On Aug. 15, citizens from the length of Maine’s coast gathered at a dinner in Belfast to thank the young people who have lived and worked as Island Institute Fellows in their communities over the past one to two years. From Great Cranberry Island to Peaks Island, community members rose to pay tribute to the work of eight departing Island Fellows, and to welcome the return of four Fellows beginning their second year of community service.
“Our world is in good hands. It gives me great hope to know that these young people are our future,” said Joanne Whitehead of Islesboro, who served as mentor to Fellow Alyson Mayo. “I have gained a wonderful friend, and I have learned more from this young woman than you could imagine.” Mayo, who began her fellowship studying affordable housing issues on Islesboro, expanded her efforts “into a wonderful effort to address this critical problem on all the islands,” Whitehead said.
Her thoughts were echoed by Barbara Stainton of Great Cranberry Island, who worked with Island Fellow Cyrus Moulton. “I am encouraged to think that the future of our country might survive because of people like Cyrus,” she said after hearing Moulton’s keynote speech as the evening of tributes began. “A lot of the work that has been accomplished in the last two years would have been impossible without Cyrus.”
Island Institute trustee and Islesford lobsterman Dave Thomas agreed, saying his only regret about Moulton’s fellowship was the fact that Cyrus had lived on Great Cranberry and not Islesford. Phil Whitney, Moulton’s adviser, remarked not only on his contributions to the creation of a comprehensive plan for the town, but on the “wonderful evenings of musical entertainment” Moulton provided with his piano-playing abilities.
These kinds of social contributions by Island Fellows to island life — above and beyond the “official” job duties specified by their assignments — were cited over and over again by islanders who outlined the ways their lives were richer because of the young people who had made a commitment to live and work there. Vinalhaven Fellow Ally Day taught cheerleading, started a poetry festival and mentored middle-school girls, in addition to her formal assignments of integrating technology into the curriculum at the Vinalhaven School. “She has been a wonderful role model for all of our students, but especially for the girls,” said her adviser, Sue Dempster, in a written tribute read at the dinner.
While her official job was to work for the island town of Fishers Island, New York (the only non-Maine assignment for an Island Fellow), Meredith Harr also taught Sunday school, became secretary of the school board, and became den mother to a Cub Scout troop. John Spofford, Harr’s adviser, thanked the Island Institute for providing, through Harr’s two-year fellowship, “the opportunity to address the difficulties and fragility of island life” in a location other than Maine.
Vinalhaven Fellow Sean Gambrel spent his time developing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) maps of the community that excited both his adviser, town manager Marjorie Stratton, and members of the island community. “Once people saw the maps, everyone wanted one,” Stratton said. But she noted that Gambrel’s work “wasn’t just a job. He cared about our community and he fit in. He wanted to know the reasons that we needed these things.”
Stacy Gambrel, Sean’s wife, spent her fellowship on North Haven, also working to create maps using GIS technology. She mapped tax parcels and island wetlands, and taught GIS to 10th grade students at the North Haven School. Like many Island Fellows, her work involved not only using technology to benefit her host community, but teaching community members the skills they needed to use this technology themselves. “I really got to know [Stacy] when I became her student in a GIS class for adults at the North Haven School,” said her adviser, Louis Carrier, in a written tribute. “She got me hooked.”
Anna Rubin, who spent her two-year fellowship on Long Island in Casco Bay, had official duties that involved organizing the town’s new library: preparing catalogs, bibliographies, a website, and a brochure describing the collections. But, like the other Fellows, she took on much more. She started a community garden and greenhouse at the school, and designed a lobster curriculum to teach students about an important island industry. “Anna was an absolute treasure,” says her adviser, Nancy Jordan, who is also an Island Institute trustee. “She fit into the community right from the beginning.”
Jeff Killian, who spent the past year as a fellow on Deer Isle/Stonington, was unable to attend the dinner because he had already moved on to his next challenge: an apprenticeship in North Carolina where he will learn post-and-beam construction techniques. Killian, like the other Island Fellows, took on numerous challenges beyond the scope of his original assignment at the school. To capture the attention of middle- and high-school boys bored with traditional academics, he taught orienteering, rock climbing, juggling, and winter survival skills, and used GIS data on water depth, temperature, and lobster catches to develop an innovative lobster fishing video simulation game. In a written report summarizing his experiences, he said that his fellowship had shown him “that there is a better way of living.” The Maine coast, he said, “has a culture that embodies a fundamental way of life that has been lost throughout the country.”
“I feel very fortunate to have worked with the eight Fellows who are finishing up their fellowships this month,” said Chris Wolff, Director of the Island Institute’s Fellows program. “I have learned so much from them, and have valued their dedication, professionalism, passion, and the connection they’ve provided between the Institute and island and remote coastal communities. I’m incredibly excited to have four stellar Fellows staying on for a second fellowship year. They will be great mentors for the seven new Fellows that will start this fall.”
Continuing their fellowships for a second year will be Carly Knight (Chebeague), Jeremy Gabrielson (Machias), Sarah Hennessy (Peaks Island), and Siobhan Ryan (Swan’s Island).
Kathy Westra is the Island Institute’s Communications Director.