Swan's Island: Six miles east of ordinary

The Swan's Island team put in a lot of work over the course of the one year project. I don't think any of us realized how much time would go into building a website, but it's been a fun journey!

Kim is a a 5th generation islander. She has been a teacher for 32 years here. She invented the Swan's Island Studies course over 25 years ago as a way to teach island students about their history and heritage. It started small and has developed into a multi-disciplinary unit over the years. She is now teaching the second generation of students.

Kate worked with the Swan's Island Historical Society from 2011 to 2013 as an Historical Preservation Fellow with the Island Institute. At that time, Kate was a recent graduate of Bates College where she studied Anthropology with concentrations in ‘Environment, Place & History’ and ‘Medieval Worlds.’ After her two years with our historical society, Kate worked for the Maine Humanities Counsel. She presently is returning to academia to begin a masters degree in museum work.

Bev McAloon is a year-round island resident. She retired to the island after 20 years in social work and public school education. Prior to living on the island she spent 15 years working overseas mostly in education. On Swan's Island she is a school board member, is an active member of the Historical Society and does silk painting.

Candi's family goes back to some of the first English settlers to come to Swan's Island, the Sadlers. She would visit Swan's Island during school vacations as a child. Her family moved here in 1976 after she graduated from high school. After two years at Bates College, Candi married and settled in on Swan's Island to raise a family. She finished her B.A. from the University of Maine at Orono in 2006.

Candi has been active in the Swan's Island Educational Society since 2001 and took the job as librarian in 2003. It is the mission of SIES to provide library and historical collections services for the community of Swan's Island. Candi quickly realized the potential and scope of this organization and set about to foster all aspects of SIES's mission.

Candi loves to work with historical material and is thrilled with the work the historical society is doing to promote our history.

Meghan Vigeant (not pictured) spent two years as an Island Fellow working with the Swan's Island Historical Society. Part of Meghan's accomplishments are the wonderful audio pieces that you hear in the Islanders at Play and Islanders at Work exhibits.