Maine Island Clammers
Guest Writer: Ken Fellows
“Island dwellers, much more than mainlanders, understand that we live in a closed ecosystem. On islands, the inhabitants are forced to live with the environmental consequences of every thoughtful and unthoughtful act and know that resources must be carefully conserved: that problems brought from off-island cannot easily be sent back; and that anything destroyed on the island is lost forever. Therefore, islands and islanders can teach us a lot about living in another closed ecosystem – the Earth.”
—C. Stinnett in “Slightly Offshore.”
Maine Island Clammers Ken Fellows watercolor
I frequently visit Deer Island, Maine (above), one of my favorite places to paint. Most of its inhabitants live by fishing, lobstering or clamming. Their lives are not easy… weather is always a threat, and climate events now threaten their livelihood. Still, they are tough, resilient folk who wouldn’t trade their work or lifestyle for any other. “Feeling like you can take care of yourself…..catch a fish, dig some clams, that’s the part of being on an island that makes it worthwhile” is a typical offering from Maine islanders. Those same islanders, to contend with summer tourists who forget their place and ignore island rituals and norms, often turn the Field of Dreams dictum on its head: “If you don’t build it, they won’t come” (Philip Conklin). The historic charm of island shed architecture, its boats and fishing tradition, and a basic way of life is thus perpetuated.
“Islands can be personal castles or prisons, depending on how one views their moat of water (James Rockefeller). There are over 4000 islands in Maine, about 30 of which have few residents or a rare small village. The spiritual and medical needs of 700 inhabitants of the largest 5 islands are provided through bimonthly visits from a 75 foot steel-hulled boat, the Sunbeam, the flagship of the 110 year old Maine Seacoast Mission. Beside the ship’s crew, the Sunbeam brings a lay minister to foster worship, and a nurse practitioner to provide primary care and access to telehealth, telecare and occupational safety advice for fishermen.
Douglas Corman, Sunbeam’s present lay minister, says “there is no separation between meeting the spiritual, physical and practical needs of the people. This is the perfect integration of the three.” Resourceful, independent and persevering as the inhabitants may be, the Sunbeam offers the health-care needed, and the spiritual inspiration sought, by most people living on Maine’s many islands.
Ken Fellows