CityState : Reporter
Mike ' s Estate Services One of New England ’ s largest consignment shops
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Wednesday , Thursday , Friday 10-5 | Saturday 10 to 4 Sunday 11-4 | Closed Monday and Tuesday
Appointments should be made 6 to 8 weeks in advance 65 Manchester Street | West Warwick , R . I . 02893 401-825-7670 | mikesestateservices . com Two Floors ~ 28,000 Square Feet Buy Here ~ Sell Here subdivision there . Back then , land was cheap , but building anything on it was a slog of loading and unloading construction materials multiple times , from the mainland to an island building lot , says Block Island historian Benjamin Hruska . In 1971 , Interstate Navigation Co . introduced the Manitou , a stern-loading vessel offering easy passage to heavy vehicles .
“ In the 1950s , we were averaging ten homes a year . By the 1960s , there were twenty homes . But in 1971 , you can have a lumber truck drive from South County onto a construction site on Block Island and when you have that , it ’ s a game changer .”
Keith Lewis ’ father , retired captain John Robinson Lewis , saw in this proposal an alarming event horizon . He promptly founded the Block Island Conservancy to preserve Rodman ’ s Hollow . In the last half-century , a coalition — including residents , the conservancy , the Nature Conservancy and the Block Island Land Trust , which collects a 3 percent transaction fee on land sales — has preserved by deed or easement 47 percent of the island . There are now thirty miles of walking trails ; the beaches and parking are free .
Lang , who helped set up the trail system , says that they “ had a strategy with two goals : preserving the ecosystem and the character of the island .
“ It ’ s all been a partnership and it still is . Egos are put aside ; nobody is worried about who gets the credit ,” says Lang . “ But if you lose the balance , you lose it all , and it ’ s a constant threat .”
These forces may shake but not dislodge the bedrock of the community . Block Island is ten square miles filled with organizations to protect and improve life there . There ’ s the Committee for the Great Salt Pond , and RespectBI , formed in 2020 to address a plague of mopeds and unruly behavior . ConserFest , an annual homegrown music festival , raises money for artists and environmental causes . Over forty-five years , the Mary D Fund , founded by state nurse Mary Donnelly , has raised and discreetly disbursed well over a million dollars to help islanders get back on their feet with their dignity intact — and often , to return as donors .
“ It ’ s the power of love and kindness and faith in each other , and it really works ,” says fund administrator Marguerite Donnelly , who worked alongside her mother
40 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l AUGUST 2023