Mary Lou Koskela’s home stands at the top of Decker Hill Road, facing Townsend Gut.

“Just between you and me,” Koskela said, as if confiding a long lost secret, “there’s something about that bridge.”

Over the years, families have come and gone through that faded green swing bridge. But from Koskela’s perspective, people either leave, or they stay forever.

That’s part of the lure of Southport: A tight-knit island community governed by the few who absolutely cherish their independence.

Koskela is a seventh generation islander from the Thompson clan. Her father drove the town’s only school bus. Her grandfather started the island’s water company.   

Koskela attended Southport Central School back when it was kindergarten through eighth grade school.

In 1965, she was part of the largest class in school history: Seven students graduated that year.

Shortly after high school, she left the island and married Phil, a person from away, or better known as the acronym, PFA.

(Phil was from Waldoboro.)

The couple returned to the island in 1975. Keeping with the family tradition, Koskela got involved in town government in 1983. Last week she was reelected to the board of selectmen at the annual town meeting. She’s celebrating her 10th consecutive term.

The island has changed throughout the years, Koskela said, but the small town government remains rooted in strong democratic principles. 

“If you go to our public hearings, it’s a chance for the people to just yak it out. Then we take it to the next level, to an actual vote. I mean, that’s as basic as it gets, kiddo,” Koskela said.  

Southport’s reputation as a stalwart constituency has been tested in years past. In 1973, the state legislature passed a property tax for education, along with a controversial tax assessment law.

Essentially the tax rate for schools was to be determined by the town’s market valuation. Coastal communities with highly-assessed property values ended up paying hundreds of thousands of dollars more to operate their schools. For Southport’s tiny island school, the tax rate was devastating.

Southport vehemently opposed the tax law under the leadership of Selectman Grace Climo. With the help from other municipalities, they recruited tax activist Mary Adams to petition the government. The law was repealed shortly thereafter.

Grace Climo’s leadership was eventually passed down to her son, Smith Climo, who currently sits with Koskela on the board of selectmen. The two share the table with perhaps the most recognizable figure in the island’s recent history, Gerry Gamage. 

“When we do get fired up about something, (Koskela) is the one that brings us back to where we need to be,” Selectman Smith Climo said. “She’s very calming.”

The three-selectmen meet each week to sign warrants, pay the bills and talk with their townspeople, face to face. There’s no need for a town manager.

“It’s all about knowing who’s sitting in front of you. You know the names. You know the faces, and that part is really important,” Koskela said. “It’s so much better than trying to communicate through email.

“I know that sounds trite in this day and age.”

Sitting in on the Southport selectmen’s meeting is like watching a family talk around the kitchen table. Between quick quips and inside jokes, compassion and politics abound. 

To an outsider, the town of Southport might seem a bit old fashioned, but the island continues to evolve. In recent years the selectmen have tackled such issues as the merging of the Boothbay Region Water District, purchasing Hendricks Head as a public beach and the commercial development of the Cozy Harbor pier.

On Southport, spirited debate just adds to its character.

“Didn’t we secede from the state of Maine once,” Koskela asked.

“We should have,” Climo shot back.

While contentious discussion remains a key component to any democratic form of government, decisions are often peacefully made on Southport.  

“We may have a disagreement occasionally, but we all find that we agree by the end,” Gamage said. “It’s a matter of talking it through.”

One thing the trio can all agree on is that Cozy Harbor, despite being listed with a ‘z’, it should always be listed with an ‘s’, as far as they’re concerned.

The last 30 years serving the town of Southport have been wonderful, Koskela said.

“I think the island is striving,” Koskela said. “The museum is a little wonderful thing. The library has tripled in size. The fire department is well equipped. All of this takes a lot of money, but a lot of people have supported us.”