Doc’s grandfather’s cousin Hiram Willis had a wholesale fish market down on Ballard’s dock waaaay back in the day. 

But Doc didn’t arrive here until many years later at the behest of Power Company Owner, Cliff McGinness. In 1972 (following a harrowing airplane ride) Doc swooped on to Block Island and saved the day. That winter the island was facing an extreme cold snap. We were without a resident Doctor and in the midst of a flu epidemic which had infected the power company’s chief engineer.  In the face of an island wide blackout (which given the frigid temps would’ve proved catastrophic) Doc administered care to several island residents and single-handedly helped Block Island dodge a mighty big bullet.

And that’s just his first trip to the island. Hit PLAY to see what’s happened over the last 51 years.