“For me, practicing drawing is like practicing eating,” says children’s book author and illustrator Kevin Hawkes. That’s how much he enjoys his craft, and his enthusiasm was obvious in his May 9 presentations to Vinalhaven School’s students. The Maine author spent time with students in every grade level at the school, telling about his life,
Hard times revive memories of the Great Depression
Skyrocketing oil prices and record numbers of foreclosures have many people living on the edge. Such difficult times revive memories, for some coastal residents, of the Great Depression years. Eighty-four year old Rockland resident Bettina Dobbs lived in Massachusetts during that era. She recalls that the prevailing attitude of the day was fear. “When I
If it’s May, it Must be an iceberg-or just plain ice
In Atlantic Canada there’s one thing you can count on during the month of May – ice. It can take the form of icebergs drifting along the Newfoundland coast or it can take the form of a frozen harbor that delays the opening of spring lobster season. Residents take it all on stride. For example,
Linda Bean expands her lobster holdings
Linda L. Bean recently purchased the Carver’s Harbor, Vinalhaven, lobster wharf and buying station formerly owned by Shafmaster of New Hampshire, doing business as Little Bay Lobster Co. Bean, a member of the Freeport retailing family, also purchased the lobsters from a “floating” buying station owned by Peter Jones, who will run the combined facility.
The Long View: Survivors
People often ask if Maine’s island communities can really be expected to survive in the long run. Especially now — with food, fuel, ferries and energy prices soaring and the harvest of lobsters declining for the first time in over 15 years — the question has additional urgency. Matt Simmons, a prominent oil industry analyst
Technology, travel put Deer Isle students in touch with their ancestors
A bunch of Deer Isle teenagers are having the time of their lives, traveling here and abroad, meeting fascinating people, and learning at the same time thanks to a teacher’s idea and the Island Institute’s CREST project. Funded by the National Science Foundation, CREST stands for “Community for Rural Education, Stewardship and Technology,” and includes
Long Island voters approve budget, take a firefighting break
One hundred and thirty-nine voters gathered at Long Island’s community center on May 10 to consider 66 warrant articles at the annual town meeting. It was the island’s 16th such meeting; 2008 marks the 15th year since the town’s incorporation in 1993. Bradley Brown was elected selectman, defeating two-term incumbent Ruth Peterson 76-56. Thomas Hohn
Kathy Mattea to perform on Vinalhaven
Grammy Award winner Kathy Mattea will be performing a benefit concert for Vinalhaven’s Partners in Island Education on Tuesday, July 15, at Smith Hokanson Memorial Hall. She’s well known for her popular country hits including “18 Wheels and a Dozen Roses” and “Goin’ Gone.” Tickets will be on sale staring June 1 at the Paper
Ready or Not
We wait a long time for spring to come to the Cranberry Isles. This year it finally arrived in May bringing warblers, green grass and the blossom of fall-planted bulbs. By the middle of the month there was so much to do that the long wait for spring was forgotten in the rush to get
Left Out
To the editor: Having dug at Fort St. George, Popham, for many years, I definitely agree with Colin Woodard (WWF May 2008) that [Nathaniel] Philbrick’s Mayflower failed to write about important Maine history. Just because we are no longer part of Massachusetts doesn’t mean we should be left out of Pilgrim history!