Working Waterfront

Beaches are soft frontline in the climate change war

By Tom Groening The sunny, vacation-vibe we associate with beaches was doused like a pelting thunderstorm at the 12th Beaches Conference in Kittery on June14. Instead of swimming and sunbathing, the gathering addressed the dire realities of sea level rise, unprecedentedly big storms, and dying marshes. “Why invest in Main Street… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Who says there’s nothing to do?

By Courtney Naliboff I’m writing this from a point in time two weeks before the end of the school year, one day before the spring concert, and just over a week before my daughter’s preschool graduation. I’m doubled up on meetings more days than not, staring down the barrel of… SEE MORE

he first Model T to arrive on Monhegan was documented by Edward Knowlton.

Working Waterfront

Getting to know the Knowltons

By Carl Little Painter Maud Briggs Knowlton (1870-1956) and her husband, photographer Edward Knowlton (1860-1964), first set foot on Monhegan Island sometime in the 1890s. Traveling from their home in industrial Manchester, N.H., the couple was smitten by this remote, quiet, and picturesque island. Returning every summer thereafter for… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Islanders and the shame of baggage

By Barbara Fernald It starts at the grocery store on the mainland. I hand my cooler and canvas bags to the cashier, who passes them to the bagger, and I start to unload a full grocery cart. I have an itching need to get the cart unloaded quickly so I… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Casco Bay Lines responds to booming bay, city

By Tom Groening Portland’s waterfront is booming—new hotels, restaurants, pubs, a marina—so it’s no wonder the ferry serving Casco Bay’s islands is responding to that activity, says Hank Berg. Casco Bay Lines (CBL), for which Berg is general manager, has a lengthy history on the city’s waterfront, though recently, it’s… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Remembering my dramatic friend John

By Phil Crossman A few years ago, my friend John called to say he was in distress and having a hard time breathing. I called the ambulance and then went right up to his place, a couple of miles out of town. He was lying on the floor and, gasping,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A young person’s take on keeping communities alive

Reflections is written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. By Molly Siegel Shop parties. The term evokes late-night parties in a lobsterman’s trap shop, playing instruments, dancing, and cavorting until… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Swimming to, and for the light

The iconic Isle au Haut lighthouse, operating since 1907, is a treasured landmark. Perched beside the mouth of the Isle au Haut Thorofare, it is a beacon for boats and a much-loved sight for all who pass by. The tower is community owned and is in dire need of a… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Seasonable eating is intuitive

By Sandy Oliver The term “seasonable eating” means normal or appropriate to the time of year, as if the weather told us what was good to eat, and not magazines or newspapers, the internet or corporate test kitchens, or especially the produce sections of the grocery stores. At this house… SEE MORE

A scenic view of an island off Scotland.

Working Waterfront

It’s time for a national islands act

By Rob Snyder I couldn’t help but find the timing appropriate. Five years ago, the Island Institute added the banner “Strengthening Communities” to our website. And late last month, I found myself being escorted—by a bagpiper, no less—to a keynote speaking engagement at the second “Strengthening Communities Conference” in the… SEE MORE