Duress

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines “duress” as forcible restraint or restriction, compulsion by threat; specifically: unlawful constraint or coercion. I am a Hereditary Chief of the Mi’kmaq Grand Council. I am also a member of Esgenoopetitj community. Non-natives know us as Burnt Church First Nation. There was recently an agreement signed concerning lobster fishing, between the

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Birds of a feather

Cooper Island, August 7, 2002 – The motor vessel TURMOIL is at anchor 330 miles north of the Arctic Circle off the north coast of Alaska, eight miles east of Barrow. We are waiting to see if we might be able to press further on into the central Arctic Basin, a four- to five-day passage

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Mike Felton named Institute Education Outreach Director

After a two year Island Institute fellowship on Vinalhaven, Michael Felton will be joining the Institute staff as the Education Outreach Director. Mike’s fellowship focused on education and community development. He taught middle school social studies, college aspirations, and an eighth grade service learning class. The service learning class evolved into an extensive effort, spearheaded

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Demand for Irish moss is rising

Harvesting for Irish moss (Chondrus crispus), which 30 years ago and earlier was a seasonal occupation for some fishermen – historic photos in West Point show men using wooden wheelbarrows to bring it ashore to dry – has resurfaced as a potential source of income. FMC Corporation, located in Rockland, hoping to rebuild its Maine

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Baptist banquet benefits belfry

It started with a need. The Swan’s Island Baptist Church belfry needed structural repair, and two of the church ladies agreed a benefit banquet would be one good means of raising money for the project, all in accordance with the history of the church as written by Norman Staples’s mother back in the 1950s. The

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Ships made of trees

Several thousand visitors toured exhibits and watched demonstrations during July’s WoodenBoat Show in Rockland Harbor. Organizers combined forces with Rockland-based Atlantic Challenge, whose international teams mounted tests of skill in traditional wooden pulling boats.

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Make your own Saddle Island

Saddle Island, located about halfway between Camden and North Haven, is perched atop a foundation of formerly molten basalt that, as it cooled, fractured in a distinctive geometric pattern. The stones that line the shore are actually the tops of multi-sided basalt columns or shafts that probably descend deep below the floor of the bay.

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Emily Muir

At 98 years of age, Emily Muir, the artist, architect, activist, environmentalist and eminence grise of Stonington/Deer Isle, has earned the right to speak her mind. Her life, which spans nearly the entire 20th century, is the subject of a new memoir, The Time of My Life, recently published by the Institute and the Farnsworth

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