Working Waterfront

Let’s give our service center towns a hand

When I first began working in downtown Belfast in the late 1980s, I noticed an odd trend. On Fridays, it was a lot harder to find a parking space than it was on Mondays. As I paid more attention to this phenomenon, I began noticing that people who I knew… SEE MORE

A kayaker explores one of the islands on the trail.

Working Waterfront

Shared mooring: Maine Island Trail, Island Institute born of same values

By Doug Welch The Maine Island Trail Association marks its 30th anniversary this month, and I believe it is important to look back at our roots and the organization that once spawned and still inspires us—the Island Institute. This story begins a “generation” before the Island Institute in the 1970s and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Dancing away the early spring cold

Sometimes, all it takes to warm back up is a little do-si-do. After a long, snowed-in winter and a chilly, damp spring, with the nearest restaurant opening still weeks away, North Haven kids and grownups were trudging along. Sunny days were few and far between, and it seemed that even… SEE MORE

Fisherman George Curtis and retired fisherman William Leaman talk fishing (of course) outside of Leaman’s fish house in Owls Head in 1957.

Working Waterfront

Penobscot Marine Museum brings Kosti home

COURTESY PENOBSCOT MARINE MUSEUM In the summer of 1951, Ruohomaa received a call from his friend Andrew Wyeth inviting him to join in fetching an antique hearse from Loud’s Island. Ruohomaa documented the infamous trip from start to finish. In this view, sawmill operator, Ralph Cline, ro “Kosti Comes Home,”… SEE MORE

A cruise ship off Bar Harbor in October 2016.

Working Waterfront

Guest column: Bar Harbor vote is chance to save Frenchman Bay

By Renata Moise Early in the season, we carry our kayaks over the thick layer of rotten seaweed at the high tide line. Living by the sea, this slippery, smelly refuse makes me think of gardening soon, that I must remember to return with buckets. Since I was tiny I… SEE MORE

Opinion

Working Waterfront

Two views of what Europeans did to Native New England

Reviewed By Tom Walsh Engraved in granite near the Pennsylvania Avenue entrance to The National Archives in Washington D.C. is this enduring insight: What is Past is Prologue. It’s a thought first penned by William Shakespeare in The Tempest. Written in 1611, it remains a phrase that reminds us that… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Remembering the ‘improbable’ Harbor Gawker

On Oct. 1 of last year, a man with no legs and just a few fingers put together one of several final meals at one of coastal Maine’s iconic—and most improbable—seafood restaurants. It was a haddock and havarti sandwich, which I enjoyed and with a gusto that I’d reserved over the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The history of Maine’s income tax, and why it matters

Maine’s current governor spent his second term trying to repeal the income tax, and while he didn’t succeed, the top rate was reduced from 8.5 percent to 7.1 percent during his term of office. Nearly 50 years after the personal and corporate income tax was enacted, by a Democratic governor… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Digging into history, learning from the children

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. It was most certainly the highest, most nausea-inducing point on the entire island. I closed my eyes.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Mastering the art of persuasion

I have long been fascinated by the art of persuasion. Well, maybe it’s more skill than art. I’m thinking of the public version, not trying to talk someone into hiring you or buying your1994 Chevy Cavalier. The persuasive skills I pay attention to are those that can change people’s views… SEE MORE

Opinion