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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September 19
Sharing a summer house
Family history leaves its mark
In September I will have lived on Islesford, as a year round resident, for 47 years, but I have spent part of the summer here for every year of my life. My connection to Little Cranberry Island goes back to two sets of great-grandparents who happened to build summer homes near each other on the north shore of the island.…
September 18
Rewriting the storyline of island schools
Institute works to support these small institutions
My father had the honor of cutting the celebratory ribbon for the 150th anniversary of the Chebeague Island District 9 School House last month. At 93, and as the oldest…
September 13
Island Reader’s offerings reflect passion for place
Annual publication collects range of writing, art
Every year since 2006 the Maine Seacoast Mission has published The Island Reader, a wide-ranging anthology of poetry, prose, and artwork by residents of Maine’s unbridged islands. And every year…
September 13
Orr's Island's forgotten attraction
The famous author’s ‘other’ book
Harriet Beecher Stowe is renowned for her influential 1852 novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, which played a pivotal role in shaping national perspectives on slavery. During her husband's tenure as a…
September 13
Home to Downeast for compass reset
Eastport native’s novel sorts out youthful mistakes
Just East of Nowhere By Scot Lehigh (Islandport Press, 2023) Anyone passingly familiar with Eastport will recognize it immediately in Scot Lehigh’s new novel, Just East of Nowhere. We get…
September 13
The wonders of Maine life
Longtime visitor, now resident is impressed
In August 1973, our family arrived in Maine for a one-week vacation on Pemaquid Pond outside Damariscotta. The following year we arrived for two weeks, and then steadily we accumulated…
September 13
Downeast farms happily singing the blues
Wild blueberry growers diversifying, tout healthy product
When Lisa Hanscom leads tours of Welch Farm, she showcases a working wild blueberry farm, and a slice of her family history, too. Hanscom’s grandparents purchased the Roque Bluffs farm…
September 13
Yes, the rain hurt Maine tourism
Outdoor recreation saw biggest dips
During the rainy months of June and July, Aaron Lincoln, captain and owner of the schooner Olad and the cutter Owl out of Camden Harbor, would run into people he…
September 8
Honoring Maine’s immovable beacons
Lighthouse stories highlight important history
Lighthouse keeper Willie Corbett knew Velma Johnson was the woman for him when she arrived for a visit in a bosun’s chair strung between a ship’s mast and the island…
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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