Working Waterfront

Thankful for the garden that supplies the holiday meal

By Sandy Oliver Thanksgiving still is the holiday when people gather with family and friends to celebrate, even if it means miles and miles of travel, over the river and through the woods. With a curtailed ferry schedule, getting together on the mainland with family, or having family coming to… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Cliff Island’s quiet stalwart

Editor's note: This story first appeared in the 2019 edition of Island Journal. By Tom Groening//Photos by Lorinda Valls Cheryl Crowley offers a vivid metaphor for the challenges and rewards of working to support a small island community. “It’s like painting a house,” she says. “I hate all the scraping.… SEE MORE

Emily Lane of Vinalhaven is the new chairwoman of the Island Institute's board of trustees.

Working Waterfront

Emily Lane to lead Island Institute board

By Tom Groening Emily Lane is an unassuming groundbreaker. But groundbreaker she is. For years, Lane did seafood marketing on Vinalhaven, work she didn’t plan to make a career of, but living on an island, there it was. And in doing so, she earned respect in that male-dominated sector. Now, on being… SEE MORE

A view of the village area on Michigan's Mackinac Island.

Working Waterfront

Great Lakes islanders find common concerns

By Tom Groening Representatives from island communities across the Great Lakes gathered on Mackinac Island in Michigan in late October for an annual summit at which common challenges were explored. The Great Lakes Islands Alliance formed three years ago, with assistance from the Island Institute, publisher of The… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Considering Frenchboro’s always-open library

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. By Natalie Hyde-Petersen I love libraries. The whole idea of making knowledge available for free makes the ideal of equality feel… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

On land and sea, Swan’s Island entrepreneurs find their niche

By Jennifer Helman//Photos by Dale Joyce Living on an island requires resilience, patience, creativity, and an entrepreneurial spirit. But some islanders take that to a whole new level. Gary Rainford, owner of Coffee Love, explains the mindset perfectly: “When you live in a place like this and there is something you need… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

When small island nations speak, we should listen

By Kate Tagai Fourteen island states gathered in the Maldives in November 1989 for the Small States Conference on Sea Level Rise. Jack Hopa, minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries for the island nation of Vanuatu (in the Coral Sea, east of Australia) asserted: “On the issue of sea level… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Coyotes on Chebeague worry islanders

By Donna Miller Damon It wasn’t interest in the workings of local government that drew nearly a hundred Chebeague islanders to a select board meeting. It was interest in the newest island inhabitant, the non-native Eastern coyote The meeting featured a presentation by Scott Lindsay, regional wildlife biologist for the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Nothing I’d rather be doing

By Courtney Naliboff It was a warm September day, and the horses had congregated in Fiona’s back yard. Not horses of the real, equine variety, but a bunch of women and one little girl, gamely wearing silicon horse and unicorn masks in the service of another Bait Bag music video.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Fabric, fiber, and food

By Sandy Oliver The Sewing Circle cooks. There is a whole lot of sewing, knitting, crocheting, needlework, and weaving going on, but can we ever cook! The food and fiber connection is a strong one, reinforced by an island-wide lack of fast food options despite the small rotisserie chickens one… SEE MORE