Boats in a cove on Long Island in Casco Bay

Working Waterfront

Learning the meaning of ‘neighbor’ informs my work

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. Angelique Williams is working with the town of Long Island in Casco Bay on telemedicine and aging… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine’s internet stuck in slow lane, but local innovation helps

Nearly 20 years ago, the phrase “information superhighway” was used—and probably over-used—to explain the internet and what it offered. In 2016, the analogy remains in use, though it has become more nuanced. Representatives from internet providers and island and remote coastal communities speaking at the Oct. 26 Island Broadband Conference… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Swan’s Island welcomes new ambulance

Swan’s Island residents Sonja Philbrook, Charlie Wiegle, Debbie Staples and Tammy Tripler had prepared for the special town meeting. They had slides, timelines, recommendations and everything else they might have needed to convince residents it was time for a new ambulance. But first responders on an island know to expect… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Marine trades sector thriving by blending tradition, innovation

This is the first in a three-part series about the role boatbuilders and boatyards play in Maine’s coastal and island economy. In the early 1990s, Ed Gray was walking across the beach at Spurling Cove on Great Cranberry Island, and came across Jarvis Newman trying to jack up an old… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Island tick survey gathering data, but more participants sought

An online and print survey of Maine's island residents on ticks has garnered more than 500 responses, but more data is being sought. Susan Elias of the Maine Medical Center Research Institute said some about half the respondents are women 55 and older, and there is an even split between… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Thankful for one president, bracing for another

It’s the season of Thanksgiving and I try, as always, to remind myself of the things I’m most thankful for. For the last eight years, our American president has been among those things. Although I now and then disagreed with him or wished he’d done more or less, I found… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Adventures in eating out

A new restaurant that opened up a while back had itself a maitre d’ and its own bartender and everything. They had a lot of live music and as a result the place was quite a draw some nights. They tapped the locals as waitresses and waiters and these folks,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Taking back the cellar

Just about once a year, often in the fall, Martha Ballard, the midwife who lived in Augusta in the late 1700s and early 1800s, cleaned her “sellar.” I do, too, usually this time of year before I haul down there the last of potatoes gathered up, the apples and other… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Cultural close encounter delights island students

A concern that we sometimes have as educators on a fairly isolated island in Penobscot Bay is how our students will react and behave when suddenly confronted with a new group of people. This could be a group of people from as nearby as Vinalhaven or Rockland—our students are sometimes… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Delight of island life shines through Dutch guests

No matter where you live, it is easy to lose sight of the highlights of your surroundings. You do your job, raise children, make phone calls, pay bills and run errands. In the Cranberry Isles, the boat ride to and from our cars on the mainland forces us to notice… SEE MORE