Working Waterfront

Feasting with the summer folk an island tradition

Just beneath the surface in most men there lurks a real grub. My wife offered this wry observation after I described to her the behavior of the men in attendance at the annual stag lobster feed, hosted for over 50 years now by the Vinalhaven Lions Club. Long referred to… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

May’s mayhem includes jewelry making, study and travel

Last November and December I made plans to be away from Little Cranberry Island during the first two weekends in May. It all sounded so great at the time, and actually, it still is, but right now I am mired in all I have left to do before I leave.… SEE MORE

Grindle Point Lighthouse with the Camden Hills to the west.

Working Waterfront

When Chebeague came to Islesboro

We all started out in our respective island kitchens on the morning of May 2, assembling lunches—sandwiches, salads, goodies to go—eight women from Chebeague and about a dozen on Islesboro, when the Chebeague Methodist Church Ladies Aid came for a visit to Islesboro’s Sewing Circle. Initiated by Jane Frizzel, leader… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Swan’s Island’s ‘water girls’

Lesley and Leah Ranquist of Swan’s Island, sisters in their early 20s, were first introduced to fishing when they were mere kindergarteners. Now they are among the 4 percent of women currently holding commercial fishing licenses in Maine. Lesley and Leah’s story isn’t just noteworthy because they’re young women making… SEE MORE

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