For most people, the idea of living a 45-minute boat ride from the American mainland would be a daunting concept.
But for the 55 or so permanent residents of Maine’s impassable Isle au Haut, this is their daily reality.
And the remoteness of the small island is part of the appeal for those who now call the ten-mile stretch home.
With only a handful of businesses serving the close-knit community, the island feels a bit like stepping back in time.
But it has recently received a major technological boost with the installation of undersea cables, which will eventually bring universal broadband to the island.
Although the upgrade is intended to ‘transform’ the community, local residents claim the community already has a lot to offer.
“I don’t have many minutes to sit around,” said Stevens, who was the island’s selectman for nine years. ‘I have a huge garden, so I grow almost all my vegetables and berries myself.’
The Maine island of Isle au Haut has just 50 permanent residents and hopes to attract more
With only one small supermarket on the island, gardening is more than just a hobby for Stevens and other residents.
“We have a store, but it doesn’t have much,” Stevens said, explaining that locals need to send in medications, pet food, clothing and shoes, among other things.
She said business has improved since Amazon delivery began and Islanders can even get 24-hour delivery if they are willing to pay the premium.
Normally Fedex and UPS both ship to the island six days a week. Recipients must pick up their packages at the Isle au Haut dock.
Shipping packages can be just as tricky to navigate. The island’s only post office has a postmistress from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., and residents can access mailboxes between regular hours Monday through Saturday.
“Thanks to Amazon, it’s easier than it used to be,” Stevens explains. “In the past, if you needed a few screws, you had to get exactly the stuff you needed, but now you can order so much stuff online.”
“Some people just make a living from the store,” she added. “It takes a lot of coordination to live on an island and if you’re not coordinated, service delivery suffers.”
Brenda Clark, the island’s longtime librarian, agreed, explaining that Isle au Haut’s permanent residents “have to wear many hats” to keep everything running.
With only a handful of businesses serving the close-knit community, the island feels a bit like stepping back in time
Former island inspector Peggi Stevens says she barely has time with her dog Spudz to get started with all the chores that need to be done in the community
Residents hope the rollout of undersea cables to provide universal broadband will prove a draw
“In small towns, you get out of a community what you put into it, and you often have to do a lot of little things, so the wheels are always turning,” Clark said.
She explained that locals on the island often choose different jobs depending on what needs to be done at the time.
In addition to her role as a librarian, Clark worked on her husband Bill’s lobster boat, helped balance the town’s books, and worked as a clerk in the island’s gift shop.
She described the role of librarian as “pretty relaxed.” The Isle au Haut library is open three days a week in summer and two days in winter.
But “almost every permanent resident of the island has a key to the library,” Clark explained to documentary filmmaker Noah Anderson.
Likewise, the island’s mail boat is often called upon to act as an ambulance, as there is no hospital or doctor on Isle au Haut all year round.
“If it is an emergency, and Life Flight of Maine can be called during the day, the mail boat will come at night for an emergency trip to pick up and drop off the patient, then an ambulance will be called to pick them up. Stonington and take them to the nearest hospital,” Stevens explained.
While the island’s population grows to about 300 during the summer months, the number will drop to between 55 and 60 in the winter, according to Stevens, who said previous census data showing 90 was incorrect.
She said it’s during the colder months, where temperatures drop to 17F, the community really comes together.
“Winter is harsh, it’s cold, it’s isolated, but for some that’s a plus – not for everyone, but for some people,” Stevens said.
‘I’m probably thinking more of Sweden or Norway. You know, you go outside, if there’s a day where you can skate, you all go out and skate, or, you know, we try to keep fit and there are community dinners.”
Librarian Brenda Clark said permanent residents have to “wear many hats” for the community to function
Isle au Haut has just five independent businesses: a gift shop, a lobster roll, a general store, a chocolate shop and a weekly vacation rental
But Stevens, a native of New York City, insists the winters are no worse than in the Big Apple.
“Here, we’re dressed for it,” she explained. “But in Manhattan you try to look fashionable all the time, so you freeze your butt, not to say we’re not fashionable, I’m sure.”
Still, she admits that the island is not a place for people who want to dine at the trendiest restaurants or watch the latest movies.
Isle au Haut has just five independent businesses: a gift shop, a lobster roll, a general store, a chocolate shop and weekly vacation rentals.
However, many businesses close their stores or drastically reduce their hours during the winter.
In the colder months, ferry trips to the mainland are reduced to just two per day, with no service on Sundays.
But the installation of the submarine cables is expected to provide a welcome boost to business.
Currently the island has broadband using existing telephone lines, but the signal can be patchy.
Dakota and Hannah Watters recently moved to Isle au Haut and describe life there as ‘so healthy’
The Isle au Haut Post Office is only open for a few hours a day from 7am to 11am
Current speeds near the city are 35 Mbps download/7 Mbps upload, with slower speeds on the east side and Head Harbor.
“The impact of this is immediate, especially for those who don’t live right in the center of town,” said local Donna Hopkins of the Broadband Commission.
For example, a small business owner living on the other side of the island tried to update her website and reported that it took ten minutes to upload a new photo.
‘Regular digital updates become impossible in this situation. Even though the school has a service closer to the existing microwave tower, students live in parts of the island with poorer service, meaning online projects and research cannot always be completed at home.”
The project came about thanks to the tireless efforts of the island’s broadband commission, which hopes better connectivity will attract more full-time residents, especially families.
Although, with a three-bedroom home listed for $925,000, this may be out of reach for the typical family.
Despite its small population, Isle au Haut has one primary and secondary school, one of approximately 400 single-room school buildings remaining in the US.
But “hardly a museum piece, the scope of the curriculum belies the size of the building,” according to the Isle au Haut Community Development Corporation.
Isle au Haut is a 45-minute boat ride from the mainland and is not connected by a bridge
Most goods must be shipped via Fedex and UPS, although basic groceries are available on the island
Over the past year and a half, the school has succeeded in increasing the number of students to seven.
Among them is Flynn Watters, whose parents Dakota and Hannah Watters recently moved to Isle au Haut with him and his sister Amelia.
The couple works multiple jobs and grows their own food, but says the lifestyle gives them quality family time.
“We have so much more time to bond with the kids,” Dakota said CBS. “It’s indescribably healthy.”
Past eighth grade, the locals help pay tuition or transportation costs when a graduating student attends a nearby public high school or boarding school.
This sense of community translates into governance, in which almost everyone took a turn to help.
“People would say, ‘when are you open?’ I thought it was a town hall and we have offices or something, but it’s a 24/7 job,” Stevens explained.
The island has a year-round population of about 50, according to locals, and many people flee during Maine’s harsh winter.
She said that the island would like to see more families and young people to ensure the survival of Isle au Haut, which is currently entrusted to the active seniors.
‘I walk my dog, I go swimming, we all want to stay fit. Most of the seniors on the island are retired, but we are still very active,” Stevens explains.
‘There are not many of us and you depend on each other. Even if you don’t always like each other, you’re on the mail boat with these people, you have to learn to be neighbors and in today’s world I think that’s a good thing.’