Solution Example

Matinicus Volunteer Community Recycling Program

Matinicus Island had a junk car problem as well as a trash problem: old cars were rusting where owners left them in the woods and on the roadsides. Trash washed up on beaches, and the two biggest recent island structure fires were caused by out-of-control trash fires. In 2002, Eva Murray decided Matinicus needed a… Read more » SEE MORE

Community Infrastructure

Actor Martin Clunes of the TV show Doc Martin is flanked by Mikki Ames

Working Waterfront

Meeting Martin on Matinicus

By Shirley Barlow My friend Mikki owns a house on Matinicus Island. She and her late husband, a merchant marine seaman and lobster fisherman, spent most of their lives on the island where they raised their son and daughter. Matinicus is a working island and for years has had the image that lobstermen were akin… Read more » SEE MORE

Bajupa at Journey's End boatyard in Rockland.

Working Waterfront

The story of Bajupa is the story of lobstering and Matinicus

This story first appeared in Landings,the monthly publication of the Maine Lobstermen’s Community Alliance, and appears here with permission. By Melissa Waterman It’s rare to find a boat that nearly every fisherman would term “pretty,” but in the case of Bajupa, that phrase rings true. Built in 1946 by Robert Rich, proprietor of Bass Harbor Boat… Read more » SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Readers respond to Stonington, Matinicus photos

We asked for reader with information about old photographs we published in the May and June issues of The Working Waterfront, and you did not disappoint. First, the Matinicus photo, which depicted a woman playing an accordion-like instrument. Across the sepia-tone image, the date was hand-written. Several readers correctly pointed out that it was the… Read more » SEE MORE

News

Visibility Clears

5/23/2025 - As conversations about the future of Maine State Ferry Service are progressing, Island Institute’s Nick Battista emphasized that the Ferry Service is a vital component of civic infrastructure that connects island communities to essential services and opportunities. SEE MORE

In the news

A passenger disembarks the ferry on Islesboro. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Ferry rates proposed to increase… again

Just a year after raising its fares, the Maine State Ferry Service is proposing another rate hike to meet what it says are unanticipated rising costs. Ticket prices for walk-on passengers and vehicles would rise by about 13.5%, the service reports, in its proposal aired at a public hearing on April 10 at the Samoset… Read more » SEE MORE

Island Journal

Art of Penobscot Bay: A Sampling

When my brother David and I set out to select paintings for our fourth collaboration, Art of Penobscot Bay, we wanted to feature as many different locales as possible. There were many, from the wonderful assortment of shoreline towns to a diverse archipelago that includes Criehaven, Matinicus, North Haven, Vinalhaven, Islesboro, Great Spruce Head, and… Read more » SEE MORE

Art

Island Journal

Everybody Has Got a ‘Bajupa’ Story

Arthur “Art” Hupper was one of the hardest workers on the St. George Peninsula. According to his son David, throughout the 1960s and 1970s, a day of work for Art was just that—nearly 24 hours of labor. He would buy lobsters on remote Maine islands like Monhegan and Matinicus and then sell the catch to… Read more » SEE MORE

2012 Island Journal – Volume 28

View and Download pdf Table of Contents – 2012 Island Journal – Volume 28 From the Helm Islands as Models Philip Conkling — page 5 “The Best Decision We’ve Ever Made” New Families Move to Long Island Judith Paolini — page 8 Thinking like Islands Sustainable Island Living Conference Keynote Speech Excerpts Bill McKibben —… Read more » SEE MORE

2011 Island Journal – Volume 27

v View and Download pdf Table of Contents – 2011 Island Journal – Volume 27 Island Circumambulation A walking tour of the perimeter of Vinalhaven PHIL CROSSMAN — page 8 It’s Not About the Scenery Writing from-and about-Matinicus Island EVA MURRAY — page 16 Holding It Together An interview with Randy Cushman, Captain of F/V ELLA… Read more » SEE MORE