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

Participants in Rockland's Station Maine program get out on the water. PHOTO: COURTESY STATION MAINE

Working Waterfront

Motor? Sail? Row your boat!

When someone who has never rowed before steps into a rowing shell on Megunticook Lake in Camden as part of Megunticook Rowing’s Learn to Row program, their eyes widen as they exclaim, “Oh, my gosh, this is tippy!” said Anna Goodale, the organization’s executive director and head coach. There’s lots… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

New Mainers, ‘boomerangs’ reflect on choices

For years, Stephanie Pemberton and her husband discussed leaving Indiana, but weren’t sure where to go. That changed when Pemberton, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, accepted a three-month assignment at a Midcoast medical facility. “My husband and kids visited on Thanksgiving and we made the abrupt decision right then and there,”… SEE MORE

An aerial view of Bremen Community Shellfish, shot in September. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

Maine’s blue economy threatened by loss of access

Persuading policy makers and residents of the value of Maine’s “blue economy” is easy, but if significant investment isn’t made in commercial access to the shore, that sector will languish, according to a report published late last year. “The Critical Nature of Maine’s Working Waterfronts and Access to the Shore”… 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

From left, W.G. Sayre, Ren Albon, and Nancy Sayre.

Working Waterfront

Castine community rallies around childcare

In the December/January issue, the Rock Bound column included observations about the nonprofit childcare center created in Castine by mostly volunteer efforts. We felt the success of this endeavor was worthy of its own story. In 2017, a couple of college professors from Pennsylvania who retired to Castine found a… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

‘This Island Life’

Photographs of island life made by Peaks Island resident Heather Wasklewicz were on display at the island branch of the Portland Public Library through January. Wasklewicz donated 20 percent of the sales of images from the show, which she titled “This Island Life,” to the library to support its programs.… 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