LOCALadk Magazine
Issue link: https://localadkmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1518261
LOCALadk 13 to attract businesses to the vacant former town hall building, Jim visited the North House Folk School in Grand Marais, MN, and returned with the idea of an Adirondack Folk School. With endless support and en- couragement from local volunteers and town leader- ship, AFS opened its doors for its first classes on June 5, 2010. That first summer saw AFS offering 90 classes to nearly 300 students taught by 40 instructors. These numbers have been growing ever since. Last year, 1100 students participated in over 250 classes taught by 60 instructors, and we expect these numbers to continue to grow even bigger. This growth is creating some space limitations at AFS which caused the school to open the Alfred Z. Solomon Lake George Wood- working and Weaving Studio in a former retail space (which happened to be owned by a former student) in the Lake George Outlets. The Lake George Annex is now home to the iconic "Wee Lassie" cedar strip ca- noe-building and weaving classes in addition to other handcrafting classes. Speaking of classes—in the 9 or so years that I've known about AFS, I've now taken almost a dozen class- es, including courses in woodworking, blacksmithing, photography, and more. I've built a rustic headboard, a chef's knife, a live edge bowl, and other items that we use every day and proudly display in our home. I also made the time two years ago to take the Wee Lassie canoe class taught by the inimitable Larry Benjamin. Over the course of 11—sometimes long— days of cut- ting, gluing, sanding, shaping, sanding, finishing, and sanding—the five of us transformed a pile of lumber into five beautiful, lightweight and fun-to-paddle solo canoes. Did I mention sanding? Larry led us all through the process and was there at every turn to cajole, mentor and otherwise move us along the path that ultimately led to success, solving the inevitable prob- lems and challenges that arise with any project of this scope, and he did it with patience, good humor and energy that kept us all coming back for more. Larry is a leading example of the caliber of instructor that you will find at AFS, and it is the passion these instructors have for both their craft and for sharing that craft that truly make the school a special place. The Adirondack Folk School (opposite page) of fers courses in woodworking, blacksmithing, and more. Results of John's own coursework (shown above) include a hunting knife, rustic headboard, and " Wee L assie" cedar-strip canoe.