Bailey Island and Orr's Island in Harpswell are known for their scenic vistas.

Working Waterfront

Mythic summers on Bailey Island

… So that’s how it is out there in Maine. Be careful out there – Patricia Ranzoni, “Cultural Guide” The southwest tip of Bailey Island is called Land’s End, for good reason. Just off the gift shop parking lot, the other side of Jaquish Island, is the open ocean.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The search for topic leaves trail of island life

People sometimes ask me how I decide what to write about. Today, on deadline, I’ve got only a vague thought I had last week while picking up groceries after a trip to see my grandson in Baltimore. Maybe by trying to answer the question, I’ll be able to finish my… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Soft-shell clam population decline calls for cooperation

By Susie Arnold, Jessica Gribbon Joyce and Roger Stephenson Mainers likely have heard about the precipitous decline in soft-shell clam landings over the last five years. While the fishery remains the third most valuable fishery in the state at over $12 million, licenses have declined over the last several decades… SEE MORE

The Islesboro ferry lands on the island.

Working Waterfront

Planning for my apocalypse pantry

It isn’t the zombie apocalypse yet, but it’s a good dry run for one. My car-and-driver ticket on the ferry from Islesboro to Lincolnville went from $13.75 to $30. Fortunately, I never did have a need to go to the mainland all that often anyway, and when I did, the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Vulnerability is both scary and empowering

Reflections is 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 By Tarah Waters Picture this: nine girls age 11 to 14, three adult leaders in their 20s, and tents pitched… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Islands look to neighbors for survival

Island communities survive when they work together. I experienced this alongside leaders on Long Island in Casco Bay and in dialogue with the former president of Kiribati. Spend time on Long Island and you will have the sense that anything is possible. In June, the Island Institute held its board… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Let’s give our service center towns a hand

When I first began working in downtown Belfast in the late 1980s, I noticed an odd trend. On Fridays, it was a lot harder to find a parking space than it was on Mondays. As I paid more attention to this phenomenon, I began noticing that people who I knew… SEE MORE

A kayaker explores one of the islands on the trail.

Working Waterfront

Shared mooring: Maine Island Trail, Island Institute born of same values

By Doug Welch The Maine Island Trail Association marks its 30th anniversary this month, and I believe it is important to look back at our roots and the organization that once spawned and still inspires us—the Island Institute. This story begins a “generation” before the Island Institute in the 1970s and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Dancing away the early spring cold

Sometimes, all it takes to warm back up is a little do-si-do. After a long, snowed-in winter and a chilly, damp spring, with the nearest restaurant opening still weeks away, North Haven kids and grownups were trudging along. Sunny days were few and far between, and it seemed that even… SEE MORE

Fisherman George Curtis and retired fisherman William Leaman talk fishing (of course) outside of Leaman’s fish house in Owls Head in 1957.

Working Waterfront

Penobscot Marine Museum brings Kosti home

COURTESY PENOBSCOT MARINE MUSEUM In the summer of 1951, Ruohomaa received a call from his friend Andrew Wyeth inviting him to join in fetching an antique hearse from Loud’s Island. Ruohomaa documented the infamous trip from start to finish. In this view, sawmill operator, Ralph Cline, ro “Kosti Comes Home,”… SEE MORE