Working Waterfront

Remembering a lost fishery, and grandparents

My grandmother Edith Johnson Searles packed sardines in Lubec at a time when that prosperous town hosted 23 sardine (herring) packing plants. My grandfather, Henry Searles, was a native of Canada’s nearby Campobello Island, who moved across the sound to marry my grandmother and live with her in South Lubec.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Vinalhaven’s maritime work remembered in photo

If books about Vinalhaven’s history were acorns, then readers could squirrel away some volumes now to enjoy over winter hibernation. One of those acorns could be a recently published book of photographs, Vinalhaven Island’s Maritime Industries, part of the “Images of America” series from Arcadia Publishing. Cynthia Burns Martin, a… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Salmon as witness—and victim—of Maine’s development struggles

The President’s Salmon: Restoring the King of Fish and Its Home Waters Catherine Schmitt Down East Books 2015, hardcover, $22.95 The title of Catherine Schmitt's latest book, The President's Salmon, had me wondering where she was going to take readers. Schmitt cleverly structures the history of Atlantic salmon in the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Phil Crossman’s Vinalhaven Observations is history and opinion

Phil Crossman has a new book out called Observations: A Maine Island, a Century of Newsletters and the Stories Found Between the Lines. His name and writing will be familiar to readers of The Working Waterfront and Island Journal over the years as well as his popular book, Away Happens… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Bemused by an island

Reflections on Martha’s Vineyard William A. Caldwell, Edited by Tom Dunlop Vineyard Stories 2015, paperback, $19.95 After retiring to Martha’s Vineyard in 1972, William A. Caldwell wrote a weekly column for the Vineyard Gazette called “Reflections of That Man Friday,” now skillfully edited into a book by islander Tom Dunlop.… 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

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

Working Waterfront

Oil, water and poorly considered science mix in Destiny

Reviewed by Tina Cohen The cover of Carl Howe Hansen's first novel presents some powerful allusions. The photograph by Peter Ralston features what we can assume is the book’s Pine Island, a typical Maine island of granite and spruce with raw exposure to the elements, a resistance to being tamed.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A great ocean, considered in great depth

Atlantic — Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories By Simon Winchester New York: HarperCollins, 2010 Hardcover, 495 pages This book came out five years ago and was well received, so why review it now, when parts of it feel a… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Henry Mowat’s little-remembered role in Maine history

I took history—American history, world history—in high school like most kids but now, 50 years later, nearly everything I've learned about Maine's own history I've learned from Maine authors like Harry Gratwick. More specifically, I think it may be true that much, if not most of what I've learned about… SEE MORE