Jim Harkins among his store of nautical gear.

Working Waterfront

Captain Jim’s in Portland is maritime world’s back storeroom

It’s hard to get a fix on just what Jim Harkins has going in his Portland warehouse. Is it a nautical-themed flea market? A maritime museum? A high-end nautical antique store? A kind of Goodwill store for boat owners? Well, it’s all of the above. Harkins, 57, is a character… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Growing up on the coast: ‘Adventures remembered enthusiastically’

The Stone From Halfway Rock: A Boy’s Adventures on the Coast of Maine By Peter Macdonald Blachly (published by Polar Bear & Company, 2016) The pages of The Stone From Halfway Rock should practically reek of salt air and ocean spray, so vividly does author Peter Macdonald Blachly, a writer… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine is choice location for Fresh Air Fund

Every summer for the last five years, Amy Goodwin’s son and daughter fight over the same thing: a treasured summer visitor from the Bronx named Simone. “They each wanted to do something different and they each wanted her to do something with them,” said Goodwin, a 38-year-old education technician who… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Washington Academy a Downeast success story

When Washington Academy first opened its doors in 1792, its namesake—yes, the father of our country, George Washington—was still president. The private high school in East Machias that serves students from 27 Washington County towns and a couple of dozen countries marks its 225th anniversary this year. In a region… SEE MORE

Students hold a “blade” of kelp they’ve grown.

Working Waterfront

This teacher treats his students like research assistants

In his classroom at the Edna Drinkwater School in Northport, John Van Dis asks questions before he knows their answers. It’s an unusual approach for a teacher to take, but for a science teacher, it makes sense. Van Dis believes his grade 6 and 7 students should learn the way… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Island flying is different

Eva Murray lives on Matinicus year-round, where she writes, runs a seasonal bakery, volunteers as an EMT, and runs the island’s solid waste/recycling program. She is the author of three books, most recently Island Birthday, an illustrated book for children, which shines a light on the logistics challenges and the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Wulp’s poems prove wit, insight, reflection sharpen with age

Cormorant Time: A Madman’s Journal. Poems Written in a Time of Fever by John Wulp. Camden, Maine: Philip Conkling & Associates, 2016. 190 pp. “Can one man have been a United States Marine Corps honor guard at the White House, a photographer, a producer, a playwright, wait—a short-order cook, an… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The renewal of trust reminds me why I am here

I had a rough winter. A few unrelated events made me question, for the first time in a long time, my comfort level in the community I've called home for over a decade. The political climate didn't help. Things calmed down after a while, and the winter routine of blizzards,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Winter on the islands is unpredictable, and not so quiet

“Predictably unpredictable.” That’s my new answer for people who ask, in the summer, what it is like living on an island in the winter. I used to say “quiet,” which is accurate for much of the time, but it’s not so quiet when the wind is howling. It’s not even quiet… SEE MORE

The shop at Maine Maritime Museum in Bath.

Working Waterfront

Our shop, plus your wood and labor equals…

Elia Nichols had a huge maple tree stump in his yard. It was crying out to be used for some purpose, but he didn’t know what to do with it. Then he heard about the Maine Maritime Museum’s open shop. Since March of last year, the museum has opened its… SEE MORE