Working Waterfront

Ban ocean-based finfish farms

Eric Jors, the CEO of American Aquafarms, the company that proposed a large sea-based fish farm in Frenchman Bay, recently said he saw continued opportunity to provide sustainable aquaculture in Maine that met global food demands while mitigating climate change and benefiting the local community and economy. Let’s explore those… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The weather and dinner next year

A friend observed this week, midst soggy, foggy, drizzle, and downpours, that, “I’m glad I don’t have to depend on the garden for food this year.” People have planted beans twice, perhaps at last seeing some showing above ground. Radishes and greens, which sprouted to flea beetles’ delight, were left… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Conflict and chiffon at an island restaurant

I opened a restaurant a while back right across the street from my Tidewater Motel. It was quite an experience; I had the most fun I’d ever had during the three summer months we were open and lost more money than I’d ever managed as well. Crow being my nickname,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Sharing a summer house

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… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

David Vickery visits Olson Wharf

In an Instagram post in early June, painter David Vickery shared a recent painting, “Flag Buoys, Olson Wharf,” accompanied by this cursory description: “Down at the end of my road, where there’s usually something interesting.” Vickery lives on a lane off Hathorne Point Road in Cushing, a quarter mile from… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Island Reader’s offerings reflect passion for place

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 the literary/artistic smorgasbord reminds us that islands are special places that people call home. The 2023 edition, no. 17, gets… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Orr’s Island’s forgotten attraction

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 professor at Bowdoin College, Stowe penned this significant work while residing in Brunswick. Her impact on the historical fabric of… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The wonders of Maine life

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 more weeks and years until something about Maine felt like home. I was 13 the bicentennial summer in 1976 and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The joys and spills of medical care

What a ridiculous garment a hospital johnny is. A few months ago, I was found to have cancer of the liver. I was sent to the Pen Bay Emergency Room to have tests done. At the end of a full day of echocardiograms, MRIs, and so forth, of wandering from… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Buying a house is still your best investment

The path to homeownership can be bumpy. Buyers must withstand bidding wars, contingencies, complex tax laws, and an array of market factors beyond most anyone’s control. Still, buying a house is typically the single best investment a family can make. Homeownership is the largest source of wealth creation in the… SEE MORE