Working Waterfront

It’s pie season in Maine

By Sandy Oliver It’s pie season on the island. The succession of pie-filling ingredients growing in our gardens and ready for gathering in fields, one after another from rhubarb to strawberries, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, peaches, and then apples and at last pumpkins, makes a huge plenty for a range… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Moments behind the scenes

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 Dan DeBord When editor Tom Groening asked me to write this column, he suggested I might write about the photography… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Frenchboro deli gets caffeinated

Story by Jennifer Helman Photos by Dale Joyce Classically trained gourmet chef. Coffee connoisseur. World traveler. Entrepreneur. These words could describe any number of people in Boston or even Portland, but you might be surprised to find one on the tiny island of Frenchboro. Like many people who move to a… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Island communities are fragile, but Great Cranberry remains strong

By Laurie Schreiber Twenty years ago, Great Cranberry Island had a year-round population of just 37 people, mostly age 50 or older. There were no children living on the island and the school was closed. There was a whisper going around: How long would Great Cranberry remain viable as a… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Fishing, college go hand-in-work-glove for this teen

By Tom Groening Danielle Weaver blows up stereotypes about slacker teens. The young woman has been lobstering since she was 13, works several shifts weekly at the busy Rock City coffee shop in Rockland, and, at 19, has already completed enough courses at the University of Maine at Augusta’s Rockland… SEE MORE

Island Ad-Vantages publisher and editor Nat Barrows at his typewriter in the early years.

Working Waterfront

Fifty years at the intersection of community and journalism

“People, events, and writing of them is my bag. A weekly newspaper is an ideal way—if used to its proper potential—to do this. You are or should be at the center of the action, be able to become familiar with the business and personal interests of the people in your… SEE MORE

Kelly Corson has seen considerable success at The Travelin Lobster

Working Waterfront

Town Hill: MDI’s up-and-coming hub

By Laurie Schreiber Bar Harbor is a booming tourist town on Mount Desert Island, for the millions of people visiting Acadia National Park each year. Other towns on the island get their share of visitors, too. But in recent years, the village of Town Hill has quietly gained ground as… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Mosquito plague has me thinking about the options

By Barbara Fernald On the first of July, activity on the islands is rolling along at a pace that rivals August. After a rainy, cold May and a rainy, cold June, any day with sun and warmth draws us all outside to catch up with gardening, boating, the beach, or… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Island plans community read on difficult issue

By Courtney Naliboff Conversations about end-of-life decisions can be emotional, challenging, and are often avoided until a moment of crisis. But a group of health care providers on North Haven hopes to help families and loved ones begin those conversations earlier through a community read. Nurse practitioner and Southern Harbor… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A woman’s place on the working waterfront

Story and photos by Kelli Park From hand-hauling lobster traps to selling more than 10 million pounds of bait annually, Jennie Bichrest knows the working waterfront inside out. This summer, as the lobster industry faces a shortage of herring, the bait of choice, her business—Purse Line Bait—is playing a critical… SEE MORE