A Maine State Ferry Service boat rounds the Rockland Breakwater as a full moon rises.

Working Waterfront

How we get here: A history of Maine’s ferry service

The SS Governor Bodwell, seen here, was launched at Rockland on May 27, 1892, by the Vinalhaven & Rockland Steamboat Company. It ran between the island and Rockland from 1892 to 1924. PHOTO: COURTESY HISTORY PRESS/VINALHAVEN ISLAND’S MARITIME INDUSTRIES By Nancy Griffin The allure of living on an island includes… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Potential energy in my yard, and in island life

By Courtney Naliboff Last month, my daughter and I planted tulips, the first fall bulbs I’ve put in since my wedding seven years ago. Back then, a friend and I pre-dug holes in the border of our woods, and my young female friends and relatives planted a variety of daffodils… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The Outer Bell

By Phil Crossman (The perspective is that of a Maine State Ferry on a day in 1973 when I was reminded of its involvement in our island lives.) A cocky young man from away who one of our girls has brought home strikes a jaunty pose on the bow and,… SEE MORE

The Island Institute's press conference on the Cranberry Isles getting a USDA grant.

Working Waterfront

Rural communities continue to find paths to broadband

By Tom Groening Public spending to bring high-speed internet—also known as broadband—to rural Maine is not on the horizon. Not yet, anyway. Broadband proponents argue that bringing this infrastructure to remote corners of the state is comparable to how electricity was brought to pockets of the country in the 1930s.… SEE MORE

Monhegan Island’s marshy freshwater meadow is part of the aquifer.

Working Waterfront

Monhegan’s water supply threatened

By Craig Idlebrook Monhegan Island’s freshwater supply faces a triple threat—rising sea levels, seasonal overuse, and antiquated infrastructure. Residents are studying how best to safeguard the water from sea level rise. They also are grappling with how to ensure that seasonal overuse of the water supply doesn’t deplete the freshwater… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

On land and sea, Swan’s Island entrepreneurs find their niche

By Jennifer Helman//Photos by Dale Joyce Living on an island requires resilience, patience, creativity, and an entrepreneurial spirit. But some islanders take that to a whole new level. Gary Rainford, owner of Coffee Love, explains the mindset perfectly: “When you live in a place like this and there is something… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Challenging the enduring weight of ‘local’

By Tom Groening For journalists, elections are something like Christmas morning. Actually, as the polls close and the counting starts on Election Day evening, it feels like Christmas Eve. Then the final tally is like opening the presents under the tree the next morning. Even those of us with some… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Cliff Island’s quiet stalwart

Editor's note: This story first appeared in the 2019 edition of Island Journal. By Tom Groening//Photos by Lorinda Valls Cheryl Crowley offers a vivid metaphor for the challenges and rewards of working to support a small island community. “It’s like painting a house,” she says. “I hate all the scraping.… SEE MORE

Emily Lane of Vinalhaven is the new chairwoman of the Island Institute's board of trustees.

Working Waterfront

Emily Lane to lead Island Institute board

By Tom Groening Emily Lane is an unassuming groundbreaker. But groundbreaker she is. For years, Lane did seafood marketing on Vinalhaven, work she didn’t plan to make a career of, but living on an island, there it was. And in doing so, she earned respect in that male-dominated sector. Now, on being… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Cumberland, York county towns tangle with FEMA

By Jacqueline Weaver Rising sea levels and their impact on flood insurance rates are becoming a contentious and anxiety-provoking issue for Maine coastal towns. Flood maps drafted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reflecting the predicted higher seas have been disputed by coastal communities in York and Cumberland counties… SEE MORE