Working Waterfront

Town government: confidence or apathy?

The town of Vinalhaven’s administrative assistant, Barbara Philbrook, gave notice several months ago that she would be retiring this month. Until it was revealed that she’d only been working here for 46 years, most of us had assumed she’d been there forever, or at least since Vinalhaven gained its relative… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Wrack Line: Herring shortage, L.L. Bean donates to Island Explorer

It’s high summer on the coast of Maine, and the state’s newspapers are reflecting the splendor of the season. But it’s not all pretty pictures and fun; the news marches on, and some of it has serious consequences. Let’s start with the splendor, though. * * * The Ellsworth American… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

From Aunt Annie’s point of view

The house I live in was Adrianna Bunker’s home from roughly 1869 until the mid-1920s. For about 20 years she cooked in a small kitchen in the back half of what is now my living room. In 1889, her husband Emery modernized the house by connecting it with an ell… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Tomalley and other lobster conundrums

Picture an illustrated paper placemat in any restaurant along the coast. The red and white directions for eating a steamed lobster are what pop into my mind. I’m pretty sure that lobster is the only Maine commodity that rates a placemat with instructions on how to break it up and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A teacher’s holiday

After a long nine-and-a-half months of lesson planning, assessing, discussing and meeting, summer vacation is as necessary for teachers as it is for students. We use the time to prepare our classrooms, attend conferences and reinvigorate ourselves for the coming school year. For some, that means travel. For others, reading… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Island fire rekindles fears, appreciation

By Phil Showell More than 50 years ago I was sitting on a porch at my parent’s place on Sheep Island. It lies in the New Meadows River, opposite the Basin, a sensually stunning refuge from stormy weather known to most who cruise Maine’s coast. I was riveted by what… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Islesboro’s lead on broadband is model for success

If Maine followed Islesboro’s example, we would soon be the most connected state in the nation. On June 18, Islesboro voted to join a very limited number of towns across the country with universal access to gigabit broadband speeds. When the $3.8 million project is complete, this high-speed service will… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Lifetime of cultural immersion prepared MacWilliam for island school

Rita MacWilliam came to the tiny one-room, K-8 schoolhouse on Isle au Haut from a life of immersion in new cultural experiences that included working in other tiny schools in out-of-the-way settings. This island’s new teacher, who mainly grew up in Ohio, started her career as a 19-year-old undergraduate in… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Vinalhaven to celebrate work of noted children’s author

Margaret Wise Brown, author of such children's classics as Goodnight Moon, The Runaway Bunny and The Little Island, had a deep love for Vinalhaven. In fact, the home she bought on Long Cove is the only house she ever owned. Perhaps that's why she called it the Only House. Brown… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Imagination, creativity kindled in fairy houses

Reflections is a monthly column written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in remote coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. Alana Flanagan works on Vinalhaven with the school and Partners in Island Education; she leaves her fellowship… SEE MORE