The columnist leads a workshop on ukulele playing at the Island Teachers Conference.

Working Waterfront

Teachers conference bridges isolation gap

Being an island teacher has some unique challenges and benefits. On the one hand, as the only music teacher in North Haven’s one-building district, I have total control over the scope and sequence of our K-12 music classes. I’ve been able to build a program that ensures most students are… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Considering the birds is a balm for troubled mind

One of the things I love about October and November in the Cranberry Isles is the increase in bird stories. It is migrating season and most people out here keep an eye on the birds with many a good story to tell. This fall, especially, my mind has craved the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Thinking conservatively about kitchen energy

It boils down to this: whose energy are you going to use, your own or the energy you buy from the power or gas company? A few weeks ago, we had a half-day conference on Islesboro devoted to energy issues—how to conserve it, how to find alternative sources. While I… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Harbor Gawker says goodbye

PHOTO ESSAY BY COURTNEY MOONEY The Harbor Gawker has been a fixture in Vinalhaven’s village center, just a stone’s throw from the harbor, since 1975. That was the year owners Lonnie and Kathy Morton were married. Later, the couple later bought the business from Lonnie's parents, John and Barbara Morton, who… SEE MORE

Vinalhaven music teacher Bill Trevaskis works with other island teachers at the Island Institute's Island Teachers Conference in Belfast.

Working Waterfront

Island teachers share cross-curricular methods at conference

When you’re teaching in a small island school, the term “cross-curricular” is not a concept; it’s a day-to-day reality. Bill Trevaskis, the sole music teacher for students in the pre-K to 12th grade Vinalhaven School, explained how he worked with his colleagues to a group of teachers at the Island… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Nantucket as symbol of undesirable island fate

By Tom Groening A year ago, my wife and I returned to Nantucket to celebrate our 35th anniversary. It was our first time back since I began working at the Island Institute, and so it was with different eyes that I took in the beauty, the history, the wealth, and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

‘Bungalow in a Box’ offers energy efficiency, ease of construction

Patricia Festino has built a number of houses in the course of her 77 years. The Chebeague Island resident knows the ins and outs of working with architects and carpenters, and the ups and downs of construction and design. Having worked hands-on on her homes, she also knows how a… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A good read about the early years on Vinalhaven

Ken Reiss’ new book, From The Beginning: Vinalhaven from 1760 to 1850, has given me a clearer sense of where I came from and, more importantly, how and why my ancestors chose this remote island to make a new life for themselves, why they stayed, how they survived, and why… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

In praise of pollock

Recently, I learned that pollock is underappreciated in Maine, and probably elsewhere, too. Poor old pollock; that has been its life story. The main problem with pollock is and has been that it is not cod, haddock, or salmon, and it’s a tad gray or blueish, and not pure white.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

North Haven Foundation marks 50th anniversary

North Haven robotics enthusiasts, parents of preschoolers, students pursuing post-secondary education, and adults pursuing professional certificates know they can look to one community non-profit for support: the North Haven Foundation. Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the foundation reaffirmed its commitment to supporting education on and off the island, and looked to… SEE MORE