Community

by Dennis Damon

Fishermen's Voice Photo

Recently the Sunbeam steamed from Northeast Harbor to Matinicus Island and back. The Sunbeam is the iconic vessel of the Maine Seacoast Mission. On board were members of the Mission’s Board of Directors’ Island Services subcommittee. Being a member of both groups, I was pleased to be on her too.

We were joined in Northeast Harbor by all the students from the Islesford and Great Cranberry Island schools. They were going to visit their fellow students at the Matinicus School and they were excited.

Annually, and sometimes more frequently, students from many of the island schools gather at one island which is hosting the, “Inter-Island Event.” The Sunbeam provides some of the transportation. This year Matinicus Island was hosting the event. It was the first time Matinicus hosted. The students, the teacher, the parents, the community were all very anxious to welcome the other islands and to show off their island.

Leaving Northeast Harbor at 0600 with the Cranberry Island’s students on board (after overcoming a slight transportation glitch when the boat hired to transport the kids to Northeast Harbor didn’t show up and island lobster boats were called into ferry service) we traveled to Frenchboro, Long Island, nine miles off shore. The students, their parents and the teacher were waiting on the ferry pier when we arrived. With sleeping bags and back packs stowed we shoved off for Isle au Haut. There the scene replayed as the students and teacher trundled down the ramp and hopped aboard to join their compadres. Next stop, Matinicus Island.

The forty plus additional passengers on board combined with all their gear made for some tight quarters. The saloon was packed with sleeping bags, back packs and kids of all sizes. It was obvious many of the students had met before and were excited to reconnect now. The teachers and parents were equally glad to see each other and to renew friendships. Pat, the Sunbeam’s masterful cook kept everyone happy with her culinary wonders. It was a beautiful day for a boat ride and the expectation of seeing friends made it even more special.

The docking facility in the harbor at Matinicus is tight and exposed if the wind turns southeast. It was forecast to do that so Capt. Mike and the Sunbeam crew off-loaded all, Island Services committee and Inter-Island Eventers, then left for Vinalhaven and a more secure dockage for the night.

At the Matinicus School the Sunbeam’s students met up with students from the host school, Monhegan Island and Cliff Island, virtually every one-room school left in Maine was now gathered in one place, for educational activities, games and reconnections. Watching the students ranging in age from grade one to grade eight interact with each other, renew friendships made at earlier Inter-Island gatherings and make new friends, it was apparent they shared a common bond. They all came from small island communities. Although each island is unique, each is still an island. Life on each island still revolves around and depends on the tide. Weather and commonly occurring natural events affect them more profoundly than it does most mainlanders. They all are getting their education in one-room schools.

As I watched a spirited game of Capture-the-Flag featuring students and adults, I was struck by the enthusiasm and the caring. Enthusiasm, because I realized how difficult it was for some of them to muster enough people at their schools to for two teams for any athletic competition save perhaps one-on-one basketball. And caring, because I saw played out on that field and many other times during the visit “big” kids, seventh and eighth grade boys and girls, coming to the aid of, comforting, or simply including in the activity “little” kids, the younger ones all the way to the very small and very shy first graders. They did this naturally, without coaxing. It seems that life on an island defines the adage that it does take a village to raise a child… to sustain itself.

This was the first year Matinicus had hosted the inter-island event. They were a bit nervous given they have no single facility large enough to accommodate their guests. The tents sprouted all over the school grounds proved that minor detail was overcome. In the evening all, students and many Matinicus islanders gathered in the church basements for a pot-luck supper. Following supper everyone adjourned upstairs into the church for a talent show. The house for community worship transformed into a house for community fellowship. In many ways they seem to be the same thing.

Departing the island the next day there were hugs and adresses exchanged with promises to write and shouts of, “I’ll see you at the next inter-island!” as the Sunbeam backed away from the wharf. Matinicus Island, her school and her community had done itself proud hosting their first inter-island event.

Community was on display at so many levels during that trip and those two days. The community of the Maine Seacoast Mission, the Island Institute which co-sponsored the event, the islands, the students and Sunbeam and her crew were all beautifully evident and affirming. Community is our strength.

Soon after the inter-island event the Matinicus community suffered its second calamity of the summer. A second plane crash claimed the life of a friend, an important link for the island to the mainland, its pilot, Don Campbell. Following the crash, after islanders had rushed to the scene to provide assistance, to rescue… the pilot’s body was solemnly transported to the church basement. That safe center for the community whether it be to host a community potluck supper or hold the remains of a friend. It was reported that community members took turns sitting with Don’s body throughout the night, lighting a candle so there would be light and he would not be alone. That’s community!