After the rain and fog of July, August was a bit sunnier, but only relatively so. Regardless of the weather, the summer activities continued at a swift pace. On Great Cranberry the Ladies Aid held their 104th summer fair raising over $8,000 for various island projects. On Islesford the 26th annual Literary Evening had a
New exhibit depicts an island’s farming past
Lydia Webster’s new art show, “On Solid Ground: Farming on North Haven.,” opened Sept. 4 at Waterman’s Community Center on North Haven. The month-long exhibit invites viewers to learn about the height, decline, and recent resurgence of farming on the island. Webster interviewed people for this project spanning a number of generations including Lewis Haskell,
“A Very Mysterious Thing” – Picking crabmeat is a fine art
What makes one person’s crabmeat better than another’s? When Donna Bridges closed her Sunshine crab processing business this past spring, after 21 years, some customers went into mourning. “You were spoiled once you tried Donna’s,” said Robert Dick, of Castine. “She’s justly famous.” Other customers felt put out. One called several times to say she
Journal Of An Island Kitchen – Molasses: Like Life Itself in Maine
As soon as it turns off a little chilly, molasses starts tasting even better than it did when the weather was warm. That thick, rich, somewhat bitter sweetness, a good deal like life itself in Maine, makes a cold island winter endurable. Despite its somewhat grim history, it is a comfort food, right along side
Potato Navigation
The old lime carrier JENNY PILLSBURY was ghosting slowly along through the Mussel Ridge Channel before a light southeasterly wind bound for Rockland with a cargo of Boston bricks in her hold. As so often happens in these waters the southeast breeze was accompanied by an unwelcome traveler, fog. It wasn’t long before the islands
Baby-Sitting for Johnny Bear
The following is a true story. Only the names have been withheld to protect the innocent. My parents were always good neighbors. This was especially true in the summer of 1956 on Vinalhaven. During that summer, however, even their hospitality reached its limits, as illustrated by the following story. One of our neighbors was a
The Longview – LURC Islands: Fishing for Trout is Not Like Fishing for Cod
Most islanders have probably never heard of the Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) that operates primarily as a state-level planning board for 10 million acres of unorganized forested townships in northern Maine. But residents of islands such as Monhegan, Matinicus, Criehaven and Eagle, where LURC also acts as their island planning board, know LURC well;
New Institute Fellows
The 2004-05 Island Institute Fellows began their fellowship year on Sept. 12 with a weeklong orientation. The goal of the orientation was to provide an opportunity for the Fellows to form a cohort, get to know each other and learn about their projects and the communities in which they will be serving. The Fellows spent
Working Waterfront Losses
Between 2000 and 2004, according to a recent study by Coastal Enterprises, Inc., land values in a sample of 25 coastal and island communities increased by an average of 58 percent. The rise (in two of the towns surveyed it was over 100 percent) is caused by an apparently insatiable market for waterfront property, a
Wiscasset Faces the Future
Maine Yankee was a huge presence on the midcoast waterfront for many years. Now the nuclear plant is gone, leaving behind a lot of high-level waste but something positive as well: an opportunity for the town of Wiscasset to demonstrate how this kind of site can be redeveloped for other uses. In fact, there are