Find us on Facebook

 Find us on Facebook

Local Weather

27°
°F°C
Harpswell, ME
Clear
Humidity: 43%
Wind: NW at 5 mph
Sat
Chance of Snow Showers
9 | 34
Sun
Mostly Sunny
18 | 27

  • EtinerHackettDSC-smalRobert Anderson Photo

    Community collection
    A group of concerned citizens is working with the Town to protect a collection of artwork donated to the children of West Harpswell and still hanging in the West Harpswell School. David Etnier, left, and Dave Hackett recently admired one of the collection’s paintings, Hamilton Harbor, created by Etnier’s father, Stephen.

  • Murphy-Pumpkin-Patch-smallStacy Welner Photo

    Smashing pumpkin
    Mike Murphy shows off the Great Pumpkin he grew in celebration of Halloween. On September 24, Murphy’s gourd won third place, with a weight of 904 pounds, in the second annual Sanford Weigh-Off.

  • BAILY-ISLAND-BEACH-smallTom Jones Photo, Mary Ann Nafh Inset Photo

    Banned beaches
    Inset: A private property sign and fence block off access to Cedar and Robinhood beaches on Bailey Island. An aerial view shows the beaches in contention. See article on page 9.

Welcome to the Harpswell Anchor

Welcome to the Harpswell Anchor. Here you can find information on our unique community whether it be local events, historical vignettes, and profiles of some of our unique individual residents.

Anchor Publishing also publishes books, maps and other materials which are on display here.

Click on your computer's "refresh" button to see more images. Enjoy your virtual trip through Harpswell!

The Anchor Staff

Sand and ice and cars...oh my! Print

Written by Robert Anderson | 01 January 2012

Goodall-plowing-Rte123Jennifer Stainbrook Photo - On the road - The Town of Harpswell is in the midst of a three-year contract with Goodall Landscaping for winter road maintenance. A three-year contract extension was recently rescinded. As temperatures drop for the winter season, 56.4 miles of State and Town roads in Harpswell must be maintained and kept free of snow and ice for the safety of commuters. A three-year contract between the Town of Harpswell and Goodall Landscaping for the winter road maintenance in Harpswell began October 1, 2009, and ends April 30, 2012.

The contract between the Town and Goodall states, in part, that "the contractor shall commence plowing and sanding operations when snow on the pavement has reached a depth of one-half inch or more if the snow is wet, and one inch or more if dry."

Read more...

Hurricane hits Harpswell Print

Written by Tom Allen | 01 January 2012

Hurricane-BethanyIMG 2405Photo courtesy of Mark Haskell, VillageSoup - High roller - Hurricane Bethany McNelly-Davis of the Stone Quarry Vixens leads the pack during a recent bout with the Calamity Janes in Portland. This ain't your mother's roller derby.

You remember it from late-night and weekend TV in the 1960s and '70s—a bunch of women on roller-skates flinging themselves around a tilted track, throwing hip checks and elbows. It had all the competitive reality of professional wrestling.

Nowadays, Bailey Island's Bethany McNelly-Davis said, roller derby is working to become a true sport. Better known on the field of battle as Hurricane Bethany, McNelly-Davis said that while keeping the dramatic flair of its early years—with rough-and-tough aliases and flashy costumes—roller derby is now a physical, competitive challenge requiring strategy, technique and endurance.

Read more...

Topic of discussion: Marine-based charter school Print

Written by Amber Skinner | 01 January 2012

Lobster-boat-at-CooksDSC 0004Robert Anderson Photo - Charting new waters - A lobsterman takes up his traps to finish out the 2011 season. WIth a long history of living off the ocean, some residents are hoping to open a marine-based charter school in Harpswell.After a law was passed in June making public charter schools legal in Maine, a loosely-formed group of local residents began meeting in hopes of starting a Town-run charter school in Harpswell, possibly at Mitchell Field.

The school would have a marine-based focus, according to the group's leader, Robert Anderson, including courses on navigation, boat-building, fishery development, marine biology and environmental studies. The hope, he continued, is to build on the foundation of Harpswell's cultural links to the ocean to interest even those on whom traditional classrooms are lost.

Read more...