Skipjack Heritage Museum Receives Preservation Award

Deal Island, Md. — The Skipjack Heritage Museum on Deal Island was recently honored by Preservation Maryland, winning the George T. Harrison Outstanding Volunteer Award for their dedication to maintaining the maritime traditions of the Chesapeake Bay.

The volunteer-run organization was nominated by the Beach to Bay Heritage Area due to their work which includes maintenance and showcasing of photographs, artifacts, exhibits and educational programs for future generations to remember their history.

And their work notably includes the preserving the skipjacks, the historical vessels sailing the Chesapeake Bay.

“The preservation of these boats is really high on their mission. And also, the whole culture of the people who work on the boats and grew up captaining these, these boats and harvesting oysters. So, it’s a pretty cool story,” said Lisa Challenger, the executive director of Beach to Bay.

Challenger said she visited the museum during the Skipjack Heritage Festival and gained a major appreciation for the extensive work the volunteers do to keep the maritime history alive. It was a showcase of the qualities that left Challenger feeling the museum deserved the award.

“I just thought these guys deserve that. What really makes them cool is they don’t do any of it for recognition. They know they’re not getting paid. They do it because it’s just a labor of love and they love these boats,” Challenger said.