Working Waterfront

An island is a cruise ship

As I write this on April 2, spring is teasing its way to North Haven. A few brave bulbs have bloomed, pussy willows are in full force, and the sun has encouraged a few afternoon walks. Today the sun through a haze of clouds looks suspiciously snow-like, although temperatures are… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Long Island builds on-island wellness clinic

Amy Tierney didn’t plan on making health a focus of her volunteer work on her native Long Island, but she was dealt a responsibility she couldn’t—and wouldn’t—ignore. Her father, a mechanic at Johnson’s Boat Yard on the Casco Bay island, was suffering with lung cancer, and she became his caretaker.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Vinalhaven faces addiction with compassion

Vinalhaven has always had a substance abuse problem and, historically, I guess we were OK with it, but now we’ve got a crisis and we’re not. Addiction is a disease; it is not a moral failing. There is no room for argument. While the initial exposure might have been a… SEE MORE

The Port Clyde waterfront in St. George.

Working Waterfront

Seeking community, and time by the water

Reflections is a monthly column written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in remote coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. I never thought I would find myself craving less alone time. Last year I longed for stretches… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

College of the Atlantic inspires ‘human ecology’ model in Japan

COURTESY COLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC COA students join their Japanese counterparts in meditating at a Buddhist temple. In 2014, a group of residents of the town of Ōsakikamijima, Japan, invited the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor to help them start a college. Ōsakikamijima is on a small island… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Art, a lawnmower, and the pursuit of fulfillment

Buying a painting is like buying a new lawnmower. Or at least that’s what John Ames once told me. When it comes to explaining art, John is one of the most articulate people I’ve ever met. Back in the mid-1980s through mid-1990s, he ran Gallery 68 in Belfast. The gallery… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

New master of MMA’s Bowdoin has global experience

Capt. Will McLean recalls sailing the 134-foot steel brigantine Corwith Cramer in 15-foot seas. He was working as senior chief mate and relief captain for Sea Education Association, an undergraduate ocean education school in Woods Hole, Mass., which takes students on research expeditions to places as far apart as the North… SEE MORE

Karen E. Smith is the new executive director of the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport.

Working Waterfront

New director at Penobscot Marine Museum hails from Iowa

The Penobscot Marine Museum, a history and arts museum with nationally-recognized collections, has named Karen E. Smith, as executive director, effective April 19. Smith joins the museum from the Cedar Falls Historical Society, where she served as executive director for six years. “After a thorough and deliberate national search process,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine native battles Trump on climate resilience

When you are young and you’ve done something that has you pumped, it’s often your parents’ reaction that sobers you up. This is true, scientist Joel Clement found out, even when you’re middle-aged. Clement, the former director of the U.S. Interior Department’s Office of Policy Analysis, took on the Trump… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

How we support the island’s gay, lesbian,and trans teens

A few years ago, in the service of our podcast “12 Knots,” my husband and I had a chance to sit down with lesbian, gay, and transgender islanders and have a conversation. The five people we interviewed grew up on the island, came out as lesbian, gay, or transgender in… SEE MORE