Vinalhaven village as seen from the harbor.

Working Waterfront

A deal too good to be true

A few weeks ago, a big man burst into the Tidewater Motel lobby mid-morning carrying a half-dozen unmarked white cardboard boxes, each about 18-inches by 18-inches and 4-inches deep. He’d emerged from an unmarked white pickup that held three white chest freezers in its bed, tied down haphazardly with pot… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Adventure, comfort blended in Café Miranda chef’s book

An anchor of Rockland’s restaurant scene, Café Miranda has maintained its popularity for over 20 years. These days its founder, Kerry Altiero, isn’t content to just rest on his laurels, hailed as Maine’s “pioneer chef” and a prize-winner in culinary competitions. His creative restlessness and curiosity still drive him to… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Building a better candy bar

By Dora Thompson ROCKLAND — "Hold on, I have to grab a coaster. My mom will kill me,” joked Kate McAleer, owner, founder and CEO of Bixby & Co as she put her drink down on one, saving the shining wood table in their office. Gordon and Donna McAleer, her… SEE MORE

Tracie Martin instructs a group of middle level students about how to don a life jacket while in the water at Lawson's Quarry

Working Waterfront

Forty years of swimming lessons has been island lifesaver

It is a well-known irony—at least along the coast—that many fishermen don't know how to swim. According to Leonard "Buddy" Skoog, it was this paradox that drove Vinalhaven's Lions Club to begin a Red Cross swimming program on the island 40 years ago, when he estimates some 70 percent of… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The Ubuntu education fund: lessons from the grassroots

I am because you are. How the Spirit of Ubuntu Inspired an Unlikely Friendship and Transformed a Community. By Jacob Lief, with Andrea Thompson. New York City: Rodale, 2015. 210 pp. Hardback. $24.99 Starting a nonprofit to address the educational needs of an impoverished population is one thing; starting one… SEE MORE

An older Cape Cod house on Isle au Haut's shore.

Working Waterfront

Hosting visitors helps bring island back in focus

Editor's note: Reflections is a monthly column written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront, and AmeriCorps. Meghan Cooper works with the town office on Isle au Haut. As islanders know, summer is hectic.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Birchbark canoes making a comeback

The full-sized, birchbark canoe on display at the Peabody Museum in Cambridge, Mass. is both rare and old. Purchased from Penobscot Indian Francis Sebattis in 1912, it was most likely used to guide sportsmen along Maine’s waterways. These canoes once were ubiquitous in Maine, and they were an integral part… SEE MORE

Members of the Friends of Fort Gorges and volunteers gather for a group photo.

Working Waterfront

Portland’s Fort Gorges hits its 150th birthday

SEE SLIDESHOW Whether you’re out for a stroll on Portland's Eastern Promenade or cruising on a boat on Casco Bay, you can't miss Fort Gorges, the stone sentinel that sits on a tiny island in Portland Harbor. Construction on the fort began in 1858 and it was completed in 1865.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine’s ‘Boatbuilder Laureate’ wants to sell his waterfront property

SOUTHWEST HARBOR—When wooden boatbuilder Ralph Stanley retired five or six years ago, he was hoping to see his shop converted into a living museum with a teaching component, with Stanley as artist-in-residence. Despite interest from a number of organizations and individuals, the potential cost of endowing and operating such an enterprise… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Portland’s growing Indian population drawn by high-tech jobs

This is the second in a series of stories about how immigration is changing coastal Maine. Jennifer Atkinson is a lawyer based in Friendship who specializes in immigration matters. As Maine’s flagship coastal community, the greater Portland area is home to immigrants from all over the world. In recent months,… SEE MORE