John Cabe and Anne Watson at the bicycle rental store in Bar Harbor.

Working Waterfront

Environment-friendly electric bike finds niche in Bar Harbor

Anne Watson tried out a Pedego electric bicycle one summer and loved it. Watson, a former school superintendent in Connecticut, has visited Great Cranberry Island every summer since she was a baby, and for the past two years has lived there year-round. But with summer rolling around, she can be… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Legendary sea explorer Earle calls for respect for underwater life

Marine botanist Sylvia Earle opened her April 30 lecture at the University of Maine with a simple, but stunning fact—the surface of Mars, she said, is better mapped than the floor of the world’s oceans. Earle herself is stunning. She has spent 7,000 hours underwater, has lived under the sea… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

An unexpected loss reminds us how we should live

In May I usually write about how crazy busy it is, and how fast the month goes, and what a relief it is to finally see signs of spring, like blooming daffodils, buds on the trees, and returning songbirds. Carpenters, caretakers, fishermen, boat builders, painters, gardeners, artists, and craftspeople all… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Anthology asks: Who are we, and where are we?

3 Nations 3 Nations Anthology: Native, Canadian & New England Writers Valerie Lawson, ed. Resolute Bear Press, Robbinston, Maine, 2017; 176 pages, paperback, $19.95. One phrase to describe what underlies the harrowing political and social divisions in the U.S. these days is “identity crisis.” If I remember right, this term… SEE MORE

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