About this Site

This site continues to grow and change each week.  My goal is to have a "masterpiece" by December 16th, 2007, the centennial of the Fleet's departure.  That sounds like a long time away, but really I have so many things to do, I don't know if I will make it!

The site is my collection.  It contains more than 2000 items that I have in my private collection that I have accumulated over the many years.  I do not sell these items, though I am always looking for good items to add to my collection.

It is a very big site.  I have lost track of how many pages.  The parts of my collection that I find most interesting are the collections of personal correspondence from a single sailor located under "mail call" and the two collections of real photo postcards of Brown & Schaffer and M. R. Battey.  Of course the port-by-port comemorative cards are great and the series cards issues to commemorate their trip are very nice also.

I have also developed an affinity for the USS Nebraska (BB-14) while living in Seattle.  To this end I am always added to my collection of this ship for the "home town" aspect of the ship as a member of the cruise.

COMMON QUESTIONS

Should I make a website for my collection?

YES, I have become much more connected to my collection.  Viewing my collection online is better than viewing my collection in my photo albums.  Besides, I am now able to share it with everyone, anywhere!

How difficult is it to create a website?

EASY, though it does take some time an effort.  I have used NAMO Web Editor 5.5.  It is an easy, Windows based software that has templates to build a site to your taste.  I started with limited knowledge of website and worked on my own to create this site.

What have I learned to pass on to other people building a site for their collection?

Make your site flexible and easy to change and add too.  If you build pages that are "finished" with the first group of items you place on it, you will probably find yourself having to do the whole thing over when you want to add to the page.  This was my biggest mistake when I first started my site.  I am still changing many of my pages to a revised format that will allow additions to the site.

To this end, I am always interested in hearing from people about their collections and shared interest in the Great White Fleet.   

Bill Stewart

bill@greatwhitefleet.info