Working Waterfront

An island musical legacy

On a Tuesday evening earlier this summer, representatives of the Jeff Tolman Music Award, a 501(c)3, presented themselves at a select board meeting to make an unreasonable request: that they might close and be given free rein of the only—and very busy—town parking lot, from noon and through the evening,… SEE MORE

Artist David Hurley poses near his sturgeon mural on the Bayview Events Center, near Belfast’s harbor walk. PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Mural honors Belfast’s sturgeon story

Let’s get the pronunciation lesson out of the way first. The river that flows into Penobscot Bay in Belfast is called the Passagassawakeag, which in the native Wabanaki language means, “Place where sturgeon may be speared by torch light.” It’s pronounced: puh-SAG-uh-sa-WAW-keg. There don’t seem to be many sturgeon in… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The fate of frogs on Oxbow Island

Oxbow Island Gang: Leap Frog By Rae Chalmers, Maine Author Publishing (2023) It’s April break from school and Berend Houtman—known to his family and friends as Bear—can’t wait to visit his grandmother, Sally Parker, on Peaks Island. He has to jump onto the ferry at the last minute—the first of… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Tragedy and hope in debut novel

The Road to Dalton By Shannon Bowring (Europa Editions, 2023) Shannon Bowring’s debut novel, The Road to Dalton, has earned high praise from some Maine all-star authors. Richard Russo has a rave on the front, as does Morgan Talty; Susan Conley’s is on the book’s back cover. But apart from… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Why am I painting the living room?

As summer wanes, the urgency to squeeze out the last of projects and fun grows to a fever pitch, especially so in Maine, where the season is so fleeting. That urgency comes with a conundrum—how to balance projects with fun? Lyrics from an old folk song by the husband and… SEE MORE

Eastport’s buoy in its setting on the city’s breakwater on a foggy night in August. PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Selfie magnet—Eastport’s artsy buoy

Eastport has plenty of bragging rights—its pretty, compact downtown with red brick buildings and handsome 19th century homes. Its dramatic, wild tides and its setting at the confluence of two bays, the Passamaquoddy and Cobscook. Its proximity to Canada, visible across a strait. [caption id="attachment_38225" align="alignleft" width="325"] Eastport’s buoy in… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A fresh look at Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

Having just been informed that a crowd of angry men was gathering, threatening to kill him, 52-year-old Gen. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain buttoned his coat and strode to the rotunda of the capitol building in Augusta and dared those assembled to kill him. He was there to keep the peace and… SEE MORE

Stow Wengenroth, “Low Tide,” August 1931, lithograph, edition of 51, 9 1/16 by 12 9/16 inches Edition of 51. IMAGE COURTESY OF THE TIDES INSTITUTE AND MUSEUM OF ART.

Working Waterfront

Stow Wengenroth: On the Eastport waterfront

In 1927, the Grand Central Art School started offering summer classes in Eastport. Founded in 1923 by painters John Singer Sargent, Walter Leighton Clark, and Edmund Greacan, the esteemed school located in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal decided to establish a chapter way Downeast. [caption id="attachment_38166" align="alignleft" width="450"] Keith… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

An island’s hold on family

High Time TidePool Press (2023) As the state ferry approaches North Haven in the Fox Island Thorofare, my eye goes to the large, sprawling cottage-style mansions that line neighboring Vinalhaven’s cliffs to the south. The buildings, which in the offseason are shuttered, or at least without signs of life, date… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Weeded needed in gardening book

A Maine Garden Almanac: Seasonal Wisdom for Making the Most of Your Garden Space By Martha Fenn King, Down East Books (2023) There are a lot of books I end up reading because they have “Maine” in the title. Even if not for review purposes, I’d probably grab them anyway,… SEE MORE