A view of the harbor on Swan's Island. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Hearing stories of love and loss

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. Being a “person from away” is not a new experience for me. I was born in the Southeast where my… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Have you seen the Scuttlebutt?

The phrase “buyer beware” seems inappropriate for someone settling in a pretty Maine waterfront community. But maybe “buyer aware” makes some sense. After all, if that town has a working waterfront, a newcomer’s expectations may not match reality. Fishermen’s pickups driving by at 4 a.m. in summer. Diesel boat engines… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Darling Marine’s Heather Leslie honored

Heather Leslie, professor of marine science and director of the Darling Marine Center at the University of Maine, has been named a 2022 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow, one of the highest honors in the scientific community. AAAS Fellows are a group of scientists, engineers, and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Adventures in art

As I sit in my 8-foot by 10-foot studio on a sunny afternoon in the fourth week of February I think about the strange winter we’ve experienced. The islands have not had more than 3 inches of snow at a time and that hasn’t lasted. There have been days in… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A paddling partner remembered

A friend, Jack Waterbury, was a former military pilot and had retired to the island a few years earlier. Charming but woefully disorganized and chaotic, he continually misplaced things. Many years ago, when in his 50s, he was my date on a canoeing trip with two other couples on Lobster… SEE MORE

Elementary school students who participate in the Maine Seacoast Mission’s EdGE programs. PHOTO: COURTESY MAINE SEACOAST MISSION

Working Waterfront

On the edge—Seacoast Mission sails into Washington County

Since the early 20th century, the Maine Seacoast Mission’s Sunbeam has called at the state’s easterly islands, providing health care, food, spiritual counsel, and fellowship. More recently, the nonprofit has dropped anchor in Washington County. In fact, 90% of the people the Mission serves are in Washington County, a region… SEE MORE

A view of Johnson Bay in Lubec from between two houses.

Working Waterfront

Lubec’s Safe Harbor project back on track

[caption id="attachment_35660" align="aligncenter" width="875"] A panoramic view of Johnson Bay in Lubec. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING[/caption] Lubec's Safe Harbor project, which has been in the works for more than five years and recently stalled for lack of funding, has taken a significant step forward with an additional $10 million expected… SEE MORE

A photo from about 1900 shows what was once Winnegance Tide Mills, near where a bridge today carries Route 209 over Winnegance Creek. PHOTO: MAINE MARITIME MUSEUM

Working Waterfront

Tidal power is not new to Maine

Prior to advances in transportation and energy production, industry and commerce across civilizations often relied on proximity to water. In the case of the lumber industry, one of Maine’s largest industries to date, the reliance was three-fold: inland timber harvests floated down-river to mills via log drives, saw mills used… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Multiple approaches to addressing worker shortage

The days of finding large numbers of pre-trained and experienced workers are fast fading. Businesses across Maine—and the nation—have had trouble finding the available, qualified workers they need to operate at full capacity. In fact, there are currently about two open jobs for every unemployed job seeker in the state… SEE MORE

From left, the Island Institute's Eastport Island Fellow Paige Atkinson; Institute staff Alex Zipparo; Mount Desert Island Fellow Brianna Cunliffe; and Institute staffer Abby Roche.

Working Waterfront

Resilience is the response

I was on Great Cranberry Island for a community event recently and encountered a sight that will not be easily forgotten. As I stood on the dock awaiting the mailboat back to mainland, I looked to the west and saw several gravestones on a grassy enclave that were dangerously close… SEE MORE