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Playing By Heart
In an era of YouTube music videos and dwindling public school arts budgets, Farmington, Maine, teenagers are lining up — and auditioning — to play the jigs and reels heard at 19th century barn dances. Part of the credit goes to a rural tradition of family and friends playing music together. The catalyst, though, is Steve Muise, the orchestra teacher at Mt. Blue High School.
The Crossing
Paul Molyneaux learns about friendship, boats, and endurance during a row from Lubec to Grand Manan.
Tollef Runquist: A Painter Follows His Bliss
Painter Tollef Runquist’s colorful canvases draw on place and experience. Recently he has been inspired by his son’s playthings.
The Pull of an Island
It took some time, but eventually Great Gott became the heart of an island-based business for Claire and Carly Weinberg. Their company, Dulse & Rugosa, uses seaweed and botanicals grown on the island to make skin care products, and has allowed them to make a living in the one place that has always felt like home.
Dancing Around
The growing community of Maine’s tango dancers travel to Portland to attend milongas, and to Thomaston for a seaside summer tango retreat.
The Writer's Shack
Deborah Joy Corey’s writing space is a small floating shack. When she is there, she is in tune with the tides, nature, and one special cormorant she calls Jinx.
Bird Blizzard: Snowy Owls
Why has the snowy owl, a species of bird normally considered at home in the high arctic, been making an appearance in the Midwest and New England?
American Eagle
The son of a housewright, boatbuilder, and inspector of timber, John Haley Bellamy was born in the seaside community of Kittery, Maine. In addition to working on house carvings, he fashioned eagles that are considered icons of American folk art.
Reunion with Tradition
How often do we get the chance to buy back a boat with family significance? Chrisso Rheault was able to do just that when he bought a 26-foot sloop that his father had built.
Great Island: A Yard for All Seasons
Maine’s stellar reputation for new boat construction gets the limelight. But it is all-purpose yards like Great Island Boat Yard with their capacity for service, repairs and refits that are the backbone of the state’s maritime industry today. Searching for more meaningful lives, Great Island owners Steve and Stephanie Rowe left high-powered corporate jobs to run the yard.
