September is a watchful time of year for people in the Cranberry Isles. Fishermen closely monitor the path of hurricanes, ready to shift lobster traps and boats should heavy weather be coming this way. Caretakers are keeping their eyes on a few sailboats and small power boats, left in the water by summer visitors who
Crops thrive, but Chebeague farm’s future uncertain
When Chebeague islanders have a piece of the past they’d like to see conserved- an old wooden cook stove, an antique cider press, ancient tools dug from collapsing barns-they often call their neighbor Chuck Varney. Varney, 46, rebuilds broken parts, removes rust and oils the old machines until they come back, gleaming, to life. A
Richard Russo recruits fellow-writers to tell stories of hospice
He was gone in an instant, slipping away quickly, slumping to the floor, releasing life…perhaps sensing in that last swift-ebbing consciousness, a distant ringing. I was calling my father back, telephoning to apologize for arbitrary nastiness, unwarranted temper, directed at him an hour before. He wanted to see his grandchild…”come with Laura for lunch…” he
Writers ‘discover’ Matinicus Island again, and again, and again…
“Go out and get me another ‘covered bridge’.” One of my summer bakery customers, a vacationing editor, told me once that this expression is (or was) common parlance in the offices of at least one major east-coast newspaper. If a high-ranking member of the editorial staff realized that column space looked plentiful in a middle
Two new markets bring locally grown food to Charlottetown
Market gardens have been making solid inroads in the Prince Edward Island agriculture landscape for ten years or more. With an increase in farm gate sales, farm tourist homes, as well as organic farming on the rise, the cry to buy local has taken a strong foothold in the island’s red clay. This past summer,
Eight New Island Fellows start work
The Island Institute will send eight new Island Fellows to a variety of projects on islands from Downeast to Casco Bay. They join four returning Fellows in bringing expertise, resources, and their vitally important “extra set of hands” to their hosting communities and organizations. This year’s group of Fellows comes from diverse backgrounds. Mary Terry
Island energy costs are a microcosm of Maine
In the event that it might have escaped your notice, the Public Utility Commission recently approved an emergency rate increase for the Monhegan Power Company to 70 cents per kilowatt-hour-up from 55 cents per kilowatt-hour. Since islanders use an estimated average of 15-17 kilowatt hours per day, this translates to an electric bill of between
Monhegan latest island to consider wind power
It’s Monhegan’s turn. Vinalhaven and North Haven approved a wind power project this summer. Swan’s Island and Frenchboro are in the second year of a study to figure out if wind power makes sense from them. Now the Monhegan Plantation Power District is exploring the possibility of using wind power for the island’s electric needs,
Donors, foundations insure future of island fellowships
A named Island Fellows endowment is one that ensures, through the generous support of an individual donor or a foundation, the perpetuity of one of the Island Institute’s most visible and valued resources to island and working-waterfront communities. To date, the Institute has successfully completed four named Island Fellows endowments: The William Bingham Fellow for
A big year at the Port of Easport
The Port of Eastport is alive and well and on track to set a new export tonnage record, according to port director Chris Gardner. “We appear to be heading for a record year,” Gardner says. “We should break the 400,000 [metric] tons mark, and in fact I expect us to be on the healthy side