said, also expanded its footprint with locations in both Hudson and Baldwin.
“We have grown quite a bit in the last handful of years,” she said. “It’s a great place to work.”
Inspired by her grandfather Everett’s military service and deep involvement with the American Legion, Sell said supporting veterans remains an important part of Boldt’s Plumbing and Heating today.
“Quite a few of our employees are veterans,” she said. “It’s really neat to see. We enjoy having them as a part of our team. Every Veterans Day, we give them an extra day off paid – in honor of my grandpa.”
Dynamic partners
Sell and Jule said they are alike in many ways – aligning especially on customer service, problem solving and multi-tasking.
“We are on the same page with a lot of our goals and our decisions,” Sell said.
Running a business, Jule said, isn’t for the weak.
Though her father, Dale, is eyeing retirement, Sell said she doesn’t see her mom, Jule, following suit anytime soon.
“I don’t think she will ever be on that path,” she said. “And that’s fine by me.”
Jule said she believes she would get restless “if I were sitting at home.”
“I’ve spent my whole life here,” she said. “[Gina] was in her bassinet as a baby, and I was here in the office.”
However, Jule said she is considering trimming her schedule a bit in the future – ideally working four days a week instead of five.
As the next generation of family continues to find its rhythm, Sell said Boldt’s Plumbing and Heating continues to balance a forward-looking vision with its family-owned and operated heritage.
“We don’t want to be the big guy who loses that family feel,” she said. “I think that’s what makes us unique, is that our employees [have] kind of become our family – not only the ones who are our family but also the other ones [who] become family as well. It’s just always been that way.”
Three Boldt’s Plumbing and Heating employees, Sell said, have been with the company for more than 20 years.
“They stick around, and we all know them very personally and they know us,” she said. “That says a lot.”
By expanding too much or too quickly, Sell said, “you lose that connection with your people.”
Sell said over the years, the company’s growth has been closely tied to its ability to adapt, and Boldt’s now offers maintenance, repair and installation services to residential and commercial plumbing and heating/cooling clients.
When the housing market wasn’t doing well, Sell said Boldt’s Plumbing and Heating did more commercial work and vice versa.
“Now we do a combination of both,” she said.
Embracing change as a core value, Sell said the company has also evolved to what the community needs.
“Grandpa Everett’s business lasted for so long because he could adapt in all those areas, too,” she said.
Sell said she is committed to carrying forward that same spirit of adaptability to help ensure the business continues to evolve and thrive for generations to come.
