Working Waterfront

Senior sing-along meets important community needs

Members of the chorus are given their lyric sheets. MICHELE STAPLETON Sue Spalding, a retired music educator, directs Ten people file into the nave of Brunswick United Methodist Church on a Tuesday afternoon in early September and take their seats in rows facing the altar. Everyone is over the… SEE MORE

Amy and Andy Barstow on the dock of Monhegan Boat Lines.

Working Waterfront

Monhegan Boat Lines rebuilding on waterfront

By Tom Groening In theory, the home base of Monhegan Boat Lines in Port Clyde is much like a bus station. There’s an office to sell tickets, a passenger waiting room, parking, and a designated site to board. But that’s where the similarities end. Amy and Andy Barstow, who have… SEE MORE

Cliff Island residents gathered to celebrate establishing broadband service on the island

Working Waterfront

Cliff Island celebrates securing broadband

By Jack Sullivan More than two years ago, three Casco Bay islands began in earnest their pursuit of high-speed, reliable internet, otherwise known as broadband. One of the three, Cliff Island, just crossed the finish line, and the excitement for that achievement was evident at a community meeting on Aug.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Free end-of-summer food no simple transaction

By Barbara Fernald“Do you have any interest in this food from my refrigerator?” It’s a common question for those of us who live here, or haven’t left for the season yet. The answer to that depends. Most late season offerings are very usable and sometimes a real treat. There is always… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Native history of North Haven an eye-opener

By Courtney Naliboff This fall marks the first time Maine’s October three-day-weekend will be held in honor of indigenous people in the state, rather than that guy who accidentally landed in the Caribbean and instigated the first of many Western hemisphere genocides. The change on the calendar is part of… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

‘Citizen science’ key to Acadia foliage project

By Tom Groening Stephanie Spera promises she won’t be bored by your old vacation photos, even if she doesn’t know any of the people in them. As long as those photos show Acadia National Park in autumn, she’s interested. Spera, an assistant professor of geography at the University of Richmond… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Why Islands? An important question for the world

By Rob Snyder Islands are the Island Institute’s North Star, and perhaps they should hold this place for all. Islands captured my heart and mind so much so that I’ve dedicated the past 16 years to island community sustainability. They give me hope because they are places where equity, tolerance,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Church and community have become intertwined

By Phil Crossman When I was a teenager, I lived in the Moses Webster House on Vinalhaven, a wonderfully impractical six-bedroom Victorian Mansard next door to another, equally beautiful Victorian structure. Impracticality aside, it was the first time that I and my three young brothers each had a bedroom of… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A whole lot of canning going on

By Sandy Oliver There is a whole lot of canning going on out on Islesboro. Probably no one in Maine with a garden or access to plentiful vegetables is exempt from pickling, canning, freezing, drying, storing away. It is September, which is “Putting Food By” month… well, not officially, merely… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Quimby reveals plans for Schoodic campground

By Jacqueline Weaver When philanthropist Roxanne Quimby bought the 113-acre Ocean Wood Campground on Schoodic Peninsula three years ago for $2 million, her intent was to save the land and its 3,200-feet of bold ocean frontage from development. Now she has a clearer idea of the best possible use of… SEE MORE