Working Waterfront

Islesford’s outdoor market is booming

Last summer’s Bar Road Market on Islesford was just what I needed to give me focus and a chance to safely see people during the odd year of 2020. It was a gathering in the style of a farmer’s market where anyone was welcome to set up a table at… SEE MORE

A pier in Jonesport. FILE PHOTO: LESLIE BOWMAN

Working Waterfront

Fellowship supports marine science Downeast

This July, two co-workers and I drove north and east to Great Wass Island. The island is connected by a bridge to Beals Island, off of Jonesport, and is the home of the Downeast Institute. I was excited to meet Hannah Greene, an Island Institute Fellow, and my mentee for the past year. Hannah lives on the island and supports the Downeast Institute’s education programs. SEE MORE

A selection of Mere Point Oyster Company’s products. PHOTO: COURTESY MERE POINT OYSTER COMPANY

Working Waterfront

Maine Oyster Trail: Follow the shells

Many in the seafood business lost their way during the height of the pandemic. Now, one sector is offering a trail to a recovery. Actually, the Maine Oyster Trail was launched in 2017 by the Maine Aquaculture Association through a website—maineoystertrail.com. Afton Vigue, an outreach and development specialist for the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

We’re stronger when we show up for each other

“Are we doing hugs?” she asked as she approached me with her eyes sparkling. It had been nearly four years since we had seen each other in person and now, here we were, on Rockland’s Main Street, trying to figure out how to greet each other in the new normal.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The magic of dishwashing…

When my summer helper, Brynn, tackles the pile of dirty dishes that a household of four or five people can generate, I don’t think of it as particularly magical. But Brynn says, “There is magic in the mundane,” and there’s probably nothing quite as mundane as dishwashing. For Brynn, plunging… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The richness of found fruit

When I was young, I had the privilege of growing up on 13 acres of secondary-growth forest in central Maine, between Farmington and Augusta. Our land had a stream and frog pond, a field full of wild strawberries, a thicket of blackberries, an apple tree whose fruit was always harder… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

My own hand-made oatcake invention

In early July I was shopping on the mainland at a local health food store when a friend handed me a square orange and yellow cardboard box labeled Effie’s Handmade Oatcakes. “Have you ever had these? They’re really good!” Nope, but I bought a box, stashed it in my cupboard… SEE MORE

he Islesboro Central School today. PHOTO: ANNE McKEE

Working Waterfront

Not alone: The haunting of Islesboro

Editor’s note: This story first appeared in The Working Waterfront in 2003. It also is included in a collection of Oldham’s stories, Getting Here from There: Life Stories from a Maine Island Community (2020). Perhaps due to their remoteness and resultant romantic allure, islands possess an air of mystery that’s… SEE MORE

An artist's rendering of what the new Machias dike on Route 1 would look like.

Working Waterfront

Stakeholders find common vision for Machias dike

Revolutionary War-era patriots once captured a British sloop, the H.M.S. Margaretta, in Machias Bay, then sailed the vessel high up the Middle River, hiding it there near the abundant salt grasses which attracted settlers to Machias in the first place. Today, a dike and causeway span the point where the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Understanding seasons with island perspective

Reflections is written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. In the dead of winter, Chebeague Island becomes very quiet. Restaurants and organizations reduce their hours or close entirely, and… SEE MORE