Working Waterfront

The Secret Soul of an Island Shoe

By Christina Marsden Gillis Its sole gouged with holes, the leather top cracked and ripped, the shoe, a woman's, had been hidden in the west wall of an upstairs bedroom in our Gotts Island house. Nestled behind the plaster, it had endured Maine winters when the winds howled out of… SEE MORE

A Maine State Ferry Service boat rounds the Rockland Breakwater as a full moon rises.

Working Waterfront

How we get here: A history of Maine’s ferry service

The SS Governor Bodwell, seen here, was launched at Rockland on May 27, 1892, by the Vinalhaven & Rockland Steamboat Company. It ran between the island and Rockland from 1892 to 1924. PHOTO: COURTESY HISTORY PRESS/VINALHAVEN ISLAND’S MARITIME INDUSTRIES By Nancy Griffin The allure of living on an island includes… SEE MORE

Monhegan's meadow is part of the island's freshwater aquifer.

Working Waterfront

Water harvesting as a solution for island communities

By Robert Glennon As Maine’s island communities and coastal residents address water supply problems created by rising sea levels (see "Monhegan's water supply threatened," December/January issue, they may want to borrow a tool developed in the arid West. Water harvesting involves capturing precipitation, whether rain, snow or sleet. Saltwater intrusion into… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Islander discovers the joys of backwoods snowmobiling

Making Tracks by Matt Weber Islandport Press, 2019 Review by George Smith This guy snowmobiles in all of Maine’s best places Even though I don’t snowmobile, I really enjoyed Matt Weber’s book, Making Tracks, published by Islandport Press. Although he lives on Monhegan, he snowmobiles all over Maine, and his… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Potential energy in my yard, and in island life

By Courtney Naliboff Last month, my daughter and I planted tulips, the first fall bulbs I’ve put in since my wedding seven years ago. Back then, a friend and I pre-dug holes in the border of our woods, and my young female friends and relatives planted a variety of daffodils… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The Outer Bell

By Phil Crossman (The perspective is that of a Maine State Ferry on a day in 1973 when I was reminded of its involvement in our island lives.) A cocky young man from away who one of our girls has brought home strikes a jaunty pose on the bow and,… SEE MORE

Monhegan Island’s marshy freshwater meadow is part of the aquifer.

Working Waterfront

Monhegan’s water supply threatened

By Craig Idlebrook Monhegan Island’s freshwater supply faces a triple threat—rising sea levels, seasonal overuse, and antiquated infrastructure. Residents are studying how best to safeguard the water from sea level rise. They also are grappling with how to ensure that seasonal overuse of the water supply doesn’t deplete the freshwater… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

On land and sea, Swan’s Island entrepreneurs find their niche

By Jennifer Helman//Photos by Dale Joyce Living on an island requires resilience, patience, creativity, and an entrepreneurial spirit. But some islanders take that to a whole new level. Gary Rainford, owner of Coffee Love, explains the mindset perfectly: “When you live in a place like this and there is something… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Living in, and with, a lighthouse

The Lighthouse & Me: History, Memoir, & Imagination By Jeffrey Burke Review by Tina Cohen It isn’t always the case that storytelling in support of a larger purpose—fundraising for example—can stand on its own as a satisfying literary experience. But The Lighthouse & Me: History, Memoir, & Imagination pulls off… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Island autumn has dazzling, magical quality

By Barbara Fernald The islands are so beautiful in the late fall. Most of the red is gone, but the last leaves on the birch trees are golden and the angle of the early afternoon sun causes them to glow before they blow away in the next storm. Migrating water… SEE MORE