”Whence” and “Whither”. Two hifalutin’ words meaning roughly, “Where did this web site come from, anyhow?” and “Where exactly does it think it’s going?” Two good questions. And “Whom”, as in “From Whom did this site spring?”

The short answer to the “From Whom” is James Bailey, an island homeowner since 1996 and an island visitor since the 70s. More on the whom in the days to come. Let’s start with the “Whither.”

KeepOurPlace.com traces its roots to a time three years ago when long-time island resident Don McCluskey (that’s his license plate, not mine) asked me to take over his role as the volunteer map maker/GIS person for the island conservancies. GIS was new territory for me, but I know a bit about computers, so I took it on.

As I developed more maps, two things became apparent to me. First, with Martha Roldan at Town Hall and Scott Comings at the Nature Conservancy, the community was already well-stocked with professional GIS capabilities. But, second, the maps I was doing turned out to be a wonderful way for me to learn about the island. Much of what I learn charmed me; some of what I learned alarmed me. Thinking others could benefit, I started making CD’s of the maps and, Johnny Appleseed style, started handing them out to others who were interested.

After I gave a talk at the Your Town conference held on the island in June 2005, Doug Hoyt asked if I would speak at the Block Island Conservancy meeting in October of last year. I chose to speak about the “Other 50%”, the half of the island that is not in conservancy. There was brisk discussion after my remarks, and I have heard from others since.

Convinced that the “Other 50%” was a topic in need of further dialog, I looked for ways to keep it going.

Tomorrow: Why a Web Site?