Working Waterfront

Quimby reveals plans for Schoodic campground

By Jacqueline Weaver When philanthropist Roxanne Quimby bought the 113-acre Ocean Wood Campground on Schoodic Peninsula three years ago for $2 million, her intent was to save the land and its 3,200-feet of bold ocean frontage from development. Now she has a clearer idea of the best possible use of… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The embrace of island life is like no other

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. By Stevie Kowalczyk Sometimes I hate living on Swan’s Island. Really hate it. The island can be nosey. Everyone knows everything… SEE MORE

One-room school teachers who participate in the Teaching and Learning Collaborative: from left

Working Waterfront

One- and two-room schools celebrate ten years of collaboration

By Yvonne Thomas What has allowed the Outer Islands Teaching and Learning Collaborative, or TLC, to survive and thrive? For 10 years, the one- and two-room schools on Cliff Island, the Cranberry Isles, Frenchboro, Isle au Haut, Matinicus, and Monhegan have banded together through this network, creating, according to its… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Swan’s Island institutions find mutual support

Story by Jennifer Helman//Photos by Dale Joyce A landmark building from the 1890s and a historical society in need of a new home found each other on Swan’s Island. The Swan’s Island Historical Society, established in 1972 as part of the Swan’s Island Educational Society, has had its ups and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Women on the working waterfront, and on our pages

By Tom Groening If newspaper readers could be proverbial flies on the wall during meetings at which editors plan news coverage, most conspiracy theories about bias and political agendas would fade away. I’m reminded (yet again) of a Jerry Seinfeld comedy bit, in which he notes, “It's amazing that the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

On MDI, summer help may bunk in dorms

By Laurie Schreiber More than three million visitors flock to Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island each year. That leaves employers with an acute need for seasonal employees. But where are those employees going to live? The island’s thriving vacation rental market makes it all but impossible to find… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Merritt Carey fights for a waterfront way of life

By Tom Groening She’s sailed around the world with an all-female crew and competed in the America’s Cup with the first all-female team. She earned a law degree, worked for a Canadian seaweed processing firm, and lived for a time in New Zealand. But for Merritt Carey, the small coastal… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

An eye that sees an island sharply, wryly

As the Crow Flies By Phil Crossman Review by Tina Cohen A new collection of essays by Vinalhaven’s Phil Crossman features on its cover a bird’s eye view of the island’s Carver’s Harbor, with a bird whose eye is appropriately airborne. That bird is a crow, and not incidentally, the nickname… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Second-hand stores helping keep older islanders at home

By Susan Q. Stranahan On a Saturday morning in late summer, the Red Studio at Chebeague Island’s Island Commons is crowded. A customer requests dimensions of the oriental rug displayed outside. Grandmother and grandson sort through boxes of used kids' books and games. Teenagers examine vintage jewelry, and there are… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Summer on a Maine island creates ‘fomo’

By Barbara Fernald It is 10 a.m. on Aug. 1. The temperature is 78 degrees with 54 percent humidity. A gorgeous summer day on the coast of Maine. No wonder people want to be here. I hear it’s crowded in Acadia and I see that’s true by the many cars… SEE MORE