Articles
Oral Histories: Capturing stories from the past
A moving portrait of Doug MacVane standing at the ocean’s edge graces the cover of Fran Houston’s book, For the Love of Peaks. The book’s subtitle, Island Portraits & Stories: A Collection, reveals exactly what you will find inside the cover. Houston introduces you to some Peaks Islanders with stories she collected through oral history
Construction begins on new library for Swan’s Island
More than two years have passed since a fire destroyed the old Atlantic Schoolhouse, site of the Swan’s Island Library. In the early-morning hours on July 24, 2008, lightning struck the historic building starting the fire. By daylight, all that was left of the building and its contents was a pile of rubble and ashes.
Island fellow rediscovers Swan’s Island past
“Awesome”-“Wonderful”-“Excellent”-“The show was spectacular”-all comments heard at the conclusion of Swan’s Islanders at Play, a presentation of the Swan’s Island Memory Project held on August 17 at the Odd Fellows Hall. What exactly is the Swan’s Island Memory Project? In a nutshell, it is Island Institute Fellow Meghan Vigeant and lots of volunteers from the
Swan’s Island explores wind feasibility
A formal study to determine the feasibility of wind power for Swan’s Island and Frenchboro is set to begin in mid-September. The Swan’s Island Electric Cooperative purchases power from Bangor Hydro and supplies both islands utilizing five undersea cables. The cost to residents, which averages around 30 cents per kilowatt-hour, is nearly three times the
Lights, camera, action on Swan’s Island
“The Tully Girls is a story about my great, great, great grandmother, Azubah Tully Warner, and her eight sisters”, says film director John MacKay. MacKay is a summer resident on Swan’s Island where filming for his full-length docudrama is underway. The idea for the film came when MacKay’s father died and he received a collection
From Swan’s Island to Texas, with love (and a little help from Facebook)
Islands are often described as being close-knit communities, places where everyone knows everyone else. In times of trouble, islanders rally together to support one another, showing the positive side of a close-knit community. Old-fashioned traditions that the rest of the world has left behind still exist on islands. So social networking Web sites, where disconnected
A tough winter on Swan’s Island
“There’s not much to do for work if you’re not a fisherman or a carpenter,” said Swan’s Island resident Chris Carlson. Carlson lost his job recently after working for 9 years at the Swan’s Island Electric Cooperative. “Living out here makes it awful hard. In order for me and my family to survive-we have to
Swan’s Island voters decide to keep their island “dry”
Last Friday Swan’s Island residents voted overwhelmingly to continue the tradition of living on a dry island. When asked to decide on a Local Liquor Option Referendum, allowing liquor sales on the island, voters exercised their rights and sent a clear message that tradition should not be changed. Swan’s Island, population 327 residents according to
Swan’s Island looks to the future after library fire
A lightning strike during the early morning hours of July 24 is believed to have caused the devastating fire that completely destroyed the Swan’s Island Library building. The Swan’s Island Educational Society, the organization that oversees the Swan’s Island library and historical society, is already hard at work making plans for the future. The Swan’s
The fire’s out, but fire fighters keep working
What really happens when the fire is out? What started on Swan’s Island with the emergency pager rousting fire fighters out of bed at 3:30 a.m. on July 24 to fight the library fire did not end until 7:30 p.m., 16 long hours later. That would be a long day on any job, but especially