Some of the 40 objects through which Castine’s story is told.

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Castine Historical Society tells story through objects

Historical Societies exist to tell a community’s history through objects and archival records. The Castine Historical Society’s new exhibition, “A History of Castine in 40 Objects,” opens June 10 and will remain on view through Oct. 14. The exhibition highlights aspects of the town’s history through never-before-displayed objects from its… SEE MORE

Frankie Odom, “Spawning,” ca. 2009, ink print embossment on paper, 11 x 14½ in. COLLECTION OF THE FAMILY OF FRANKIE ODOM//COURTESY MONHEGAN MUSEUM OF ART AND HISTORY

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Righting a wrong—Monhegan’s women artists get their due

Over the years, Women Artists of Monhegan Island, or WAMI, held exhibitions in a variety of venues, on and off Monhegan. SEE MORE

Rackstraw Downes at work at the mouth of the Passagassawaukeag River in Belfast. PHOTO: PENOBSCOT MARINE MUSEUM/PEGGY McKENNA

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A photographer who captured artists

Peggy McKenna was one of the artists who was drawn to this part of the state in the 1970s. She settled in Montville along with other artists and “back to the landers.” SEE MORE

Knasic Byer checks fluid on a truck in the automotive shop.

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The next generation of workers is here

There is far more interest in the diverse programs the school offers than it can accommodate, Deetjen says, with, for example, 60 applying for the small engine program which can only include 16. SEE MORE

A sign warns visitors away from the shore in Roque Bluffs. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

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Do ‘fishing, fowling, and navigation’ ring a ‘Bell’?

But what if “fishing, fowling, and navigation” was never intended to be so restrictive? What if the long-abandoned Colonial Ordinance was only ever intended to preserve the public’s right to use the intertidal land in a way that balances the upland owners’ interests in accessing the sea with those same interests shared by the public? SEE MORE

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For our towns, when are the ‘good old days’?

Do communities have their “good old days?” Do they peak? And if so, how do we measure the qualities that contribute to that status? SEE MORE

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Learning from one town’s pioneering spirit

Down the Pemaquid Peninsula and bordering Muscongus Bay sits the small coastal town of Bremen. According to the town’s website, Bremen was “founded in 1828 by pioneers and fishermen.” I can’t fully picture what those early pioneers encountered along the coast or what they imagined their futures to be. I… SEE MORE

Hancock Street in Portland. PHOTO: MICHELE STAPLETON

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The transformation of Portland’s eastern waterfront

Along the eastern waterfront, even more changes will come. A development company plans to build hundreds of housing units, retail space, a luxury hotel and a huge parking garage on land that formerly housed the historic Portland Co. at the end of Thames Street. SEE MORE

University of Maine doctoral candidate Phoebe Jekielk, right, works with students from Islesboro Central School in Stonington.

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Students contribute to ‘archipelago of knowledge’

The crew of high school students and Hurricane Island educators joined Dr. Carla Guenther, chief scientist at the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries, who is the principal investigator. The focus of this project is to understand where to find juvenile scallops... SEE MORE

The Portland Steam Packet Company’s coastal passenger steamers Forest City, operating for the 1882 season. PHOTO: MAINE MARITIME MUSEUM

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Coastal steamers were gateway to Maine woods

The crossing of the Piscataqua River Bridge on I-95 or the aerial descent over Portland Harbor to the jetport signify arrival in Maine for most present-day visitors to Vacationland. Before the development of automobiles, highway systems, and commercial airlines, coastal steamers were the primary mode of travel for visitors from… SEE MORE