Roberta Mudge Humble | President, Westerly Armory Restoration Inc.
1. You have said it is one of your life’s goals to promote Rhode Island. Why? Maybe it’s the sense of feeling like an underdog, but Rhode Island has always been dwarfed by Massachusetts. And yet our Roger Williams set in motion what was to become the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution – and [Thomas] Jefferson and [John] Adams acknowledged him for this. We have so much in this state that if people were never to leave here, they would find so many spectacular and wonderful places and things – and people. Rhode Island was first in so much in this nation. We don’t do enough to promote it properly.
2. How many Rhode Island-themed books, games, etc., have you produced? In my Rhode Island collection are six games [Rhode Test, Rhode Side, Rhode Scholar, Rhode Block, I am Rhode Island, and Rhode Map], five “regular” books [“The Right to Crow,” “Rhode Island’s Friendly Faces,” “Sing Rhode Island,” “Little Rhody & the Other 49,” “The Historic Armories of Rhode Island”] and two game books [“Rhode Island for the Native & Naïve” and “The BIG Rhode Island Quiz”]. “The Right To Crow” has sold over 10,000 copies and “Rhode Side,” over 4,000.
In addition, I created Secret Rhode Island, a tiny box with 58 tiny cards showing 58 places that most people don’t know, and The Rhode Island Card, a credit card-sized plastic card with “firsts” on one side and “uniques” on the other.
3. What have you done with the proceeds from your product sales? Much of the proceeds go to the Westerly Armory and educational institutions, such as the University of Rhode Island and the U.S. Naval War College, as well as to bird-related organizations. I manage to get a few dinners from sales, but remember that I drive the state delivering all orders [of my products], and mileage and gas come with a price.
4. What book or game are you most proud of? My favorite book is “The Historic Armories of Rhode Island,” which came out in 2000, because these buildings represent the strength and sacrifice [that] gave our nation the freedom we now enjoy. My good friend Col. Howard F. Brown co-authored the book with me. The next year, I created a booklet of the armories – and this year, thanks to Heritage Harbor [Foundation] Museum, I updated and printed copies of the booklet, and each armory received copies.
5. Where can people find your products? There are 24 stores in Rhode Island that carry the games and books – from Little Compton to Westerly to Chepachet to Garden City. My favorite store is one of the two oldest operating general stores in the nation: Summit General Store in Coventry.
The entire list can be seen on www.westerlyarmory.com.
