Working Waterfront

Maine’s caring economy is environmental and personal

An old friend, Glen Libby, stopped by the office recently. Those who know Glen may immediately think of community supported fisheries. Glen and his fellow fishermen began a national trend that connects fishermen to consumers based on the community supported agriculture model, where consumers buy a share of a farmer’s harvest.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Speaking as a Republican…

In 2010, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell proclaimed that the Republican members of Congress had no more immediate goal than to see that President Obama was not allowed a second term. A fellow Republican, I was aghast to think, given all that we faced as a nation, that he and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Moderating town meeting an honor and challenge

When I remember the town meetings I’ve attended while living in the Cranberry Isles, I think about the past moderators. Wilfred Bunker, Al Gray, David Stainton, Francis Stanley, Herman Savage and Hugh Dwelley are the names that come to mind, though there may be some I’ve forgotten. Men who were… SEE MORE

Maine Maritime Academy vessels docked at the campus in Castine.

Working Waterfront

Winter training cruise imparts laptop lesson

People who are not accustomed to living on the water and on the high seas are often painfully aware of the slightest motion a boat or ship makes. Just look for the gray or green pallor on their faces and the expression that says, “Are we there yet?” And those… SEE MORE

Tarah Waters working with children in Eastport.

Working Waterfront

Eastport asks the question, ‘What’s your art?’

Editor's note: 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. Tarah Waters is working to support the growing arts community in Eastport. Being an… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Remembering a lost fishery, and grandparents

My grandmother Edith Johnson Searles packed sardines in Lubec at a time when that prosperous town hosted 23 sardine (herring) packing plants. My grandfather, Henry Searles, was a native of Canada’s nearby Campobello Island, who moved across the sound to marry my grandmother and live with her in South Lubec.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Egged on by good health news

It’s OK to eat eggs again. Thank goodness. In fact, it is even fashionable. About 20 years or so ago, eggs were put on the Bad For You list. Cholesterol, of which eggs have quite a bit, was the culprit, apparently. Predictably, egg alternatives showed up in the marketplace because… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

It’s all part of the deal

One weekend in January, my husband went away for an Island Institute conference. I planned a fun girls night dinner with a friend and my daughter, with calzones and homemade cookies and ice cream on the agenda. Midway through calzone making, my daughter, who had been running around moments before,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Seasonal ‘disorder vs. order’ conflict rears its head

I like the feeling of island living when the holidays are over and the new year has just begun. My husband Bruce has all of his lobster traps out of the water and his boat, the Barbara Ann, has been hauled out at a nearby mainland boatyard since the end of… SEE MORE

The shore at Roque Bluffs in Washington County.

Working Waterfront

Washington County’s population challenges point to immigration

Washington County is going to be a very different place in 20 years. Over half of our population is older than 45. Almost a fifth is 65 or older. Only a small percentage of the people who are now middle-aged or elderly will be working in 2036, and there just… SEE MORE