Jeffrey Good

20 posts

Jeffrey Good is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who lives on Orr's Island. He welcomes your ideas: jgoodstories@gmail.com.

2 minute read

Features

Aspiring first responders test skills at Orr’s Island firehouse

All year, the students in Rachael Chase's emergency medical technician class have been studying how to extricate people from car crashes, administer early medical care, and get them into an ambulance and on to the hospital.

byJeffrey Good

June 25, 2025

5 minute read

Features

First Person: ‘There is so much to love in this place — the land, the water, the peace and quiet’

I was a summer person in the late 1940s when I met my future husband. His father was a mason and my family needed a chimney repair at our house. The father and another son, Andrew, came over to do the work. One day, Andrew asked me to go to dinner and said, "Do you mind if I bring my brother along?"

byJeffrey Good

May 31, 2025

4 minute read

Features

First Person: Longtime South Harpswell boatyard owner is ‘happy to teach’

Finestkind Boatyard began as a place where my family could work on the three boats we use for our Finestkind Scenic Cruises, which my family has run since 1956. Then we started taking in other people's boats here in Basin Cove and it grew from there.

byJeffrey Good

May 6, 2025

4 minute read

Features

First Person: ‘Fire is a great equalizer. Gender, race, color — it does not care’

People say, "I couldn't possibly do what you do. Thank you so much for doing this." I turn around and I say, "I love my job" — because that is the truth.

byJeffrey Good

March 31, 2025

5 minute read

Features

First Person: From Harpswell’s wood, John Wright crafts a life

I was born in Brunswick in 1954. My parents built a camp down on the shore on Harpswell Neck, and that led me to settle here as an adult. I was never much of a good student, so after one year of college, I found myself looking for work and an offer came from a family friend to learn carpentry.

byJeffrey Good

March 5, 2025

3 minute read

Features

‘Can we find you?’ Emergency crews urge residents to make addresses visible

As the dark nights of winter approach, Harpswell first responders are urging residents to mark their homes with big and bright address numbers to ensure that fire and rescue crews can quickly find them in emergencies.

byJeffrey Good

October 1, 2024

4 minute read

Features

Harpswell ambulances arrive faster to urgent calls, state figures show

While a trend toward slowing response times by Harpswell ambulance crews might stir fears that people won't get help fast enough during medical emergencies, department leaders say there's a good reason for this trend — one that increases public safety rather than reducing it.

byJeffrey Good

September 30, 2024

6 minute read

Features

Harpswell ambulance response times slow, even as 911 calls grow

Most residents of Harpswell Neck, Cundy's Harbor, and Orr's and Bailey islands drive by a fire and ambulance station every day. But most don't think about what happens inside — until they need to dial 911.

byJeffrey Good

August 4, 2024

3 minute read

Features

Building the next generation: ‘It’s neighbors helping neighbors’

Young and old, the men and women who volunteer for Harpswell's three community fire departments share a common mission — to help neighbors in their hour of greatest need.

byJeffrey Good

August 4, 2024