Working Waterfront

Inside an islander’s mind

One of the shorter poems, “Modern Man Is Monstrous, Let’s Not Forget,” begins: “Seems like any time I have a minute/to relax here goes somebody all dressed up/on TV talking about the end of time.” These ideas are in themselves quirkily disconnected. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Neighbors helping neighbors on islands

Twenty-five years ago, residents of Vinalhaven asked the Genesis Community Loan Fund for help. Without local options, their aging neighbors were often forced to leave the island for care in mainland facilities, separating them from their homes and families. Genesis support helped open the Ivan Calderwood Home in 2001, enabling… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

We asked, you answered

Earlier this year, Island Institute asked our readers for your thoughts and opinions about The Working Waterfront newspaper and the weekly online digest of Working Waterfront stories. As we consider ways to improve and expand our connections to those who share our deep commitment to the people and places that… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Public, private don’t always play nicely

Imagine the reaction to a town renting out offices in a public library built through the beneficence of Andrew Carnegie a century ago. Or a John D. Rockefeller-donated carriage trail in Acadia National Park being turned into a for-profit go-cart track. It’s not quite as dramatic as all that, but… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Community at the heart of resilience plan

Our community resilience plan was created this way, with residents offering what they had to give, their knowledge of history and place, their ideas and visions, and what they valued. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Strategies for a climate-ready coast

For Maine’s rocky shores, offshore seaweed habitats and oyster reefs can effectively reduce wave energy. Restored kelp forests in Norway have cut wave height by up to 50% and wave energy by 70-80%, enhancing shoreline stability. SEE MORE

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