Working Waterfront

A wintry slice of island life

It’s the afternoon of Jan. 6 and I’m in my studio on Little Cranberry Island, wondering if I have an island tale to tell on the day before my deadline. I usually have some idea by now, but not this week. I would have started writing this morning but I… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A different kind of book in gestation

In 2014 I had a baby, and in 2019 I wrote a song about it. It’s called “Tear Me in Two,” referring not just to the physical act of childbirth, but of the feeling I had as a new parent of this second person, an extension of myself and also… SEE MORE

A view from Shackford Head in Eastport. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Staying on the path in Eastport

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. The trails at Shackford Head State Park in Eastport can be confusing. With stunning views of Cobscook Bay, the park… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

In Plain Sight—An earlier island quarantine

While the experience of quarantining is new to many of us, this is hardly the first time it’s been used to control the spread of disease. The large brick building in the photograph was constructed by the U.S. Navy on Widow’s Island in Penobscot Bay in 1885 as a hospital… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A humble prognostication for 2022

When I was asked about the prospects for 2022 here on our working waterfront, I immediately left my number with Hamilton Marine. Wayne called me back within three minutes. He said because of the COVID it would be hard to say what the next 12 months will bring. My local… SEE MORE

Ashley Bryan PHOTO: COURTESY ASHLEY BRYAN CENTER

Working Waterfront

Ashley Bryan: The prophetic voice

In the fall of 2020, the Bates College Museum of Art mounted a remarkable exhibition, “Let’s Celebrate Ashley Bryan,” in honor of a gift of the award-winning author/illustrator’s work that came to the museum the year before from Henry Isaacs and Donna Bartnoff Isaacs, the artist’s longtime friends and Little… SEE MORE

A view of the eastern shore of Sears Island. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

The real lesson of Sears Island

Sears Island and I have a history. This 941-acre island, accessible at low tide from Searsport and then by a causeway built in the 1980s, seemed destined to be the spoils in a war between conservation and transportation interests. As it turns out, the fight ended with a kind of… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A how-to for environmental activism

Advocating for the Environment: How to Gather Your Power and Take Action By Sue Inches (2021) Review by Raina Sciocchetti “Try starting with one thing, and see where it leads” is Susan B. Inches’ advice for tackling environmental issues, whether you are a seasoned advocate or just beginning. Advocating for… SEE MORE

Island Institute President Anthony Chatwin

Working Waterfront

Building on centuries of tradition

I am an alewife guy. I know that sounds strange, but I am not alone. In fact, there is a community of us out there who have fallen under the spell of those small, silvery, oily fish that are hardy and resilient, and whose fascinating life cycle keeps them coming… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Living with others

Around mid-day on Friday, Aug. 15, 1986, while excavating on the shore of Carver’s Pond, a gravestone—in one piece and undamaged—was unearthed from a very unlikely spot, only a few feet from the shore, certainly far from the nearest cemetery. The stone was cleaned up and carefully set aside. It… SEE MORE