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

Remembering Maine’s lady of letters, Elizabeth Coatsworth

Though less renowned than Damariscotta’s late Barbara Cooney of Miss Rumphius fame, prolific poet and writer Elizabeth Coatsworth penned an estimated 127 total titles while living for decades in an early 19th-century house at lakefront Chimney Farm in Nobleboro. There Coatsworth and her pioneering nature writer husband Henry Beston (contemporaries… SEE MORE

The steam ferry Union on the Bath waterfront, circa 1890. PHOTO: COURTESY MAINE MARITIME MUSEUM

Working Waterfront

Before bridges: River crossings relied on ferries

Once a primary mode of transportation for many Mainers, ferries are more often a fun excursion than a necessity, at least for those who live and work on the mainland. Yet for over a century, such vessels transformed life along Maine coastal and inland waters, enabling commerce, travel, and recreation… SEE MORE

he Gold Ball-winning basketball team from Narraguagus High School, 2016, with their coach, the lobster fisherman "Olivia Marshall" in the book, whose real name is Heather Thompson (back row, far right). The team is aboard the fishing boat Thompson named in honor of the championship team. “Audrey Barton”—whose real name is Kelli Kennedy—is in the back row, third from left. “Mckenna Holt”—whose real name is Laniew Perry—is in the back row, next to Olivia Marshall.

Working Waterfront

‘Downeast’ strikes a blow against ‘the geography of nowhere’

In this difficult time of failed public expectations, when thoughtful people wonder where to look for hope, I keep returning in my own mind to the thought of the renewal of the rural communities… But to be authentic, a true encouragement and a true beginning, this would have to be… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

On the St. George peninsula, education continued

When schools closed in March 2020, the doors to a new after-school program in St. George also closed. In the latter half of its first year, the Blueberry Cove 4H after-school program had finally gotten its feet under itself. The program was formed as a response to families needing reliable,… SEE MORE

A postcard depicts Charles Nungesser and Francoise Coli, who some believe may have been the first to fly across the Atlantic.

Working Waterfront

Historic flight still shrouded in mystery

The disappearance 94 years ago in May of the White Bird biplane and its two pilots—possibly in Washington County—remains an unsolved mystery of aviation history. The plane's two French pilots may have been the first to fly nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean, less than two weeks before Charles Lindbergh's famous… SEE MORE

Essay

Working Waterfront

We asked, you answered

I didn’t coin the phrase, but I wholeheartedly endorse its wisdom: If you’re not having fun editing a newspaper, you’re doing it wrong. It’s been great fun for me to edit The Working Waterfront these last seven-plus years. One of the joys, after working at weekly and daily newspapers, is that, as… SEE MORE

An illustration of a cod schooner at sea in the mid 1800s.

Working Waterfront

Maine: A pattern of renewal after hardship

By Jack Sullivan I was looking forward to doing something fun to celebrate my home state’s 200th anniversary of statehood. I wanted to have a few friends over and make a toast to the 23rd state of this great nation—maybe even pour one out for Joshua Chamberlain. Unfortunately, March 15… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine: ‘Birthplace of Social Distancing’?

By Tom Walsh It seems there is no better time to be living in the middle of nowhere. In fact, Maine might consider rethinking its archaic “Vacationland” license plate slogan. Maybe instead, “Birthplace of Social Distancing.” Maine has a population of 1.3 million people scattered over 35,383 square miles, including… SEE MORE

A view of Somes Sound on Miount Desert Island.

Working Waterfront

Is the fear about the ‘if, when’ virus unprecedented?

By Dana Wilde “This is like an atomic bomb, or worse,” Xiao Xingzheng wrote to me from his home in the island-city of Xiamen, China. This was in late March, when the COVID-19 pandemic was subsiding there and intensifying here. He and his own family had, luckily, escaped illness so… SEE MORE