High school graduation on North Haven in 2014. The grads wore the colors that corresponded to the colors of their lobster buoys.

Working Waterfront

Reversing island ‘brain drain’ falls to locals

As a high school teacher, I spend some time each year talking with students about their next steps. At North Haven Community School, we have a healthy mix in each graduating class of students attending four-year colleges, community colleges or trade schools, entering military service, or choosing to stay on… SEE MORE

Tracy Ames outside the home at 187 Main Street she and her family will now call home

Working Waterfront

North Haven housing, eldercare groups gearing up

With two houses in the hands of owners, three rental units, an eldercare facility in the works and more projects on the way, North Haven Sustainable Housing is working hard to keep islanders from having to do what’s known on the island as the “housing shuffle.” “There’s an increasing crisis… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Islands set high bar for ‘adulting’ beginners

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. Erin Love works on Long Island with the Casco Bay Estuary Partnership and other Casco Bay island… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

On the record with… Kevin Schneider, Acadia’s new superintendent

Kevin Schneider came in as Acadia’s new superintendent in January, at the start of the park’s centennial year. Schneider has a park anniversary of his own, having started his career with the National Park Service in 1996 as part of a trail crew at Rocky Mountain National Park. Subsequent assignments… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Southwest Harbor goes artsy

The “Quiet Side” of Mount Desert Island engenders devotion by the people who live there. That’s the case of four Southwest Harbor businessmen who are seeking to enhance the community’s well-being and provide economic stimulus through the creation of the Village Green Arts Association, aimed at creating arts, music and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The Acadia auto wars

The centennial of the founding of Acadia National Park being celebrated this year has presented an occasion for a diverse array of reflections on the history of Mount Desert Island. By way of a terrifically engaging installation, which will be on view for the next two years, the Seal Cove… SEE MORE

The late afternoon sun illuminates boats in Front Street Shipyard's marina on Belfast Harbor.

Working Waterfront

Belfast’s Front Street Shipyard expands to city land

A years-long negotiation with the Belfast City Council has resolved, allowing the high-profile waterfront business Front Street Shipyard to expand onto city property. Front Street Shipyard, established in 2011 on the waterfront where the former Stinson Seafood once operated, now employs 90-plus. The company’s niche has been servicing large yachts,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

When art met science

Sometime back in January, Maine Audubon announced that the renowned entomologist, ultra-marathoner, University of Vermont emeritus biology professor and acclaimed author Bernd Heinrich would be speaking about “the nexus of art and science” at its Field Pond Center in Holden. A few weeks later, a follow-up email arrived: due to… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The power of mitzvah revealed, again

My daughter Penrose and I were sitting at our kitchen island, covered in finger paint, when I heard scratching sounds coming from our front yard. I left her with her latest masterpiece, “Baby Owl,” and peeked out the front door to see our neighbor (well, he lives a few miles… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The hermit’s tale

The April issue of The Working Waterfront featured two photos from the Library of Congress depicting the self-described Maine Hermit, who lived in Freeport. Terry Sue Allen, also of Freeport, noticed the photos and interviewed her father-in-law, Nathan Allen Sr., who lived across the street from the hermit. Here is… SEE MORE