Harold Burnham was one of nine people this week to receive a National Heritage Fellowship, the nation’s highest honor for accomplishment in folk and traditional arts. Burnham is a traditional boat-builder in Essex, Mass. and recently completed a 58-foot schooner Ardelle, which he sailed down to Washington DC for the National Heritage Fellowship ceremony.

All the wood for Ardelle, which now sits in a Potomac River marina not far from the Library of Congress, was donated by TCIA member company Mayer Tree Service. “I’m not looking for straight pieces,” Burnham says. “What I’m looking for is large pieces with natural curves in the wood, because those are the strongest. If that piece of wood has a particular sweep to it, I can adjust the boat to fit the piece of wood.”

Read The Washington Post article here and learn more about Mayer Tree Service here.