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TAUNY to honor North Country Heritage Award winners Sunday in Canton

Posted 10/20/17

CANTON -- TAUNY, Traditional Arts in Upstate New York, recently named the three recipients for this year’s North Country Heritage Awards, one of whom is a St. Lawrence County resident. Bill …

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TAUNY to honor North Country Heritage Award winners Sunday in Canton

Posted

CANTON -- TAUNY, Traditional Arts in Upstate New York, recently named the three recipients for this year’s North Country Heritage Awards, one of whom is a St. Lawrence County resident.

Bill MacKentley of Potsdam was named the Inherited Traditions Award Recipient.

Other winners were Loretta Lepkowski of Tug Hill who was named the Evergreen Award Recipient, and the Paddock Arcade in Watertown which was designated the Very Special Place Award Recipient.

MacKentley and the other recipients will be recognized and honored for their contributions to their communities and North Country traditions at this year’s Salute to North Country Heritage, TAUNY’s public reception, Oct. 22 from 2-4 p.m. at The TAUNY Center.

MacKentley is a dedicated and experienced horticulturist in Potsdam.

A native of Mt. Arab deep in the Adirondack woods, MacKentley developed his skills after starting as an apprentice with legendary North Country farmer Fred Ashworth over 50 years ago.

During that apprenticeship, Ashworth shared with Bill his vast knowledge about trees, especially edible fruit and nut trees that survive and thrive in sub-zero climates.

After years of working with Ashworth, Bill and his wife Diana started St. Lawrence Nurseries where they continued until their recent retirement to find and graft scores of new and heirloom varieties. Besides hundreds of loyal local customers, with mail order sales over the last few decades, they have sent thousands of saplings and plants to customers across the country and well beyond.

By collecting and planting seeds from Fred Ashworth’s original nut tree selections and propagating the many fruit cultivars tested and recommended by Fred, Bill has kept much of their shared knowledge alive and shared it with countless others.

For more information about the North Country Heritage Awards and the Salute to North Country Heritage Program visit tauny.org.