Working Waterfront

Historic buildings live on

Not long ago—well, I guess that just because I remember it doesn't mean it wasn't long ago—Vinalhaven’s downtown was an architectural wonderland, lorded over by three Second Empire Victorian structures, each three stories, and a fourth building, marginally more magnificent, but lacking the Victorian’s mansard. This fourth edifice was the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Raspberry bounty leads to recipe

Seven or eight years ago I asked my neighbor Mary, who was off island at Surry Gardens to buy some plants, if she would pick up three small raspberry bushes for me. It has always been my dream to have a raspberry patch in my own yard, one that would… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The evolution of taste

Flavor matters so much when we eat. Cooks sample as they go along to make sure the seasoning is just right, that the balance of salt, sweet, spicy, sour, bitter, and umami is pleasing. Still, each of us experiences flavor in highly personal ways, hence, “De gustibus, non disputandum est.”… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Oh for a life on the rolling sea…

First things first: I have to express my gratitude to all of you who reached out after my last column. I did, very fortunately, find out that my biopsy was benign. I also learned a lot about how commonly experienced, and how terrifying, this process is for so many people.… SEE MORE

The fog lingers over Lunt Harbor. PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Sunbeam cuts through foggy day

On Frenchboro, more than 100 people sat on the church lawn to eat lobster, which had been donated by island fishermen, and bid on various donated goods and services. The event is a fundraiser for the church. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

‘Unbridged’ Island Reader published

For almost 20 years, The Island Reader has featured the work of residents living on Maine’s unbridged islands. Each edition, published annually by Maine Seacoast Mission, contains a range of stories, prose, art, and photographs from a wide variety of island residents and is also edited by islanders. The recently… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Saving our safe passage sentinels

It took an act of Congress and some well-placed support from then Sen. George Mitchell to seal the deal, resulting in the transfer of 27 lighthouses into caring hands. SEE MORE

A summer scene on Swan's Island. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

It’s the people part of island life

History is made and told by people. It’s happening as you read this newspaper. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Remembering Gramp—role model and patriot

The Fourth of July reminds me each year of a memorable Independence Day Celebration in 1984, when my grandfather, Edwin (Ted) Maddox, a highly regarded islander, selectman, and staunch Republican state legislator representing Vinalhaven and North Haven and the rest of Knox County, was leading the Vinalhaven parade, as he… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Package delivery across the water

Comments overheard at the town dock on either of the Cranberry Isles on almost any given summer day: “The shed is too full!” “These boxes are a mess!” “Did you see a package in there for me?” “Darn. I got an email that said it was delivered, but I don’t… SEE MORE