Category: People

Artist David Hurley poses near his sturgeon mural on the Bayview Events Center, near Belfast’s harbor walk. PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Mural honors Belfast’s sturgeon story

Let’s get the pronunciation lesson out of the way first. The river that flows into Penobscot Bay in Belfast is called the Passagassawakeag, which in the native Wabanaki language means, “Place where sturgeon may be speared by torch light.” It’s pronounced: puh-SAG-uh-sa-WAW-keg. There don’t seem to be many sturgeon in… SEE MORE
Lanette Sigel inspects one of the intact gravestones. PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Saving a cemetery

It’s not hard to imagine the scene 250 years ago—a treeless headland where the Meduncook River meets Penobscot Bay, families gathered for the somber ritual of burying a deceased relative, the stone being carefully set. Today, that plot of land—known as Wadsworth Point—is shaded by a tangle of fir trees,… SEE MORE
Island Institute Fellows, including those returning for a second year and those beginning their fellowship this fall, pose for a photo during an orientation in St. George. Back row, from left: Katie Liberman, Lavinia Clarke, Olivia Jolley, Kaylin Wu, and Morgan Karns. Front row, from left: Alice Cockerham, Brianna Cunliffe, Grace Carrier, and Claire Oxford. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

Island Institute announces new Fellows

Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront, has announced its new cohort of Island Institute Fellows who join a group returning for their second year. The Fellows program places recent college graduates in island and remote coastal communities to do service work. New Fellows include: [caption id="attachment_38241" align="alignnone" width="300"] Alice… SEE MORE
Eastport’s buoy in its setting on the city’s breakwater on a foggy night in August. PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Selfie magnet—Eastport’s artsy buoy

Eastport has plenty of bragging rights—its pretty, compact downtown with red brick buildings and handsome 19th century homes. Its dramatic, wild tides and its setting at the confluence of two bays, the Passamaquoddy and Cobscook. Its proximity to Canada, visible across a strait. [caption id="attachment_38225" align="alignleft" width="325"] Eastport’s buoy in… SEE MORE
book jacket detail

Working Waterfront

A fresh look at Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

Having just been informed that a crowd of angry men was gathering, threatening to kill him, 52-year-old Gen. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain buttoned his coat and strode to the rotunda of the capitol building in Augusta and dared those assembled to kill him. He was there to keep the peace and… SEE MORE
David Geary

Working Waterfront

Raise a pint to remember David Geary

The death of David Geary earlier this summer invites consideration of his contribution to craft beer in Maine. To understand his influence, it’s helpful to remember how dire the American beer scene used to be. In 1980, only about a hundred breweries existed, down from 750 in 1935. Nearly all… SEE MORE
Stow Wengenroth, “Low Tide,” August 1931, lithograph, edition of 51, 9 1/16 by 12 9/16 inches Edition of 51. IMAGE COURTESY OF THE TIDES INSTITUTE AND MUSEUM OF ART.

Working Waterfront

Stow Wengenroth: On the Eastport waterfront

In 1927, the Grand Central Art School started offering summer classes in Eastport. Founded in 1923 by painters John Singer Sargent, Walter Leighton Clark, and Edmund Greacan, the esteemed school located in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal decided to establish a chapter way Downeast. [caption id="attachment_38166" align="alignleft" width="450"] Keith… SEE MORE