Working Waterfront

The storm damage we cannot see

Almost two months after the January storms pummeled the Maine coast, we are still piecing together a full picture of the destruction. In the direct aftermath, of course, communities could document buildings now angled slightly off their foundations or entirely set adrift, pilings separated from their pins, and beaches and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

On the record with… Cliff Island’s Bonnie Rideout

Bonnie Rideout’s house on Cliff Island is on a small bluff jutting to the south, ringed by steep shale cliffs descending into the ocean. The house was used in the filming of The Whales of August in 1987. Rideout gave me a quick tour of the old house, showing me… SEE MORE

John Wissemann’s “Friendship Harbor 2013,” mixed media on paper, 22 by 30 inches PHOTO: JEFF FULLER

Working Waterfront

John Wissemann stencils Friendship

In a scene in Jeffrey Mathias’s 2014 video “John Wissemann: Stencils & Pencils & Working Harbors of Maine,” the artist visits Friendship Harbor with fellow painter Sam Cady who lives in the neighborhood. As they admire the configurations of sheds, docks, and boats, Cady notes that Friendship has made “a… SEE MORE

Three young women pose for a photograph at the steamship wharf at Sandy Point in Stockton Springs. PHOTO: COURTESY PENOBSCOT MARINE MUSEUM

Working Waterfront

Steamboat days in Stockton Springs

Three young women pose nervously for the camera in our image this month. They are dressed for an outing and are holding parcels, maybe containing their lunch. Their chaperon, a spinsterly-looking character, is clearly not amused at the spectacle they are causing on the busy steamboat wharf at Sandy Point… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A card for you

Among our many interesting island traditions is one that’s wonderfully functional. Before one of our favorite institutions, The Paper Store, closed, whenever an islander died, or someone with an island connection—a seasonal resident for example or even the mainland relative of one or the other—a little basket appeared on the… SEE MORE

“We aim to create a true community newspaper, delivering news about our schools, businesses, local government…”

Working Waterfront

Peaks Island launches newspaper

The goal, according to the website PeaksIslandNews.org, is to provide “objective reporting, focusing on the issues that matter most to our community.” SEE MORE

Shaun Haskins, left, and Kara McCrimmon serve as co-directors of the Cobscook Institute. PHOTO: LESLIE BOWMAN

Working Waterfront

Place-based collaborations buoy Downeast communities

Cobscook Institute and The Community Caring Collaborative are two Washington County nonprofits that center their work on social connection and collaboration. SEE MORE

Peter Ralston was named American Lighthouse Foundation’s 2023 “Keeper of the Light.” From left, the foundation’s Nick Korstad, Alan Ells, Bob Trapani, Jr., Ralston, and Jeremy D’Entremont.

Working Waterfront

Peter Ralston honored by Lighthouse Foundation

The American Lighthouse Foundation recently presented Peter Ralston with its Keeper of the Light award during the organization’s year-end gala at the Nonantum Resort in Kennebunkport. Ralston was recognized for his efforts in helping create and guide the Maine Lights Program on the 25th anniversary of its successful completion in… SEE MORE

The inside cover includes Bertie’s hand-written name.

Working Waterfront

Dear diary: 140-year-old journal returns home

Bertie married Fred Hatch and moved to East Boston, where she had three children: Grace, Robert, and Seth Parker. Fred passed away around 1895 due to “phthisis pulmonalis,” known today as tuberculosis. SEE MORE

Matthew Powell, left, and George Trinovitch own and operate the Pentagöet Inn in Castine. PHOTO: COURTESY PENTAGÖET INN

Working Waterfront

Welcoming tourists, joining the community

The lodging trade group Hospitality Maine named Powell and Trinovitch its innkeepers of the year for 2023. SEE MORE