Working Waterfront

The sad tale of a religious charlatan

He must have been charismatic. He must have been passionate. And he must have been persuasive. The open question is whether or not his faith was sincere. The late 19th century was an era now known by religious scholars as the Third Great Awakening, a period when Christians expected the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Navigating 2024

What challenges will 2024 bring to the Maine coast, and how will leaders respond? SEE MORE

Swan's Island summer scene. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

History in the flesh

Reflections is written by Island Institute 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 steamboat went away during World War II. Randy was five. Now, at 87 years old, he has more… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Community connections often rely on internet

It’s not your grandmother simply knowing how to hop on Facebook to swap recipes, it’s her being able to create a health profile and schedule... SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A circuitous Mayflower connection

This is a remarkably coincidental and clearly destined love story resulting from the very diverse and circuitous travels of nine descendant generations of two Mayflower passengers, emerging, finally, 300 years later, in parallel. The Mayflower arrived in what is now Provincetown Harbor, Cape Cod on Nov. 11, 1620. On board… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Incandescent yellows and shades of brown

At our October book group meeting, before our discussion of Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, one of the members who attended from Pennsylvania via Zoom asked us, “What is the island like right now?” Several people mentioned the rain we’ve had every weekend, and we all compared temperatures from our… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Lobster lady’s story meets lobster kids

The Lobster Lady By Alexandra Hinrichs, illustrations by Jamie Hogan; Charlesbridge Publishing (2023) Island Readers & Writers, an organization connecting children and books in communities on Maine’s islands and Washington County, recently sent Alison Johnson, director of its school programs, with author Alexandra Hinrichs, to Vinalhaven to speak to its… SEE MORE

Jody Bush leads participants after an instructional trek through John Bush’s adjacent forest. PHOTO: KATE HOTCHKISS TAYLOR

Working Waterfront

Seeing the forest and the trees

Chuck Gadzik of Vinalhaven led a community walk devoted to resilient and diverse forests on the islands earlier this year. SEE MORE

Victor Diaz is the new chaplain for Chebeague Island’s church.

Working Waterfront

Chebeague chooses new chaplain

“Victor is able to speak to all generations,” she says. “I feel like he stands in the middle and can speak to our traditional, older population as well as attract others who are younger, like millennials.” SEE MORE

Rhiannon Hampson, left, state director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, joins Kim Hamilton, Island Institute president at an event announcing the nonprofit being awarded two key grants. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

Island Institute awarded USDA funding

Island Institute, a Rockland-based community development organization focused on island and coastal communities, has been awarded two key grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The nonprofit landed a Rural Community Development Initiative grant of $201,000 to support the Island Institute Fellows program. Island Institute Fellows in Brooklin, Tremont, and… SEE MORE