Working Waterfront

Remembering Chandler “Blackie” Blackington

My relationship with Chandler "Blackie" Blackington began about a decade ago when I traveled to Vinalhaven to visit the community's medical center and eldercare home, exploring the possibilities for Swan's Island. Blackie was my tour guide. He picked me up at the ferry terminal on Vinalhaven and showed me around… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Wood heat welcome as an old friend

It's nearly impossible to disagree about anything of consequence when settled comfortably near a companionable wood fire. We live in a big three-story house right in the village. It was built around 1850 as a Greek Revival—but without the pilasters. Not long after, a two-story kitchen wing was added on… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The stories that Bertha’s spoon can tell

When Bertha was a mere teenager, she started working with Dr. North's family in Montclair, N.J., mostly to help take care of the Norths' five children. She stayed for the rest of her working life, taking on the work of cooking and serving. Married to Chester Turpin, she came to… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Marketing lobster, restoring old ships and the winter of 1914

Waterfronts and those coastal towns that bustle with visitors in the summer tend to go quiet after the new year dawns. But that doesn't mean decisions affecting those waterfronts and towns aren't being made. In banks, in local and state government meeting rooms, and around conference tables at nonprofits, things… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Island life seeps into Judy Weber’s poems

MONHEGAN PLANTATION — It's a cliché fantasy we've all heard, maybe even indulged in ourselves—move to an island year-round, soak up the rhythm of the seasons, the quiet, the isolation, and write the great American novel. Judy Weber—who writes under the name Judith Ponturo, her maiden name—moved to Monhegan year-round… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Island Postcards: Sam & Doreen Cabot

Video of Island Postcards: Sam & Doreen Cabot SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Cranberry Isles hire first on-island minister since 1951

CRANBERRY ISLES — The phrase Tom Powell uses to describe his new job is "a ministry of presence." It's a phrase used in seminary, he said. But it seems especially appropriate for his job as pastor of churches on Great Cranberry Island and Islesford (Little Cranberry). Powell, 32, was hired recently… SEE MORE

Ryan Murphy unicycles at the Dark Harbor Boat Yard on Islesboro.

Working Waterfront

Island living, the one-wheel way

ISLESBORO – A dull winter haze has settled over the island after some morning sun, bringing a rawness to the air and making the fireplace in the Murphy home that much more seductive. But Ryan Murphy would rather be outside, working his way through the obstacle course that is the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

On the Record: Front Street Shipyard’s JB Turner

BELFAST, Maine – The Front Street Shipyard has been the biggest thing to happen to the city's waterfront since the poultry plant was demolished in the late 1990s. JB Turner, president of the yard, is the most visible of the company's six partners, and though he bears a prestigious title,… SEE MORE