The Question Collection

In each issue, we ask a Historic New England staff member to share their unique perspective on history, preservation, and sandwiches.

Carolyn Nelson, Lead Guide at Clemence-Irons House in Johnston, Rhode Island, is Historic New England’s longest-serving guide. She became the part-time “overseer” of Clemence-Irons House on June 1, 1992, about a year after getting her bachelor’s degree in historic preservation at Roger Williams University. At the same time, she accepted a full-time job at a local defense contractor. By the end of the first season, Carolyn had grown so attached to the house that she stayed on as a guide. Historic New England’s dedication to collecting and interpreting objects that tell stories of everyday life, rather than “expensive, high-end, fancy things,” is one of the reasons Carolyn finds our sites so meaningful—and why she doesn’t plan to retire until she can “no longer climb the stairs” at Clemence-Irons House. Carolyn works at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center and lives in Jamestown, Rhode Island, with her husband, Kurt, and dog, Candy. Read on to find out what kind of sandwich she orders at her favorite spot, Jigger's South, in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, and how her love of balance is evident from both her astrological sign and the architectural style that best reflects her personality.

1. What’s your astrological sign?

Libra

2. Which Historic New England site would make the best setting for a reality TV show?

Eustis Estate

3. If you could have one thing from our collection in your home, what would it be?

Hoosier cabinet

4. If you were an architectural style, what would you be?

Federal

5. What are your three favorite books?

Pride and Prejudice, Les Misérables, Early Homes of Rhode Island

6. Coffee or tea?

Tea

7. Hardwoods or carpet?

Hardwood

8. Do you compost?

Yes

9. If you could meet anybody, dead or alive, who would it be?

Abigail Goddard

10. If you could buy a new property for Historic New England, what would it be?

Horsehead (Jamestown, Rhode Island)

11. Define preservation in three words.

Reuse, Sustainable, Grassroots

12. What’s the best sandwich?

Chicken salad

13. Which season is the best?

Fall

Want to take a tour of Clemence-Irons House with Carolyn? She is usually on site on the second and fourth Sundays of each month.