Jeff Gammelin points out the qualities of the granite.

Working Waterfront

Rocking the granite business

By Laurie Schreiber The sprawling shops at Freshwater Stone—22,000 square feet on 20 acres in Orland—are filled with the sound of industrial machinery, including wire saws and multiple-axis bridge saws, cutting into massive blocks of granite weighing tens of thousands of pounds. Digitally operated, the machinery produces slabs and complex… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Seasonable eating is intuitive

By Sandy Oliver The term “seasonable eating” means normal or appropriate to the time of year, as if the weather told us what was good to eat, and not magazines or newspapers, the internet or corporate test kitchens, or especially the produce sections of the grocery stores. At this house… SEE MORE

A scenic view of an island off Scotland.

Working Waterfront

It’s time for a national islands act

By Rob Snyder I couldn’t help but find the timing appropriate. Five years ago, the Island Institute added the banner “Strengthening Communities” to our website. And late last month, I found myself being escorted—by a bagpiper, no less—to a keynote speaking engagement at the second “Strengthening Communities Conference” in the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

COA’s new building will use 80 percent less energy

From left, College of the Atlantic President Darron Collins, New York City architect Susan Rodriguez, Andrew Davis, who is the Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund lead advisor, and Timothy Lock, a management partner with Opal, the architecture division of GO Logic in Belfast. PHOTO: LAURIE SCHREIBER By… SEE MORE

Beyond Acadia on display in a local bookstore. PHOTO: SARAH CRAIGHEAD DEDMON

Working Waterfront

‘Beyond Acadia’ illuminates lesser-known beauty of Bold Coast

By Sarah Craighead Dedmon A young family passing through Machias stopped at a land trust office looking for local activities to fill their day. “They had a site at Cobscook Bay State Park for just one night, and they wanted to know what to do in the area,” said Rich… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

When the chips are down, Lincoln County turns to CHIP

By Sally Noble From the more affluent coast to the very heart of Lincoln County, wealthy and far less wealthy towns have joined as an unusual community, woven together to give sweet meaning to the word “neighbor.” Here the volunteers of the Community Housing Improvement Project, or CHIP, an ecumenical… SEE MORE

Jacquelyn Gill stands near the Indigirka River

Working Waterfront

UMaine scientist pursues ‘Lost Beasts of the Ice Age’

Jacquelyn Gill stood entranced inside a permafrost cave in Siberia. Woolly mammoth tusks protruded through glistening walls. A lion cub, dead for 30,000 or more years, appeared as if it was napping. “In those 30 minutes (inside the cave), I had the opportunity to get closer to the landscape I’ve… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Wary of being told I’m ‘looking good’

By Phil Crossman I’ve been reminded, since a January column disclosing I have cancer, that an update is called for. Since treatment began, little irritants have become routine. My nose runs continually. I carry a roll of toilet paper with me everywhere, in the truck, a less obtrusive one in… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Bird-friendly island has unintended consequences

By Barbara Fernald As the birds return to the islands, I have to admit that some birds are a little more special to me than others. Nothing beats that incredibly sweet moment when I hear my first hermit thrush of the season. Cardinals, with their variety of calls, used to… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Following the whale into an array of lessons

By Courtney Naliboff As an island teacher, it is often my duty and pleasure, and that of my colleagues, to take students off-island overnight. We do it for basketball games, we do it for rowing races, we do it for theater festivals. As wonderful as the island is, and as… SEE MORE