RICHMOND — Ernie DeRaps had no formal training for capturing, in paint, images of Maine’s lighthouses. But by relying on his own photographs and memories from years of living and working at lighthouses, he was able to create paintings faithful to all 65 of the state’s maritime guardians. DeRaps, 85, had a powerful motivation for
A warning from a latter-day Jonah
John Gillis is known in our part of the world as a Gotts Islander, one of the year-round island communities that went extinct during the early part of the 20th century. But to many others in the rest of the world, Gillis is known for his tireless efforts to focus the academic community’s attention on
A man’s job? Not anymore
Among the 136 coastal towns in Maine, there are six women who hold the position of harbormaster, according to the Maine Harbormasters Association (MHA). The harbormasters include Katherine Pickering, for Belfast, who is also the MHA secretary; Melanee Gilbert, for Bremen; Sarah Cox, for Brooksville and Castine; Lora Mills, for Northport; Abbie Leonard, for Rockport;
Every picture tells a story…
NEW HARBOR — The photo captured a moment in time, but the players in that shutter-click instant probably had no idea that what they were doing would soon fade into history. The May issue of The Working Waterfront featured one of the photographs from National Fisherman’s archives. Those photo archives were recently donated to the
Boats and islands go together like… islands and boats
One surprising fact about island life is that there are generally boats involved. I know as much about them as you could fit in a bathtub tugboat toy, but you pick up a few things by hanging around. One joke I’ve heard out here is about the tourist who looks at the lobster fleet moored
Governor’s grading is ‘harmfully reductive assessment’ for island schools
North Haven’s scarlet letter is a big blue F. That’s the grade North Haven Community School, Maine’s smallest K-12 public school, received from the Department of Education on May 1. The grade reflects our third through eighth grade students’ score on the October 2012 New England Comprehensive Assessment Program (NECAP) reading and math scores and
The world’s largest sailing vessel: Wyoming on the Kennebec
BATH—The launching of the Wyoming into the Kennebec River on a cold December day in 1909 was a big deal. Big, because the Wyoming—named for the state where its principal investors lived—was the largest wooden sailing vessel ever built at that time. That time would prove pivotal in maritime history, as shipbuilding shifted to steel
Peaks islanders fight peak oil with weatherization effort
PEAKS ISLAND — Maggie Small wasn’t exaggerating. She’d said earlier on this chilly late March day that people often stop her on the ferry to ask about the effort she is helping coordinate to weatherize 100 homes on the island. As we board the boat for Portland, sure enough, she is approached by a few
‘Eel of Fortune,’ coming to a stream near you
Only in Maine could this be happening: a handful of commercial fishermen and women have struck it rich overnight (quite literally) from catching a baby fish that looks like a kid’s transparent gummy worm, but which happens to be a gastronomic delicacy half way around the world to people these fishermen will never meet. This
Army Corps seeks public input on Searsport dredging project
SEARSPORT — A dredging project proposed for the port facility at Mack Point is nearing the federal permitting phase and regulators are seeking public input. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will accept public comment through Monday, May 6. In the notice, the Army Corps’ New England district notes that it plans to dig some