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SIX09
Back to School issue SEPTEMBER 2021 FREE
COMMUNITYNEWS.ORG
On the button
Census 2020: Borough population declines
Getting into shape
State button society to celebrate 80th anniversary in September
By BiLL SanserVinO
By Dan AUBrey
The New Jersey State Button Society will lift its pandemic-induced pause button and celebrate its 80th anniversary tri-state button show at the Union Fire Company and Rescue Square Hall in Titusville on Sept. 11. “It’s a very large banquet hall with good lights and ventilation. We’ll feel safe there,” says NJSBS president Barbara Fox about the gathering that will employ COVIDrelated protocols: masks, reduced capacity, open doors, and outdoor tables. Fox doesn’t expect a huge crowd for the free event, just between 25 or 50, attendees, including members from Lawrence and Plainsboro. But she says they will all be big on the small objects bringing them together. The reasons are multi-layered and more than market value, which Fox says can range from 25 cents to $250. One point of collector engagement is the reality that “each button has a story. Its own little history,” says Fox. “Stories come from those who collect buttons — and those who wore the buttons.” Fox puts today’s now common object into a historic perSee BUTTONS, Page 10
Members of the Hopewell Valley Central High School football team stretch in preparation for an indoor practice at the school. on Aug. 11, 2021. The Bulldogs’ season will start away at 7p.m. at Lawrence on Friday, Sept. 3 with the first home game on Friday, Sept. 10 against Notre Dame High School, also at 7 p.m. (Photo by Rich Fisher.)
‘Old-school’ nonprofit helps keep Valley seniors well fed By Rich Fisher
Since the 1970’s, a little organization has been doing big things for Hopewell Township. Based on its acronym, you might even call it a big fish in a small pond. Friends In Service Here — a.k.a. FISH — of Hopewell Valley is a nonprofit organization that delivers prepared meals to homebound seniors and those of any age who are relegated to being home alone due to various circumstances. FISH is not affiliated with Meals on Wheels, which
receives government funding. The amazing organization runs completely on private donations as it serves residents of Hopewell Township and Borough, Pennington and Titusville. It is an entirely volunteer outfit, starting with co-coordinators Benita Wittenborn and Nella Hamtil and treasurer Terri Riley. The remaining volunteers deliver the meals. “This is the most neighborhood, grassroots community organization that ever was in Hopewell Township,” said Wittenborn, who went from
a volunteer in the early 2000’s to a coordinator 10 years ago. “We’re our own 501(c)3, our own little baby nonprofit. We’re kind of old school. We don’t even have a website.” Nearly everything goes by word of mouth, and right now the word on the street is that the FISH needs to be fed, as in it needs more volunteers to deliver meals. There are still approximately 30 folks offering their services once or twice a month, but that number has decreased from the pre-Covid 19 days. See FISH, Page 7
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Many towns within Mercer County saw varying levels of population growth over the last 10 years, according to information released last month by the U.S. Census Bureau. But there were two towns that didn’t grow at all—Lawrence Township and Hopewell Borough. Both towns, in fact, saw small decreases in population—an oddity for this area of Central New Jersey, which had experienced break-neck growth since the mid-1980s. The statistics come from the 2020 Census Redistricting Data Summary File, and they provide the first look at detailed information about where people were living as of April 1, 2020. Numbers are available for the nation, states and communities down to the block level. The report also contains information on Hispanic origin, race, age 18 and over, housing occupancy and group quarters. Overall, the report shows that people are increasingly living in cities and the surrounding areas. The population of U.S. metro areas grew by 9% from 2010 to 2020, resulting in 86% of the population living in U.S. metro areas in 2020, comSee CENSUS, Page 12
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