Working Waterfront

Ticked off at a nasty arthropod

My infection came in the form of 24-hour bouts of low fever and severe joint pain that left me barely able to walk. SEE MORE

Boats at their moorings in a cove off Long Island. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Island balances character with change

There is so much good work happening and so much good work to come. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

How to determine the degrees of ‘Away’

Away happens and it comes in many forms as does the process of making an accurate determination of whether one is from here, from here only to a degree, or from elsewhere. The means-testing that has emerged is quite sophisticated and, when applied carefully, reveals relative nativeness with uncanny accuracy.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Convenience may be the enemy of connection

Seeking convenience almost always sacrifices connection, something pointed out to me by my wise niece, Sarah. By that standard, I have a very connected kitchen. For instance, no dishwasher occupies space here. Sarah, and occasionally our young friend and occasional co-habitant Brynn and I wash dishes. I love being connected… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Growth, fear, and ferry line anxiety

By the time you read this, it’ll be pretty close to October, or as some people call it, spooky season. Fear and anxiety are part of my day-to-day life, so I tend to say “no thank you” to recreational fear. Those fears gave way to anxiety around air travel and… SEE MORE

A copy of "Monhegan Stories," courtesy Monhegan Museum of Art & History.

Working Waterfront

A Monhegan media montage, circa 1900

A story of romance. A list of plants. A mash-up of fact and fiction about Monhegan Island’s people and places circa 1900. These and more are what is within a handmade, leather-bound book that is now part of the Monhegan Museum of Art & History’s collection. The book of about… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Remembering, reviving the musical ‘Islands’

Essay by Barney Hallowell//Photos by Amanda LaBell I wasn’t sure we could do it, or even should do it. Resurrecting Islands, the musical written by the late John Wulp of Vinalhaven and Cindy (now Cid) Bullens for its 20th anniversary had been on Waterman Community Center’s radar almost since its… SEE MORE

Lobster landing in Vinalhaven. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Pay attention to women-owned businesses

I daydream about becoming a farmer. My vegetable garden last year would warn against it, and this year I didn’t even try to grow a tomato plant in a pot. Instead, I daydream of working on the water, farming scallops. I want to be an aquaculturist in my next life… SEE MORE

New and returning Island Fellows gathered for training recently in St. George. Front row, from left: Paige Atkinson, Hallie Lartius, Brianna Cunliffe, Melanie Nash, and Mia Colloredo-Mansfeld. Back row, from left: Kawai Marin, Katie Liberman, Olivia Lenfesty, Olivia Jolley, and Kaylin Wu. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

Island Fellows program welcomes new recruits

Since 1999, the Island Institute’s Island Fellows program has placed 145 college graduates in Maine’s coastal and island communities for two-year fellowships. Fellows are placed at host sites, including schools, nonprofit organizations, historical societies, libraries, and other areas to complete community-developed projects in areas such as town planning, education, marine… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Will innovation save lobstering?

The concept of innovation tends to inspire images of bio-geneticists tinkering with DNA to create cancer-resistant cells. But sometimes, innovation comes in decidedly low-tech form. I attended the every-other-year Beaches Conference in June, and one of the presenters showed slides of how the town of York dealt with perennial ocean… SEE MORE