Working Waterfront

Hawaiians find work and new life in Stonington

When Ryan Woolsey and Kealii Mano moved from the year-round tropical warmth of Hawaii to Stonington, where they’d experience their first cold winter and snow, they had no regrets. They did have to shop for heavier clothes. “I had to figure out what this thing called ‘long johns’ was,” Woolsey… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Chebeague voters consider solar array for town use

Short of slashing municipal services, a plan to reduce property taxes is often just a politician’s hollow promise. But what about doing so by cutting a substantial expense the town faces, year after year? Chebeague Island residents will vote on a plan that aims to achieve just that at their… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Directing community theater in Eastport invigorates

Reflections is a monthly column written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in remote coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. This week has been one of anticipation in Eastport. I’m not referring to spring’s slow arrival, though… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Nothing simple about four walls and a roof

The 35-year-old recovering alcoholic living in his car as he gets his life back together and the $4 million, seasonally occupied house blocking views of the water illustrate just part of the range of Maine’s housing issues. But however broad and complex, we would do well to understand these matters,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Historic Pilgrim’s Inn, a Deer Isle landmark, finds new owners

Walking into the Pilgrim’s Inn, the slight undulation of the 14-inch-wide floorboards immediately gives away the fact that this is a historic building. Then there are other wonderful features. Large fireplaces and chimneys are made of handmade bricks and have beehive ovens set in the back and pot-hanging trammels over… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The art of serving your community

The first time I visited Ashley Bryan’s home on Little Cranberry Island, also known as Islesford, I knew I’d met an extraordinarily special person. I still feel that way every time Ashley and I meet. When asked to describe it at the time, I said it was like walking into… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Weather, The Great War and a homeward bound schooner

Let’s start with the weather. It’s April, that often cruelest of months, as this is being written. In Maine, April is a flirt, flashing a warm, beckoning smile one day, and spitting snow the next. This winter followed the pattern of last year’s, easier on the snow and cold—though in… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Islands on the mind and a beer in hand

Maine and the country have seen amazing growth in the craft brewing business. This evolution began over 25 years ago, and there are now over 80 breweries in Maine. People appreciate a better tasting product and are willing to seek it out. The brewing community is a passionate group that sees… SEE MORE

Sellam El Ouahabi teaching circus skills.

Working Waterfront

Circus School coming to Vinalhaven, Bar Harbor

A circus arts school recently formed in Biddeford will bring classes to the coast this summer. The Sellam Circus School, founded by Sellam El Ouahabi and Amity Stoddard, will offer its first-ever summer circus arts day camp on Vinalhaven Island in July and in Bar Harbor in August, part of… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Herring history at stake in Lubec

Some things just can’t be replaced, such as the historic brining shed—an integral element in Lubec’s once booming smoked herring business. The now empty and fragile structure was used as part of the process at McCurdy’s Smokehouse, which is the last standing herring smokehouse in the country. Rachel Rubeor, president… SEE MORE