18 minute read
Landaus are Retiring After Decades in Family Business
Robert and Henry Landau are Retiring
After Decades in Family Business
Robert and Henry Landau, because you don’t know everything was always very third generation of the fam- when you’ll get it, and you good quality.” ily-owned Landau woolens don’t know if you’ll have cus- The small-town specialty store at 102 Nassau Street, tomers.” store gained an international have announced their re- Five of the store’s 12 em- reputation after starting to tirement after decades in ployees have said that be- sell Icelandic woolens.”It the family-owned business. cause of health concerns, built the business tremenThe store, currently open they don’t want to come dously,” said Landau. “We Wednesdays, Saturdays, and back when the store fully met the president of IceSundays, is holding a retire- reopens. “We totally respect land, and she referred to us ment sale. that,” said Landau. “But as ‘the wool family.’ We were
“We are now senior citi- that means the personality like a petri dish for developzens,” said Robert Landau, of the store would change if ing new stuff. We introduced 74, speaking by phone from we couldn’t get the products washable wool tee shirts and his home in Baltimore. we want, and get them sold sweatshirts in 1980 or so. “Hopefully, the business will by the people we want.” We did a cooperative project continue under new owner- The Landau store’s histo- with Michael Graves, who ship or in conjunction with ry goes back 106 years, 65 designed blankets for us.” us. It will be a little different, of which are in Princeton. The stores’s small museum but not so incompatible.” Grandfather Henry Landau of all things Albert Einstein
Landau’s brother Henry opened the first store in dates back some 25 years. is 70, and store manager Jersey City. When construc- When actors Walter Matthau Lynn Lahey Robillard, who tion of the Holland Tunnel and Meg Ryan were in town has worked at the store displaced the shop in 1919, to film the movie IQ around since 1970, is in her mid- he moved it to Brooklyn. 1994, the Landaus made an sixties. “Most of our employ- Known as The London De- effort to attract the actors ees are in our age group,” partment Store, it remained and crew to the store. said Robert Landau. “We’ve there until 1955 when Lan- “We asked customers to been thinking about this for dau’s son David and his wife bring in their old clothes a while. All of us, simulta- Evelyn — parents of Robert from the fifties that they neously, have back issues. It and Henry — moved to had bought from us, and we used to be fun to be there, Princeton. thought they might want to but now it has gotten diffi- The first stop was 25 use them in the film,” Lancult. That’s one part of it.” Witherspoon Street, cur- dau said. “One lady brought
COVID-19 is another sig- rently home to the Mezzalu- in one Harris Tweed overnificant factor. Current con- na restaurant. The business coat. So we went to Plan ditions have made it difficult moved to Nassau Street in B, which was ‘Bring in your for the store to continue 1963, first to No.114 where Einstein memorabilia.’ And its unique business model, the Princeton University that was like we opened up which relies more on in-per- Store is now located; and in the floodgates. There were son shopping than online. 1996 to its current location stories about us all over —
Suppliers to the store are at No.102. even the L.A. Times. We had experiencing significant de- The store has served gen- people calling from all over lays. “The supply chain is erations of locals, Princ- the country.” screwed up because of the eton University students, The museum started with pandemic,” said Landau. “If and countless tourists. The an exhibit in the window beyou would tell me that, by first Princeton advertise- fore moving to the back of February 1, we’d have a vac- ment ran in Town Topics on the store. “Nobody from the cine, then maybe we would March 1, 1955. “We were movie came, but Walter Matstay. But the way it is now, selling things for 10 cents, thau called one day to say you can’t order anything 39 cents,” Landau said. “But he lost his filming schedule, and did we know where they were shooting that day?” said Landau.
The famous physicist died in 1955, the year Landau’s parents opened the store. “But his daughter Margo was a good buddy of my dad and used to call all the time,” Landau said. “So did his secretary.”
The Einstein memorabilia will likely go to the Historical Society of Princeton, Landau said.
The store has received numerous accolades over the years. In 1969, the business introduced pantyhose to the U.S. market. In 1981, they received the designation “Sweater of the Year” from Woolite. Two years ago, on the television show Jeopardy, contestants were asked a question about the only U.S. museum devoted to Einstein. The answer was that it was “tucked inside a woolens shop in Princeton, New Jersey.”
Landau cites the store’s occasional misfires. They were the first in the U.S. to offer UGG boots. “We couldn’t sell them here, but three years later they became wildly successful,” he said. “We imported radically striped sweaters from Australia, which nobody wanted until Bill Cosby started wearing them on his television show.”
A line of clothing in a tiger pattern was another error of judgement. “We thought they’d be incredible for [Princeton University] Reunions. We got samples and showed them to some alumni, and everybody said ‘This is the greatest stuff.’ We ordered 900 pieces and we sold 12. So we’re not always right. But we do try things.”
The retirement sale will continue as long as necessary, as ongoing discussions continue with a potential buyer, said Landau. He is wistful and emotional when talking about the transition.
“Collaborations with the Princeton people are what make it special,” he said. “And the people who have worked for us over the years mean so much to us. In 1965 we hired a sophomore from Princeton High School, Barbara Greenblatt. I married her, and we just celebrated our 50th anniversary.”
—Anne Levin Jewish Family Service to Host Virtual Wellness Fest
Health and wellnessminded individuals are encouraged to join Dr. Aditi Nerurkar, an expert on building resilience in the mind, body, and spirit during COVID-19 and beyond, and other presenters, during JFCS’s two-hour virtual Wellness Fest on Friday, October 16 from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m.
Hosted by Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Philadelphia, the Wellness Fest is open to residents throughout the Greater Philadelphia Region and beyond at $36. All proceeds benefit JFCS’ mental health programs and services. JFCS continues to offer telemental health counseling, support groups, weekly phone calls to isolated individuals, and more during this time.
The online event will launch JFCS’ week-long Wellness Week with in sight on self-care, healthy eating, mindfulness, and more through the lens of the current crisis.
“As we all continue to readjust in this era of social distancing and COVID, it’s challenging to keep our resilience high and our stress low,” said Pia Eisenberg, senior vice president, community engagement, JFCS. “With so many juggling working at home and parenting amid the everyday struggles of the pandemic, it is more important than ever to connect the community with wellness experts and showcase the many programs we offer to those who may be experiencing a tremendous amount of stress at this time.”
Nerurkar is a Harvardtrained physician with expertise in the science of stress and resilience. She has been a speaker at the Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit and the Harvard Business School Women’s Conference, and was voted a Top Breakthrough in Integrative Medicine by the Huffington Post. She is a frequent medical correspondent, and was most recently the host of Arianna Huffington’s mindful parenting program through Thrive Global. She writes about the science of resilience on her site (draditi.com) with readership in over 50 countries.
Wellness Fest also features special breakout sessions. RSVP in advance at jfcsphilly.org/wellnessfest.
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continued from page one Chorney, who died on September 29. A pediatrician and advocate for the health and well-being of students in Princeton Public Schools, Chorney was described by Mayor Liz Lempert as “a tireless and passionate community activist. She did so much for the community, and it’s a better place because of her.”
Council unanimously approved a resolution for the Community Development Block Grant Program. The municipality’s population level, increased due to the consolidation of the former Township and Borough, has made it eligible for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) annual grants, which are focused on providing decent housing in a suitable living environment, consultant Marc Leckington told the governing body. “You joined at a good time,” he said, referring to money now available not just in HUD funds, but under the CARES act for projects related to COVID-19. The grants must primarily benefit low and moderate income people.
Princeton was notified by HUD in September 2019 that it qualifies as a “metropolitan city” based on population estimates, and was invited to become an “entitlement community” beginning in 2020.
Following a focus group held in July, a draft set of projects was put together. Two public hearings have also been held, and a consolidated plan was made public last week.
—Anne Levin
Holidays to Start Earlier At Morven This Year
This holiday season, Morven Museum and Garden, 55 Stockton Street, will open its decorated galleries a week earlier and keep them on view through January 10. The aim is to give everyone extra time to see the Festival of Trees without encouraging crowds.
The event chairs embraced the creativity demanded by the pandemic and added a “Winter Wonderland” twist to the annual fundraising party, Executive Director Jill Barry shared recently. “We’re inviting everyone to don their woollies and wellies (along with their mask) and join us on December 3 in the transformed backyard of the Museum from 5:30 to 8 p.m. by the fire pits, for holiday cheer with safe social distancing.”
Morven’s Festival of Trees is a juried collection of trees and mantles decorated by area garden clubs and nonprofit partners displayed in the museum’s galleries throughout the mansionturned-museum. Morven’s 2020 Festival of Trees cochairs are Tim Andrews, Colleen Goggins, Elizabeth Haines, Rachel Herr, and Carolyn and John Healey.
During the December 3 fundraising party, the museum will be open to enjoy the decorated trees and mantels at timed intervals. However, the party is based outdoors, “in the fresh air under the stars, enjoying firelight, holiday treats, twinkle lights, music, and a few surprises,” said Barry. “We long to gather together, and on this evening, we will be doing so while supporting Morven’s exhibitions and education programs. We hope many in our community, neighbors, and friends will consider becoming early supporters of this wonderful fundraising event at whatever level they can.”
In the event of bad weather, the event will be held December 4.
Basic party tickets are $175. Sponsorship lev els range from $250 to $15,000.
For more information on becoming a Festival of Trees sponsor, contact Kathy Greenwood at (609) 924-8144 x 113 or kgreenwood@morven.org.
Princeton Nursery School Gets Four-Star Rating
Princeton Nursery School, a year-round preschool for children of working parents for the past 92 years, has received a four-star rating for their successful completion of the rigorous, researchbased Grow NJ Kids quality rating program.
Grow NJ Kids is New Jersey’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS). It offers childcare and early learning programs access to training, professional development, staff scholarships for continuing education, and targeted technical assistance. Professional raters visit the program to review quality standards and then program participants receive ratings – up to five stars – by meeting an extensive list of quality benchmarks.
More than 40 states across the country have a form of QRIS. In New Jersey, the program is administered by the Departments of Children and Families, Education, Health, and Human Services.
The rating will help further the school’s mission to provide children with a quality preschool education and safe childcare in a diverse affordable setting, while offering working families comprehensive support with hunger prevention, health, wellness, and bilingual assistance.
“This has been a long journey for the school to achieve this rating and we are ecstatic that we were successful in achieving a four-star rating,” said Rose Wong, PNS executive director. “Although we are already NAEYC accredited, we wanted to ensure the quality of our programming and the health and safety of the children surpass all expectations and benchmarks.”
“Grow NJ Kids offers resources to help educate parents on the importance of quality child care and early childhood education,” says Andrea Breitwieser, Grow NJ Kids coordinator. “It also gives parents and families the tools needed to find programs that will make the most of their kid’s early learning experiences. Princeton Nursery School should be proud of their rating, as participation in Grow NJ Kids indicates they provide a higher standard of care, exceeding New Jersey’s licensing standards.”
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continued from page one measures that continue to be our best defense.”
He continued, “Wearing masks, hand hygiene, coughing/sneezing eti quette, physical distance, and disinfecting commonly touched surfaces is a proven force in combating any virus, let alone COVID-19.”
Wishing President Trump and his affected staff members a safe and speedy recovery, Williams added, “Everything we can glean from the outbreak in the White House shows the importance of following the safety measures in place that preserve our ability to move about safely, while dealing with this virus.”
Williams went on to stress the importance of effective contact tracing, “our second-tier defense.” Contact tracers, he said, “need to have the cooperation to help them do their jobs. Unknowingly spreading a virus does not make anyone a bad person. But knowing where and how a virus is spreading can better protect us all.”
Williams and Princeton Health Officer Jeff Grosser both commented on the challenges of the fall season, bringing cooler weather, more events indoors, and, in particu lar, students returning to schools.
Cases of COVID-19 were reported last week at both Community Park School and Stuart Country Day School, with the Princeton Health Department working with school officials to ensure that appropriate contact tracing and quarantining protocols were followed in both cases. The exposure was apparently more limited in the case of the Community Park teacher, who is self-isolating for 14 days. No significant contacts (someone within six feet of an infected person for at least ten minutes) were identified. No students had been in the building with that teacher. In the case of the Stuart fourth grader who tested positive, students and teachers in the affected class are being quarantined at home and attending school remotely for 14 days.
“New cases in schools and in workplaces are an eventuality to be expected,” said Williams. ”The difference now is that there are tools in place to limit and/or isolate transmissions. So outbreaks can be controlled while we live our lives. We can certainly expect that there will be a rise in cases, but with these procedures in place to protect ourselves, we increase our ability to stop or prevent spreader events.”
Grosser emphasized the Health Department’s ongoing work with area schools. “The Princeton Health Department continues to support Princeton schools as they bring children back into the classroom,” he said. “Schools have been working tirelessly spring through summer in order to make returning to in-person instruction as safe as possible.”
He continued, “Parents and guardians can do their part by ensuring each student knows mask etiquette and the rules each school is required to abide by with wearing masks inside schools. They can also assist schools by performing daily symptom checks on students before they arrive at school.”
With Halloween just three weeks away, the NJDOH has issued health and safety guidance for trick-or-treating and other Halloween activities. Face coverings over both nose and mouth are strongly encouraged. Costume masks do not count
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because they do not provide necessary protection. The NJDOH also strongly recommends that all Halloween activities be held outdoors.
Treats should not be placed directly in the bags of trick-or-treaters, nor should there be communal bowls that multiple hands reach into. Instead, individually packaged candy should be arranged in a way that it can be easily grabbed without multiple pieces being touched. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy added on Monday that trick-or-treating groups should be limited to household members, or, if that’s not possible, should practice careful social distancing, and should also stay local and limit the number of homes visited.
In their Princeton COVID-19 Update on Monday, Mayor Liz Lempert and Princeton Council reported that COVID Alert NJ is a new app that can be downloaded for free and will anonymously alert users if they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. The app does not record any identifying data and all users will remain anonymous.
—Donald Gilpin
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service To Help Mercer Waterways
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have announced that the Mercer County Park Commission will be awarded a grant from the 2020 Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund for $150,000. This grant will help fund the installation of a living shoreline and public access to the waterways in Roebling Park and the Abbott Marshlands.
This three-step restoration project will include constructing a 500-linearfoot living shoreline along Watson’s Creek, conducting a feasibility study for the re-introduction of freshwater mussels in the marsh and installing a user-friendly and ecologically sensitive public boat launch. This award is a result of collaboration between the Park Commission, Princeton Hydro, and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary.
Freshwater tidal marsh is one of the most ecologically valuable habitat types in New Jersey, yet it has experienced the highest percentage of loss and degradation of wetland habitat in the state. The marsh within Roebling Park in Hamilton is in the heart of the larger 3,000-acre Abbott Marshlands, the northernmost tidal freshwater wetland on the Delaware River. Approximately 309 acres of Roebling Park are freshwater tidal wetlands, and provide habitat for rare organisms such as wild rice, river otter and American eel, and a prime breeding habitat for bald eagles.
“This grant will help further the county’s efforts to improve wetland functions and passive recreational opportunities in Roebling Park, an ecological jewel that’s located just minutes outside the City of Trenton,” said Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes. “Native plants, wildlife, and the public all will benefit from the ongoing restoration in the park.”
The Park Commission is currently working with Princeton Hydro to conduct a multi-year, multiphased restoration of these important freshwater tidal wetlands in Roebling Park. This ecosystem restoration will enhance the park’s biodiversity, restore natural tidal function, improve recreational opportunities through the eradication of Phragmites and promote a native floral community in the wetland. The installation of a living shoreline and ecologically sensitive boat launch will continue building on the overarching mission for the larger wetland restoration, which is to provide ecological uplift to the wetlands within Roebling Park, while improving ecosystem services.
“For the last several years the Park Commission has significantly increased its efforts to restore the unique ecosystems within Roebling Park,” said Park Commission Executive Director Aaron T. Watson. “This grant will now allow us to expand upon our work to date and also result in new ways for Mercer County residents to get outside and enjoy this wonderful natural resource.”
Wednesday, October 21st 1pm to 3pm
You’re invited to drive by our site, meet our friendly team outside and learn more about our luxurious amenities and innovative services while in your car to safely social distance. As a special “thank you” and to welcome fall, we’ll send you on your way with a freshly-baked apple pie and a copy of Ray Bradbury’s book Golden Apples of the Sun. Come and experience our signature hospitality!
RSVP required. To reserve your pie and book, contact Tracy: (609) 917-9985 or PrincetonDOS@HarborChase.com.
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