Narya and the Shire

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Pitchwife

Anyway, I take Gandalf's words power of another kind to mean a power different from that of the Great Rings, whether Elrond's or his own.

That is the key, I think, regarding that quote, and Tom seems to fill the bill admirably. I see nothing else that would be a plausible possibility.

That said, I don't think Tom was the main reason the Shire was so little known to many non-Hobbits. I still think their 'smallness', not merely speaking of physical size, but also their overall lack of involvement in the affairs of Middle-earth prior to the War of the Ring, was the primary reason they 'flew under the radar' for so long.