The Working Waterfront newspaper reports on the people and forces that shape Maine’s coastal and island communities. As publisher, Island Institute’s premise is that the cultural, environmental, and community assets here are rare and valuable, and are worth fighting for.
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July 30
Islanders and the shame of baggage
No privacy when it comes to hauling bags to and from island
By Barbara Fernald It starts at the grocery store on the mainland. I hand my cooler and canvas bags to the cashier, who passes them to the bagger, and I start to unload a full grocery cart. I have an itching need to get the cart unloaded quickly so I can get to the other end to help bag the…
July 30
The dirty details of whaling’s glory days
Thomaston’s Renny Stackpole, a native Nantucketer, describes 19thcentury industry
By Nancy Griffin Hunting whales, a practice now roundly condemned by most of the world, once was an important part of New England’s economy in many places—especially so on Nantucket…
July 20
Remembering my dramatic friend John
Welcoming Wulp to Vinalhaven was a colorful event
By Phil Crossman A few years ago, my friend John called to say he was in distress and having a hard time breathing. I called the ambulance and then went…
July 18
Delaware researchers uncover ‘ghost’ crab pot problem
Gear catches and kills significant amount of marine species, study finds
By Craig Idlebrook A pair of researchers said they were stunned to discover just how many recreational crab pots were abandoned or lost in Rehoboth Bay, a sheltered body of…
July 18
When ships don’t make it to port
Maine Maritime Museum exhibit explorers drama inherent in ‘Shipwrecks and Salvage’
By Stephanie Bouchard Buffeted by merciless winds, the schooner Joseph Luther wrecked on Whaleback Rock on a raw January day at the turn of the last century. Stranded on the rock in…
July 17
Geography: it’s all about relationships
Decision making requires data collaboration and sharing
By Meghan Grabill Geography. Sigh, right? Sitting in that classroom back in sixth grade, memorizing the names of states and the capitals of countries around the world. Boring! But knowing…
July 16
A young person’s take on keeping communities alive
Antidotes to isolation include entertainment and empowerment
Reflections is written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. By…
July 16
Bucksport’s not-so-overnight transformation
Becoming ‘something else’ after mill town took long-term planning
By Susan Lessard The path Bucksport took from “mill town” to something else—including becoming the planned home of a land-based salmon farm and an annex of Maine Maritime Academy—began more…
July 16
Castine’s ‘Risky Business’ explores another side of town’s history
Exhibit by historical society highlights fishing, shipbuilding, trade
By Tom Groening Castine is as rich in history as any town on Maine’s coast. The island-like body of land jutting into east Penobscot Bay was occupied and fought over…
July 10
Champlain, an explorer who doesn’t inspire shame
Frenchman traveled New England, Maritimes, Quebec
By Tom Groening It was one of the more absurd exchanges the Jerry and George characters have on the TV show Seinfeld, which is saying something. The topic was explorers. Jerry extols…
Island Postcards
EPISODE 10: Keep the Light Shining
Two ambitious young women swam around the entire Island of Isle au Haut during the summer of 2019 to raise money for crucial renovations to the lighthouse.
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