The Casco Bay Lines Maquoit II, seen here in file photo, will be replaced by a new vessel paid for in part by a federal grant.

Working Waterfront

Casco Bay ferry gets $3.6 million for new boat

The Casco Bay Island Transit District—known to most as the Casco Bay Lines that operates ferry service between Portland and a half-dozen islands in Casco Bay—has won a $3.6 million federal grant to help build a replacement for the aged Maquoit II which carries passengers and freight to the five… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

When Islesboro was ‘invaded’ by the automobile

The following was published under the “Neighborhood Notes” heading in the Friday, Aug. 2, 1912 edition of the Camden Herald, and is reprinted by permission. The peaceful calm of Dark Harbor has been stirred by the arrival of an automobile and dissension has broken out which will end nobody knows… SEE MORE

Allen Island, with part of Benner Island visible at right. Monhegan Island is also visible at the top of the image. PHOTO: COURTESY COLBY COLLEGE

Working Waterfront

Colby takes over stewardship of Wyeth islands

Colby College in Waterville has become the new steward of two historic islands where renowned American artist Andrew Wyeth painted some of his greatest works, inspired and influenced by the landscape and architecture that were curated by his wife, Betsy Wyeth. Colby has taken ownership of Allen and Benner islands… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A Maine island take on Candlemas

On Feb. 2, many Americans look to Pennsylvania to see if the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil emerges to see his shadow or not. If he does, it means there are six more weeks of winter. Folks, on Feb. 2, there will be six more weeks of winter no matter what. Some… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A wintry slice of island life

It’s the afternoon of Jan. 6 and I’m in my studio on Little Cranberry Island, wondering if I have an island tale to tell on the day before my deadline. I usually have some idea by now, but not this week. I would have started writing this morning but I… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A different kind of book in gestation

In 2014 I had a baby, and in 2019 I wrote a song about it. It’s called “Tear Me in Two,” referring not just to the physical act of childbirth, but of the feeling I had as a new parent of this second person, an extension of myself and also… SEE MORE

Children pose in front of Waterman's peace sign.

Working Waterfront

Giving North Haven the peace sign

Editor’s note: The following first appeared in Waterman’s Community Center fall newsletter, and is reproduced here, with permission, because it offers insight into how island communities negotiate change… even small changes. In the 1960s, Waterman & Co. general store was at the height of its activity. Franklin Waterman was the… SEE MORE

A fishing boat in Rockland Harbor. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Lobster harvest sets dollar record

Recently updated data from the Maine Department of Marine Resources shows 2021 as the most valuable year in the history of Maine's lobster fishery. At $724,949,426, the landed value for the iconic fishery jumped by 75 percent over 2020, by far the single largest increase in value, year over year.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

In Plain Sight—An earlier island quarantine

While the experience of quarantining is new to many of us, this is hardly the first time it’s been used to control the spread of disease. The large brick building in the photograph was constructed by the U.S. Navy on Widow’s Island in Penobscot Bay in 1885 as a hospital… SEE MORE

Ashley Bryan PHOTO: COURTESY ASHLEY BRYAN CENTER

Working Waterfront

Ashley Bryan: The prophetic voice

In the fall of 2020, the Bates College Museum of Art mounted a remarkable exhibition, “Let’s Celebrate Ashley Bryan,” in honor of a gift of the award-winning author/illustrator’s work that came to the museum the year before from Henry Isaacs and Donna Bartnoff Isaacs, the artist’s longtime friends and Little… SEE MORE