In our first two years of marriage, my wife and I lived in twenty different homes in half a dozen towns from Rockport to Steuben. In that same span, we moved more than fifty times. We were housesitters, hired by international businessmen, insatiable travelers, and stir-crazy millionaires to look after pets and bring in the
Imperiled fish could help end jurisdictional feud
Here’s a trick to try if the ice gets thick enough: Go to Jordan Pond in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island and stand next to the water. You’re on National Park land. Now, step onto the ice. Whose land are you on now? The answer depends on whom you talk to, and the
New scholarship offered for island students
A new scholarship fund has joined the Island Institute’s array of opportunities for island students who wish to pursue higher education. “We are excited to announce the new Otter Island Fund, made possible by an anonymous donor whose family members have graduated from the schools named in the new scholarship,” said Peter Ralston, executive vice
Anthropology studies paved the way for Fellow’s assignment
Island Fellow Carly Knight is fascinated by the relationships of community, language and culture, and even as a college student, she had an affinity for islands. So it comes as no surprise that, as a senior working toward a degree in anthropology at Bowdoin College, she undertook a year-long independent study project, titled “The Wind
High Tech, High Touch: Island Institute launches three-year strategic plan
The vision of the Island Institute is to be “a locally valued and broadly recognized partner finding solutions to challenges posed by local, state, national and international trends that threaten Maine’s island and working waterfront communities,” according to a new strategic plan for the organization. The Institute’s Board of Trustees approved a series of new
North Haven band taps into styles, defies categorization
On a moonless night, January the 13th, Waterman’s Community Center in North Haven is virtually empty 15 minutes before showtime. The poster has showtime listed as 7:30, and by then, the John Wulp Theater is nearly full. Ranging in age from 3 to 70, the crowd has shown up to root for the home team:
Time for Cribbage: Processing seafood is hard work, but it’s simpler than managing a co-op
Given the way today’s college graduates plan their jobs aiming years ahead toward an ultimate goal, you might think John Norton had done just that upon graduating from the University of Maine at Orono 33 years ago. He didn’t, but the path he took couldn’t have prepared him better for owning and operating Portland’s Cozy
“Holding” Lobsters: Keeping the animals alive depends on water, bacteria and careful attention
“A lobster holding system is essentially a septic system.” Most people would find that statement shocking, but Ronald Doane, 55, of Down East Sea Tanks, in Trenton, Maine, knows what he’s talking about. For the last 13 years he has designed, engineered and built many lobster holding systems in the United States, systems inaccurately called
Herring freezer vessel offers promise, raises concerns
Offshore herring stocks, not fully exploited in recent years, will be the target of a new freezer vessel based in Portland. Supporters say the venture will reduce pressure on overexploited inshore stocks, while critics worry the freezer boat will cause economic damage to onshore processing plants in other New England states and mean less food
Disaster fund helps shellfish harvesters
After prolonged red tide closures in 2005, help is finally on the horizon for Maine’s shellfish industry. Department of Marine Resources (DMR) scientist Darcie Couture said recently that Jan. 31, 2007, was the target date for mailing out relief checks from the $2 million Red Tide Disaster Relief Fund approved by Congress last year. She