Josiah Roe watches over Chattanooga. He looks after city Mayor Ron Littlefield and keeps an eye on Lookout Mountain, all from the comfort of his home.
Roe, president of Chattanooga-based design firm Medium, monitors the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Since 2004, he’s added dozens of entries about local personalities and corporations such as Olan Mills and the Lyndhurst Foundation, using history books to get his facts.
“In another life I’d have loved to be Magellan,” he said. “But there’s nothing left for us to really explore anymore. Wikipedia brings a sense that you’re giving new knowledge to the world.”
The number of Wikipedia editors dedicated to developing East Tennessee articles can be counted on one hand, Tennessee Tech student Brian Stansberry said.
“Some people paint, some people collect stamps,” Stansberry said. “Wikipedia is just a hobby of mine.”