Remembering the Farm-Sea Connection Vinalhaven Historical Society, 2006. 79 pages $20.00, vhhissoc@midcoast.com I was first introduced to the turning of the tides of a saltwater farm through the verse of Robert P. T. Coffin’s work Saltwater Farm, combined with my own personal upbringing on a small New Hampshire sheep farm where we sold lambs, wool,
Swan’s Island Electric Coop Considers Wind Power
At the annual meeting of the Swan’s Island Electric Cooperative on July 20, the main topic of discussion was the possibility of developing wind power on Swan’s Island and Frenchboro. Ed Schawbe, a member of the cooperative’s board, explained the preliminary study to those in attendance and also fielded questions. The board’s initial study looked
“Mr. Eastport”
“Mr. Eastport,” John Pike Grady, rides in the Eastport Boat School float during Eastport’s Grand Independence Day Parade on July 4. The float was part of an announcement by the Friends of the Boat School of an endowment for the school in Grady’s name. A World War II veteran and longtime Boat School supporter, Grady
Journal of an Island Kitchen: Summer Cooking
You might think it was all about salad greens, blueberries, and lobster rolls, and in part it is. But there is more to it than that, the difference in summer island cooking and what happens the rest of the year. We first see it in the store. Fine little comestibles: fancy little cookies, crackers, a
Alternative Power
You can say one thing about oil at $70 per barrel and gas at $3 per gallon: this sort of market stimulates the development of alternatives. In Eastport, tidal power is again in the news; on Swan’s Island, Frenchboro and Deer Isle there’s talk of wind power; a major wind development in western Maine is
Vinalhaven Votes to Keep Knox County Police
With over 45 people in attendance at the June 23 annual town meeting, Vinalhaven voted to keep Knox County sheriff’s deputies on the island. Debate began when two residents complained about the lack of response to the destruction of a stolen vehicle earlier this spring. “Cops seem to be totally disastrous, or incompetent at the
A Man of Stone
Sculptor William Lasansky’s home and studio are right where you might expect them to be on Vinalhaven: perched on the edge of a quarry, up the street from a cemetery full of carved monuments and a stone’s throw from the rocky shoreline. That he is an artist working with granite is no surprise. He has
Tidal power proposals return to eastern Maine
As fossil fuel costs soar, energy generated from tidal power is gaining more and more attention. An energy research firm in California has produced a study touting Bay of Fundy tidal power as a viable source of electricity, and has also determined that among the best sites would be the Western Passage of Passamaquoddy Bay
Art exhibit planned for MMA
Damariscotta artist Franciska Needham will display a collection of works with American and marine accents at the Maine Maritime Academy, Castine, from Aug. 17 through Oct. 19, 2006. A reception for the artist will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Aug. 17. The exhibition, at the academy’s Bath Iron Works building, will include seascape
Steel pan music finds a home on the Blue Hill peninsula
There’s island music in the air in Blue Hill this summer, the kind of island music that seems more at home among palm trees than spruces. Since 1974, the Blue Hill peninsula has been Maine’s center for steel pan music. There are at least five active steel pan groups on the Downeast coast, and more