interviews by DOnALD H. sAnbOrn iii AnD Lynn ADAms smitH
Finding Joy and Appreciation Through Gratitude 14
new chefs in town by LAurie peLLicHerO
Richard Brower and Michael Perselay Join the Local Culinary Scene 23
vacation at home by iLene Dube
Fay and David Sciarra Preserved a 1791 Stone Cottage with a Contemporary Twist 30
book scene by stuArt mitcHner
A Holiday Survey of Luxury Coffee Table Books 40 for the love of trees by LAurie peLLicHerO
Princeton Artist Linda Zacks
Celebrates Nature with Visual Journal 46
on the cover: Art by Linda Zacks from Dear Tree, I Love You — A Visual Journal About Trees. holiday 2024
a long winter’s nap by tAyLOr smitH A Guide to Energy Conservation and Hibernation for Animals 52
holiday wish list by Lynn ADAms smitH 58, 59
exploring the latest breakthroughs in modern medicine by tAyLOr smitH 62
architect John notman by Anne Levin
Versatile and Prolific in Princeton and Beyond 70
princeton area community foundation by wenDy GreenberG
Collective Philanthropy Impacts
Those Close to Home and Hearts 78
J. Robert Hillier, Lh.D., FAIA
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Lynn Adams Smith
OPERATIONS DIRECTOR
Melissa Bilyeu
ART DIRECTOR
Jeffrey Edward Tryon
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Vaughan Burton
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Jeffrey Edward Tryon
Halkin/Mason Photography
EDITOR
Laurie Pellichero
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Ilene Dube
Wendy Greenberg
Anne Levin
Stuart Mitchner
Donald H. Sanborn III
Taylor Smith
ACCOUNT MANAGERS
Jennifer Covill
Tracey Sugar
Dear Readers,
As 2024 comes to a close, Americans are emotionally strained from the threats to our democracy, catastrophic hurricanes fueled by global warming, and concerns that wider wars are on the horizon.
I look forward to the promise of a new year, in hope that we can find strength in unity as we work towards resolving difficult conflicts, launching new initiatives, and responsibly rebuilding communities that are vulnerable to climate change disasters.
Instead of using this letter to provide insight into stories, I am taking the opportunity to announce my retirement as EditorIn-Chief of Witherspoon Media Group, and to share a bit of my own personal journey. It is a Princeton-centric story driven by family, perseverance, and fate.
After 27 years of working at Town Topics newspaper and 15 years of publishing Princeton Magazine , it’s time for me to step away. There are many people I want to thank but I need to begin with the early days, when Jeb Stuart and Bob Hillier expressed their trust and confidence in me.
In 1998 I was burnt out from working in New York City five days a week and having two elementary school-aged children back in Princeton. I felt the stress of living a double life; split between having a design business in Soho, and wanting to have dinner with my kids and attend their sports games and concerts.
On a cold day in February our nanny picked up my children at Community Park School, and during the drive home, the car was rear-ended on Rosedale Road.
town. Princeton reminded me of Ann Arbor, which I adored, and the close proximity to New York City was beneficial to my work.
I had been an avid fan of a community newspaper in Michigan called the Birmingham Eccentric, and Town Topics was far superior. Sadly, the Eccentric lost its charm when it was purchased by a large media group. I shared that story during my Town Topics interview with Jeb Stuart, and I believe it struck a chord.
Jeb was an old school newspaper man and used to say he had ink running through his veins. His father and uncle started the paper in 1946, and Jeb didn’t feel the need to modernize much.
When I first began working at Town Topics , there was no email and much of the staff used typewriters. The newspaper was assembled by cutting and pasting, which involved X-Acto knives, scissors, rulers, proportion wheels, and running strips of printed paper through a waxer. Every Tuesday we took turns driving the pasted-up pages to the printer located in Lakewood, which was over an hour away. When it was my turn to drive the paper, I got home around 11 p.m.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
I’ll never forget the phone call I received from an emergency room nurse at Princeton Hospital, explaining that my children seemed to be okay, but they were wearing neck braces out of an abundance of caution. The nanny was a few months pregnant and thankfully wasn’t hurt.
During the longest commute of my life, I made up my mind that I wasn’t going back to working in Manhattan.
Several days later I mustered up the courage to retrieve backpacks and other items from the car, which had been towed to Larini’s on Alexander Street. I was stunned to see the car crushed like a tin can and the shattered glass covering the seats.
The accident was a life-changing moment for me, and I was determined to find a new job in Princeton that was centered around the community.
The answer came on a Wednesday in the classified section of the Town Topics . They needed an advertising sales representative and I jumped at the opportunity.
I had just become aware of Town Topics years earlier, while living in Michigan and considering relocating to Princeton. I reached out to Callaway Real Estate and they mailed me a few copies of the newspaper to become better acquainted with the
The office occupied the first floor of 4 Mercer Street, which is an Empire-style brick building with a mansard slate roof. Many Princeton residents refer to the building as the “old Town Topics building” and are aware it was moved to its current location to make room for the Princeton Battle Monument.
Town Topics enjoyed a sweetheart lease with Princeton University, which owned the building, and consequently Jeb rarely asked for improvements or repairs. After we purchased the newspaper, chips of paint began dropping from the ceiling, and when I contacted the University, their records showed the office was last painted in the 1950s.
The building’s cavernous basement had remnants of horse stables and the apartments upstairs were vacant, other than the occasional family of squirrels. I ventured upstairs several times and the dusty rooms contained Victorian clawfoot bathtubs, old telephones, 1940s-era wallpaper, and Empire-styled crown moldings and fireplaces.
Despite the lack of proper heating and cooling, I was in awe of the building. The office was a beehive of activity and I became enamored with Town Topics for its history and role in the community.
The building was originally occupied by Priest’s Pharmacy, and a senior coworker said her father once worked delivering prescriptions on his bike.
When Jeb was a teenager, old Mrs. Priest lived upstairs with her nurse. Jeb liked to tell the story of how Mrs. Priest would occasionally fall out of bed and the nurse would ask for Jeb’s help in lifting her back into bed.
The story about Mrs. Priest was just one of many colorful eccentricities. The group of women who ruled the front of the office played a game of using the alias name of Betty, just in case a patron called Jeb with a complaint about one of them. The women also had strong opinions about keeping the price of classified ads low and voiced their disappointment with the closure of Lahiere’s Restaurant and Micawber Books.
They were appalled when Thomas Sweet stopped selling ice cream in Palmer Square and chuckled at Edith’s sexy lingerie ads. An office romance, which the ladies pretended not to notice, was memorable when it abruptly ended with a vivid display of drama.
On the anniversary of Cissy Stuart’s unsolved murder, a dark cloud hung over the office when the Trentonian newspaper called Jeb for a quote about his mother’s death.
Every Wednesday, well before dawn, the papers were delivered into our garage. Carriers sat in their cars in all sorts of weather — rolling and wrapping rubber bands around the papers they threw into driveways. It wasn’t uncommon for weary carriers to nap on the floor of Jeb’s office before heading off to their primary jobs. Everyone respected the carriers and Jeb appreciated their tenacity.
Some papers were delivered by mail and they were tossed through a window into the office, where Jeb used a vintage contraption to label them. The labels were printed the day before using a noisy dot matrix printer that had a tendency to jam.
Printed labels were fed through the heavy metal device which had a long arm that Jeb pumped while a helper passed him papers and refilled the glue using an old baby bottle.
A certain tempo was required to ensure a steady pace, and Jeb had it down to a science. After the papers were labeled, they were passed through the window again, and Jeb hauled them to the Princeton Post Office at Carnegie Center.
As time passed, the rhythm of my life echoed the newspaper’s production schedule. I became very comfortable with deadlines but dreaded nor’easters and power outages. During snowstorms, Jeb put staff up at the Nassau Inn to make sure that we got the paper out. During an extended power outage, we ran long extension cords through the windows of the composing room to our nice neighbors at the Nassau Club, because they had backup generators.
It didn’t take long before I was smitten with this quirky little jewel of a business and I asked my lawyer, Shawn Neufeld, to call Jeb and inquire if he would entertain selling. It was a bold move given I didn’t have the money.
Jeb had been dealing with serious health issues and his children did not want to take over the business. After much soul searching, he agreed to sell.
Next, I needed a loan and went to every bank in town. It quickly became apparent that banks were only willing to base a loan on my assets. The business only had one asset — its name.
The process left him covered with newsprint and extremely satisfied that another issue “was a wrap.” After getting cleaned up, Jeb frequently enjoyed a Wednesday afternoon round of golf at Bedens Brook Club.
During the early days, residents would stop by the office asking to look through the leather-bound volumes of past issues in search of old articles, birth announcements, or obituaries. Oddly enough, the bound volumes were stored in a tall bookcase in the ladies’ room and a ladder was required to get them down. Jeb was more than happy to retrieve the requested volumes and bring them into the front office where the visitors sat and browsed through the old papers. (Today, Town Topics’ digital archives can be accessed at the Princeton Public Library.)
On a daily basis, we provided out-of-town visitors with a wealth of information about local history, and the most frequent inquiry was for the address of Albert Einstein’s house.
Not willing to give up, I invited the staff to meet at the old Princeton Public Library and asked them to invest. A few agreed but I was still short, so I connected with a highprofile media executive who lived in the Western Section.
Sitting in his living room with his children quietly playing games on the floor, I complimented him on his elegant stone house. I remember him responding that a number of the bathrooms didn’t function because the repairs required chiseling through stone walls.
After sharing the financials with the executive, I was devastated when he attempted to solely purchase Town Topics and cut me out of the deal. I thought it was over and was contemplating my next move when, to everyone’s surprise, Jeb declined the executive’s offer.
That is when Bob Hillier came into the picture and saved the day!
Early on a Saturday morning we met at Sneddon’s Luncheonette on Bridge Street in Lambertville and he agreed to invest, while enjoying eggs and toast. (Years later, the media executive said it all worked out as it should have.)
When I dove head first into modernizing the business, I received painful resistance from some of the longtime staff. I wished them luck as they left, and over the years they understood the changes were necessary for the survival of the paper.
At a certain point, my marriage fell apart and my former husband tried to convince Bob that he was more qualified than me to be publisher of the newspaper. During that time, Bob had over 300 employees at his firm on Alexander Road and he sent over his consulting corporate psychologist to interview the Town Topics staff and evaluate the workplace. The psychologist
reported back and Bob told my former husband that he needed to find his own job at a different company. I couldn’t have wished for a better business partner or a more supportive friend.
When my children became teenagers, they delivered newspapers and I believe it instilled in them a strong work ethic, which they still possess today as adults. They both value journalism and went on to become published authors.
Bob and I were excited to acquire Princeton Magazine, which came as a “cold call” from a high school classmate of Bob’s. It took Bob 10 seconds to say “Yes!” The magazine enables us to better celebrate Princeton’s vibrant culture. It was a good fit for me from the start, drawing from my career experiences in New York City, and from my time working with Michael Graves. The previous version of Princeton Magazine had been simply a social, “who’s having dinner with whom,” and you could even pay to have your picture on the cover.
The magazine’s in-depth articles, photography, and layouts provided Bob with the opportunity to share insights about the community where he was raised, having come from Canada at the age of 3.
Princeton Magazine will be publishing an article in 2025 on his new home on Lake Carnegie, which has been a labor of love over the past two years. The home will be a “net zero carbon” house, in that it will generate its own energy through solar and geothermal means. The house represents a new chapter for him and I’ve heard tidbits about his mother’s George Nakashima dining table and a vintage pool table gifted to him by a former
Princeton University classmate. I can’t wait to see the images and read the article!
For the next chapter for Witherspoon Media Group, I am pleased to announce that Laurie Pellichero has been promoted to Editor-In-Chief, Melissa Bilyeu will take on additional responsibilities in her role as Director of Operations, Sarah Teo will be responsible for the magazine’s Well-Designed Life pages, and Jeff Tryon will continue his magic as Art Director. I will continue my own personal involvement in the magazine as an Editorial Advisor to its Editorial Board.
I will be forever grateful to Bob and Barbara Hillier and would like to also extend heartfelt thanks to our talented and hard-working staff. I consider you all to be my extended family and I can’t begin to express the joy you have brought me, and the pride I have taken in publishing Town Topics and Princeton Magazine .
I wish you all a happy and healthy holiday.
Respectfully yours,
Lynn Adams Smith Editor-In-Chief
Christmas Services and Events at the Princeton University Chapel
All performances are free and open to the public. No tickets required.
Candlelight Service of Lessons and Carols
December 4th at 7:30pm
Princeton University Chapel
A service of readings and music for Advent and Christmas, featuring the Chapel Choir and Princeton University a cappella groups.
A Yuletide Feast for Organ and Brass
December 8th at 2:30pm
Princeton University Chapel
University Organist Eric Plutz is joined by Timberdale Brass in a concert highlighting music for brass quintet, organ solo, and combined forces. The program will include several opportunities for the audience to join in singing Christmas carols.
Annual Messiah Sing
December 9th at 7:30pm
Princeton University Chapel
Community sing-along with organ, strings, and trumpet, featuring soloists from the Chapel Choir. Bring a score or borrow one at the door.
Christmas Eve Worship Service
December 24th at 8pm
Musical prelude at 7:30pm
Princeton University Chapel
Join us in the magnificent University Chapel for a very special Christmas Eve Worship Service. Music performed by the Princeton University Christmas Eve Choir with Nicole Aldrich, Director of Chapel Music, and with Eric Plutz, University Organist.
Christmas Day Worship Service
December 25th at 11am
Princeton University Chapel
Join us in the magnificent Princeton University Chapel for a Christmas Day Worship Service. Music performed by Jennifer Borghi '02, soprano, and Eric Plutz, University Organist.
For more information visit: chapel.princeton.edu
Photo by: Ricard Trenner ‘70
THANKFULNESS
Finding Joy and Appreciation Through Gratitude
As the holidays approach, Princeton area religious leaders, mentors, and scholars share their thoughts on thankfulness and hopes for the new year.
Interviews by Donald H. Sanborn III and Lynn Adams Smith | Stained glass by Tiffany Studios
Lance Liverman
I am thankful for so many things. Let’s begin with the basic items we take for granted. I am thankful for life. The list goes on and we must include family (especially my wife and children), friends, church members, neighbors, mentors, dedicated work contractors, and great tenants.
I am grateful for the many residents of Princeton that continue to have their hands open to help others. Princeton is a loving and giving community. It’s easy to pass the blame to others for not helping. But in Princeton, I am so grateful to all of the people and organizations that help our less fortunate.
My belief is you can measure the greatness of a town by how that town helps the less fortunate. Princeton is truly trying and the accomplishments are proof of a caring town. I am thankful to live in Princeton.
I am hoping that 2025 brings all of us peace and prosperity in health, finances, family relationships, and a renewed spirit of volunteering. My dream is that no child in the world, but especially in Princeton, would go to bed hungry and that everyone who wants housing will find housing at the rate they can afford to pay.
Health care has been an obstacle for so many. I would love to work on a path to help expand the Penn Medicine Medical Center free clinic program.
We truly have so much to be thankful for in Princeton. Let us continue to come together as friends to make Princeton the greatest town in the United States.
Rev. Tayler Necoechea
This fall my church (PUMC) is talking about spiritual gifts. I believe that every single person has a gift which is used to help bring God’s light, justice, and mercy into the world.
Spiritual gifts include (but are not limited to) compassion, exhortation, giving, hospitality, and faith. These gifts can be used to make sure everyone is fed, to see that the most vulnerable among us are cared for, and that everyone finds a place of belonging.
Naming and claiming our gifts is much easier said than done. It is vulnerable as it challenges our (sometimes low) view of ourselves. We ask questions like, “Can God really use someone like me?” On top of that, we don’t always get it right even when we do know our gifts.
Sometimes we get caught in the busyness of our lives and forget our mission of loving and caring for our neighbor. But I see so many of my church members really embracing this call to learn about themselves so they can bring God’s justice and mercy into the world in a way only they can. I am not sure what will come of this work, but I know that it will be something meaningful.
I find a lot of joy as I anticipate hearing about their gifts and the ways they live into God’s call on their lives. And, I will continue to remind them that we do not do this work alone. We are always better together!
Lance Liverman was born and raised in Princeton and met his wife and raised their three children here. The owner of Liverman Associates real estate company, he served on the Princeton Township Committee and Princeton Council for 15 years, and on numerous boards for and in Princeton. He has been of service for decades to First Baptist Church of Princeton on John Street.
The Rev. Tayler Necoechea is the associate pastor for children’s and adult formation ministries at Princeton United Methodist Church (PUMC) on Vandeventer Avenue. She completed her M.Div. at Princeton Theological Seminary.
Princeton University. A graduate of Howard University, Duke University Divinity School, and Wesley Theological Seminary, she is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church. She is involved with the Princeton community through student engagement, pastoral care, overseeing religious programs, and regularly preaching at the Princeton University Chapel.
Rabbi Dovid Dubov is the director and rabbi of the Chabad Lubavitch of Greater Mercer County. Dubov, along with his wife Malky, have devoted the last 34 years providing spiritual education, prayer, and friendship to all those who call Chabad of Princeton their spiritual anchor and home.
Rev. Dr. Theresa S. Thames
For the past seven years, I’ve ended nearly every email with the words, “With gratitude, Theresa.” Though I can clearly define gratitude, writing this reflection stirs something deeper in me about its usage.
I remember the evolution of talk shows and the self-help movement in ’80s pop culture when words like “spirit” and “gratitude” became widely used beyond religious spaces. At that time, people were encouraged to keep gratitude journals, where they ended each day by listing what they were grateful for in their lives. While the practice was helpful for some, it led others to the theologically dangerous belief that favorable circumstances reflect being one of God’s “favorites.”
Gratitude goes beyond social posts of vacations, new homes, and honor roll ceremonies followed by #Blessed. As author and theologian Kate Bowler notes, thanksgiving is often reduced to a display of privilege. Yes, I thank God for an inviting home, overall good health, and supportive community. Still, I also recognize suffering and inequality, which I cannot ignore. We live in a society that often demands happiness and toxic positivity, which forces us to overlook pain and injustice in favor of “feeling good.” However, naming the hard truths of inequality, lack of empathy, and division is an extension of and just as important as giving thanks.
As I look into next year, I pray that gratitude leads to genuine relationships, not to “fix” others but to journey alongside one another with care. I also pray that we move beyond hoarding personal blessings so that generosity ensures every person has daily bread and more. May my gratitude move me towards compassion, kindness, and more profound love for my neighbors and strangers alike.
Rabbi Dovid Dubov
We, the American citizenry, are a thankful lot. Our calendar is dotted with days when we express our gratitude to various individuals and entities. On Veterans Day, we thank the members of the Armed Forces for their dedicated service. On Memorial Day, we show our gratitude to those courageous men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice while defending our liberties and democratic lifestyle. On Labor Day, we express our appreciation to the industrious American workforce, the people who keep the wheels of our economy turning. On other selected days, we pause to thank different historic individuals who have made valuable contributions to our nation.
As Jews, we always look to the Torah (Bible) for a deeper perspective. What light does the Torah shed on the wonderful trait of thankfulness?
And then there is Thanksgiving. The day when we thank G-d for enabling all the above — and for all else He does for us.
There is no doubt that this great country’s historically unprecedented success and prosperity is because its Founding Fathers recognized that there is a Supreme Being who provides and cares for every creature. They understood that since our G-d sustains and gives life to every being, it follows that every being has certain “unalienable rights” upon which no government can impinge.
These strong morals upon which our republic was founded express themselves to this day in American life. Looking at the dollar bill and seeing “In God We Trust” is a reassurance that, as a people, we still recognize and acknowledge the source of all our achievements.
As Jewish citizens of this land, we always look to the Torah for a deeper perspective and additional insight. What light does the Torah shed on the wonderful trait of thankfulness? Our gratitude to G-d must express itself in the actions of our daily life, creating a perfect world, one good deed at a time!
The Rev. Dr. Theresa S. Thames is the dean of Religious Life and the Chapel at
Rabbi Jay M. Kornsgold
I am thankful for my family and friends. It is wonderful to be able to spend time with them in each other’s homes and when we go out. I am also thankful for my congregation and for the special and warm place that we have built together. I am also grateful to all those in our larger community who have provided support to the Jewish community after the horrific attack and massacre that Hamas perpetrated on Israel on October 7, 2023.
My hope for this upcoming year is that we will come together as a nation and learn, once again, how to talk with one another especially when we do not agree. There is more that unites us than divides us and we should never lose sight of that. I hope that the 101 hostages that continue to remain in Gaza come home. I also hope that this is the year that the Eagles win the Super Bowl, and the Phillies win the World Series.
Rev. Robert Moore
As we draw toward the end of 2024, I am grateful for many blessings. Certainly, one of the top ones is my wonderful family. My wife and I are so fortunate to have had our 50th wedding anniversary in June, and our family has grown to include three children, two daughters-in-law, and four grandchildren; the most recent was born in March.
All of them live within a 75-minute drive of our home in Princeton. I feel deep gratitude each time we gather with our family members, and especially when our entire clan is together for holidays, birthdays, etc.
I am also grateful for having served as executive director of the Coalition for Peace Action for 43 years, as of September. We have an outstanding team of excellent volunteer leaders, along with members and supporters who contribute to sustaining our office and staff. I’m also grateful that we found a warm and well-located new office space at the rear of Princeton United Methodist Church starting in February.
I’m grateful that, with the wonderful support mentioned above, we have had many successful peace events, many of them in person and on Zoom, and others only online. I’m also grateful for the success of our Peace Voter Campaign that included seven Candidate Briefings for candidates in targeted races, as well as Peace Voter Guides that were widely distributed during the primary and general elections.
My hope for the new year is that we will become more empowered to be effective peacemakers. With major wars in Ukraine and the Middle East not moving toward an end, and a new nuclear arms race emerging, the challenges in the new year are daunting. But inspired by the age-old vision of Peace on Earth that is part of this Season of Peace, I pray we can overcome!
Rabbi Jay M. Kornsgold has been the spiritual leader of Beth El Synagogue in East Windsor since 1994. In addition to serving as Beth El’s rabbi, he is president of the Rabbinical Assembly (the international association of conservative rabbis), a past president of the Board of Rabbis of Princeton Mercer Bucks, and a past president of the WindsorHightstown Area Ministerium, which promotes interfaith communication.
The Rev. Robert Moore has served since 1981 as executive director of the Princeton-based Coalition for Peace Action. Moore has also served as part-time pastor of East Brunswick Congregational Church and as part-time co-pastor of Christ Congregation in Princeton. He is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ.
Rev. Christopher J. Dayton
This year has been a profound journey of renewal, both personally and within our parish community. Having taken the position of pastor in January, I have continually reflected on Jesus’ parable of the new wineskins (Luke 5:37-38). The parable reminds us that fresh outpourings of grace and new movements of the Spirit require new containers — new ways of thinking, acting, and being. This year has been about making space for that renewal, both in our hearts and within our community life. We have embraced new initiatives, adapted to change, and sought to be open to God’s transforming work among us.
As a pastor, I have seen firsthand the beauty of letting go of the old “wineskins” that no longer serve us and making room for the new. Whether it’s in our ministries, our relationships, or our personal faith journeys, God has been doing something fresh, breathing new life into areas that had grown stagnant. I am deeply thankful for the grace-filled moments of renewal that have occurred, and for the many ways our parish has embraced this vision.
the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, and served at St. Rose Parish, Belmar, before he was assigned as parochial vicar at St. Paul in June 2023.
Looking forward, we move into a year of hope, a theme called for by Pope Francis. In his message, Pope Francis reminds us that hope is not passive but active — it drives us to keep reaching out, to keep loving, and to keep believing in the goodness of God’s plan. My prayer for the coming year is that we, as a parish, continue to be people of hope. May we find new ways to serve, to grow in faith, and to be a source of light and encouragement to those around us. Together, let us embrace the year ahead with hearts full of hope, trusting that God’s promises never fail.
Dr. Naba Sharif is a boardcertified allergist and immunologist at Becker ENT/ Penn Medicine in Princeton and Monroe. She is the current president of the New Jersey Allergy Society and was the interfaith chair at the Muslim Center for Greater Princeton. Sharif is committed to community service, health education, empowerment, and advocacy for the underprivileged.
Dr. Naba Sharif
Ever since I lost my dear mother suddenly a few years ago, I have been reflecting over the continual juxtaposition of tragic and joyful events in life, especially as they have happened more recently in mine. These months increase the depth of this reflection manyfold. One of my mother’s favorite verses from the Quran notes that God says “If you are grateful, I will give you more” (Chapter Ibrahim, verse 7). What I have realized is that life is not meant to be an extreme or constant of happiness … or sadness. Those extremes lend themselves to forgetting our Creator or on the flipside, despair. Life is meant to make us reflect, to show gratitude, to be humble, to prioritize, to be measured, to show patience, to stay grounded, and to always, always remember and trust in the One. We don’t have to understand the “why’s” of things, but what we do have to do is persevere and always show thankfulness — both when things go well and when they don’t. And in this, there is tremendous beauty.
As a local physician, I am grateful for the privilege of being able to improve the quality of life of my patients and community. As the recent interfaith chair at the Muslim Center for Greater Princeton, I have been grateful for the opportunity to foster an understanding of shared human values and particularly our focus on service and social justice. As a mother of four young children, my hope is that we all can continue to sow seeds of engagement and goodness into this greater Princeton community that we are blessed to be a part of, for our collective well-being and for that of future generations.
The Rev. Christopher J. Dayton is pastor at St. Paul Parish, the Catholic Community of Princeton on Nassau Street. He was ordained in 2018 at St. Mary of
Andrew Chignell
I think of thankfulness as a disposition that is at least partly under our control — a kind of gratitude muscle that you can train until it becomes second nature. But the training is hard, and requires the willingness to turn your psychological focus to certain good-making features of your situation rather than others. (Later, if you’re really adept, you might be able to exercise the gratitude muscle in the face of what look like bad-making features too.) I’m still not very good at this myself; in the face of the various evils and injustices, not to mention my own daily setbacks and stressors, it’s easy to despair and become demoralized.
In 2024 we welcomed a healthy new baby, Isla J, into our family. Being thankful for a new human life, even during the 4 a.m. feedings and the teething agonies, is easy. What to expect regarding her future is unclear, especially during this warmest autumn on record, and after major political upheavals and conflicts across the globe. I’m partial to the view that what you hope for is at least as morally important as what you believe or expect. In our current situation (and also with respect to various religious doctrines) I’m often more of a hoper than a believer.
Andrew Chignell is Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor in the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University, with appointments in Religion and Philosophy. His work focuses on Immanuel Kant and other modern European philosophers, philosophy of religion, the moral psychology of hope and despair, aesthetics, and the ethics of belief.
Rabbi Benjamin Adler
In the Jewish tradition, expressing thanks is one of the basic parts of our religious language. The first prayer we recite each morning reads, “I give thanks to You living and everlasting Sovereign for You have restored my soul with mercy. Great is Your faithfulness.” We are obligated to look around the world and appreciate what we see, all of the many blessings in our lives. As the great 20th century Jewish philosopher Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote: “Get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted … To be spiritual is to be amazed.”
This spiritual attunement to the grandeur of the world is unique to human beings. We alone among all of the creatures can appreciate the world around us. What I am most thankful for is my ability to give thanks, to recognize that I have been given a gift, whether that is life, love, family, or health, which ultimately, I did not earn. In our morning prayers we thank God for the most basic of things, our very life, something that is so easy to take for granted. To live in thankfulness is to appreciate everything we have, large or small, the mundane and the amazing.
Rabbi Benjamin Adler has been the spiritual leader of Adath Israel Congregation in Lawrence Township since 2014. He has served as president of the Board of Rabbis of Princeton Mercer Bucks, vice president of the New Jersey Rabbinical Assembly, and worked with the New Jersey Muslim-Jewish Solidarity Committee and Clergy of Lawrence Township.
Q&A with William Burris, Managing Partner of Ristorante Lucca
Interview by Laurie Pellichero
What is the concept of Ristorante Lucca and what makes it unique?
I did not want to open just a restaurant! I wanted to open up something truly special. We did that at Ristorante Lucca, where our patrons can leave the “outside world” and step into a beautifully designed establishment that offers a fine dining experience along with world-class entertainment. I like to say that “everything we do, we do for you, our wonderful patrons,” and that is exactly what I, along with my wonderful staff, do each and every day, seven days a week. We are “A Restaurant Like No Other!”
What can diners expect of the cuisine?
The cuisine is led by world-renowned Chef Maurizio Peccolo, who has very high standards for his menu and presentation. It is authentic Italian cuisine, served by a first-class wait staff led by our General Manager Giuseppe Algeri, aka “Pino,” with some appetizers or entrees being made or served tableside. Our chef’s food is all homemade with nothing pre-made or frozen. You truly need to taste it to understand how incredible it is. He personally shops each week for the freshest fish, meats, and ingredients and everything served at the table is fresh and presented to his highest standards.
From Jazz Night on Thursdays to well known professional singers joining The Dean Schneider Trio such as Charlene Holloway, Eddie Bruce, Paula Johns, or Carl Jenkins, there is always something special on our Piano Lounge stage. And each month we have a very popular Sinatra Night featuring Bruce Klauber.
Can you accommodate groups for special events and holiday parties?
Our stunningly beautiful Caterina de’ Medici private dining room can accommodate private family and business events as well as holiday parties. Seating up to 75, the fine dining experience is the same, and our director of special events, Shannon Sundstrom, works to make each event unique and special and exceed the vision of our clients.
How has Ristorante Lucca been received since its opening? Are reservations required?
Our patron reviews have been outstanding! We are honored to be an ongoing “OpenTable Diners’ Choice’” award winner. We also have created special events each month that patrons love to attend such as Ladies’ Night and our Wine Dinner parties. Reservations are preferred, but not required. We hope to see you soon!
What entertainment do you provide in the Piano Lounge?
Our director of music and entertainment, Dean Schneider, puts together an incredible lineup of musicians and performers.
Ristorante Lucca
144 US Highway 130 South, Bordentown 609.262.0110; ristorantelucca.com
William Burris
ExpEriEncE a frEsh twist on indian strEEt food & cocktails
homEmadE masalas & chutnEys • fan favoritEs & fusion dishEs
New Chefs i N Tow N
Richa R d B R owe R and Michael Pe R selay
Join the l ocal c ulina R y s cene
By LauRie PeLLiCHeRo
The recent opening of the Graduate by Hilton Princeton hotel on Chambers Street and the long-awaited reopening of Triumph Restaurant & Brewery in its new location on Palmer Square have brought more delicious culinary options for area diners and beyond.
Here we meet their chefs, who also share some of their favorite recipes.
Richa R d B R owe R
Michael Pe R selay
richard brower photo by jeffrey e. tryon; michael perselay photo courtesy of triumph restaurant & brewery.
Richard Brower
Ye Tavern Restaurant and Bar at the Graduate by Hilton Princeton features a a menu of elevated pub favorites and unique pre-Prohibition era cocktails in a relaxed atmosphere. Its name comes from a storied restaurant that once occupied the same site in the 1930s.
Richard Brower, executive chef at Ye Tavern, has been working in professional kitchens for more than 30 years. A graduate of Johnson and Wales University, Brower has honed his culinary talents in restaurants in New York, New Jersey, Florida, and the Cayman Islands. He says he is proud to have been a part of a team that was awarded four stars from the New York Times and three stars from the Michelin Guide. He has led teams that have been awarded five diamonds from AAA, as well as earned accolades from GQ, Conde Nast Traveler, Forbes, Travel and Leisure, and Philadelphia magazine, among others. Brower continues to develop and find new ways to improve his culinary skills.
( Photos by Andrew Frasz )
photo by jeffrey
Pan Roasted Salmon with Smoky Bacon Broth, White Beans, and Cabbage
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 7 oz. salmon filets, skin on
2 lbs. smoked bacon: 1 lb. chopped up for the broth, the other half cut into 1-inch strips
2 small onions: 1 ½ diced medium, ½ cut into ¼-inch-wide strips
3 small carrots: 2 peeled and diced medium, 1 peeled and cut into ¼-inch dice
3 leeks: 1 chopped medium, 1 julienned very fine, 1 cut into strips about ½-inch wide
3 stalks celery: 2 cut and diced medium, 1 peeled and cut on the bias into ¼-inch wide pieces
8 fingerling potatoes, cooked through, skin on, and then cooled and cut into ½-inch pieces
1 tablespoon parsley, washed and chopped very fine
10 cloves garlic, sliced
2 quarts chicken stock
2 small bouquet garni (thyme, parsley stems, and bay leaf)
½ cup garlic, roughly chopped
1 ripe beefsteak tomato, chopped up
½ small head of savoy cabbage, cut into strips
½ cup cannellini beans, soaked overnight
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
½ lemon, for squeezing
Salt and white pepper
Drain the soaked beans and place them in a pot with plenty of water. Place 1 tablespoon each of diced celery, diced carrot, diced celery, and garlic. Add one bouquet garni and let cook until beans are tender. Add salt to season and let cool.
In a small rondeau, render smoked bacon until brown and crisp. Pull bacon from pot and put aside to cool for future use.
Add medium diced onion, carrot, celery, cabbage, leeks, and bouquet garni. Sauté all together until tender, add garlic and cook.
Add chicken stock, bring to a simmer. Let cook until very aromatic and flavorful. Set aside to cover and steep for 30 minutes.
Sweat the onions in extra virgin olive oil with a little of the broth and some water. When tender, add the cabbage and wilt lightly. Blanch the carrots and celery in boiling salted water. Fry the finely julienned leeks in oil until crispy. Let cool on paper towel. Season with a little salt and chopped parsley.
Preheat an oven to 450F.
Sauté the salmon in pan skin side down until browned, turn the salmon and place in the preheated oven for five minutes.
While in the oven heat the blanched celery, carrots, fingerling potatoes, cabbage and onion, 4 tsp. of the reserved browned bacon, and cooked white beans in the strained bacon broth. Spoon the vegetables into the center of a dinner bowl, top with cooked salmon, and add the broth around the vegetables in the bowl. Pour a little extra virgin olive oil, squeeze a little lemon into the broth, and top with the fried leeks. Serve.
Lemon Parmesan Risotto
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 cup arborio risotto
2 oz. shallots, minced
1 preserved lemon, white pith removed, minced and blanched three times
2 quarts vegetable stock/broth
Bouquet garni (thyme, bay leaf, parsley)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half
1 cup white wine
1 oz. extra virgin olive oil
½ oz. unsalted butter
½ lemon, for juice
6 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated fine
3 tablespoons parsley, washed and chopped fine
In a large straight-sided sauté pan sweat the shallots and garlic in the olive oil and butter. Meanwhile, heat the vegetable stock in a sauce pot. Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Once the shallots are tender, add the preserved lemon and bouquet garni. Cook about two minutes and then add the rice. Turn the rice with a wood spoon or rubber spatula until well coated with oil and butter. Cook for about two minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the white wine. Continue to stir the rice as it cooks and starts to get creamy.
Once the wine is cooked out, start to add the stock in increments of about 3-4 oz. for 20 minutes. Once the 20 minutes is up, pour the rice mix onto the lined sheet pan and set to cool in the refrigerator.
When ready to serve, heat with more vegetable stock until you have reached al dente. Finish with lemon juice and the Parmesan cheese.
Serve with chopped parsley and grated Parmesan.
photo by jeffrey e. tryon
Michael Perselay
Michael Perselay, executive chef of Triumph Restaurant & Brewery, was born in Newark and followed in his family’s footsteps majoring in constitutional law at Fairleigh Dickinson University before realizing that his true professional calling would focus on food and his love of preparing it. He began his culinary career at Chez Catherine’s, a four-star French restaurant in Westfield, under the tutelage of renowned French Chef Catherine Alexandrou. Since then, he has spent more than 40 years working in professional kitchens. His first helm was at Riverstreet in Hoboken, where he and his staff hit the forefront of Regional American Cuisine with high accolades in the mid-1980s.
As chef /proprietor, Perselay opened La Maison des Poëles in Peapack in 1989. He earned four stars and it was rated in the top 10 restaurants in New Jersey by the New York Times. Perselay also owned Zoota Eclectic American Cuisine in Phillipsburg and was the executive chef at numerous restaurants in New Jersey and New York City. He was the original chef for Triumph Brewing Company in 1995, and now brings his talents and experience to the new location.
( Photos courtesy of Triumph Restaurant & Brewery )
Cod and White Beans
Serves 4
4 6 oz. portions of cod
4 oz. butter, cut into 4 slices
4 oz. white wine
4 oz. breadcrumbs/panko
2 oz. butter
Melt the 2 oz. of butter and stir into the panko/breadcrumbs, set aside. Place cod on a tray or in a pan, place the crumb mix on top of all four pieces of fish. Top each with butter slice, pour wine in the pan, and set aside.
6 plum tomatoes, cut in half length wise
3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
2 oz. olive oil
Salt and pepper
Cut the tomatoes, add to a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and toss well. Place on a tray or in a pan cut side down. Place in the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool enough to peel the skins off and discard.
2 cans of precooked cannellini beans, drained and washed
4 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade (sliced thin)
3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped fine
2 oz. white wine
2 oz. butter
Salt and pepper
Add all to a pan and cook until just hot, do not cook out the liquid.
Plating:
Place the cod in the oven; cook for about 12 minutes or until the crumbs are golden brown. While the cod is cooking, heat the beans and tomatoes on the stove. Separate into four bowls, reserving the tomatoes. Place the cod on top of the beans and top with the tomatoes, three pieces on each. Place a small pinch of micro greens on each and serve.
Sweet and Salty Pears with Whipped Honey and Fromage Blanc
Serves 4
4/5 pears of your choosing 1 tablespoon sea salt 6 oz. sugar
Cut the pears by four, then cut the seeds off and cut the quarters in half, lengthwise. Place all in a large bowl and toss with the salt and sugar and roast in the oven at 350 degrees for 18 minutes or until just soft. Cool the pears.
In a mixer fitted with the paddle, place 6 oz. of honey and whip until thick. Add 12 oz. of fromage blanc or substitute (crème fraiche). Whip until thick.
4 oz. toasted hazelnuts, crushed
Freshly ground coarse black pepper
Fresh honey
Micro greens if available
Plating:
Place the five pear segments in a row on the near side of the plate, point-in point-out pattern. Take a large spoon and dip it in hot water. Roll the spoon in the cheese mix along the edge to make an egg shape and place the cheese in the center of the pears. Sprinkle with the hazelnuts and grind the fresh pepper on top. Drizzle a little honey and place a pinch of micro greens on top of the cheese and serve.
( Photo courtesy of Triumph Restaurant & Brewery )
Q&A with Joseph Giamarese and Vivian Hung, Founders and Principals of Global Home Interiors
Interview by Laurie Pellichero
What is your background, and what led you to start Global Home Interiors?
We both had careers in advertising and fashion with companies like BMW, De Beers, Calvin Klein, and Vogue magazine. We were entrenched in the corporate world but felt a growing desire for something more, which led to a life-changing trip around the world in 2000-2001. During our travels through 21 countries, we stumbled upon an antique collector in a small village in Bali. It was in that dusty warehouse, surrounded by beautiful artifacts — that was when the seed of Global Home was planted.
However, the allure of our previous corporate lives was strong, and were pulled back into that world. Then September 11, 2001, changed everything for us. The uncertainty that followed made us realize that our dreams of traveling and sourcing beautiful items weren’t whimsical fantasies, they were essential pursuits that we needed to chase before it was too late.
What steps did you take after that turning point?
With plane tickets in hand and a bit of money saved up, we returned to that antique collector in Bali. We filled up a shipping container with unique items and brought them back to the U.S. In 2003, we opened our first storefront in the Catskills. That was just the beginning.
Did Global Home grow from there?
Yes — that single storefront quickly grew into three brick-andmortar locations (the last one in the Flatiron District in New York City), an e-commerce shop, and an interior design firm. Each step was driven by our passion for sourcing unique home goods and creating beautiful spaces. We realized that our backgrounds in advertising, fashion, and luxury brands provided us with the skills to market and position our brand effectively.
renovation project management, and decorative materials/ furnishings specifications.
What truly distinguishes us is our trademarked Design DNA process. This method allows us to dive deep into the design aspirations of our clients, ensuring that every design is not only unique but also perfectly aligned with their vision. We believe that each project deserves a personalized touch, and this process enables us to create designs that resonate deeply with our clients.
We also work hand-in-hand with renovation experts to ensure that the execution of our designs meets the high standards we uphold. We advocate for our clients throughout the entire process, ensuring that everything runs smoothly, and that the final product exceeds their expectations.
What services does your company provide, and what sets you apart from other design firms?
Now we are a full-service interior design firm and an online retailer of curated fine furnishings. Our mission is to deliver a comprehensive range of services tailored to both residential and commercial spaces. This includes custom interior design,
How has your process contributed to your success?
After 20 years in the industry, we’ve refined our approach to where we’re confident in our ability to deliver exceptional service and creative solutions. This longevity has allowed us to build strong relationships with our clients, many of whom become lifelong partners in design. We pride ourselves on not just meeting but exceeding their needs, which is what keeps them coming back to us.
Can you share some recent projects you’ve worked on?
We recently completed renovations in Skillman and in New York City in which we’re particularly proud of the kitchen because it won a national kitchen design award. Currently, we’re engaged in an exciting full-home design project in Miami. Locally, we’re working on a townhouse in downtown Princeton, and designing a 10,000-square-foot office space in Manhattan. In 2025 there are potential projects in Philadelphia and at the Shore. Each project presents its own unique challenges and opportunities, and we love bringing our clients’ visions to life!
For more information, call 212.253.5352, email design@globalhomeny.com, or visit globalhomeinteriors.com.
Vacation at home
By Ilene DuBe
Fay and david Sciarra Preserved a 1791 Stone cottage with a contemporary twist
photos By jeffrey e. tryon anD halkIn/mason photography
For nearly 30 years, Fay and David Sciarra would drive to Stockton, with its rolling vistas and farmland, to spend time with their friend David Holman.
Holman, once a sought-after New York City interior designer, retreated to the countryside when his passions veered toward restoring old homes and estates. In the 18th-century stone farmhouse he lived in, it was more about preserving it as it was. “He wanted to keep its integrity and charm,” recounts Fay.
Holman lavished his attention on the garden, and when the Sciarras came to visit he would take them on tours of his perennials. It was from Holman, Fay says, that she learned everything she knows about gardening.
The Sciarras never imagined that, after Holman’s death at age 83, they would come to live in the house and nurture its garden and expand it, propagating the mature plantings in new beds around the redesigned courtyard and stone patio.
Fay, an artist and co-owner of Umbrella home decor and antiques in Hopewell, and David, a civil rights attorney who headed the Education Law Center in Newark (he was integral in the landmark Abbott decision that compelled New Jersey schools to reduce inequalities in its funding), had been happily living in Lawrenceville. Their previous home, a pink Tudor, was filled with Fay’s curated collection of antiques and her own artwork. Architect Ron Berlin had designed her studio in a space over the garage, a sort of treehouse with raw birch handrails leading up to an aerie. With its clawfoot tub and vintage appliances, it served as setting and subject for many of her early works, often in verre églomisé, or reverse painting on glass.
The Sciarras’ Lawrenceville home, garden, and studio were featured in the coffee table book Sacred Spaces: Princeton Parties, Gatherings, and Celebrations (2004), with photographs by Ricardo Barros, and their residence was a popular choice for house swaps — the Sciarras offered it in exchange for trips to Aix-en-Provence, Morocco, Barcelona, Venice, and most recently, Southeast Asia.
They raised two sons there, and Fay’s father — formerly of Florida — came to live with them for the last three years of his life. The house had many memories, but when the opportunity to buy Holman’s house on slightly shy of two acres abutting the Wickecheoke Creek Preserve arose, the couple did not dally.
The only problem was that the stone cottage, at 800 square feet, could not accommodate their contemporary lifestyle.
Fay knew George Akers, one of the two co-founders of Material Design Build (MDB). He had done a renovation of the front bar and production area at Small World Coffee (he is married to Small World co-owner Jessica Durrie), using locally sourced reclaimed wood; built a counter for CoolVines; and renovated the interior of Nomad Pizza in Hopewell. He also fabricated a parklet in front of
Small World; remodeled the Blawenburg Café; and created the outdoor patios and facilities at Ironbound Farm in Asbury.
“We never considered anyone else,” says Fay. “We both liked his aesthetic. I call it ‘Scandifornian’ — it’s modern, unfussy, all about the material.”
“Collaborating closely with the property’s owner, we embarked on a journey that artfully blended a deep respect for the past with our clients’ profound appreciation for modern architecture,” says the MDB website of the project. “We envisioned this as a restomod for a home, bridging the gap between history and contemporary living.”
Akers, who started out as a cabinet maker and considers New Jersey Barn Company’s Elric Endersby and Alex Greenwood mentors, makes it clear that he is not an architect. “We are facilitators,
our expertise is to listen to what the client is asking for and help them understand the practical aspects of construction, then work in tandem for agreeable elements within their budget,” says Akers. “Anything can be made beautiful with umpteen dollars but being clever about what you can accomplish within budget is the art of construction.”
The project was one he wanted to take on, Akers says, because “I’m always looking for the longevity of a project to the lives of its owners. It’s their forever home, they’re not building for resale. We can customize to their needs and not be subject to what a realtor would want to sell fast. I believe you should build with as much customization as budget allows and build better. That’s what makes it stand out.”
Both Sciarras stress that the project
photo by todd mason, halkin/mason photography
was a collaboration, and the combined visions of the parties is apparent throughout. Antiques from all over the world, sourced from Fay’s connections with dealers, abound. It’s as if the space was designed to fit the objects while, simultaneously, the objects seem to exist for the reason of being in those spaces.
The enormous triple-paned windows, imported from Poland, on all sides of the contemporary addition offer views into the woods, flooding the space with natural light and providing insulation.
Speaking of those views: one of Fay’s more recent paintings, Dawn, is a view at the Wickecheoke Preserve just as the world is coming into light. While the Sciarras have seen deer, fox, squirrels, birds, snakes, coyotes, and crickets, this fanciful view also includes raccoons, rabbits, owls, and more.
One of the challenges in building the new light-filled contemporary space was to not dwarf or overshadow the existing house that meant so much to them.
Akers had the idea to cut through the old thick stone wall to create a passageway with a stairway that was inspired by the stairway at Stuart County Day School of the Sacred Heart by Princeton University architecture professor Jean Labatut.
Architect J. Robert Hillier (publisher of Princeton Magazine ), then a student of Labatut, worked with him on the design of Stuart and that stairwell. Coincidentally,
Dahlia Garden, reverse painting on glass.
Calmly Abiding (self portrait), acrylic on panel.
Bathing is a theme that pervades both the artwork and the home of Fay Sciarra. The couple uses the outdoor shower in warmer weather.
Akers had built cabinets for one of Hillier’s homes.
“As a kid I had difficulties learning some things, but I had a near-photographic memory of architectural details,” says Akers. “I remembered running up and down those stairs at Stuart when my sister was going to school there, and how much fun it was.”
Recalling how the steps at Stuart were shallow so that, in the words of Hillier,
it looked like the nuns were just floating up the stairs, Akers arranged to visit the school to fact check his memory. What it inspired for the Sciarra home is a stairway made of blackened steel with deep treads that creates a sort of equality between the two spaces. It is set where you enter the house, experiencing the old and new at once.
On the terrace outside the door is an outdoor shower, which the couple uses
exclusively in the warm weather. It’s perfect after working in the garden — the couple does all the yardwork themselves — and a soak in the hot tub.
Bathing is a theme in Sciarra’s artwork, as well as her life. One of her older paintings was of an outdoor shower in Nantucket. Her earlier work also included self-portraits in her clawfoot tub. And there were tubs in the yard of the Lawrenceville home. Here, in
photo by todd mason, halkin/mason photography
Fantasy Loft , collage on cello.
addition to the outdoor shower, there are sleek modern tubs in both her studio and the master bedroom, as well as a large shower area with no enclosure. The couple uses them all.
The great room includes a living area with the aforementioned windows, the dining area, and the kitchen. Because everything can be seen in the room, the design includes storage and a large pantry so small appliances can be stowed out of sight. Even knobs and hardware have been eliminated to allow the eye to relax. All that occupies the counters, so they remain restful spaces for the eye, are a large wooden bowl and an enormous Birth of Venus scallop shell.
“I used to be the queen of clutter,” says Fay. “I run an antiques shop! I still love beautiful things but don’t have to have them all around me. I’ve learned to edit.”
David is the cook in the family. “He’ll wake up and read recipes,” says Fay.
One of his specialties is pho, the Vietnamese noodle soup, and while they were traveling in Thailand recently, he took cooking classes. He shops at local farms and makes everything from fish tacos to “an amazing brothy chowder made with corn and clams,” says his appreciative wife.
When David retired after two decades with the Education Law Center, the Star-
Ledger’s Tom Moran called him “the most influential New Jersey man you’ve never heard of,” a “hall-of-fame lawyer who has spent a quarter century winning Supreme Court cases on educational equity … to ensure a good education for all students, rich and poor ”
David still does consulting work but also takes the time to volunteer for the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, go on daily hikes, take yoga classes, ride his bike on back roads, and travel.
The couple’s older son Paul, 42, a founder of Pinterest and Joby Aviation, recently gifted his dad a ticket to the Democratic National Convention. “It was my first, and it was electrifying seeing Oprah, both Obamas, and Kamala and Tim,” recounts David.
In what the couple calls the old house — the original 1791 cottage — the fireplace gives off the scent of burning wood. With wood beams, pumpkin pine floors, and vintage furnishings, it offers a contrast in feeling to the large open great room. A magnificent, tufted leather sofa with a vintage worn look seems like it was born for the space.
From that room, one takes the “winders” — the winding wooden staircase — up to enter a heavenly and magical space: the studio. The walls are painted white, and it is lit with natural
light and track lighting in the beams. Because the space doubles as a guest room — younger son Sam, 30, a music producer, visits often — there is a Murphy bed and a bathroom. A stone sink is just outside the bathroom, and another smaller stone sink in the opposite corner is for washing brushes.
On the easel is a work in progress, based on the dahlia garden in the yard below. It is
photo by
mixed media on a vintage church window — a signature Fay Sciarra piece. In another work, an homage to her nana for whom she was named, is a fragment of an old reverse painting on glass she inherited. It was her introduction to the medium she has made her own.
All the while Fay had been running Umbrella, caring for her father, and working with a builder to create a one-of-
a-kind home, she has been painting. Her work is in the collection of the late Gloria Vanderbilt, among others. Vanderbilt discovered Sciarra’s work on 1stdibs. com and subsequently bought a second piece, a dress form sculpture. After that a correspondence ensued, and Vanderbilt became an Umbrella client. Among her purchases was a Hermès orange vintage desk. “She was a true inspiration,” says Sciarra, who created a reverse painting on glass and collage called Glorious Gloria.
During the pandemic she found herself, for the first time in her life, making abstract art — it was a kind of meditation for the practicing Buddhist. But now Sciarra has returned to the style for which she is known, often including assemblage with vintage elements, and the home offers numerous areas for its display. There’s a small gallery on the lower level of the connector, just before entering the master bedroom, and climate-controlled storage in the basement.
She likes to have a tub in the studio, Fay says, so she can soak, along with a glass of chardonnay, and ponder her work.
Holman’s ashes were laid to rest in the garden, and one can only imagine him watching over the changes, nodding in approval.
Studio 360, acrylic on found object.
The Voyage, acrylic on canvas.
“ROOMS YOU LOVE TO LIVE IN”
INTERIOR DESIGN
Foundation Academies Collegiate Charter High School Trenton, NJ
Charter School Campus Plan and Classroom/Cafeteria Buildings, Princeton, NJ
The Art of the Campus
A Holiday Survey of Luxury Coffee Table Books
By Stuart Mitchner
WWith the holiday season in mind, I’ve been surveying a formidable array of luxury coffee table books published by Abrams, Assouline, Phaidon, and Tachsen. My reason for beginning with Abrams isn’t merely alphabetical; it’s because the renowned poet, screenwriter, and novelist Marguerite Duras ( Hiroshima mon amour ) wrote the introduction to Yves Saint Laurent: Icons of Fashion Design & Photography (Abrams 2020).
While the Abrams press release calls the book “a gorgeous homage to the uncrowned king of haute couture,” Duras offers something more compelling. How does Saint Laurent go about doing what made him designer royalty? The penultimate paragraph of her introduction, from a 1987 essay, begins: “It is like a road. From the night of the intellect comes forth a road and to start the journey down that road one word is needed, or two:
‘hips,’ let us say, and ‘strut.’ Then the hips sway into motion along the road and the rest comes after: legs, arms, the top of the body — they rise out of those sinuous hips swathed in pink, the rest black or a wild blue or a secret red they call amarante, from Cayenne, like the flowers of the same name, like people, like Rimbaud, like Mozart.”
Duras ends with a last paragraph that could have been gleaned from one of her novels: “Sometimes I call Yves Saint Laurent by the name of another man. It happens in winter, at night, there is snow, and from behind a wall, and across time, someone who is not sleeping composes music to be sung.”
There you have the poet and the power. The publisher offers basic information: “An incredible collection of Yves Saint Laurent’s designs, beautifully captured by the leading fashion photographers of the 20th century.” This “indispensable coffee table book traces the success of Saint Laurent’s haute couture and ready-towear designs from 1962 to 1988 through
the lens of the world’s leading fashion photographers, including Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, William Klein, and more. Their lush photographs document Saint Laurent’s groundbreaking designs, as worn by the most beautiful women of the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, including Audrey Hepburn, Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton, Mounia, and Veruschka.”
c arolyn b essette k ennedy
The “beautiful women” offer a smooth transition to CBK: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy : A Life in Fashion (Abrams 2023) by Sunita Kumar Nair. The celebrity theme is underscored with a foreword by Gabriela Hearst, award-winning designer to First Lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, and a preface by Edward Enninful, OBE, editor-in-chief of British Vogue, who says the book offers “a chance for us — her fashion family — to honor her legacy and what she left behind: her class, her dignity, and of course, her timeless style.”
CBK includes never-before-published personal anecdotes from friends and family as well as tributes from Graydon Carter, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Manolo Blahnik, Wes Gordon, and Tory Burch, who comments: “Carolyn Bessette Kennedy defined the understated cool of the ’90s. She had an effortless and laidback approach that looks as stylish and chic today as it did then.”
Assouline’s PA nther
Founded in 1994 by Prosper and Martine Assouline, Assouline has published more than 1,700 titles on subjects including architecture, art, design, fashion, gastronomy, lifestyle, photography, and travel. Among the most striking cover art featured here is Assouline’s Cartier Panthère (2015). According to the publisher, “the panther is the proud leader of the pack of precious animals that make up the famous Cartier menagerie. No other creature or jewel is quite so indissolubly and emotively connected to outstanding 20th-century women of style, to ideals of modern femininity.... A symbol of power, seduction, and triumph since ancient times, the image of the panther never fails to arouse fantasies and dreams.”
Cartier Panthère includes articles by art historian Bérénice Geoffroy-Schneiter, jewelry historian Vivienne Becker, jewelry expert Joanna Hardy, and fashion editor André Leon Talley. The book also chronicles the panther in art history, the evolution of Cartier panther jewels, the techniques involved in creating them, and the influence of the panther in fashion, design, and popular culture, along with a chronology of 100 years of Cartier panther jewels.
Introduced by historian Nicholas Foulkes, Louis Vuitton Manufactures (Assouline 2022) features commissioned photographs that showcase Louis Vuitton’s manufacturing locations and the artisans who bring their creations to life. The book fosters the idea that an atelier can be a place of fulfillment and individuality, where “savoir-faire can be learned, respected, and transmitted — and innovation nurtured — by artisans who routinely challenge the image of a traditional workshop.” There are Louis Vuitton ateliers throughout France and beyond, from Switzerland to Italy and even Texas. Featuring photographs commissioned exclusively for this book, the volume showcases the artisans who express their talent through Vuitton’s creations (trunks, bags, fragrances, watches, shoes, high jewelry, and readyto-wear), while carrying the founder’s techniques into the 21st century. Louis Vuitton Manufactures is dedicated to the ateliers and the people who work there.
A Be Autiful l ife
Estée Lauder: A Beautiful Life (Assouline 2021) is crafted like a personal album with the help of Lauder’s granddaughters, Aerin and Jane, who co-wrote the foreword, wherein they say their grandmother “embodied the American dream. She had incredible drive, creativity and intuition, and was a brilliant marketer. She understood women and their aspirations” and she “truly believed that everyone could be beautiful. To this day, whenever we leave the house we can still hear her telling us to put on some ‘glow.’”
Estée Lauder’s legacy was enhanced by her eye for interiors, a reputation for hosting fabulous dinner parties, and notable friends such as Princess Grace
of Monaco; Hubert de Givenchy; Diana, Princess of Wales; Nancy Reagan; and Frank Sinatra. Calling Lauder a “beloved tour de force,” Aerin and Jane, along with Assouline, present an in-depth look “through her personal letters, family photographs, company archives, and more.”
t ennis, Anyone?
I should have added sports to the long list of Assouline’s subject areas. Federer: A Visual Biography (2024), Assouline’s latest coffee table book, is the result of a close collaboration with sports journalist Doris Henkel, Federer himself, and his wife, Mirka. Offering readers a look into his private moments and recordbreaking career, the biography features never-before-published photographs and memorabilia from his childhood “as well as snaps from Roger’s and Mirka’s own camera rolls,” along with “handwritten insights about his journey on and off the court.” A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Roger Federer Foundation, supporting childhood educational projects in Southern Africa and Switzerland.
Doris Henkel covered tennis for almost 40 years, the last 30 as a freelancer for newspapers and magazines mainly in
louis Vuitton’s Ateliers
Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, including Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Neue Zürcher Zeitung. She followed Roger Federer’s entire career and attended 30 of his 31 Grand Slam finals, as well as Olympic matches and a multitude of tournaments.
Phaidon’s Garden
According to Gardens Illustrated , “great care has gone into the selection of the images” in Garden: Exploring the Horticultural World (Phaidon 2023). Edited and introduced by Matthew Biggs, the author of 15 gardening and plant-related books, “this is not just a book filled with great pictures; the writing is an essential component, and once you have done an initial exploration of its pages, it is an engaging and informative read.”
A graduate of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Biggs is a panel member on BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time and the author of the children’s book A Home for Every Plant , also published by Phaidon.
a Very sP ecial h otel
As the publisher notes, Garden “takes readers on a journey across continents and cultures to discover the endless ways artists and image-makers have found inspiration in gardens and horticulture throughout history. With more than 300 entries, this comprehensive and stunning visual survey showcases the diversity of the garden from all over the world — from the Garden of Eden and the grandeur of the English landscape garden to Japanese Zen gardens and the humble vegetable plot.”
Garden features work by a “diverse range of both lesser-known and iconic artists, including Pierre Bonnard, Roberto Burle Marx, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Gertrude Jekyll, Claude Monet, Marianne North, Crispijn de Passe, William Robinson, Alma Thomas, and Howard Sooley.”
As Living Etc . points out, “It’s not often a hotel is so special it gets its own coffee table book just a year or so after opening but our favourite staycation spot has done just that.”
Edited by Dominic Bradbury, The Fife Arms (Phaidon 2024) “ is an impressive tome that takes a deep dive into the considered decor, art, and culture of this dazzling country inn.”
The publisher notes that this is “an updated edition of the first book to be created about this “lavish, darkly beautiful destination hotel.... Artworld superstars Iwan and Manuela Wirth saw the poetry in a run-down hotel nestled in the depths of the Scottish Highlands, not far from Balmoral Castle, and utterly transformed it. Every inch of The Fife
Arms’s interior has been imaginatively and intelligently considered in the context of place with each room telling the story of a person, event, or theme, connected to its Braemar location.”
Among the hotel’s specially commissioned artworks: Zhang Enli’s ceiling mural in the drawing room; Subodh Gupta’s sculpture for the Fire Room; and Guillermo Kuitca’s wall mural in the Clunie Dining Room — as well as works by Louise Bourgeois, Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, and HRH Queen Victoria. The updated edition includes new photography of recently acquired works, including Picasso’s Tête de Femme and Keith Tyson’s Still Life with Stars and Antlers
Bradbury is a writer and freelance journalist specializing in architecture and design. Among his books are the Atlas of Mid-Century Modern Masterpieces , the Atlas of Mid-Century Modern Houses , and the Atlas of Interior Design , all published by Phaidon.
From Phaidon’s Kitchen
Reviewing The Chocolate Spoon: Italian Sweets from the Silver Spoon Kitchen (Phaidon 2023), American Cake Decorating says, “Every aspect of this beloved ingredient is covered in depth in this book: its history, composition, various types, and the secrets behind working with chocolate successfully.” The Chocolate Spoon features 100 of the best Silver Spoon chocolate recipes, accompanied by all-new photography and design, as well as 30 core recipes for working with chocolate, each with step-by-step photography. Recipes include simple cakes and cookies, candies, and more elaborate desserts, as well as mousses, ice creams, parfaits, and drinks.
Originating in 1950, Il Cucchiaio d’Argento , first published in English by Phaidon as The Silver Spoon , is, in the publisher’s words, “the ultimate compilation of traditional home-cooking Italian dishes. A global bestseller, this book, together with its many offshoots, has taught home cooks around the world how to cook like an Italian and enrich their lives with fresh ingredients and delicious recipes.”
All of Mies
Mies (Phaidon 2024), by American architectural theorist Detlaf Mertins, puts Ludwig Mies van der Rohe “back at the center of the architectural debate” according to Barry Bergdoll, acting chief curator of architecture and design at MoMA. Architectural Review says that Mertins’s “hefty and lavishly illustrated volume is ambitiously comprehensive.... It challenges us to question all previous assumptions we may have entertained about the architect.” One of the book’s greatest virtues “is a deeply ingrained historiographic consciousness” that “asks us to reconsider the very genre of the architectural monograph.”
Accompanied by more than 700 drawings, photographs, plans, and diagrams, Mertins’s book traces the aesthetic and intellectual context for all of Mies van der Rohe’s work, with in-depth discussions of his most important buildings and projects, including the Barcelona Pavilion in Spain; the Tugendhat House in Brno, Czech Republic; S. R. Crown Hall at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, USA; and the New National Gallery in Berlin, Germany.
Germany, completes this coffee table book special with volumes about exploring remote destinations and the world of great paintings.
Presented by photographer David De Vleeschauwer, travel journalist Debbie Pappyn, and others , Remote Experiences: Extraordinary Travel Adventures from North to South ( Taschen 2022 ) is “An inspiring book on extreme travel,” according to thedailybeast.com. A review on bbc.com says that De Vleeschauwer and Pappyn “are hoping to encourage others to travel slower and more purposefully, and to take better care of the planet we all share.”
in Detail (Taschen 2020) “puts some of the world’s most famous paintings under a magnifying glass to uncover their most ... subtle elements and all they reveal about a bygone time, place, and culture.
Two fro M TA schen
The luxury art book publisher founded in 1980 by Benedikt Taschen in Cologne,
The publisher comments: “ Remote Experiences is the visual account of the extraordinary journeys of photographer David De Vleeschauwer through the world’s most uncharted territories. In pursuit of the best of travel, he has been passionately exploring the world for more than two decades.” Focused on twelve unexpected destinations, the book’s “photographic reportage brings to life an eclectic collection of memories.... From the plains of Botswana to the outer realms of Antarctica aboard a superyacht icebreaker, this unique guide outlines its own geography of the world.”
De Vleeschauwer’s work has been featured in top publications including The Wall Street Journal , Financial Times , and National Geographic Pappyn is a Belgian travel writer and journalist who regularly contributes to Monocle , Condé Nast Traveler and other leading titles worldwide.
e xploring g re AT Ar T
According to the publisher’s statement, Rose-Marie and Rainer Hagen’s What Great Paintings Say: 100 Masterpieces
Guiding our eye to the minutiae of subject and symbolism,” the authors “allow even the most familiar of pictures to come alive anew through their intricacies and intrigues. Is the bride pregnant? Why does the man wear a beret? How does the shadow of war hang over a scene of dancing? Along the way, we travel from Ancient Egypt through to modern Europe, from the Renaissance to the Roaring Twenties. We meet Greek heroes and poor German poets and roam from cathedrals to cabaret bars, from the Garden of Eden to a Garden Bench in rural France.”
Rose-Marie Hagen (1928-2022) was born in Switzerland and studied history, Romance languages, and literature in Lausanne. After further studies in Paris and Florence, she lectured at the American University in Washington, D.C.
Rainer Hagen was born in Hamburg and graduated in literature and theater studies in Munich. He later worked for radio and TV, most recently as chief editor of a German public broadcasting service. Together they have collaborated on several other Taschen titles.
fA shion in f il M
The pairing of screenwriter Marguerite Duras with Yves Saint Laurent reminds me of two outstanding treatments of fashion in film. Made in 2017, The Phantom Thread features an extraordinarily convincing performance by Daniel Day-Lewis as a haute couture dressmaker based on English-American fashion designer Charles James. Equally as impressive is The New Look (2024), a television series about fashion designers Christian Dior (memorably played by Ben Mendelsohn) and Coca Chanel (Juliette Binoche), with the fascinating addition of Maisie Williams (Arya from Game of Thrones ) as Dior’s niece. In both films, the designers were convincingly depicted as artists, whose craft was comparable to that of poets and painters.
For the Love oF trees
Princeton Artist Linda Zacks Celebrates Nature with Visual Journal
By Laurie PeLLichero
art By Linda zacks
(P hoto by Jeffrey E. Tryon )
“The world is a treasure hunt, and a box of 64 crayons is like a 24-carat diamond.”
—Linda Zacks
The moment you enter the Princeton home of Linda Zacks, you are surrounded by brightly colored art, eclectic treasures, and creative energy.
A contemporary artist, author, and award-winning art director, Zacks is a graduate of Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design. Her visual storytelling style — part photography, part paint, and part poetry — leads to the creation of mixed media works that have been featured in exhibitions and art installations worldwide, including “The
Greatest City on Earth” public art project in lower Manhattan; the Paris Murals Collaboration in Gare Montparnasse Station, Paris; the Sony Style flagship store in New York City; and the INQ Mobile booth at MWC in Barcelona.
A lifelong love affair with words and letters makes its way into every painting and handmade book she creates, some of which have been featured at New York’s MoMA Design Store and the International Center of Photography Museum Shop. Her numerous art and brand commissions include large works for One Vanderbilt in
LINDA ZACKS
Spread from “ d ear Tree, i love you.”
Pimps, Target, and the Sundance Film Festival, among others.
Her recent book, Dear Tree, I Love You — A Visual Journal About Trees, celebrates area trees that she photographed on her travels around town — including those on the Greenway Meadows Poetry Trail, at the Institute for Advanced Study, and in Marquand Park — and then collaged with her own singular style.
“The original physical book is filled with real photos collaged into a blank journal, so it is bursting at the seams with
“My husband and I moved to Princeton in 2015 from Williamsburg, Brooklyn,” she says, “and from the moment we came to the Garden State, I have been bowled over by nature and especially the beauty of the trees and the stories of the seasons. I love seeing these tree giants every day and how they make me feel with their many outfits, stances, and expressions.”
Dear Tree, I Love You is available on amazon.com. Visit lindazacks.com and follow @lindazacksart to watch her process and works in progress.
(P hoto courtesy of Linda Zacks )
Pizzeria
A LOng Winter’s nA p A Guide to Energy Conservation and Hibernation for Animals
By Taylor SmiTh
Every year, the Earth undergoes changes in weather and seasons. Sometimes these are extreme (like eight months of biting winds in the taiga forests of Canada) or brief and subtle (a couple months of 50-to-60-degree temperatures in the southern U.S. ).
day they will move between times of activity when their metabolism and heart rate are relatively normal and times of reduced physiological activity to conserve energy.
The hazel dormouse is an example of classic hibernation. Residing throughout much of Great Britain, they prefer to nest
Many animals react to these changes as a means of selfpreservation . While the term hibernation is familiar to most, many would be surprised to learn that very few species actually sleep nonstop for the entire winter. Instead, most are experiencing torpor, a state of reduced physiological activity that includes lower metabolism, heart rate, respiration, and body temperature.
Unlike hibernation, torpor is involuntary and lasts for just a few hours during the daytime. Food availability and outside temperature both influence torpor. Animals in torpor can wake up quickly to avoid danger or to feed.
by Lewis Carroll, the Dormouse is seated at a tea party with the Mad Hatter and the March Hare. He is initially being used as a cushion while he continues to sleep. Carroll writes, “You might as well just say, added the Dormouse, who seemed to be talking in his sleep, that “I breathe when I sleep” is the same thing as “I sleep when I breathe!”
Reptiles and amphibians undergo brumation, which is triggered by a drop in environmental temperatures. Snakes, lizards, and frogs are ectothermic, and their body temperature is dependent on the outdoor temperatures. As the sunlight decreases and the winter weather takes hold, reptiles will exert less energy, making it more difficult for them to hunt.
Many rodent and small mammal species practice this state. On any given
in the shrub layer on top of the ground from October through May.
The dormouse may be recognizable as the sleepy mouse character in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. In the story
Common garter snakes are found throughout New Jersey and are also some of the first brumating reptiles to emerge in mid-March. Garter snakes typically retreat to an underground den (below the frost line) anytime between mid-September through November. They may share the den with other garter snakes for added warmth. These reptiles will appear inactive, but they are not totally asleep. If
Black bear
The Mad hatter’s Tea Party, illustration from “alice’s adventures in Wonderland” by lewis Carroll. (Art by John Tenniel; Wikipedia)
ice and deepening snow lower the outside temperatures, the snakes will move deeper underground. On the chance of winter sunshine, the snakes sometimes emerge to soak up the warmth.
So, how does hibernation work for a snail? When seasonal changes occur and food resources become scarce, snails will undergo hibernation that allows them to conserve their energy. During wintertime, snails retreat into their shells and close off the opening with a layer of dried mucus. Once inside their shells, snails experience a slowed metabolism, allowing them to wait out the harsh weather until food resources become readily available again.
fur coats into the winter white landscape. They know the indicators each year for when they should start loading up on calories, preparing a den, and stockpiling food.
Another threat from climate change is the possibility of animals becoming active too early. New Jersey’s chipmunks enter a state of torpor to survive the winter weather. If they perceived warming temperatures while still in the middle of winter, they could easily die from the frozen ground, lack of food source, and winter predators.
Cold Weather adaptation and the threat of Climate Change
Some might not realize that many of the Earth’s animals that naturally go into a dormant state during the winter are perfectly adapted for cold weather. Yes, surviving each winter is a gamble for every bear, marmot, and dormouse, but these animals would be more at risk in a hot year-round environment. They are genetically fashioned to blend their
The Nature Conservancy’s New Jersey branch oversees one of the most populated states in the country. With such a dense human population comes the loss of animal habitat. Of New Jersey’s 800 estimated species, 80 of them are currently listed as endangered. Bog turtles hibernate every year and require wetlands to do so. Wetland habitat loss is a critical issue throughout the state. According to the Nature Conservancy of New Jersey, the primary reasons are “development, pollution, and invasive species.” Bog turtles
are most active in the spring when they readily emerge from hibernation and look for a mate.
While bumblebee colonies do not hibernate, but in fact die-off every fall, the new queens will overwinter in small holes, nooks, and crannies in the ground’s surface. Central to the new colonies’ survival, the queens will emerge in the spring and begin laying huge quantities of eggs. If you would like to make your own backyard friendlier for queen bumblebees, you can create a log pile, build an open compost heap or a raised bed, and leave cut grass, dead leaves, and moss coverings in a dedicated pile. Queen bumblebees are relatively strong and use their legs to dig small holes. If you come across a queen bumblebee while doing some coldweather yard work, immediately cover her back up and try not to bother her further. Unfortunately, many people do not understand the necessity of bumblebees within our global environment. For more information on bumblebee cultivation and education in New Jersey, visit the Nature Conservancy of New Jersey at nature.org/en-us/about-us/ where-we-work/united-states/ new-jersey.
Green frog under the ice of a pond.
Garter snakes emerging from an underground den.
The FaT Bear Con T esT
Every year, the National Park Service in Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska holds an amusing contest known as Fat Bear Week. For this year’s event, a brief biography, photos, and statistics of 11 brown bears can be found on fatbear.org, along with insights into each bear’s personality and behaviors. Voting is held each fall. The park rangers say, “Fat Bear Week is a celebration of success and survival. It is a way to celebrate the resilience, adaptability and strength of Katmai’s brown bears.”
Loading up on fat and added weight is significant for Alaska’s brown bears since they typically hibernate in the coldest regions of Alaska for seven months. In the southern, coastal regions of Alaska it might be two to five months of hibernation.
In the Katmai National Park and Preserve, bears may retreat to their den in October or November. These bears experience hormonal changes and a reduction in the availability of certain foods, which will cue them to retreat to their den. After a well-spent summer and early fall consuming food, hibernation will
cause significant physiological changes, meaning that a bear will go months without food or water. They also will not urinate or defecate while in the den. In addition, as their body temperature drops, so will their respiratory and heart rates. By the time these animals emerge from their dens, their body weight will have decreased by around 33 percent. Oddly enough, they typically do not experience a drop in bone or muscle mass.
Prin C e Ton’s UlT imaT e sU rvivalisTs
When you think of Princeton, many think of black squirrels. A recessive gene variant of North American gray squirrels , these squirrels (and North American squirrels in general) are the ultimate survivalists because they continue foraging, working, and collecting throughout the winter season. On extremely frigid days, they will take to their nest and slumber without coming out. To prepare for such times, squirrels use the fall to hide and bury as many nuts,
seeds, and pinecones as they can find. Thus, when winter comes, they will retrieve their buried treasure, treating the cold soil as their own personal freezer. Another winter adaptation is that squirrels typically share their nest with other squirrels, making their burrows quite a bit warmer.
Most over-wintering bats in New Jersey experience torpor. As their body temperature and heart rate drop due to the environmental temperatures and lack of insect activity, these creatures will seek out caves or mines where they can be left undisturbed. Unfortunately, climate change and a warming Earth have increased the rate of white-nose fungus for bats. As described by the National Park Service on nps.gov, “Researchers call the disease white-nose syndrome (WNS) because of the visible white fungal growth on infected bats’ muzzles and wings. This coldloving fungus infects bats during hibernation, when the bats reduce their metabolic rate and lower their body temperature to save energy over winter. Hibernating bats affected by WNS wake up to warm temperatures more frequently, which results in using up fat
a laskan brown bear
reserves and then starvation before spring arrives.” Identified by discolored white fungus on the face and nose, this disease can eliminate entire bat colonies over a short period of time.
While not everyone may be fond of bats, they do provide critical benefits to our planet. From crop and plant pollination to the consumption of disease-carrying mosquitos, bats are significant. Also, if you like tequila, remember that bats are chief pollinators of agave plants.
Other local animals that are master winter survivalists are groundhogs and skunks.
Contrary to what you may see in Puxatawney, Pa., each year, groundhogs prefer not to be woken up on February 2 to look for their own shadow in a Pennsylvania Dutch tradition that still draws crowds and national news networks. Groundhogs generally hibernate from late-October to early-March. Gifted with strong digging claws and a compact body, they weigh between 5 to 10 pounds. Groundhogs prefer to build their own network of underground dens and tunnels. True herbivores, they will eat all manner of vegetables, beans, peas, alfalfa, clover, and grasses.
Skunks enter a state of torpor in the winter in which they nap inside their burrows to escape extreme temperatures. Skunks do rely somewhat on their own fat storages to fuel them during the coldest days, but they will also forage for grubs and roots. Skunks emerge in February and March for mating season and deliver cubs in the spring. April and May are the most active time of year for skunks, making them highly visible to pets and homeowners. While not especially common in New Jersey, badgers go underground and enter a deep state of rest during the winter months. Badgers are also nocturnal and if they do emerge from their dens (or “sets” as they are known), this will typically occur at dusk. With a reduced metabolism, heart rate, respiration, and body temperature, badgers will rarely leave their set if the temperature is below freezing.
starting earlier and ending later. Gardeners may be the most in tune with this, however, this phenomena has implications on the plants and animals in the wild. There is a change in the phenology, the cyclical sequence of seasonal natural phenomena, in all locations. In my time here at the Watershed (40 years), we have seen the sugar maple sap run, the arrival of woodcocks, and the emergence of spring peepers occur earlier in the year, for example. Scientists are studying the implications of these changes to individual species, and to ecosystems.”
All of this is good to keep in mind as you venture outside for a winter walk this year. Remember to think about all of the animals, insects and amphibians that are actively hibernating and brumating in the hopes of returning to their unique lives in the spring.
Jeff Hoagland, education director at The Watershed Institute in Pennington, says, “Climate change is impacting the length of seasons, with the warm seasons growing in duration, in this location,
If you would like to encourage hibernation health in your backyard, refrain from using pesticides and insecticides, leave adequate roughage and shelter for animals to seal themselves away, and avoid any interactions between domestic pets and sleeping mammals.
Groundhog Squirrel nest
l ittle brown bats
holiday wish list
Clockwise from top left:
mon ami truffles horse and purse set; $40; monami-designs.com
meri meri Gold sparkle star hanging decoration $62; merimeri.com
arcadia home ice skate felted wool stocking; $95; arcadiahomeinc.com
hammond’s bubble Gum candy canes box of 6; $24; hammoondscandies.com
lalo play set of 2 toddler-sized chairs with table; $295; meetlalo.com
oyoy living design sofie the pig; $93; oyoy.us
mini Kyoto bubble Gum watch; $73: easytot.com
Wee Gallery 24 piece christmas tree floor puzzle; $27; weegallery.com
pom d’api colibri Zip city gold leather ankle boots; $94; smallable.com
snug portugal organic cotton waffle weave dress; $62; theblueberet.com
liberty of london print pastel long tail bow; $18; maisonette.com
Clockwise from top left:
Meri Meri Fairy Wings costume; $48; merimeri.com
Little Lights Mini Bird Lamp handcrafted in pinewood; $180; littlelights.us
Villa Julia Playhouse designed by Spanish artist Javier Mariscal and made in Italy; 65” L x 47.2” W x 53.1” h; $380; hivemodern.com
ROLI M piano keyboard for learners; $250; roli.com
Agirlgle 24 piece stackable wooden block set in rainbow colors; $30; agirlgle.com
Magnolia Bakery Carrie cupcakes; 6 for $25; magnoliabakery.com
Glitterville Studios Papa Noel mint mug; $27; glitterville.com
Mark Poulin Angel Dog sterling silver necklace; $44; markpoulin.com
Banwood Maxi Scooter; $195; easytot.com
Ratatam Balloon French glitter ball; $22; smallable.com
Zara floral backpack; $32; zara.com
Tegu 42 piece magnetic wooden block set; $140; tegu.com
Feather Pen with gold heart; $17; snowsboutique.com
Rifle Paper Company Menagerie Garden embroidered journal; $38; riflepaperco.com
Harveen
Lynda
Exploring ThE laTEsT BreakthrOughs in ModErn MEdicinE
By taylOr smith
The last few years have brought significant advances in many areas of medical care. From artificial intelligence to revised treatments, tests, vaccines, therapies, and more, research continues to produce often life-changing impacts on those affected by a variety of illnesses and conditions.
In fact, one of the benefits of living in the modern age is that the latest technology can help everything from skin growth in burn victims to spinal cord stimulation in those who have suffered paralysis from a stroke. Following are some recent breakthroughs.
Flu Vaccine n asal s pray
FluMist is an at-home vaccine that is sprayed into the nostrils and is used to guard against the yearly influenza strain. This needle-free option can be used for ages 2-49 and has been recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and
Preve ntion (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The spray is now available in some doctor’s offices and home delivery is anticipated for the 2025-2026 flu season.
For at-home delivery, FluMist does require a pharmacist’s prescription. To begin, fill out a screening and eligibility
doctor before ordering FluMist The nasal vaccine is not suitable for those with egg allergies or influenza vaccine allergies. Like most vaccines, FluMist contains weakened live viruses that stimulate the immune response in the lining of the nose and the throat. The process helps to build immunity without causing infection.
form at flumist.com. If you are deemed eligible, a pharmacist will write the prescription and have it shipped to your home.
According to the website, it is also recommended that you check with your
s creening Opti O ns FO r cO lO rectal c ancer
The Colorectal Cancer Alliance (colorectalcancer.org) notes that nearly 150,000 people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year. Colon cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men per year and the fourth leading cause in women . The American Cancer Society states that “In people under the age of 55, death rates have been increasing about 1 percent per year since the mid-2000s.” While traditional colonoscopies are still recommended for high-risk patients (such as those with a family history), blood samples may be an option for others.
The Food and Drug Administration has
approved a blood test called Shield, which is made by Guardant Health. Due to the amount of prep work that a traditional colonoscopy requires, physicians are optimistic that the Shield test will be a way to encourage more people to get screened. A positive Shield test would not be a definitive confirmation that a person has colon cancer. Instead, a colonoscopy following the Shield test would be recommended.
Skin Biop S ie S for parkin S on’ S Di S ea S e
Skin biopsies are now being used as a marker to identify Parkinson’s disease in some individuals. Parkinson’s — as well as select forms of Lewy bodies, system atrophy, and neurodegenerative disorders — produces tremors, cognitive changes, and progressive disability. Dr. Christopher Gibbons of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has been working with other scientists to create a simple skin biopsy test. Levels of P-SYN in skin biopsies (a-synuclein) are correlated with Parkinson’s disease.
Gibbons states on nih.gov, “Too often, patients experience delays in diagnosis or are misdiagnosed due to the complexity of these diseases. With a simple, minimally invasive skin biopsy test, this study demonstrated how we can more objectively identify the underlying pathology of synucleinopathies and offer better diagnostic answers and care for patients.”
The skin biopsy test is commercially available today as the Syn-One Test. A doctor will assess test results alongside an in-office diagnostics visit. Another option is the DaT scan. Medicare may cover up to 80 percent of the cost of the Syn-One Test. For more information, visit cndlifesciences.com/syn-one-test.
TreaT ing p er S i ST en T
Urinary Trac T i nfec T ion S
Many women are plagued by reoccurring urinary tract infections (UTIs), the most common bacterial infection for women. They can also occur in men and are equally painful. Women have a higher risk of UTIs once they reach menopause, but they are also common
in younger women. Traditionally, UTI sufferers have had to wait for a doctor’s appointment, be tested, and then be prescribed an antibiotic. During this time, a UTI can become so debilitating that some individuals have difficulty leaving the house.
A new vaccine for treating UTIs is Uromune (MV140). This pineappletasting oral spray is taken once a day for three months. Results have shown that chronic UTI patients have gone for nine months without a UTI after this threemonth course of action. This can be a lifechanging improvement for both women and men
a ir- p owere D comp UT er S for Bloo D c loTS
For those who are in the hospital for the treatment of blood clots, new airpowered computers are being used to detect and counteract further blood clots from happening, as noted on caloxinc. com/blog/compressed-air-computerreduce-stroke-blood-clots. This computer operated machine will issue the sound of a bell as a shrill warning if a blood clot is detected. Furthermore, the computerbased intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) machines are more dependable than traditional IPCs because they do
not rely on electricity. If the electricity were to fail at the hospital, the computers would continue to operate. Also, the new computer is small, unobtrusive (about the size of a matchbox), and very cost effective.
Gene Therapy To TreaT Deafnes s in Chil D ren
In 2024, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) performed the first procedure in the U.S. for genetic hearing loss. The young patient suffered from hereditary hearing loss and, as of the publication of this article, the procedure was recognized as a success.
Using gene therapy to treat children with hearing loss is something that researchers have been working on for the past 20 years (chop.edu). The gene therapy procedure involves delivering copies of normal genes into the inner ear. The Clinical In Vivo Gene Therapy (CIGT) group at CHOP works to impart corrected genes into a child’s body with the hope of stopping the hearing loss or lessening the impact. To learn more about CHOP’s gene therapy treatments, visit chop.edu/centersprograms/clinical-vivo-gene-therapy.
s pinal Cor D sT imulaT ion To h elp sT roke paT ien Ts
After a stroke, a patient’s arms, shoulders, facial expressions and limbs may become weak, paralyzed, or tight. The risk of stroke incidences increases with age and may result in permanent limitations in mobility. Simple tasks like feeding one’s self, driving a car, and climbing the stairs may become very difficult or seemingly impossible. In some cases, mobility can be improved with regular physical therapy and exercises. For those who are facing long-term paralysis, advances in spinal cord stimulation are shown to improve neurological stimulation and recovery.
Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University noted on nature.com that “a neurotechnology that stimulates the spinal cord instantly improves arm and hand mobility, enabling people affected by moderate to severe stroke to conduct their normal daily activities more easily.”
The procedure requires implanting a series of electrodes on the spinal cord. Electrical impulses from the electrodes stimulate neural pathways in the spine,
allowing stroke-weakened patients to lift their arms, utilize their hands, turn their heads, and so on. This is especially significant because researchers predict that the rate of strokes occurring in adults over the age of 25 will continue to increase significantly in the coming years (nih.gov).
To be clear, spinal cord stimulation shows promise for many stroke patients, but for those who have suffered prolonged and severe paralysis lasting over six months, spinal cord stimulation may not be helpful. Hopefully there will soon be a mobility option for all stroke sufferers.
over-T he-Coun T er n ar C an
Naloxone is now available over the counter, making it easier than ever to potentially save someone’s life due to overdose. Naloxone (known by the brand name Narcan) is a nasal spray that is used to counteract opioid overdoses. Acting on the dangerous depression of the central nervous system and respiratory system that occurs during overdose, Naloxone only works if the person has opioids in their system. It may take multiple rounds of nasal spray to revive a person.
Symptoms of an opioid overdose may include a loss of consciousness, inability to talk, shallow and very slow breathing, blue or grayish skin, slow pulse, and unresponsiveness to their name or other sounds.
Naloxone is available to most insurance holders for no copay. Naloxone and other Narcan-branded nasal sprays can be purchased over the counter at pharmacies nationwide. Local community and health centers are excellent resources when it comes to training oneself on how to administer Naloxone. You may just save someone’s life.
Predicting
Preeclam P sia with a Blood t est
for preeclampsia, which is associated with high blood pressure and organ damage in the mother. It can also lead to premature birth and low birth weight in the infant. The latest blood test (which has been
The test has been deemed as 94 percent accurate (nichd.nih.gov) and is designed to be conducted between 23 and 35 weeks of pregnancy.
A newly approved blood test can now identify pregnant women who are at risk
available in most hospitals since fall 2024) measures the levels of two proteins that are biomarkers for preeclampsia.
This new blood test is also beneficial for pregnant women who have comorbidities such as diabetes, obesity, and chronic hypertension. If preeclampsia symptoms are not treated immediately, there is a risk of organ failure and death. Thankfully, this preventative test will allow a doctor to create the safest and healthiest course of action when it comes to pregnancy and delivery.
Advancements in vaccines, medicines, surgical procedures, and gene therapy continue to proliferate. From the invention of the smallpox vaccine in 1796 to the latest shingles and COVID-19 vaccines, the human body continues to be an important object of study, analysis, and curiosity.
Philadelphia laurel-hill Cemetery drawn from nature by augustus Köllner, lithograph by deroy, printed by Cattier. (Library of Congress)
Frank Childs lithograph of Nassau hall, ca. 1860. (Nassau Hall Iconography Collection, Princeton University)
Portrait of John Notman by Samuel Bell Waugh, 1845. (Wikipedia)
Trenton Psychiatric h ospital. (Wikipedia)
Architect John notmAn Versatile and Prolific in Princeton and Beyond
By Anne Levin
For two months last summer, an exhibit about architect
John Notman was on view at Princeton Public Library. “John Notman: All the Presidents’ Houses” was small, but significant — so much so that it was moved to the building’s lobby during Princeton Reunions weekend, the annual Princeton University event that brings thousands to town.
Those alumni were likely familiar with the four buildings in the show — the Walter Lowrie House (1845) on Stockton Street, which is home to the president of the University; Prospect House (1851) , today a dining club on campus for University faculty and staff; Guernsey Hall (1852) in Marquand Park, which was eventually divided into condominiums; and Springdale (1851), the Mercer Street home to the president of Princeton Theological Seminary. Three of the buildings are Italianate in style. Springdale, described as “cottage Gothic,” is the only outlier.
“They have individual details and different layouts.”
Co-chairs of the Marquand Park Foundation, Flemer and Timberlake did the research and writing for the exhibit, which was sponsored by the New Jersey Council for the Humanities. At a date to be determined, the exhibit will be at Ellarslie,
Researching additional sites in and outside of Princeton, they kept running into the Notman name.
“We saw that Notman was also the architect of Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia. Then we also did a historic American landscape survey of Cadwalader Park, and there he was again, designing Ellarslie,” says Timberlake. “I was doing some research at Point Breeze in Bordentown, and it had a Notman house on the property. I said to someone, ‘I feel like John Notman is tapping me on the shoulder.’”
the Notman-designed house in Trenton’s Cadwalader Park that is now home to the Trenton City Museum.
Born in Edinburgh in 1810, Notman trained at the Royal Academy of Scotland, apprenticed to a builder, and worked in the office of architect William Henry Playfair before setting sail for America in 1831. His life and career are detailed in John Notman, Architect , the catalog for a 1979 exhibition at Philadelphia’s Athenaeum, which Notman designed. The author of the catalog was the late Constance Greiff, a prominent name in Princeton historical circles and an expert on Notman’s work.
“What’s interesting is that Lowrie House, Prospect, and Guernsey Hall were designed in the same, Italianate style, but were actually different from each other,” says Rebecca Flemer, who organized the Notman show with Evie Timberlake.
It was Notman’s creation of Marquand Park and Guernsey Hall that sparked Flemer and Timberlake’s interest in the architect’s work.
“The fact that the park really hasn’t changed much from his original plan, and the way he combined landscape and architectural design, appealed to us,” says Timberlake.
“Because his intelligence was high and his grasp of the fundamentals of architecture was sound, he was able to demonstrate considerable versatility,” Greiff wrote. “Over a century after his death his surviving works remain the best evidence of his excellence as a designer, serving old functions well and adapting to new ones with grace.”
Ellarslie Mansion, photo by a l opdyke. (Wikimedia Commons)
Congress)
Greiff described Notman as the architect who “introduced the Italianate villa to the United States at Burlington, New Jersey, and was recognized by the chief apostle of the picturesque, A. J. Downing, as one of the country’s most skillful practitioners in that vein.”
In addition to the Renaissance Revivalstyle Athenaeum on Philadelphia’s Washington Square, Notman designed
numerous buildings in that city including the Church of the Holy Trinity on Rittenhouse Square, Saint Mark’s Church, the gatehouse at Mount Vernon Cemetery, and The Library Company.
In and around Trenton, Notman designed an addition to the New Jersey State House, St. Paul’s Church, and the New Jersey State Lunatic Asylum, now known as Trenton Psychiatric Hospital,
among other buildings.
Notman’s connection to Princeton was largely through Robert Field Stockton, known as the Commodore. Stockton commissioned the architect to design the four villas, two as wedding gifts, for members of the Stockton family. The catalogue by Greiff also details the architect’s work rebuilding the university’s Nassau Hall. Ivy Hall and Trinity Church’s
Built in 1845, lowrie h ouse, above and below right, is the current home of the president of Princeton University. (Property of the Trustees of Princeton University. Princeton University Archives, Mudd Library, Grounds & Buildings)
(Property of the Trustees of Princeton University. Princeton University Archives, Mudd Library, Grounds & Buildings)
John Stockton lived with his wife Sara Marks Stockton at the property. (Library of
Parish School were among his other Princeton-based projects.
Prospect is the largest of the four villas. In 1878, its owners bought the house and accompanying 35-acre estate and deeded them to Princeton University, which was then known as the College of New Jersey. A year later, it began serving as the home of the University’s presidents. As the campus got bigger, students began to take shortcuts across the garden.
“After a particularly flagrant instance of trespassing by a rampaging football crowd, Woodrow Wilson, then University president and Prospect resident, erected an iron fence enclosing five acres of the grounds in 1904,” reads the University website.
In 1968, it was decided to turn Prospect into a faculty club. The Walter Lowrie House on Stockton Street became the official home of University presidents. Lowrie, a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, was a translator of Danish philosopher Kierkegaard. His wife, Barbara Armour, had originally inherited the property from her father, a wealthy Chicago businessman and a member of Princeton University’s class of 1877. Barbara Armour gave the house to the University in 1960, where it briefly served as a campus guest residence.
The early residents of the Lowrie House had ties to slavery. Two of its most prominent residents “were Princeton men
whose fortunes — both political and financial — were deeply interconnected with the slaveholding South and the Confederacy,” reads the University website. “The history of the Lowrie House reveals Princeton to be a place where the barriers between North and South were particularly permeable.”
Springdale, on Mercer Street, is described by Greiff as “the least elaborate of the several villas designed for Commodore Robert F. Stockton’s relations.” The Seminary purchased the house and surrounding acreage from the Stockton family in 1899, and it has served as the official residence for the school’s president ever since.
With their connection to Marquand
Park, Flemer and Timberlake have an especially strong connection to Guernsey Hall. Originally called Fieldwood, its third owner was University Professor Allan Marquand, who enlarged the house by a third in 1912 and changed its name to Guernsey Hall after an island in the English Channel. In the late 1970s, historic preservation architect William Short converted it into five condominiums. Its original foyer and staircase are still intact.
“Notman took four years to design the park before building Guernsey Hall,” says Flemer. “Richard Stockton Field, who owned the property [before Marquand] and was a lawyer, was very interested in gardens and landscapes. He competed in garden shows, and you can still see parts
of his greenhouse on the property that are still standing.”
Notman died in 1865 and was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery, which he planned. Brief obituaries in Philadelphia newspapers described him primarily as a designer of churches. But he was much more than that.
“Notman was, in sum, one of America’s most innovative architects
in the second quarter of the nineteenth century,” wrote Greiff. “Although not stylistically an originator, he was an importer of sophisticated design ideas from Britain, translating them skillfully for his American clientele. He also was quick to utilize the technological developments that transformed the art of building in the nineteenth century, and he was alert to the availability of new
materials and new techniques.”
The fact that Notman’s four most important buildings in Princeton are still in use made the compilation of “John Notman: All the Presidents’ Houses” especially meaningful to its creators.
“The great thing was that these houses are all still standing,” says Timberlake. “We are so lucky in Princeton to have them here.”
John Notman’s plan of grounds, 1846. (Princeton University Library Special Collections)
Guernsey h all was the home of a llan Marquand, who founded the School of a rt & a rchaeology at Princeton University. (Property of the Trustees of Princeton University. Princeton University Archives, Mudd Library, Grounds & Buildings)
Guernsey hall interior. (Library of Congress)
Guernsey hall, 63 lovers lane. (Library of Congress)
George Morgan’s Prospect Farm. (Graphic Arts Collection, graphicarts.princeton.edu)
Prospect house View from south. (Property of the Trustees of Princeton University. Princeton University Archives, Mudd Library)
View of Prospect Garden, looking south. (Property of the Trustees of Princeton University. Princeton University Archives, Mudd Library)
26 WELLINGTON COURT
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BELLE MEAD NJ 08502
Final Phase — still time to pick out features and add upgrades. To Be Built — a beautifully-finished 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bath townhome with an option of a Sunroom and Elevator Shaft for future use. Enjoy this friendly and robust community of The Townhomes at RiverWalk, a luxurious 48+ Active Adult Community for great beginnings in the next chapter of your life. Quality construction/building materials, energy-efficient Anderson 400 series double hung windows, non-maintenance exterior that includes James Hardie cement siding, 30-year architectural shingle roof, decorative walnut wood grain bead board 2-car garage door. The open floor plan dramatizes the versatile interior of distinction for today, tomorrow, and beyond. Generous space and flexibility for your furnishings and plenty of closet/storage space too. Live modern with a gourmet kitchen, enhanced with top-rated stainless-steel appliances, yards of quartz countertops, and stylish custom soft close wood cabinets, designer tile backsplash, and vent to exterior. Easy on/off by remote gas fireplace, 9’ high ceilings first floor/8’ high ceiling second floor, 5” floor molding, 4” recessed LED lights, and 5” wide engineered hardwood floor planks, solid oak steps with painted risers and metal balusters are all featured here. Upstairs...the primary suite promotes harmony and is spacious enough for reading chairs. There is a large walk-in closet, tray ceiling, and a blissfully serene bath featuring a 5’ soaking tub, 36” x 60” shower with seat, quartz top vanity, and dual under-mount sinks. Two other inviting bedrooms with considerable sized closets await restful nights. A well-appointed full bath is enhanced with a with shower/tub combo shower and customized fixtures. A convenient laundry room completes the second floor. Enjoy extra living space on the third floor with a flex room for unlimited ideas of multipurpose uses and extra storage too. Extra value items include: Carrier HVAC system with programmable Honeywell thermostat, tankless hot water heater, and independent sprinkler system for each townhome. Verizon and/or Comcast available. Enjoy the scenic Millstone River Hiking Trail, NYC bus transportation, easy drive to NYC/PHL train station, and a quick drive to downtown Princeton. Clubhouse includes: Virtual Game Room, Fitness Center, Indoor Swimming Pool, Movie Theater, Card Room, DIY Studio, and much more for mind/body health. The Ultimate Suburban Lifestyle awaits you in this small enclave of 45 dream-pleasing townhomes. 10-year builder warranty included. located in Plainsboro. starting at $733,000
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5000 square foot expanded colonial (2010) emanates all the comforts and conveniences of suburban lifestyle. A perfect floor plan for modern living and the multigenerational household. home boasts numerous updates, a first floor bedroom with full bath, home office, finished basement with an egress window, and a beautiful rear yard with an inviting in-ground pool.
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Princeton AreA community FoundAtion
Collective Philanthropy Impacts Those Close to Home and Hearts
By Wendy GreenBerG | PHoTos CourTesy of PaCf
When John Hatch and David Henderson attended Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey’s performance of Trenton-born composer George Antheil’s Ballet Mecanique and other compositions at the Roebling Machine Shop this past spring, with the Trenton Circus Squad charming audiences at intermissions, they were “ecstatic.”
As advisors of the Trenton Arts Fund through the Princeton Area Community Foundation (PACF), Hatch and Henderson had played a behind-the-scenes role in bringing the festive evening to fruition, and as Trenton residents they could see their generosity in action.
The Trenton Arts Fund, one of some 450 funds under the care of PACF, supports both the Capital Philharmonic and the Trenton Circus Squad, among other Trenton cultural organizations.
“It wasn’t the usual pairing, and you felt like you could see this pairing only in places like Paris or Berlin, but here it was in Trenton,” says Henderson. “If you are interested in the arts, this is where they are. There is a synergy, and the fund is a unique vehicle for supporting that. We have a good understanding of the community, and have been able to make impactful gifts.”
The ability of Hatch and Henderson to see the impact of supporting nonprofit organizations that are close to their hearts, and to their home, is what has made PACF the choice of many during its 33-yearhistory. But what really sets this nonprofit apart is its structure: a small donation can go further, as philanthropic experts with deep knowledge of community needs invest the money in a pool. As a philanthropic resource and manager of charitable funds, PACF helps people and companies make effective charitable gifts and awards grants to nonprofits.
In 2023 more than $15.5 million PACF grants went into health, education, the environment, arts and culture, housing, animal welfare, and other areas. Mercer County-area residents can see PACF’s impact everywhere, although it isn’t always obvious. For example, the late Princetonians Ray Wadsworth — a former borough councilman, merchant, and fire department chief — and Herb
Hobler — former WHWH radio station owner and loyal Princeton University alumnus — formed the Spirit of Princeton Fund in 1997 to support Princeton’s Memorial Day Parade and other events. Social service and cultural organizations like Womanspace, Dress for Success Mercer County, Housing Initiatives of Princeton, and Young Audiences New Jersey & Eastern Pennsylvania depend on PACF support. Summer swim lessons for youths through the Hamilton YMCA have received support from PACF, as has the Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra.
FUND FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS
The Fund for Women and Girls (FWG) at PACF celebrated 25 years in 2023 by awarding $250,000 in grants. FWG grantees have included Womanspace, KinderSmile, Freedom House, RISE, and Housing Initiatives of Princeton. Over the last quarter of a century, the FWG has awarded more than $2 million to nonprofits in the region, and over time the fund has given close to 100 grants.
Less than two percent (1.8) of all organization funds went to women and children (nationally), says FWG Chair Carolyn Sanderson. “That is staggeringly
low.” FWG focuses on improving the lives of economically vulnerable women and children through investment, education, and collaboration.
“Did you know there is no place to give birth in the city of Trenton?” asks Sanderson. “Women of color were delivering pre-term, low birth weight babies, so the Children’s Home Society of New Jersey began a doula program,” she says. A community doula provides emotional and physical support during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. They also provide information about childbirth and breastfeeding, connect to bilingual resources, provide postpartum consultation, and even help with child care.
The program has served 180 women, most of whom had babies at term and healthy birth weights, says Sanderson, and met the indicators for raising healthy children. The AMAR Community Doula program was started with support from the Burke Foundation, with which PACF collaborates, and it continues to be a major supporter.
“Collective philanthropy becomes an opportunity for us to make larger, more impactful gifts than any of us could individually,” says Sanderson.
John h atch and d avid h enderson are advisors of the Trenton a rts Fund at PaCF
The FWG started in 1998 with $2,000 from Women in Development (formerly Mercer County, now New Jersey), Sanderson recalls, at a time when “a lot of communities were thinking of creating a network of philanthropic women. The first full time executive director of the Princeton Area Community Foundation, Nancy Kieling, and the development director, Judy Feldman, had the idea to approach Bristol Myers Squibb with the proposal to give $100,000 to launch a matching gift effort — if they could find 100 women to give $1,000 each, Bristol Myers would contribute $100,000. And they did.”
Now a grants committee includes “14 savvy, sophisticated, insightful voting members, who each contribute $1,000 or more to support annual grants,” says Sanderson. The group has created an infrastructure, “a leadership group focused on educating our members about the needs of economically disadvantaged women and children in the community, collaborating with one another and area nonprofits, and investing our time, talent, and treasure in those organizations doing critical work to improve our community.”
The group has developed a clear grants application process that defines what types
of organizations they will fund, and in what geography. This year the committee pored over 19 applications with the aim of presenting a smaller number of vetted organizations to the voting members to choose their grantee partners. “Pruning is a tough process, as every organization is doing important work,” notes Sanderson.
The fund’s impact permeates the community. Princeton Nursery School needed child-height toilets, and sinks at the right height for children to practice
dental hygiene. “Now the bathrooms are renovated,” says Sanderson. “A family came to see it and loved the bathroom, and the whole nursery school. I felt very gratified.”
A two-year grant to Housing Initiatives of Princeton yielded a renovated apartment; and RISE, the Hightstown and East Windsor center of social support, has been better able to meet day-to-day needs of families and individuals. “Someone needed $500 to get her car fixed, to get to work, and the case manager was able to help,” says Sanderson. “The ripple effect is that she is providing for her family.”
It’s not just about giving money, says Sanderson. “It’s also important to educate members on how they can help, to expand philanthropy. We can do so much more together than we can do individually. The longer I am involved, the more I understand the importance of working together.”
TRUSTED PHILANTHROPY
Creating a charitable fund at the PACF is easy, says Dr. William P. (Bill) Burks, trustee emeritus and volunteer. “Generous people can open a fund with donations of cash, stock, or complex assets, such as real estate,” he says. “Once fundholders make that gift, they receive an immediate tax benefit, and their charitable dollars are invested in the Community Foundation’s high-quality investment pool.”
“Fundholders,” he explains, recommend grants to nonprofits, and the PACF staff “handles all the paperwork and due
The Bunbury Fund plans to sunset by next year, awarding the initial round of sunset grants this year and early next year. i ncluding a pledge to the Community Foundation, the initial sunset grant awards total more than $12 million. The local Boys & Girls Club is among the nonprofits that will receive one of those grants.
Pictured are participants in Boys & Girls Club activities supported by Summer i nitiative grants.
diligence to ensure grants are awarded to qualified organizations in good standing. With deep knowledge of the local community and grantmaking best practices, the Community Foundation staff can also provide fundholders with personalized attention, expert guidance, and support.”
Since its founding in 1991, PACF has made grants of more than $200 million and provided more than an additional $32 million in support to its nonprofit fund holders. Of the $200 million in grants, more than $90 million has been awarded to nonprofits in the greater Mercer County region. In 2018 PACF was named by Charity Navigator as “One of America’s 10 Best Community Foundations,” and it is accredited by Community Foundations National Standards.
In 1991 the fund had $300,000. It now has more than $260 million.
PACF, according to Burks, was modeled after the Cleveland Foundation, a 1914 program in Cleveland, Ohio. The idea took off around the country, as some 800 like organizations were formed, including PACF, says Burks, who is a retired surgeon.
“These foundations exist for building an endowment to address issues in the community,” he says. “When organizations need money they can go to the community foundation, which pools its money.”
In Princeton’s case, a small fund was started in 1991, and has built up at a gradual pace, with funds reflecting donors’ interests. “It began to catch on in the late 1990s. People came to us,” Burks says. “Families began establishing donoradvised funds, nonprofits began to trust their endowments with PACF.”
Kieling played a critical role in the successful growth of the Community Foundation, giving credibility of its value to the Princeton community. “She spurred the process on and as more heard about us, they ‘joined in the party’ if you will,” Burks says, “The trustees created a solid organization that was there when people needed it, and it changed people’s lives.”
ALL KIDS THRIVE
“From the day we were formed, integrity was the priority,” says Eleanor Horne, trustee emerita and current volunteer. “We have adhered to high
standards in all that we have done even before we received certification.”
Horne formerly worked at Educational Testing Service (ETS) and was responsible for ETS’ contributions to the community. “I was intrigued by PACF’s work and became involved to learn how to do my job better. It is the gold standard,” she says. “And the organization and its work get in your blood.”
After Kieling served for 20 years, Jeffrey M. Vega successfully built on the work of Kieling as president and CEO for
nine years before he died in January 2024. The Foundation is seeking a president and CEO to succeed him.
As Kieling created an ethical foundation and Vega followed, “that integrity has followed us today,” Horne says. “PACF is still building on both of their work.”
Horne speaks passionately about the All Kids Thrive initiative. Launched in 2018 to combat chronic absenteeism in schools, the goal is to work with nonprofit partners to develop strong, school-based
d r. William P. (Bill) Burks, trustee emeritus and volunteer at PaCF
Eleanor h orne, center, trustee emerita and volunteer at PaCF
partnership programs so that children and adolescents living in poverty can attend school and have opportunities to succeed. The initial investment was $3 million over five years, funding 10 school/ nonprofit partnerships in four communities — Hamilton, Lawrence, Princeton, and Trenton.
“We were committed to reducing chronic absenteeism,” says Horne. But, as the COVID-19 pandemic evolved in 2020, the fund took an immediate pivot to address some of the more urgent needs of schoolchildren.
“The Covid Relief Fund was a model for other community foundations. We sprang into action within two or three days of the announcement of the closing of schools and many other organizations,” says Horne. “We would receive a request for funding early in the week and the check was out the door on Friday. We trusted the agencies in our community to know and address the needs of the people
we served. Our funders trusted us. They said, ‘We know PACF will use the funds for the greatest impact.’ A group of us met twice a week at 7 a.m. to respond as quickly as we could to community needs. For everyone at PACF and our donors, addressing the needs of a pandemic that threatened all of us was a burning passion.”
The lasting lesson was that “schools can and should be the hub of supporting children and their families, not with the expectation that the schools can do it all themselves, but because they can be a place where students and their families can tap into the services they need,” says Horne. “A trusted teacher, principal, counselor, or school nurse can encourage the families’ use of helpful resources that can address many of the underlying causes of chronic absenteeism such as homelessness, food insecurity, and lack of warm clothing and translation services.”
“We have come to see the school as the center of the village,” she continues, referring to the phrase “It Takes a
Village.” As the next multi-year phase of All Kids Thrive develops, the fund is working with several school districts to develop this community philosophy. “We could see the impact and the power and value of a community that cares for each other.”
TRENTON ARTS FUND
The arts, culture, and history are also among the keys to the health of a community, and with that understanding Hatch, a Trenton architect, and Henderson, a real estate developer, started the Trenton Arts Fund in partnership with PACF.
Since its inception in 2018, the Trenton Arts Fund has distributed more than $82,000 to 13 different Trenton arts, culture, and history organizations including Artworks Trenton, Capitol Harmony Works, New Jersey Capital Philharmonic, Passage Theater Company, Trenton Circus Squad, Trenton Museum Society, and Trenton United Family
The New Jersey Arts and Culture Renewal Fund provides grants to support nonprofit organizations whose primary focus is arts and culture, education,and/or history. It was created by a coalition of funders to raise and direct much needed support to the nonprofit arts and cultural sector statewide, including the Glass Impact Fund, pictured here. The fund was established with a lead gift from the Grunin Foundation and is hosted by PACF.
Foundation, all recommended by a grants committee.
“The amount of art happening in Trenton is so cutting edge, so extraordinary,” says Hatch, “and PACF is so good at supporting donors — it’s made our goal much, much easier to accomplish. We started a fund with a relatively small amount. Raising money has been inspiring.”
and to find funding. Arts, culture, and history nonprofits in particular need funds, and what was missing was funding they could count on.”
community, so passionate are they about PACF’s work.
“It started with a conversation between David and me, in 2018 or so,” says Hatch. “We had moved to Trenton in 1988 and by 1989 were both involved in the city. We had renovated our house, then renovated other houses in Mill Hill. Both of us were living and working in Trenton. We got involved in various arts and culture groups and the Old Mill Hill Society.”
Hatch served on the Passage Theatre Board for many years, including as president, as well as on the Trenton Historical Society Board, the Potteries of Trenton Society, and ultimately the Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey, currently as president of the board. Henderson has served on various boards including the Trenton Downtown Association and the Trenton Film Society.
“Being involved with many Trenton organizations, we know that every year there is a scramble to put together budgets
The amount that the Trenton Arts Fund grants each year totals 50 percent of donations received. The remainder is added to the endowment so that the fund can provide immediate support as well as building an endowment for the longterm vitality of the arts community. Hatch and Henderson recently announced a personal $250,000 donation to the fund’s endowment.
While the grants ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 are not considered large, “they make a difference for these organizations,” Hatch says. “But it’s also a bit of a stamp of approval. It means something to get a grant from the Trenton Arts Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation. These grants help organizations leverage funding from other sources — foundation, corporate, and individual.”
PASSIONATE ABOUT PACF
It is telling that more than one person interviewed teared up when talking about the impact of the organization on the
“What I’m most proud of,” says Burks, “is that we took an idea back in 1991 and made our own valuation of what the foundation can do. People in the community really bought into it because they understood this was a good concept. Our community trusted us to do the right thing. We made small philanthropists realize they could have a larger impact in the community.”
“Our purpose,” says Horne, “is not just to raise money, but show people the impact they can have with their donations. We can all be philanthropists.
“Everything we do is born of our love and concern for all our neighbors all the time, whether there is a community-wide crisis or a crisis that impacts a single family or person. Helping each other is our moral obligation — PACF makes it easy.”
For more information about the Princeton Area Community Foundation, visit pacf.org.
Carolyn Sanderson, middle in black dress, gathers with Fund for Women and Girls 2024 grant recipients.
Elizabeth.Walsh@Glenmede.com
Cheers to the incredible staff at Princeton Windrows
Cheers to the incredible staff at Princeton Windrows
As we begin a new year, the residents of Princeton Windrows wish to celebrate our exceptionally talented and dedicated staff.
Their hard work and service to this community keep all of us thriving. We are consistently amazed by the performance of every member of our staff, from senior management to front desk attendants who know all of us by name and greet everyone with a smile, to the housekeeping, culinary, and facilities teams who keep our community running smoothly. Our professionally trained employees are always striving to improve the lives of our residents.
As we begin a new year, the residents of Princeton Windrows wish to celebrate our exceptionally talented and dedicated staff.
As we begin a new year, the residents of Princeton Windrows wish to celebrate our exceptionally talented and dedicated staff.
As we begin a new year, the residents of Princeton Windrows wish to celebrate our exceptionally talented and dedicated staff.
Their hard work and service to this community keep all of us thriving. We are consistently amazed by the performance of every member of our staff, from senior management to front desk attendants who know all of us by name and greet everyone with a smile, to the housekeeping, culinary, and facilities teams who keep our community running smoothly.
We acknowledge and congratulate our staff members and thank them for being true pillars of this community.
Their hard work and service to this community keep all of us thriving. We are consistently amazed by the performance of every member of our staff, from senior management to front desk attendants who know all of us by name and greet everyone with a smile, to the housekeeping, culinary, and facilities teams who keep our community running smoothly. Our professionally trained employees are always striving to improve the lives of our residents. We acknowledge and congratulate our staff members and thank them for being true pillars of this community. We thank them for bringing a smile to everyone at Princeton Windrows every single day.
We thank them for bringing a smile to everyone at Princeton Windrows every single day.
Our professionally trained employees are always striving to improve the lives of our residents.
We acknowledge and congratulate our staff members and thank them for being true pillars of this community.
Their hard work and service to this community keep all of us thriving. We are consistently amazed by the performance of every member of our staff, from senior management to front desk attendants who know all of us by name and greet everyone with a smile, to the housekeeping, culinary, and facilities teams who keep our community running smoothly.
|
We thank
Our professionally trained employees are always striving to improve the lives of our residents.
We acknowledge and congratulate our staff members and thank them for being true pillars of this community.
Here’s to our staff!
We thank them for bringing a smile to everyone at Princeton Windrows every single day.
Here’s to our staff!
Here’s to our staff!
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and gracious hospitality. Join the creative, fascinating people who’ve chosen to
where
own their homes, their wellness and their futures — a place called Princeton Windrows. A resident-owned and managed 55-plus independent living condominium community Princeton Windrows Realty, LLC | 2000 Windrow Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540 609.520.3700 | www.princetonwindrows.com | All homes are located in Plainsboro Township.
