Sam Lemonick

46 posts

Sam Lemonick is a freelance reporter. He lives in Cundy's Harbor.

4 minute read

News

Harpswell officials see what happens to recyclables after they leave town

Representatives of Harpswell's Recycling Center and Recycling Committee recently got their first look inside the facility where the town's recyclables are sorted for sale and eventual reuse.

bySam Lemonick

October 30, 2025

5 minute read

Features

Fantasy and whimsy were the norm for late preschool teacher

Local preschool teacher, author and artist Debra Norton died unexpectedly of heart failure on July 15 at her son's home in Lisbon Falls. Her children and colleagues remember her as an imaginative and compassionate educator with a unique ability to connect with kids.

bySam Lemonick

September 1, 2025

6 minute read

Features

As recycling costs skyrocket, Harpswell stays the course

Because of changes in global markets, the cost of recycling in Harpswell has more than tripled in the last decade. It is now more expensive by volume to dispose of recyclables than trash — and it isn't clear how much of those recyclables are recycled, or how much ends up in landfills. But town officials intend to stay the course because residents value recycling. And those residents recycle more and with less contamination than national averages.

bySam Lemonick

August 2, 2025

3 minute read

News

Katherine Chatterjee, first woman elected to Harpswell Select Board, dies at 87

Katherine Chatterjee died May 18 at her home on Great Island, overlooking Long Reach. She was elected to the Harpswell Select Board in 1998, becoming the first woman to hold the position in the town.

bySam Lemonick

June 27, 2025

5 minute read

Features

Jim Henderson dedicated his career to preserving state history — and the public’s access to it

Harpswell resident James "Jim" Henderson, a lifelong public servant devoted to preserving Maine's history and making it publicly accessible, died on April 18 at the age of 83.

bySam Lemonick

June 2, 2025

4 minute read

Features

Furniture designer brought famous sensibilities to hand-built Harpswell home

Renowned furniture maker Thomas Moser died March 5 at his house on Dingley Island. His Shaker-inspired wooden chairs have supported presidents and popes. And although his widow, Mary, says they were not deeply ingrained in the Harpswell community, this place was Moser's home for 35 years.

bySam Lemonick

May 4, 2025

4 minute read

News

Harpswell seeks answers as PFAS spill contaminates local waters

Harpswell is seeking accountability and answers about PFAS pollution coming from the former Brunswick Naval Air Station after a spill of firefighting foam last summer.

bySam Lemonick

March 25, 2025

3 minute read

News

Neighbors hope to save Bailey Island house owned by radio station

Across from the Bailey Island firehouse, a radio tower rises above the neighborhood, broadcasting prayers and teachings from an international network of evangelical stations. Below, a house on the property is slated for demolition.

bySam Lemonick

February 25, 2025

4 minute read

Features

Harpswell has 44 of Maine’s 600 remaining overboard discharge systems

With no municipal sewer system, almost all of Harpswell's homes and businesses rely on septic systems to handle their wastewater. But a few dozen properties that are too small or too rocky for conventional septic systems still use what are called overboard discharge systems, even as the state and town governments work to replace them.

bySam Lemonick

February 4, 2025

4 minute read

Features

Lifelong Harpswell Neck fisherman remembered as cribbage competitor, neighborhood mentor

Sheldon Morse Sr. died Dec. 5, two weeks shy of his 86th birthday. He lived his whole life on the land where he grew up on Allen Point Road, fishing into his late 70s on a boat he built with his father and named after his daughter. Family and fishing were the focal points of his life.

bySam Lemonick

February 2, 2025

Sam Lemonick

Harpswell officials see what happens to recyclables after they leave town

Fantasy and whimsy were the norm for late preschool teacher

As recycling costs skyrocket, Harpswell stays the course

Katherine Chatterjee, first woman elected to Harpswell Select Board, dies at 87

Jim Henderson dedicated his career to preserving state history — and the public’s access to it

Furniture designer brought famous sensibilities to hand-built Harpswell home

Harpswell seeks answers as PFAS spill contaminates local waters

Neighbors hope to save Bailey Island house owned by radio station

Harpswell has 44 of Maine’s 600 remaining overboard discharge systems

Lifelong Harpswell Neck fisherman remembered as cribbage competitor, neighborhood mentor

New book chronicles pioneering work of Great Island metalsmith and author

Library Connections: What’s new at Curtis Memorial

Select Board tiring of change orders to engineering contract

Sam Lemonick

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