How do we actually hire a teacher for our island school? Short of putting each applicant through a rigorous battery of psychological tests akin to what NASA is considering for potential astronauts who think they want to sign up to go to Mars—well, actually, we’d like to do that. The ideal candidate would pass NASA’s
Researchers and Shellfish Growers Take On Razor Clams
When oysters or mussels are being cultured, they hang around or stay put on the bottom. They can be found where a grower leaves them. But razor clams (Ensis directus) pose a different challenge. They like to travel. They can dig, swim or jump, skills they have honed to escape predators or to relocate to
Competitive Sailing Expands in Maine Schools
Hockey, football, baseball, soccer—these are the types of sports that come to mind when you think about competitive high school teams. Even here on the coast of Maine, sailing does not immediately come to mind as being part of the spectrum of high school competitive sports, but it is, and it’s been steadily gaining ground
Traditional Boats Make a Comeback
Down a twisting dirt lane on the shore of Poorhouse Cove lies a prosperous boat yard, still building traditional wooden boats, still launching them straight into the sea. Despite a troubled economy, this yard is thriving. While other yards truck their boats to customers and have switched to fiberglass hulls, John’s Bay Boat Company in
Vinalhaven Celebrates Student’s Recovery
Late on the night of September 9, 2011, Heather Reidy of Vinalhaven got the phone call that every parent fears. Her son, then 18-year-old Joey Reidy, who was away at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont for the first time, had been hit by a car. Joey was in critical condition. When Heather and her husband
The XYZs of an Island Spring
Anyone who lives year-round on an island has likely been asked the question, “What do you do/what is it like there in the winter?” A few years ago, on a winter mailboat ride, some friends helped me come up with an alphabet of responses. We wanted people to know we are not all that different
Supporting the Common Good in Rural America
You might not think that Maine has a high profile in the Washington D.C. headquarters of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but that would be because you probably think that the U.S.D.A. only concerns itself with agriculture. During a recent visit to Maine by some of their top brass, however, the broad role U.S.D.A. plays
Jury Rigging the Summer Camp
Maine has the highest percentage of second homes in the country according to new U.S Census figures. Which means that a lot of people spent last weekend opening up camps, cottages and summer homes on Maine’s islands, lakes, ponds, rivers and mountainsides following the long siege of winter. The following is a quick tour of
Islesboro Ultimate Frisbee Team On a Winning Streak
Two queues of Islesboro Central high schoolers face each other. The first in line snaps a Frisbee to the first in the other line who dashes forward to snatch it out of the air and then races to the end of the line as the next pair repeats the process. Eagles Ultimate Frisbee team coach
The Problem with Branding
To the Editor: Kris Osgood’s article about “branding” seafood producs (May, 2012) raises some interesting questions about the seafood industry. The first would be if you are going to put a popular name on the “to of the trip,” whose name should we put on the bottom of the trip? I once asked a fish