Working Waterfront

Saving our safe passage sentinels

It took an act of Congress and some well-placed support from then Sen. George Mitchell to seal the deal, resulting in the transfer of 27 lighthouses into caring hands. SEE MORE

Philip Frey’s “Ready for Lessons” (2023), oil on linen, 30 by 40 inches. PHOTO: COURTESY PHILIP FREY

Working Waterfront

Philip Frey on Hancock Point

The result is a paean to summer, to the quiet that follows a day of waterfront activities. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

An honest look at idyllic island life

I'm always grateful for my email deliveries of The Working Waterfront. The edition with Island Institute Fellow Katie Liberman's column was especially poignant (Reflections, “A stark reminder of the need to support our children”). My husband and I live on Roosevelt Island in New York City and have summered on… SEE MORE

This image shows a dead whale in Vinalhaven’s Carver’s Harbor in 1918. PHOTO: MAINE MARITIME MUSEUM

Working Waterfront

What created Maine’s brief whaling industry

Menhaden, also referred to as pogies or mossbunkers, are currently one of several species of bait fish used in the lobster industry. Historically, these fish were harvested for entirely different purposes: leather production and agriculture. By the mid-19th century, numerous oil processing plants were established in Maine to refine menhaden… SEE MORE

A summer scene on Swan's Island. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

It’s the people part of island life

History is made and told by people. It’s happening as you read this newspaper. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Remembering Gramp—role model and patriot

The Fourth of July reminds me each year of a memorable Independence Day Celebration in 1984, when my grandfather, Edwin (Ted) Maddox, a highly regarded islander, selectman, and staunch Republican state legislator representing Vinalhaven and North Haven and the rest of Knox County, was leading the Vinalhaven parade, as he… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Package delivery across the water

Comments overheard at the town dock on either of the Cranberry Isles on almost any given summer day: “The shed is too full!” “These boxes are a mess!” “Did you see a package in there for me?” “Darn. I got an email that said it was delivered, but I don’t… SEE MORE

Fishermen return to the dock in Belfast after catching menhaden, also known as pogies. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Small fish, big role

In 2021, Maine’s commercial harvesters landed 22.1 million pounds valued at $9.5 million (Maine Department of Marine Resources data). SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Loving beets… or not

One of the best modern ways I’ve discovered for serving beets is to boil them, cut them into thick slices, and then drench them in butter into which you crumble lots of blue cheese. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Sweat, tears, the sea (and rain)

The name of my column, Salt Water Cure, comes from an Isak Dinesen (real name, Karen Blixen) quote: “The cure for anything is saltwater—sweat, tears, or the sea.” I am stuck in a bit of an eddy of medical tests and waiting. Hopefully it will all be fine, but so… SEE MORE