By Roger Berle
Over the past decade or so, it has be-
come increasingly apparent that a cycle is
repeating itself once again out here on Cliff
Island.
Roger Berle is a member of the Cliff
Island Future Committee.
Cliff Island
As industries develop, mature, and wane,
coastal and island populations have similarly
flowed and ebbed. Islands such as Hurricane,
Dix, and even Jewell have had populations
ranging from a handful of settlers to 2,500 to
zero, dependent upon the circumstances.
Once, many families, but particularly
rural units, normally had a dozen or more
children per generation now we average a
bit below two. Wars have taken young men
away and then sent the survivors home with
new brides and plenty of reason and energy
to carve out a living here.
In 1900 Cliff had a year-round popula-
bon of 150 or so. Depression survival by
clamming, farming, and fishing was fol-
lowed by the influx of World War 11 return-
ees. Another ebb began in the 1960s and
caused concern for the closing of our school.
Forty-five pupils in the 1920s had dwindled
to seven by 1970. The Cliff Island commu-
nity rallied around its problem, created dra-
matic synergy, and by 1980 had seventeen
students and over 90 residents.
Now there are 71 of us wintering on the
island, with five pupils in the school. We
remain, tenuously, one of the 14 year-round
Maine island communities, all defined by
their own school. Taxes, separation, and
other recent issues have perhaps masked this
latest threat to our year-round survival. Cliff
Island Association meetings have increas-
ingly focused on addressing this issue.
January 27 brought the first all-island
meeting to identify and begin to grapple with
our mutual concerns; some survey, clarify-
ing and organizing work was accomplished
by the 21 attendees. Historical perspective
was presented. Strengths, weaknesses, and
resources were listed. A Cliff Island Future
Committee (CIF) was formed.
February 5 followed with a brainstorm-
ing session on ways and means to address
housing availability; attract people here; iden-
tify work possibilities- market Cliff Island
as a way of life; and market the island as a
source of uniquely produced goods ("made
in Maine" can be refined to"created on Cliff
Island").
As happens in any community, the worst
of times often becomes the best of times as
we unite to solve our common problem. And
we are not unique among islands in the
1990s. Through continued work with the
Island Institute's Community Service Divi-
sion, the City of Portland's Islands Advisory
Council, the Inter-Island Forum, and The
Cliff Island Alternative Government Re-
search Committee (CIAC), we know the
problems islands experience, and what suc-
cesses and failures have occurred elsewhere.
Peaks, Chebeague, and Long Islands are
growing, while others are facing threats
similar to ours with less resources and fewer
advantages than we enjoy.
But there is much to do. While word of
mouth is already bringing some families out
here to look over our opponunities, we must
"set our string" for the long haul and gener-
ate renewed momentum. We need island-
wide involvement and investment in creat-
ing a positive future for ourselves. We need
once again the kind of support which has
always come from the summer community.
Look for periodic information to come
to you directly from the CEF, chaired by Earl
MacVane and Jeff Sawyer. The CIF will
also report monthly to the CIAC. We are all
in this together and we have a bright future
on the greatest Island in the Ocean if we all
pull on our oars with teamwork, energy,
dedication, creativity, and love.
Cliff Island Page