Dick March teaches Kit Banks, one of his many students, the art of Nantucket Basket making.

Nantucket Basket Making

Everyone here has the opportunity to learn something new everyday. Sometimes what we learn not only enriches our lives, but changes them. For Dick March that happened the day he stumbled into the art and crafts room shortly after moving into RiverWoods while Richard Demarest was teaching a Nantucket Basket Making class.

Although Dick had never made a Nantucket Basket, he soon found that he was a natural at the complex craft. Sometime later, Demarest approached Dick and offered to give him his valuable basket molds, a collection it took a lifetime to build, on one condition. Demarest wanted Dick to use his molds and newly honed skills to teach others the craft of Nantucket Basket Making.

Dick agreed. Today he is still making baskets by hand. In fact, he says he has several baskets full of baskets. And true to his word, he has taught numerous residents the unique skill.