Working Waterfront

It took a village to run the motel

My mother was possessed of a resolute conviction that people were good. Certainly, in spite of mounting evidence to the contrary, she felt my three younger brothers and I were clear examples—kind, compliant youngsters who behaved themselves and did for others at every opportunity. In spite of our best efforts,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The sounds of love are in the air

Once in a while my column ideas just don’t pan out. This is one of those months. I thought I would revisit the golf cart situation on Islesford. I started counting carts on a quick trip to the town dock. There were ten golf carts parked among the trucks and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Castine has rich native history, too

I enjoyed Tom Groening’s photo essay on “Historic Castine” (The Working Waterfront, June). He did capture the sense of the village today. There was, however, one thing that he got wrong. The nations that fought over the place were not just the French, English, Dutch, and American colonists, but also… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Local we know, sustainable we hope

Sunday afternoons, starting the last Sunday in May, a small farmer’s market sets up next to the Up-Island Church (formerly the Free Will Baptist Church, now a preservation society) while cars line Church Turn containing customers ready to pounce on seedlings, vegetables, eggs, honey, all kinds of island-grown fresh stuff.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A deeper meaning of ‘lost at sea’

Several years ago, I visited Ireland with my son, a musician, and one day we ventured to a small coastal village in search of the grave of a famous Irish traditional singer whose voice and repertoire had shaped my son’s first music in a fundamental way. At the local pub,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Remote meetings mirror remote island life

I was working in my studio last week with the television on behind me when I heard one commentator say to another, “I think you win the background game today.” I didn’t turn around, but briefly imagined what might create a backdrop so interesting as to “win the day” among… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Artists and makers prepare for reboot

Maine’s beauty and diversity has long inspired a plethora of art and craft. Maine’s artists and makers are a varied bunch—whether crafting beer in Southern Maine, cutting earrings from recycled olive oil tins in the Midcoast, blending body care products from dulse, or painting abstractions of Downeast seascapes, they are… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

‘Steeped in grief’ as time in Maine ends

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. These are my last two months in Maine for a long time. I am nearing the end of my two… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Ocean economy changing—so should conversation

Drive down any part of Route 1 and you’re bound to spot at least a few signs sporting phrases like “Save the Fishermen, Stop the Mills,” or “Stop Ocean Industrialization.” Given the challenges facing Maine’s fishing industry, it’s no surprise people are concerned about the future of their coastal communities.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Closing a rural school raises key questions

It is school budget time. For remote and rural towns, it is common for the sustainability of small schools to be in question: do the economic benefits of the school outweigh the cost to local property tax payers? On the surface, closures or consolidations often seem more cost effective. In… SEE MORE