Island Journal

Where the Harbor Bears Your Name

Joseph William Lunt wakes up before the sun in a house that sits on a harbor that shares his name. Aboard his lobster boat Heritage, Lunt does what his ancestors have been doing for over two centuries—he harvests the bounty of Downeast Maine waters. His wife Teenie Lunt also fishes… SEE MORE

Island Journal

Everybody Has Got a ‘Bajupa’ Story

Arthur “Art” Hupper was one of the hardest workers on the St. George Peninsula. According to his son David, throughout the 1960s and 1970s, a day of work for Art was just that—nearly 24 hours of labor. He would buy lobsters on remote Maine islands like Monhegan and Matinicus and then sell the catch to out-of-state seafood buyers, all on the same day. It was a livelihood that relied not only on a strong work ethic, but also on Bajupa, a specially crafted lobster transport boat known as a “smack” boat. SEE MORE

Island Journal

Double Vision — The Art of Eric Hopkins

It was already late afternoon when Eric Hopkins picked us up in his boat at Gotts Island for the trip to his studio on North Haven. Eric knows how to look at islands. And we were on our way to look with him. There, represented in oils, we would see oceans and islands viewed from the air, from the sea, and from great distance. The angles were strange and marvelous. Islands we thought we knew were transformed. SEE MORE

Art

Island Journal

Suhail Bisharat – A Natural Diplomat on Chebeague

The power is out on half of Chebeague Island. Most toilets aren’t flushing and a few roads have downed trees across them, but the high winds haven’t stopped the boats from running. At the ferry landing, Suhail Bisharat stands with his hands behind his back, smartly dressed and smiling warmly. He greets Clint Jones—a mechanic from Cumberland who regularly comes over to work on island cars—and they make a plan for him to swing by later and figure out why the Bisharats’ Audi is leaking coolant. They lean in close to hear what each other is saying, the wind blowing their white hair in tangles. SEE MORE

Island Journal

North Haven’s Hub by the Water

It’s an iconic rural image—a group of old-timers gathered around a general store’s woodstove, drinking coffee and swapping lies. For the island community of North Haven, that gathering spot was Waterman’s store, a stone’s throw from the ferry landing and the Fox Islands Thorofare anchorage, where the lobster fleet mingles… SEE MORE

Island Journal

Island Institute’s Fellows Program Marks 25 Years

The first Island Institute Fellows were placed in communities 25 years ago in 1999, with the program aiming to provide more hands and minds for island, and then mainland towns to tackle the endless challenges to their viability. Beyond meeting that important goal, the program also trained successive generations of community leaders who continue to serve Maine and beyond. But the true power of the program is in the relationships that are built. Fellows become a part of the community. They bring casseroles to potluck suppers, they volunteer to coach ultimate frisbee teams, they pick strawberries for the library shortcake fundraisers, and play fiddle at public events. They reach for shovels and candles when winter storms hit, and they celebrate new babies and grieve losses alongside their neighbors. SEE MORE

Communities

Island Journal

Way Downeast, These Towns Face Waves of Change

People who live in Jonesport and on Beals Island love to talk about their towns’ histories, not unusual for those residents who can trace their roots to 18th century settlers. They speak about how each town came into its own. Everyone remembers the history-making high school basketball team. And one wall of the Heritage Center in Beals is devoted to “Tall Barney,” a resident believed to have been seven-feet tall when most locals were generally diminutive. But the steady state of affairs that has governed these two remote towns for over a century is in turmoil today. SEE MORE

Island Journal

Sears Island’s Long Industrial Courtship

It’s 3:58 p.m. on Dec. 21, and the sun is about to set over Sears Island, the forested, causeway-connected spot in upper Penobscot Bay where we’ve come to observe the Winter Solstice. It’s cold out there—20-something degrees and windy—and we’re parked with others along the road leading to the island, watching the sun dip over Mack Point to the west. The event we’re here for isn’t really the sunset but something called “Solstice by the Sea,” imagined and engineered by Friends of Sears Island, a conservation-minded group dedicated to protecting Sears Island in its current undeveloped state. SEE MORE