To the editor: Again, because of a column in the last issue (“Tourism,” p. 28), I feel compelled to put the influx of summer visitors into perspective. There are about 1,300 people who live year-round on Vinalhaven. Of these exactly half comprise the work force. Of these 650 exactly half comprise the lobster fishing community.
In brief …
The Sailing Misadventures of Two Innocents at Sea, by James A. McCracken (Custom Communications, 2003): experiences afloat of Betty and Jim McCracken, a New York couple who later retired to Damariscotta. The author is familiar with adventure writing, having produced about 600 radio scripts for Boston Blackie and The Cisco Kid. He was also a
Castine lighting exhibit
The first moveable lighting device was probably a burning stick pulled out of a fire. Thousands of years later, people were still using the same method: a Medieval woodcut shows a man and a woman going about their chores, holding foot-or more-long torches in their mouths. American Indians and Puritan settlers used torches of pitch
New hands on the helm
By the time this paper hits the streets, the Island Institute will have begun its new fiscal year – our 20th for those who might be counting. Our cherished bean counters have put their eyeshades on and are tallying up exactly how we ended the year. With a staff of 30, another 12 Island Fellows
Ralston receives honorary degree
Peter Ralston, photographer and Island Institute Executive Vice President, received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Colby College in recognition of his work as a “photographer, environmentalist, and advocate for Maine’s coastal communities.” “We honor your devotion to things close to home, for your artistic talent in sharing those things with the world, and
The wedding planner
There’s much to be said for versatility and Jeff has it in spades. He came here fifteen years ago claiming he could do anything and the truth has borne him out. He can’t do anything for long but he can, if fact, do anything. Right now it’s summer and Jeff has become, with the same
Giant Teacup
To the editor: We read with interest Roger Duncan’s story (WWF May 03) about the shooting down of the K-14 blimp near Mt. Desert Rock. My father-in-law, Lt. Commander Harry R. Hoyt, was commanding officer of a U.S. Navy coastal patrol vessel (APC-94) during 1943 and 1944. His was the first vessel to spot the
Timely Article
To the editor: What a pleasant surprise to find the Boat Shop article in Working Waterfront… It was a very timely article what with all that has and is going on in the life of the Boat Shop at this time. I have been associated with the Boat Shop for 20 years and knew Baffie’s
No Support for Grand Plan
To the editor: Thanks for the article on lack of economic value of cruise ships in my back yard (WWF June 03). [Was the random-head survey done in the summer of 2002] paid for with my tax dollars? …I do not believe the results were “inconclusive” [as you state], rather, the results didn’t support the
Direct Competition
To the editor: As a non-profit organization, the Island Institute enjoys many advantages not available to for-profit Maine businesses, including a substantial endowment and the ability to solicit charitable gifts and grants from individuals and foundations to support its many worthwhile programs. One of those programs is the publication of Working Waterfront, a newspaper produced