Category: Communities

Island Journal

This War-Torn Headland is now a College Town

PHOTOS BY JACK SULLIVAN As Hitler’s troops stormed west across Europe and east into the Soviet Union, men gathered in a coastal Maine village to plan a part of the U.S. response to this growing world war. That meeting, on Oct. 9, 1941 in the Pentagöet Inn, took place in… SEE MORE

Island Journal

Nurturing Native Knowledge

Like most kids growing up on the Penobscot Reservation at Indian Island, just north of Bangor, Donna Loring traveled across the river to Old Town to attend high school. She didn’t like it. In those days, the Old Town High School mascot was an Indian. “I would be made fun of and discriminated against,” recalls Loring, now a Penobscot Elder.  She eventually secured a scholarship to the now-closed Glen Cove Christian Academy in Rockport. In neither school did her education include one word about the Wabanaki—the People of the Dawn—who have lived for more than 12,000 years in what is today called Maine.   SEE MORE

Island Journal

The Last Fish House on Otter Creek

On a warm July afternoon, Steve Smith sat outside a fish house in Otter Creek on Mount Desert Island, telling stories. There was the time it was “Blowin’ like a bastard from the north,” and his skiff capsized. A pair of park visitors heard Smith calling for help, hopped in a nearby rowboat and rescued him. While Smith regaled me with this tale, a large gull landed gracelessly on a nearby piling, evidence that there was once a functioning dock here, now buried by debris from the 2024 winter storms. SEE MORE

Island Journal

Island Town Government: Conflict, Color, and Committment

Around 1960 I attended a Vinalhaven town meeting as part of a high school class activity dealing with civic government. One item on the town’s agenda concerned the repair of a small bridge connecting two substantial (everything’s relevant) island land masses that were a couple hundred feet apart, but which… SEE MORE
Man tosses lobster back into ocean

Island Journal

Where the Harbor Bears Your Name

Joseph William Lunt wakes up before the sun in a house that sits on a harbor that shares his name. Aboard his lobster boat Heritage, Lunt does what his ancestors have been doing for over two centuries—he harvests the bounty of Downeast Maine waters. His wife Teenie Lunt also fishes… SEE MORE
Man in woods

Island Journal

Suhail Bisharat – A Natural Diplomat on Chebeague

The power is out on half of Chebeague Island. Most toilets aren’t flushing and a few roads have downed trees across them, but the high winds haven’t stopped the boats from running. At the ferry landing, Suhail Bisharat stands with his hands behind his back, smartly dressed and smiling warmly.… SEE MORE

Island Journal

North Haven’s Hub by the Water

It’s an iconic rural image—a group of old-timers gathered around a general store’s woodstove, drinking coffee and swapping lies. For the island community of North Haven, that gathering spot was Waterman’s store, a stone’s throw from the ferry landing and the Fox Islands Thorofare anchorage, where the lobster fleet mingles… SEE MORE

Island Journal

Island Institute’s Fellows Program Marks 25 Years

The first Island Institute Fellows were placed in communities 25 years ago in 1999, with the program aiming to provide more hands and minds for island, and then mainland towns to tackle the endless challenges to their viability. Beyond meeting that important goal, the program also trained successive generations of community leaders who continue to serve Maine and beyond. SEE MORE

Island Journal

Way Downeast, These Towns Face Waves of Change

People who live in Jonesport and on Beals Island love to talk about their towns’ histories, not unusual for those residents who can trace their roots to 18th century settlers. They speak about how each town came into its own. Everyone remembers the history-making high school basketball team. And one… SEE MORE