Working Waterfront

COVID, islands, and the illusion of sanctuary

We all, no doubt, have a vivid memory of the spring of 2020. Life changed radically as we adapted to the reality of a pandemic and how to avoid getting or spreading COVID-19. For me, the March 15 vote by the North Haven Select Board stands out. In a statement… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Concept would eliminate Eastport causeway

Connecting America’s deepest Atlantic Coast seaport to mainland America is becoming a 100-year challenge. “It’s been said that there are only two things that Mainers here in Washington County hate,” says Chris Gardner, who oversees the Port Authority of Eastport. “Change, and the way things are.” For many years, Gardner… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Roux Institute envisions Portland as tech hub

Tucked between the shore and I-295 at the mouth of Portland’s Back Cove, the B&M Baked Beans cannery, built in 1913, was a landmark for city residents, tourists, and even mariners on Casco Bay, as well as the source of the aroma of cooking beans and molasses. For more than… SEE MORE

Chebeague beach house. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Keeping houses lit through winter

The last time I set foot on Chebeague Island it was June 14, 2003. My enduring memory of the day is watching my brother speed across the bay aboard his best friend’s lobster boat, suited up and on his way to join his soon-to-be wife on the shore, where they… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Dinner disrupted—the rise of ‘can’t eat’ foods

Daring to gather indoors around a dinner table with three or four good friends is one gift of vaccinations. Invitations fluctuate with the ebb and flow of COVID infectiousness but most of us older triple-vaxxed people venture some sociability. Since social isolation is as bad for our health as heavy… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Cows and contentment

Every morning on my way to work I get a little serotonin boost about a half mile from my house. There, in a long, narrow field edged with woods, moseys a small herd of Red Devon cows. One gentle, thick-necked bull, three horned steers, and one pregnant cow named Frieda… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Kate Stookey named MCHT president

Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT), a statewide land conservation organization, has named Kate Stookey as its president and CEO. MCHT president Tim Glidden retired at the end of 2021. Stookey, who grew up in Blue Hill, brings deep experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. She has held leadership… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Celebrate Ashley Bryan by making art

No matter how you feel about Facebook, one thing the social networking site does well is to connect scattered friends in times of celebration and grief. On Feb. 5, less than 24 hours after his death, it did not feel to me that Ashley Bryan was gone. It seemed more… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

An island town looks in the mirror

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 coast of Maine is an iconic place. You say “Maine” to someone out of state, and they picture harbor-front… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Photographic proof of Portland’s hip rebirth

Take It Easy: Portland in the 1970s by John Duncan; Islandport Press Review by Dana Wilde Summers in the ’60s my father trundled from Cape Elizabeth to Portland to go to marine chandleries on the wharves. I remember Commercial Street being like something out of a badly filmed B movie.… SEE MORE