Ralph Stanley, as photographed by Peggy McKenna. PHOTO: PENOBSCOT MARINE MUSEUM

Working Waterfront

One photograph, two stories

Maine boat building icon Ralph Stanley looks directly into the camera in his boat shop in Southwest Harbor. He sports a soft natural smile and his eyes still have a spark despite his 77 years. His working days were not done at this time though his boatbuilding days were mostly… SEE MORE

Crustacean off Great Cranberry Isle. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Trends emerge on communities reliant on lobster

The value of Maine’s 2022 lobster fishery was $388 million, a decline of over $353 million compared to 2021. While this is a significant number, the total value of Maine’s lobster landings didn’t exceed $350 million until 2013. In addition, we know that the value of these landings is not… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A sailing adventure enjoyed vicariously

In Slocum’s Wake By Nat Warren-White, Outskirts Press, Inc. (2022) Garrison Keillor once said something like, “We need to write because, otherwise, nobody will know who we are.” I think others write to find out who they, themselves, are. Having known Nat Warren-White since the 1960s as a casual acquaintance,… SEE MORE

Alison Hill, “Coiling the Ropes,” 2015, oil on canvas, 24 by 30 inches.

Working Waterfront

Down at the Monhegan Dock with Alison Hill

The dock on Monhegan is the center of that far-out-at-sea island’s universe. “It’s our lifeline,” writes painter Alison Hill. “It’s the first thing we see when we arrive,” she notes, “and the last thing we see when we leave.” For Hill, who moved to Monhegan in May 2002, the setting… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

More hands on the wheel for young adults

In the weeks before Christmas, two tragedies hit close to home. Four Maine Maritime Academy students were killed in a vehicle crash while returning to the Castine campus in the early morning hours, and a University of Maine at Presque Isle student’s body was discovered on the shore of Sears… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Ferry hurdles don’t stop island competitors

Reflections is written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. Over the course of three months, I worked with nine elementary/middle school students to build and program a LEGO robot… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Building community by starting small

The music blasting from the preschool alternated between the Islands and Mamma Mia! soundtracks. The cast of Little Women, our fall show, sang along as they got into costume, makeup, and hair in the Waterman’s preschool, our de facto green room. There were 13 of them, plus a handful of… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Working waterfronts ‘speak’ in podcast

Koch grew up on Deer Isle, where she was steeped in the stories and history of her community. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Climate is the real culprit in whale saga

In following the rollercoaster of how new regulations designed to protect the North Atlantic right whale will impact Maine’s lobster fishery and the communities the industry supports, two recent announcements stuck out to me. One is the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) five-year review of the species. The whales are… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Remembering the colorful Kirstie Alley

Only Kirstie would overnight a Marilyn Monroe costume and wig from Hollywood so she could sing “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” to John Mitchell... SEE MORE