c as it enters Princeton from the south. Kramer’s recommendation for turning intersections at Valley Road, Terhune Road, and Bunn Drive into roundabouts were positively received by Council members. They would be similar to existing roundabouts at Faculty Road and
The study also recommends a “road diet” at the Princeton Shopping Center, which would turn four lanes of traffic into two, and repurposing the pavement for
Continued on Page 11
Window” Unveiling Marks New Era, Upgrading Princeton Battlefield Experience
Peale painting applied onto a clear acrylic window so that viewers can peer through to gain a sense of the battle action that took place on the landscape. In preparing Princeton for America’s 250th anniversary celebration in 2026, and the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 2027, there will be 13 new interpretive markers that will include a bronze patina battle eld map table, two “battle window” signs, and 10 interpretive plaques. The New Jersey
Continued on Page 12
discuss their
(Photo by Sarah Teo)
Princeton Charter School is a free, K-8 public school. We encourage you to learn more about us in order to see whether Charter is the right option for your family.
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Virtual Panel – 11:00 AM
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We welcome all applicants from Princeton. Students are admitted to Charter based on a random lottery. Students who qualify for a weighted lottery based on family income will have their names entered into the lottery twice.
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Opening Ceremony Held For Open Space Tract
On Friday, November 15, one of Princeton’s largest areas of protected land was officially opened to the public. The event featured remarks from Councilmember Eve Niedergang, Council President Mia Sacks, and representatives from Ridgeview Conservancy, The Watershed Institute, Friends of Princeton Open Space, New Jersey Conservation Foundation, Mercer County, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Green Acres Program. The speeches were followed by a walk through the area led by the Ridgeview Turtles, a local youth conservation group.
The process to acquire the property, which had been targeted for a housing development, began in 2020. In October 2021, the Municipality of Princeton reached an $8.8 million agreement with Bryce Thompson and Lanwin Development to secure the ecological resource for conservation and recreation.
“Today’s opening of the 153-Acre Wood is an example of what we can achieve with the power of collaboration,” said Mercer County Executive Dan Benson. “I’m proud that Mercer County
was able to play a crucial role in supporting Princeton’s purchase of the Lanwin Tract so that it can continue to be enjoyed by the public for generations to come.”
Preserving the land offers such ecological benefits as protecting wetlands and streams and creating a safe habitat for wildlife. The mature oak, beech, maple, and
Topics
hickory trees help support local biodiversity, and provide a home for songbirds and other species. They also absorb rainfall, acting as a natural buffer for preventing flooding along Cherry Valley Road. The trees also capture an estimated 340 megatons of carbon each year. Visit princetonnj.gov for more information.
In Brief A Community Bulletin
Leighton Listens: Councilman Leighton Newlin holds one-on-one conversations about issues impacting Princeton from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on November 27 at Maman Princeton, 43 Hulfish Street.
Holiday Gift Drive: In the lobby at Princeton Airport from November 29-Decemer 18, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., deposit unwrapped gifts for Mercer County Board of Social Services. PrincetonAirport.com.
Winter Clothing Drive: Through December 31, donations of gently used coats, jackets, scarves, gloves, and other winter wear are being accepted for needy families at The Jewish Center, 435 Nassau Street. Collection bins are in the lobby TuesdaysThursdays 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Fridays 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; and Sundays 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
Food Pantry: Arm in Arm’s mobile food pantry is at the Lawrence Headquarters Branch of Mercer County Library System, 2751 Brunswick Pike, on Monday afternoons from 2-4 p.m. Fresh produce, eggs, milk, frozen proteins, and quality baked goods as well as canned and boxed items and personal care items are available for those in need.
Sustainable Princeton “Lending Library ” : Sustainable Princeton offers residents and nonprofits in Princeton the opportunity to borrow sustainable home items such as electric landscape equipment, induction cooktops, and repair tools, for free, for up to two weeks. Visit sustainableprinceton.org for more information.
Millhill Holiday Giving Drive: Millhill Child and Family Development is collecting gifts and warm coats through November 29. In-person donations will be accepted through December 6. Contact Angie at AMcManimon@millhillcenter.org for details.
Free Salt Room Sessions for Breast Cancer Survivors: 4 Elements Wellness Center in Princeton Shopping Center offers free halotherapy sessions to anyone who has survived or is still battling the disease. The 50-minute sessions cleanse the respiratory system, reduce inflammation, and provide stress relief. 4elementswellnesscenter. com.
Donate Blood : The American Red Cross needs blood and platelet donors, especially type O blood, as the holiday season approaches. In Princeton, donations can be made at Frist Campus Center on the Princeton University campus, or Stone Hill Church on Bunn Drive. Additional opportunities in Trenton, Plainsboro, Pennington, Hopewell, Hamilton, and Ewing townships are available. Visit RedCrossBlood.org for dates and times.
GRAND OPENING: Local officials spoke at the recent ribboncutting at 153-Acre Wood, a sprawling tract of woodlands with frontage on Cherry Valley and Province Line roads. From left are Mercer County Executive Dan Benson, Princeton Council President Mia Sacks and her dog Feiffer Sacks, and Princeton Municipal Administrator Bernie Hvozdovic.
SCROOGE IS BACK: Veteran stage and screen actor Joel McKinnon Miller returns to the lead role in McCarter Theatre’s production of “A Christmas
10-29.
McCarter’s Holiday Production of “A Christmas Carol” Brings Back Popular Actor as Ebenezer Scrooge
When Joel McKinnon Miller signed on in June 2023 to play the notorious miser Ebenezer Scrooge in McCarter Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol last December, he wasn’t entirely familiar with the Charles Dickens classic. But he immersed
himself in the play, reading the script numerous times before rehearsals began.
Miller’s characterization was a success; so much so that McCarter has brought him back for this year’s run of the show. A Christmas Carol, adapted by director Lauren Keating, opens December 10 and runs through December 29 in McCarter’s Matthews Theatre.
TOPICS Of the Town
Miller is best known for his role as Detective Norm Scully on the NBC television series Brooklyn Nine-Nine , and as Don Embry in HBO’s Big Love . He and Keating have known each other since working together on The 24 Hour Plays at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, where she was formerly the associate producer, in 2017.
The cast for this year’s production also includes several adult actors as well as members of The Youth Ensemble, a group of nine performers from the local area.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was an instant bestseller when it was published in 1843. According to a history on the website time.com, Victorians called the book “a new gospel,” and reading or watching it became a sacred ritual for many. Dickens had first conceived of the project as a pamphlet which he planned on calling “An Appeal to the People of England on Behalf of the Poor Man’s Child.”
“But in less than a week of thinking about it, he decided to embody his arguments in a story, with a main character of pitiable depth,” the article reads. “So what might have been a polemic to harangue, instead became a story for which audiences hungered.”
McCarter has been presenting productions of A Christmas Carol (with a three-year break during the pandemic) since 1980. The current version by Keating was introduced in 2022, replacing the production directed by Adam Immerwahr, which ran from 2016 to 2018.
As with previous versions, the current production is big
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on colorful costumes and sets reminiscent of Victorian London. Choreography is by Emily Maltby and musical direction by Cris Frisco.
“I’m thrilled to bring this beloved story to life once again with a talented cast and creative team,” said McCarter Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen in a press release. “A Christmas Carol lifts our spirits every year, and also invites us to reflect on generosity, kindness, and the gift of showing up for others. It’s an honor to share this story with our community and celebrate the holiday season together.”
McCarter Executive Director Martin Miller said that at
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Carol,” running December
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one performance last year, a patron stopped him in the aisle with tears in her eyes “to say she’d been coming for 20 years and this was her favorite experience yet. What a privilege, then, to welcome Joel McKinnon Miller back for a second year leading this spectacular production, a treasured family tradition that is — like Scrooge on Christmas morning — overflowing with holiday spirit.”
As Miller said in a Town Topics interview last year, “I love the message we’re sending, especially at this time when there is so much angst in this country, and in the world. People can come to see the show and get a respite from that for a moment. To bring some love and light and happiness, and a good story we can all relate to — well, it’s just very special.”
Visit Mccarter.org for tickets.
—Anne Levin
New County Office Of Food Security
Last week, Mercer County Executive Dan Benson signed an ordinance passed by the Mercer County Board of Commissioners establishing a new Mercer County Office of Food Security.
The new office will tackle the challenge of food insecurity by identifying and eliminating barriers that stand between Mercer residents and access to a stable diet of nutritious food.
forum for the expression of opinions about local and national issues.
Question of the Week:
“What were your favorite experiments today?”
(Asked Saturday at the Chemistry for Kids event at Princeton Public Library)
(Photos by Sarah Teo)
“The strawberry DNA extraction experiment. I learned that 60 percent of our DNA is related to strawberries. I also made a glow-in-the-dark bracelet and invisible ink.”
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“Food insecurity is a silent epidemic, one that afflicts even the wealthiest counties and states,” Benson said. “In Mercer County, we’re fortunate to work with dedicated service providers who work with families, the unhoused, people living with disabilities, and those struggling with substance abuse issues. Still, many of these partners are struggling to meet their clients’ needs, including basic meals. This new office will help fill the gap to ensure Mercer County residents don’t go hungry.”
The new Office of Food Security will be under the jurisdiction of the Department of Human Services, and is funded through an American Rescue Plan (ARPA) grant secured by Mercer County. The office will direct funding to invest with agencies, partners, and organizations that are dedicated to fighting hunger in Mercer County, prioritizing five key initiatives that will drive down food insecurity.
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They include grants to establish a Food Hub which will serve the most vulnerable residents in Trenton; fresh food grants to meet the demand of existing food pantries, nonprofits, and community organizations; collaboration with existing stakeholders on data-sharing agreements and opportunities to mine data toward solutions-oriented initiatives; grants for nonprofits to implement innovative projects and measures; and a restaurant voucher pilot program that will engage with culturally diverse restaurants and/ or independent small grocery stores to create a voucher program for Latino families and older individuals experiencing food insecurity.
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More information about these funding opportunities will be made available on the county website at mercerco unty.org in the coming weeks.
— Luca Lee, Little Silver
“I liked the elephant toothpaste. You can make it with soap — that’s the activator. I also made a bracelet that lights up with an ultraviolet light.” — Nat Braswell, Cherry Hill
Nate: “The elephant toothpaste. They used yeast to make it, and coloring. I also liked the invisible ink.” — Nate and Sam Hoeschele, Hopewell
“The invisible ink. To make it, I rolled a Q-Tip in a basic solution that we painted over using a turmeric solution.” — Esa Khan, South Brunswick
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Dems, Republicans continued from page one an organization we want to move forward.” The state elections will be first priority, he noted, but advocacy work is also a large part of the PCDO’s work.
“Obviously as the Trump administration begins to take office there will be a lot of things we need to react to on the advocacy level,” said DiDomizio.
As leader in the local Republican organization, Princeton Republican Committee Chair Dudley Sipprelle was encouraged by the election results though he acknowledged the challenges with only about 2,000 registered Republicans, about 9 percent of voters, in Princeton.
He went on to point out that 33 percent of Princeton voters are unaffiliated and that Trump’s 16 percent of the vote in Princeton was almost double what it was in 2020.
“The voters across the country sent a message that something’s not going right,” said Sipprelle. “Trump got the pulse of the voters right. Otherwise he wouldn’t have won every swing state.”
Sipprelle claimed that Democrats are not getting the message that voters are trying to send. “Princeton is a bubble,” he said. “From the national vote to the state vote in New Jersey to the Mercer County vote to the Princeton vote, it’s all the same. Trump’s numbers are up. Harris’ numbers are down. It is doubtful whether the political elite in Princeton and the Democratic organization are getting the message.”
Looking ahead to next year’s governor’s race, Sipprelle is optimistic, and he’s even hopeful of seeing Republicans make significant inroads in Princeton. “The Republicans are growing, expanding their presence,” he said. “We’re building the party in Princeton, and one of these days we’re going to have a candidate for Council.”
“There’s a message to be gathered out there, but Princeton Democrats don’t want to hear it,” he added. “They need to do a little honest reflection. We’re not going away, and we are building the party.”
DiDomizio did not entirely disagree with Sipprelle’s observations. “There’s been a lot of commentary this year about how Democrats are sort of losing the non-educated demographic, and Princeton as you know is highly educated,” said DiDomizio. “I think there are going to be some very hard truths to be faced, some really uncomfortable discussions we’re going to have to have in order to understand how we bridge the gap again.”
He suggested that it’s too soon for him to go into details, but he noted that there needed to be a sharper focus on union members, laborers, and working class individuals. “We have to reach out to different groups of people, “to diversity the audience a little more, not just based on the usual demographics but also on education levels. We need to bridge those gaps.”
Sustainable Princeton, a nonpartisan organization leading Princeton in its quest to embrace clean
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energy and reduce its carbon footprint, sent an email to the Princeton community two days after the election, reaffirming its commitment to its mission, regardless of whether policies change in Washington.
“The election results will make the work to address climate change and build a more sustainable community harder,” the Sustainable Princeton team wrote. “But we still have power — no matter what happens at the federal level. How we choose to act as neighbors, friends, stewards of our ecosystem, and members of a larger community is still up to us.”
The message continued, “We choose to maintain Princeton as a community of compassionate people who believe in climate change, work in partnership on solutions, feel responsible for each other, and protect our most vulnerable neighbors. We choose to live in a way that upholds our values regardless of federal policies.”
The message noted that Princeton has been envisioned as a model town, and “we need to be that model town now more than ever.” It concluded, “Don’t give up. We certainly won’t.”
In a follow-up phone conversation Sustainable Princeton Executive Director Christine Symington emphasized the progress that can be made on the local level under any circumstances.
“Regardless of what federal policies may change, regardless of whether or not the new administration is going to make changes to clean energy policy, we have a lot of things we can do on
a local level to reduce emissions, protect our ecosystem, and be more resilient to climate change,” she said.
The priorities of Princeton’s Climate Action Plan will remain the same, she said, and she’s hoping that provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act designed to help lower the cost in transitioning to clean energy will remain in place. “It’s a nonpartisan issue to pay less for electricity and have that electricity come from cleaner sources,” she added.
The Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA) is another Princeton organization that is nonpartisan, but it is not reluctant to engage in the arena of politics in behalf of its peacemaking agenda. CFPA Executive Director the Rev. Robert Moore sent out an email to CFPA supporters on the day after the election.
Describing the results from the presidential race as “unexpected” and “shocking, discouraging, and depressing,” the email advised, “We must not succumb to the temptation to letting ourselves be disempowered!”
The email went on to cite “a few bright spots,” including two races targeted by the CFPA Peace Voter Campaign where the more pro-peace candidates won: Kim’s U.S Senate election and Herb Conaway’s election in New Jersey Congressional District 3.
In an effort to make its services to victims of domestic violence more inclusive, the local nonprofit Womanspace has changed its name to Younity. The rebranding was made official at a gathering of staff, board members, community leaders, survivors, and supporters at Trenton Country Club on November 13.
“We know that our community is diverse, and we also know that domestic violence does not discriminate,” said Nathalie Nelson, Younity CEO and president, this week. “It doesn’t only affect women. It affects men, children, the elderly — people from all backgrounds. We want to reflect that.”
Founded in 1977 to provide critical services for those affected by domestic violence and sexual abuse in the Mercer County region, Womanspace provides emergency and follow-up services including round-the-clock crisis intervention, short-term emergency shelter, short-term and long-term transitional housing, counseling, and support groups for adults and children. In the last fi scal year, more than 10,000 people received assistance from the nonprofit, according to Nelson.
The organization has been considering a rebranding for the past 10 years. “We want to grow and commit to inclusivity,” Nelson said. “We have always served men and children in addition to women, and sometimes the name ‘Womanspace’ was a deterrent. What we’re doing here is honoring the Womanspace
legacy while providing healing for all survivors from all backgrounds.”
Among those quoted in a press release about the rebranding were board members Stephen Sigmund and Meaghan Cannon, both of whose late mothers were cofounders of Womanspace.
“My mom started Womanspace almost 50 years ago so women and families had a new path to safety from domestic violence that didn’t exist anywhere else in Mercer County,” said Sigmund, son of former Princeton Borough Mayor Barbara Boggs Sigmund. “As Womanspace has expanded over the decades to provide that same new path to more and more survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault from all genders and walks of life, it’s time for a new name that matches that evolution. Younity represents our expanded mission, bringing people together, survivors and providers alike, to provide new opportunity and new hope.”
Cannon, who is board chair, said, “As the daughter of one of Womanspace’s founding members [Mary Ann Cannon], I am deeply honored to continue my mother’s legacy of compassion, empowerment, and resilience. Today, as we evolve into Younity, I am immensely proud to support this transformation. We are staying true to the mission that was so dear to her heart while embracing a new vision for unity and healing that will strengthen our community for generations to come.”
Womanspace board members held focus groups, interviews, and meetings with their the advertising agency Imbue Creative to come up with the new name and brand. During her speech on November 13, Nelson paid tribute to Sigmund, Cannon, and fellow founders Deborah Metzger, Ellen Belknap, and Valorie Caffee as well as several staff members who have been with the organization anywhere from 10 to 40 years.
“We honor the foundation built by our history while stepping into a future that better refl ects the strength, diversity, and resilience of whose we serve,” she said.
“This transformation not only celebrates where we’ve been but also where we’re going as we continue to foster hope and healing for those who need it most.”
Visit Younitynj.org for more information.
—Anne Levin
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New CDL Training Offered at MCCC
Mercer County Community College’s (MCCC) new Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Training Program, in partnership with Ancora Education, is offered through MCCC’s Department of Workforce Education. The program is designed to prepare learners to sit for the CDL A exam, which is provided through the course. Through this program, students can become licensed and get started in one of the most in-demand careers in the country in as little as four weeks. Fueled by a curriculum that provides a 4:1 student teacher ratio, students are trained to inspect and operate tractortrailers and to assume driver responsibilities on the road and at pick-up/delivery points. Covered topics in-
clude: vehicle inspections, cargo handling, size/weight laws, range maneuvers, general maintenance procedures, motor carrier safety regulations, hours of service, trip planning, accident prevention, and more.
Students will also receive instruction in Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and be introduced to behind-the-wheel requirements including basic instruments, controls, and operating characteristics of a commercial motor vehicle.
“Given the heightened demand for CDL drivers, fueled by the continued rise in e-commerce and supply chain needs, Mercer County Community College is excited to announce the launch of a new CDL program. We are proud to partner with Ancora Education, a highly
respected leader in the industry, to provide essential training,” said Gonzalo Perez, assistant vice president for academic affairs, workforce education, and innovation at MCCC. “We are hopeful that this partnership will provide longterm employment in highdemand jobs and an above average living wage to those who complete the program. This collaboration reinforces our ongoing commitment to develop and offer programs that equip our community with the skills needed to meet a growing job market, both in Mercer County and beyond.”
The next CDL cohort is scheduled to begin on November 25. For more information, contact Jennifer Kaklamanis, director, workforce education, at kaklamaj@mccc.edu.
MEETING INDUSTRY DEMANDS: Mercer County Community College’s Department of Workforce Education is offering a Commercial Driver’s License training program.
Council Hears Report continued from page one pedestrian and bicycle improvements. Also recommended is a new traffic signal at the intersection of Ewing Street and Route 206, corridor-wide intersection and traffic-calming treatments, and a proposed bicycle network expansion on lower-volume roadways.
Changes are needed to help the town adapt to increased volume of traffic and people. “The clay we’re working with has changed under our feet,” Kramer said, adding that Princeton doesn’t look the same as it did five years ago.
A more detailed study will be made available to the public in the future.
Municipal Engineer/Deputy Administrator Deanna Stockton said the town has submitted an application to the State of New Jersey for a grant to make improvements to Harrison Street between Nassau Street and Franklin Avenue; and that staff has already been working with the town’s Public Works Department on the “road diet.” An additional grant will be submitted for the next stage of the plan.
During the public comment section of the meeting, three people expressed concerns about plans to remove the information ki-
Police Blotter
On November 12, at 1:17 a.m., subsequent to a motor vehicle stop on Nassau Street, a 34-year-old Princeton male was placed under arrest for Driving While Intoxicated. He was transported to police headquarters where he was processed, charged accordingly, and later released.
On October 28, at 2:57 a.m., subsequent to a call on Leigh Avenue for a male with a knife, a 46-year-old Princeton male was placed under arrest after he was found to be in possession of a folding box cutter. He was transported to police headquarters, processed, charged accordingly, and released.
On October 25 at 2:08 a.m., subsequent to a motor vehicle stop on Prospect Avenue, the driver, a 41-yearold male from Plainsboro, was placed under arrest for Driving While Intoxicated. He was transported to police headquarters where he was processed, charged accordingly, and later released.
On October 25, at 10:13 p.m., subsequent to a motor vehicle stop on Valley Road, a 33-year-old Princeton male was placed under ar-
alcohol valued at $32.99.
On November 12, the accused, a 28-year-old from Trenton, was identified, placed under arrest at police headquarters, charged accordingly, and released.
On October 21, at 12:27 a.m., subsequent to a motor vehicle stop on Nassau Street, a 22-year-old Princeton female was placed under arrest for Driving While Intoxicated. She was transported to police headquarters where she was processed, charged accordingly, and later released.
Unless noted, individuals arrested were later released.
Holiday Gift Collection At Princeton Airport
In 2020, the annual Princeton Airport Santa Fly-in event was discontinued for safety reasons. But the airport continues to serve as a holiday gift donation center for the Mercer County Board of Social Services.
Starting the day after Thanksgiving at 8 a.m., unwrapped gifts will be accepted in the airport’s lobby. The collection continues through Wednesday, December 18. The gifts, which are for those less fortunate, can be deposited in the “chimneys” in the lobby, until 5 p.m.
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The airport is on Route 206 in Montgomery Township. The full address is 41 Airpark Road. Visit Princetonairport.com or call (609) 921-3100 for more information.
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“Battle Window” continued from page one State Parks, Forests, and Historic Sites; the American Battlefield Trust (ABT); and the Princeton Battlefield Society have been the principal collaborators on the project.
New Jersey State Parks Assistant Commissioner John Cecil cited the Battle of Princeton as a turning point in American history.
“On January 3, 1777, the cause of American independence hung in the balance at Princeton, and that pivotal moment in history deserves to be captured through the very best in 21st century interpretive techniques,” he said. “This new signage will immediately enhance the experience of visitors and excite the community for the work still in progress.”
In his comments to the assembled gathering Cecil added that the interpretive signs were intended to be user friendly and accessible, and also “to ignite the visitor’s imagination.”
He noted, “The goal in developing these materials has been to foster a meaningful and inclusive atmosphere for all visitors to Princeton Battlefield State Park. These new wayside exhibits aim to tell a comprehensive story of the battle, bringing to life the untold stories of all of those who were involved here on that dramatic day.”
PBS President Ben Strong praised the contributions of all the participating organizations as “the culmination of a lot of hard work, planning, and endless discussion.” He noted that the new signage can tell the whole story of the Battle of
Princeton, “a huge, moving, violent drama.” He continued, “The hinge of history swings here on this battlefield.”
Strong went on to point out that the American victory at Princeton forced the British to pull out of New Jersey and eventually led to independence. “This is a critical spot,” he said. “It is sacred ground because American valor and blood spilled here behind you and all around you. We hope to walk around today and look at these new signs to get a better understanding of what happened here and to gain an appreciation for the sacrifice and courage that was shown here.”
He added that the upgrades and the collaborative Washington’s Legacy Plan would “turn New Jersey into a must-see Revolutionary War site, bringing the Revolutionary War into the 21st century here with the signage and the rehabilitation of this battlefield.”
The fiscal year 2025 New Jersey state budget announced in June includes $1.3 million for improvements to the Princeton Battlefield, and those funds, to be matched with private dollars raised by the American Battlefield Trust, the Princeton Battlefield Society, and others, will contribute to the relocation of parking outside the historic core of the battlefield where the most intense fighting took place, as well as a new park entrance,
a visitor orientation circle, and 65 parking spaces with school bus access. Also planned are a walking path, restoration of historic tree and fence lines, and the recapture of period road traces. Will Krakower, resource interpretive specialist at the park, described what this all means. “Visitors will get to walk the same pathways that Washington and his men took 250 years ago,” he said. “They’ll get to survey the grounds and see in their mind’s eye what it would have been like to witness hundreds of British troops on the hill opposite them. They’ll march over the same ground, stand on battle lines, charge through the recreated apple orchard — it’s going to be an amazing experience.”
Preservation architect Glenn Stach, who has been working with the American Battlefield Trust for more than eight years, spoke to the gathering about the significance of the Princeton Battlefield. “We think these places matter, and we know that you believe that as well. They matter in history, and they matter today, and they matter for future generations.”
He continued, “The way this battlefield is treated and is experienced, we believe matters. And your gathering here matters on the momentous occasion of embarking on a new era of experiencing this landscape.”
—Donald Gilpin
Bell & Evans Fresh All Natual Turkeys
Prepped and ready to cook in YOUR oven with simple cooking instructions.
Small Feeds 10–12
$115.00
Butternut
Medium Feeds 14–16
Large Feeds 18–20
PRINCE TO N
PRINCE TO N
$135.00
$155.00
HomeFront Prepares for Busy Holiday Season
With Multiple Initiatives to Serve Community Choice Market food pantry at 1880 Princeton Avenue in Lawrence Township. On Friday November 22, Steward will host “Food for Thought,” a conversation that will help participants to learn more about HomeFront’s programs and services and the issues that clients face every day.
Extra Large Feeds 22 & up
$175.00
As the holidays approach, HomeFront is stepping up its efforts to help families “break the cycle of poverty” with Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week through November 23, its Thanksgiving Basket and Food Drive, the Holiday Wishes Drive to make the season merry for local children in need, its Holiday Market November 23-24, its expanding Diaper Resource Center, and more.
Squash Soup
$11/24 oz.
THANKSGIVING DINNER FROM LUCY’S
THANKSGIVING DINNER FROM LUCY’S
PRINCE TO
PRINCE TO N
PRINCE TO N
Lucy’s Cider Gravy
Bell & Evans Fresh All Natual Turkeys
Bell & Evans Fresh All Natual Turkeys
THANKSGIVING DINNER FROM LUCY’S
THANKSGIVING DINNER FROM LUCY’S
THANKSGIVING DINNER FROM LUCY’S
$11/24 oz. Cranberry
Orange Relish $9/16 oz.
Prepped and ready to cook in YOUR oven with simple cooking instructions.
Prepped and ready to cook in YOUR oven with simple cooking instructions.
Small Feeds 10–12
On Saturday and Sunday, November 23 and 24, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., HomeFront’s Holiday Market at its Lawrenceville headquarters will feature more than 40 vendors offering handmade artisan items, with proceeds to support HomeFront families.
Bell & Evans Fresh All Natual Turkeys
Extra Large Feeds 22 & up $175.00
Sides
Bell & Evans Fresh All Natual Turkeys
Bell Evans Fresh All Natual
Medium Feeds 14–16
$115.00
$11/lb
Medium Feeds 14–16
Prepped and ready to cook in YOUR oven with simple cooking instructions.
Prepped and ready to cook in YOUR oven with simple cooking instructions.
Prepped and ready to cook in YOUR oven with simple cooking instructions.
Small Feeds 10–12
Small Feeds 10–12
Small Feeds 10–12
Large Feeds 18–20 $155.00
$135.00
$115.00
(order by the pound, 2 lbs serves 4-6)
$135.00
$115.00
$115.00
Butternut Squash Soup
$11/24 oz.
Cranberry Orange Relish $9/16 oz.
Large Feeds 18–20 $155.00
$135.00
Small Feeds 10–12 $115.00
Medium Feeds 14–16
Medium Feeds 14–16 $135.00
Medium Feeds 14–16 $135.00
$135.00
Lucy’s Cider Gravy $11/24 oz.
Lucy’s Cider Gravy $11/24 oz.
Extra Large Feeds 22 & up $175.00
Candied Sweet Potatoes & Pecans
Large Feeds 18–20 $155.00
Large Feeds 18–20 $155.00
Large Feeds 18–20 $155.00
Cranberry Orange Relish $9/16 oz.
Savory Vegetarian Corn Bread & Leek Stuffing
Butternut Squash Soup $11/24 oz.
Extra Large Feeds 22 & up $175.00
Extra Large Feeds 22 & up $175.00
Extra Large Feeds 22 & up $175.00
“This holiday season the need is both great and growing, as homelessness continues to rise,” said HomeFront CEO Sarah Steward. “In Mercer County alone, the number of individuals experiencing homelessness increased by 31 percent from 2023 to 2024. At HomeFront we provide emergency shelter and vital support for families in crisis, while also working to prevent others from reaching that breaking point.”
“I do a lot of work around maternal health, and the need for diapers always comes up. This project has been in the works for over two years now. This is a dream come true to be able to start here at HomeFront to do this expansion.” Steward expressed her gratitude to the assemblywoman and to the state for the $250,000 grant and emphasized the importance of the diaper program. “At HomeFront, we believe all families deserve a life of dignity, which means having access to basic necessities,” she said. “And that includes diapers. We began our formal diaper program in 2016 and have scaled up our efforts every year since to meet this growing need in our community. Last year, we distributed a total of 1,132,522 diapers free of charge, an increase of 18 percent over the previous year. We know the numbers will simply continue to increase.”
Butternut Squash Soup $11/24 oz.
Butternut Squash Soup $11/24 oz.
Butternut Squash Soup $11/24 oz.
Sides
Tuscan Bread & Sausage Stuffing
Classic Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Lucy’s Cider Gravy $11/24 oz.
Lucy’s Cider Gravy $11/24 oz.
Lucy’s Cider Gravy $11/24 oz.
$11/lb
Sides $11/lb
$16.00/32 oz. $16.00/32 oz. $10/16 oz.
Cranberry Orange Relish $9/16 oz.
Cranberry Orange Relish $9/16 oz.
Cranberry Orange Relish $9/16 oz.
Macaroni & Cheese $65/Tray
(order by the pound, 2 lbs serves 4-6)
(order by the pound, 2 lbs serves 4-6)
Sides
Sides
Sides
Sides
HomeFront’s Holiday Wishes Drive is also underway with children’s wish lists available for volunteers who want to get involved. It is also possible to donate gift cards or to donate general new, unwrapped toys and gifts. To learn more, email getinvolved@HomeFrontNJ. org or call (609) 989-9417 x112. Donations should be dropped off by December 9 at HomeFront, 1880 Princeton Avenue in Lawrence Township. Cash donations to help families in need are also welcome.
The HomeFront website states, “HomeFront’s mission is to end homelessness in Central Jersey by harnessing the caring, resources, and expertise of the community. We lessen the immediate pain of homelessness and help families become self-sufficient.”
She continued, “For families living paycheck to paycheck, financial struggles are relentless. Through our programs we help these families stabilize, save, and eventually thrive. We are deeply grateful to our supporters, whose generous contributions bring us closer to a community where every family has the chance to succeed. Together we can make this vision a reality, one family at a time.”
Green Beans w/Dried Cranberries & Orange Zest
Tuscan Bread & Sausage Stuffing
Tuscan Bread & Sausage Stuffing
Tuscan Bread & Sausage Stuffing
Macaroni & Cheese $65/Tray
Tuscan Bread & Sausage Stuffing
Classic Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Classic Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Classic Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Wild Rice Dressing with Dried Cranberries, Mushrooms and Pecans
Oven Roasted Brussel Sprouts w/Thyme
Vegetables
Vegetables
Macaroni & Cheese $65/Tray
Roasted Cauliflower & Golden Raisins
Macaroni & Cheese $65/Tray
Macaroni & Cheese $65/Tray
$11.25/lb
$11.25/lb
Classic Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Vegetable Quinoa Pilaf
(order by the pound, 2 lbs serves 6-8)
(order by the pound, 2 lbs serves 6-8)
Vegetables
Macaroni & Cheese $65/Tray
Vegetables
Vegetables
There are many opportunities to visit, to learn more about HomeFront’s work, and to volunteer to make a difference in the coming days and weeks.
Green Beans w/Dried Cranberries & Orange Zest
Green Beans w/Dried Cranberries & Orange Zest
Creamed Spinach Casserole $65/Tray
$11.25/lb
$11.25/lb
$11.25/lb
Vegetables
Oven Roasted Brussel Sprouts w/Thyme
$12.50/lb
(order by the pound, 2 lbs serves 6-8)
(order by the pound, 2 lbs serves 6-8)
(order by the pound, 2 lbs serves 6-8)
Roasted Cauliflower & Golden Raisins
The Diaper Program has been a rapidly growing enterprise since its inception eight years ago, and last year Homefront provided more than one million diapers for families in need. HomeFront recently announced that, with the assistance of Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, the nonprofi t organization received funding from the State of New Jersey to support a major expansion of their Diaper Resource Center.
(order by the pound, 2 lbs serves 6-8)
Lucy’s Pies & Desserts
Green Beans w/Dried Cranberries & Orange Zest
Green Beans w/Dried Cranberries & Orange Zest
Green Beans w/Dried Cranberries & Orange Zest
HomeFront reports that 25,548 individuals were given shelter, food, and lifechanging assistance during the past year, including about 450 people — mostly children — provided with shelter on any given night. Through its food pantries, HomeFront furnished groceries for 1,041,024 meals, and HomeFront’s Joy, Hopes & Dreams program provided educational and enrichment activities for 263 children. For more information, visit homefrontnj.org.
Vegetable Quinoa Pilaf
Oven Roasted Brussel Sprouts w/Thyme
Green Beans w/Dried Cranberries & Orange Zest Oven
Oven Roasted Brussel Sprouts w/Thyme
Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie - $19.95
Oven Roasted Brussel Sprouts w/Thyme
Volunteers will be helping prepare Thanksgiving food baskets, distributing meals to families and individuals living in area motels, and helping shoppers in the HomeFront
During a visit to HomeFront Reynolds-Jackson noted,
Orders will be ready for pick up on Wednesday, November 27st from 12:00–5:00pm. Place orders by Sunday, November 24th, $50.00 minimum order. For late comers, items will be available in our case on Wednesday after 12:00pm
Orders ready for pick up on Wednesday, November 27th from 12-5pm. Place orders by Saturday, November 23.
Orders will be ready for pick up on Wednesday, November 27st from 12:00–5:00pm. Place orders by Sunday, November 24th, $50.00 minimum order. For late comers, items will be available in our case on Wednesday after 12:00pm For ordering details visit our website lucystogo.com
Orders will be ready for pick up on Wednesday, November 27st from 12:00–5:00pm. Place orders by Sunday, November 24th, $50.00 minimum order. late items will be available in our case on Wednesday after 12:00pm
Orders will be ready for pick up on Wednesday, November 27st from 12:00–5:00pm. Place orders by Sunday, November 24th, $50.00 minimum order. For late comers, items will be available in our case on Wednesday after 12:00pm
For ordering details visit our website lucystogo.com
Orders will be ready for pick up on Wednesday, November 27st from 12:00–5:00pm. Place orders by Sunday, November 24th, $50.00 minimum order. For late comers, items will be available in our case on Wednesday after 12:00pm. For ordering details visit our website lucystogo.com
“Where quality still matters.”
For ordering details visit our website lucystogo.com
For ordering details visit our website lucystogo.com
visit our website lucystogo.com
“DREAM COME TRUE”: HomeFront will be expanding its Diaper Resource Center with help in the form of $250,000 from the State of New Jersey. Assemblywoman Verlina ReynoldsJackson, seen here (on left) with Homefront CEO Sarah Steward, assisted in acquiring the state funding.
(Photo courtesy of HomeFront)
Mailbox
The
All Who Supported 153-Acre Open Space Preservation Should Be Proud
To the Editor:
Many thanks to Town Topics for announcing the official opening of the 153-acre preserve [“Ribbon Cutting to Officially Open 153-Acre Green Space Preserve,” November 13, page 1]. As the former chair of the Princeton Environmental Commission (PEC), I remember the development plan, which consisted of multiple large homes, for this parcel coming before the commission. The commissioners’ hearts sank at the thought of this vital land being extracted. The loss of ~4,000 trees that partially consist of old-growth forest was only a fraction of its intrinsic value in the eyes of the commission.
I also remember former commissioner and Princeton University Ph.D. candidate Harrison Watson stepping up to lead efforts with our NJIT partners, Daniil Ivanov ’21 and Harleen Oza ’21 and their professor Dr. Zeyuan Qiu, an environmental economist and professor of environmental science and policy in the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science, to report on the financial value of two of Princeton’s essential pearls in the Emerald Necklace. Although financial value is commonly performed for commercial products to properly price them in the marketplace, it is not at all common to do so for nature.
Guided through the woods by Dr. Patricia Shanley, a renowned forest ecologist, a Princeton resident, and a board member at the Ridgeview Conservancy, we gathered the sample data on the tree species and size in those forests, and used valuation programs and models to analyze the data to estimate the economic value of the ecosystem services provided by those land tracts.
These analyses and numbers gave Princeton a concrete idea of how important these forests are, and helped the expanded community to secure sufficient funds to preserve the 153-acres. PEC truly appreciated the support provided by Dr. Qiu and his students, as this was not only a win for a single municipality but for neighboring municipalities and more importantly, Mother Earth and her living ecosystems.
Although in my opinion land is priceless, PEC didn’t allow the lack of an ecosystem services price tag to be the hurdle in securing funds. As Wendy Mager, Friends of Princeton Open Space board president, mentioned during the ribbon cutting, anyone who supported this preservation should be very proud. And in my words it certainly takes a village, and I am grateful that this time around it was us humans offering reciprocal care to the Mother of us all!
TAMMY L SANDS Winant Road
Urging Princeton Mayor and Council to Reconsider Removing Informational Kiosks
To the Editor:
We are writing to express our strong opposition to the recent decision by the mayor and Council to remove two informational kiosks from our town. These kiosks serve a vital purpose in our community, providing a centralized location for sharing local news, events, and announcements.
As Richard K. Rein stated on TAPinto Princeton, these kiosks are “a valuable community resource” that foster connection and engagement among residents. They offer a democratic space for all community members to share information, regardless of their access to digital platforms.
The Council’s rationale that the kiosks are “messy” seems shortsighted. A vibrant, active community board is naturally going to appear busy. This is a sign of a thriving, engaged populace, not a problem to be solved. The suggestion to move all notices online overlooks the importance of physical, accessible information points in our public spaces.
We urge mayor and Council to reconsider this decision and instead explore ways to maintain and potentially improve the kiosks.
Letters to the Editor Policy
Town Topics welcomes letters to the Editor, preferably on subjects related to Princeton. Letters must have a valid street address (only the street name will be printed with the writer’s name). Priority will be given to letters that are received for publication no later than Monday noon for publication in that week’s Wednesday edition.
Letters must be no longer than 500 words and have no more than four signatures.
All letters are subject to editing and to available space.
At least a month’s time must pass before another letter from the same writer can be considered for publication.
Letters are welcome with views about actions, policies, ordinances, events, performances, buildings, etc. However, we will not publish letters that include content that is, or may be perceived as, negative towards local figures, politicians, or political candidates as individuals.
When necessary, letters with negative content may be shared with the person/group in question in order to allow them the courtesy of a response, with the understanding that the communications end there.
Letters to the Editor may be submitted, preferably by email, to editor@towntopics.com, or by post to Town Topics, PO Box 125, Kingston, N.J. 08528. Letters submitted via mail must have a valid signature.
We would like to commend the Council for its forwardthinking approach on other issues, such as the seasonal ban on gas-powered leaf blowers. This ordinance demonstrates the council’s commitment to environmental stewardship and quality of life issues. It’s precisely this kind of community-minded decision-making that makes us believe you will reconsider the kiosk removal.
Our town’s character is defined by its commitment to open communication, community engagement, and shared public spaces. The kiosks embody these values. Let’s not lose sight of what makes Princeton special in pursuit of a tidier aesthetic.
TREVOR AND JULIA LITTLE John Street
I Am Waiting
A Chapel Choir Advent Concert
Sunday, November 24
1:30pm Pre-Concert Conversation with Poet and Composer 2:30pm Concert
The Chapel Choir presents a concert for the season of Advent, featuring J. S. Bach’s cantata “Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland” and the world premiere of The Princeton Motets (And I Saw), a collaboration between poet Euan Tait and composer Shawn Kirchner written especially for the Chapel Choir. Free admission.
Idra Novey Reads From New Poetry Collection at Labyrinth
Labyrinth Books and Princeton Public Library present poet Idra Novey in conversation with Monica Youn on Tuesday, December 3, at 6 p.m. at Labyrinth, 122 Nassau Street.
The event will feature new poetry by Novey, who teaches creative writing at Princeton University, from her new collection, Soon and Wholly (Wesleyan University Press, $26). The poems juxtapose sweltering days raising children in a city with moments from
a rural childhood roaming free in the woods, providing a bridge between those often polarized realities. Novey’s spare, contemporary fables move across the Americas, from a woman housesitting in central Chile, surrounded by encroaching fires, to the location of the Allegheny Highlands of Appalachia, where Novey revisits the roads and creeks of her childhood: “Maybe we knew we only appeared/ to be floating, but soon and wholly/we’d go under.”
Novey draws from the well of her work translating myriad authors, from Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector to Iranian poet Garous Abdolmalekian, and from her own award-winning novels.
Novey’s recent work includes Take What You Need, a New York Times Notable Book of 2023 and finalist for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, and two other novels. Her second poetry collection Exit, Civilian was chosen by Patricia Smith for the National Poetry Series. She is the co-translator with Ahmad Nadalizadeh of Iranian poet Abdolmalekian’s Lean Against This Late Hour, a finalist for the PEN America Poetry in Translation Prize in 2021. Her fiction and poetry have been translated into a dozen languages and she’s written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and The Guardian.
Youn is the author of From From and three previous poetry collections — Blackacre , a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, Barter, and Ignatz, a finalist for the National Book Award. The daughter of Korean immigrants and a former lawyer, she teaches at University of California, Irvine.
This event is cosponsored by Princeton University’s Department of English and Princeton’s Humanities Council.
IS ON
JUNCTION BARBER SHOP
33 Princeton-Hightstown Rd Ellsworth’s Center (Near Train Station) 799-8554
Tues-Fri:
Poets Ostriker,
Saunier
Discuss Process, Inspiration at PPL Event
Poets Alicia Ostriker and Hayden Saunier will read from their latest collections and discuss their inspirations and writing processes on Monday, November 25, at 6 p.m. in the Princeton Public Library Community Room, 65 Witherspoon Street. Refreshments will be served and a book signing is to follow.
According to the publisher, Ostriker’s The Holy
& Broken Bliss: Poems in Plague Time (Alice James Books, $24.95) examines how we can find meaning in the face of aging, illness, and the inevitability of death, and also ponders how we respond to the double plague of a fierce pandemic and a divided society. The observant and urgent poems of this volume are grounded in daily existence, human tenderness, the rituals of a
long marriage, and the poet’s ongoing spiritual quest. In the middle of a world that seems to be breaking down into suffering and anger, the spare and direct lines of these poems, surrounded by silence, offer a kind of healing.
Saunier’s collection, Wheel, (Terrapin Books, $17) contains wisdom, humor, and quiet reveries, lots of farm and house chores, much regret and gratitude. The volume contains finely tuned lyric poems that contemplate the circularity of being, its darkness, its hope. Poetic forms like sonnets and pantoums are interspersed with poems in free verse. Above all, these are poems of much wisdom expressed with gentle humility, poems of things botanical, animal, and human, all that flourishes and falls.
Ostriker, the New York State poet laureate for 20182021, has published 19 collections of poetry, been twice nominated for the National Book Award, and has twice received the National Jewish Book Award for Poetry, among other honors. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Yale Review, American Poetry Review, Best American Poetry, The Atlantic, Prairie Schooner, and other journals. Her most recent collections of poems are Waiting for the Light, and The Volcano and After: Selected and New Poems 2002-2019. Saunier is a poet, actor, and teaching artist living on a farm in Pennsylvania, who has published five collections of poetry. Her work has been awarded a Pushcart Prize, the Gell Poetry Prize, the Pablo Neruda Poetry Prize, and the Rattle Poetry Grand Prize. Her acting resume includes film and television appearances in The Sixth Sense, Philadelphia Diary, House of Cards, Mindhunter, Hack, and Do No Harm, and dozens of roles at regional theaters. Hayden is a poet laureate emerita of Bucks County.
The television adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend (Europa 2012) made its HBO debut on November 18, 2018. After watching the concluding episode of the fourth and final season on November 11, 2024, my wife and I sat in stunned silence, feeling as if we’d just seen an unquestionably great film in spite of a pandemic-mandated two-year “intermission.” It didn’t matter that we’d had to rewatch some of the third season to catch up with the tangential characters, events, and relationships. What made it possible to appreciate the film as a single unified work of cinematic art was the evolution of the extraordinary friendship suggested by the title. All the other characters and plotlines and subplots were ultimately and necessarily secondary, “supporting” in every sense of the word. Postwar Italian history, politics, communism, fascism, drugs, family life, black marketeers, local color — nothing compared in significance to the relationship between Rafaella “Lila” Cerullo and Elena “Lenù” Greco.
Hand in Hand
Picked by series creator Saverio Costanzo ( Hungry Hearts ) to direct the final season, Laura Bispuri ( Sworn Virgin, Daughter of Mine ) was particularly engaged by the sequences where Lila and Elena “parent together”: “It was so emotional when we were shooting because we built a family in this building with two mothers and two daughters — it was incredible.” After referring to the complex challenge of directing Irene Maiorino as Lila and Alba Rohrwacher as Elena, Bispuri said, “When I work with them, I use this expression: I like to take their hand in my hand.”
Bispuri’s phrasing echoes definitive moments in the early chapters of My Brilliant Friend, which like the other three books in the Neapolitan Quartet, is narrated by the grown-up Elena Greco (the film’s voiceover is done throughout by Alba Rohrwacher). When Lila gives Elena her hand on their first shared adventure, to confront Don Achille, the neighborhood “ogre of fairy tales,” this gesture “changed everything between us forever.” Convinced that the “ogre” had stolen their dolls, the girls have climbed four flights of stairs “toward the greatest of our terrors at the time.”
On the next adventure, Lila leads them into the unknown world beyond the neighborhood. As they approach the dark tunnel marking the boundary, “we held each other by the hand and entered.” But once the tunnel is out of sight behind them, Lila’s mood darkens, she becomes uneasy, and keeps looking back. Behind them “everything was becoming black, large heavy
On the Brilliance of “My Brilliant Friend”
clouds lay over the trees.” Suddenly Lila decides to turn around, dragging them homeward. “A violent light cracked the black sky, the thunder was louder, Lila gave me a tug, and I found myself running.” Heavy rain descends on them: “We were soaked, our hair pasted to our heads, our lips livid, eyes frightened.” As they go back through the tunnel, Lila “let go of my hand.”
“For two years it was like I went into a tunnel” is the way Bispuri describes her direction of the final season: “That was the only way to go so in depth.”
In James Poniewozik’s November 14 New York Times review, he praises the way Bispuri “conveys a brutal intimacy by holding on tight head shots of the actors. In this story of people who cannot escape their closeness, the viewer cannot either; the camera pushes you into the hot faces of anger, lust, grief.” Commenting on the earthquake episode in which Lila seems to be reliving the childhood trauma of the storm and the tunnel: “You can build as stable a life for yourself as you can. But you can never shake the fear, or the possibility, that the ground might split open and horrors escape from hell.”
Reading Together
opened it, looked inside, and handed Lila some money. ‘Go buy yourself dolls,’ he said.” Their shared copy of Little Women was “yellowed by the sun,” having been displayed in the stationer’s window “forever.” Meeting in the courtyard to read it, “either silently, one next to the other, or aloud,” they “read it for months, so many times that the book became tattered and sweat-stained, it lost its spine, came unthreaded, sections fell apart. But it was our book, we loved it dearly.”
Lila’s Genius
In the first book of My Brilliant Friend , Elena Ferrante creates one of the most compelling, moving, and true depictions of childhood I’ve ever read. Even so, the series surpasses the novel in the scene where the girls, Elena (Elisa Del Genio) and Lila (Ludovica Nasti), read Little Women together, cradled in one another’s arms, a shared embrace with the book at the center, as if the two girls were one.
The copy of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women the girls share was bought with the money that Lila shamed out of Don Achille when they confronted him about the stolen dolls. “We clutched each other’s hand tightly, waiting for him to bring out a knife. Instead he took out his wallet,
If you fall in love with the series during the reading scene, as I did, it’s hard not to think that the story is primarily about, as I suggested, the evolution of an extraordinary friendship. In fact, My Brilliant Friend is ultimately driven by the disturbed genius inhabiting a Neapolitan shoemaker’s daughter. In a sequence toward the end of the novel, when the girls are in their mid-teens, Elena is telling Lila about the theology course she’s taking. She doesn’t know what to think about the Holy Spirit. How can it make sense to consider it separate from God and Jesus? Lila’s response not only stuns her to the core, but inspires the eventual writing of the book: “We are flying over a ball of fire. The part that has cooled floats on the lava. On that part we construct the buildings, the bridges, and the streets and every so often the lava comes out of Vesuvius or causes an earthquake that destroys everything. There are microbes everywhere that make us sick and die. There are wars. There is a poverty that makes us all cruel. Every second something might happen that will cause you such suffering that you’ll never have enough tears. And what are you doing? A theology course in which you struggle to understand what the Holy Spirit is? Forget it, it was the Devil who invented the world, not the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
Working with a Ghost
Interviewed by the Guardian’s Kathryn Bromwich (Nov 11, 2018), series creator Saverio Costanzo, who directed the first season, talks about his strange collaboration with Ferrante, who writes under a pseudonym and communicates by email to protect her privacy. Says Costanza, “She gave us very good advice, she was not defensive at all — just guarded.” At the same time, “It’s like working with a ghost. It’s kind of a nightmare.... She goes for truth even when she writes to you. So she can be not at all delicate,” and yet “the fact that the communication was solely through writing kept the relationship healthy, work-related, focused on generating clear ideas.”
The Other Naples
Ferrante’s obsession with privacy reminds me of Roberto Saviano, the author of the non-fiction “personal journey” that inspired the other Neapolitan series presented on HBO. At the time I reviewed Gomorrah, on January 12, 2022, Saviano had been in hiding since 2006 (according to his Wikipedia, he still is), living his life in fear, his every move outside each so-called “safe house” organized around police escorts and armored vehicles.
Writing on the first anniversary of the January 6 attack on the Capitol, I began by quoting some words that accorded with my general impression of Gomorrah — “I dream of a darkness darker than black.” The quote comes from the journal of an officer who “felt himself spiraling downward in the days following the attack.”
The television images replayed to mark the anniversary of the insurrection made it clear that no amount of simulated murder and mayhem, however brilliantly shot and graphically executed, could compare with the violence of that real-life event, and for all the staged shootings, beatings, throat-slashings, and other innumerable acts of violence in Gomorrah , nothing could match the glaring intensity of the moment a young cop is crushed by the roaring, pounding mob, pinned against a door frame, screaming in pain, crying out in agony. The real thing is very hard to watch.
Saviano’s Gomorrah begins with quotes from Hannah Arendt (“Comprehension ... means the unpremeditated, attentive facing up to, and resisting of, reality — whatever it may be”) and Machiavelli (“Winners have no shame, no matter how they win”).
—Stuart Mitchner
Princeton University Glee Club Celebrates 150 Years of Music
Theglee club tradition dates back to late 18th-century London, with musical groups informally gathering to perform short compositions and popular songs. Named after the Baroque-era English “glee” part song, these ensembles were until the mid-20th century comprised of male voices, with countertenors taking the upper parts. While late 19th-century glee clubs in London were superseded by large choral societies, they became very popular in U.S. high schools and universities, and more so after opening their ranks to women. A number of local collegiate institutions have glee clubs dating back to the mid-1800s, and Princeton University is no exception.
The Princeton University Glee Club, founded in 1874, has grown far beyond the “short song” repertoire to become the largest choral organization in the University’s campus, with a commitment to complex works and commissioning new music.
The University Glee Club, currently under the direction of Gabriel Crouch, celebrated its 150th anniversary this past weekend with three days of concerts, rehearsals, and alumni reunions. Continuing its longstanding commitment to collaborating with world-class musical organizations, the Glee Club opened last weekend’s festivities with a join concert with The King’s Singers. Considered the “gold standard” of a cappella singing, the six-member all-male ensemble has been a pillar of choral excellence for the past 55 years. Glee Club conductor Crouch was a member of the chorus for eight years, and since then has built a solid partnership between the University choral program and the renowned vocal sextet.
Friday night’s concert at Richardson Auditorium was entitled “Legacies,” a fitting recognition of the impact both The King’s Singers and the University Glee Club have had on the choral field. Opening with an arrangement of two George Gershwin numbers, countertenors Patrick Dunachie and Edward Button, tenor Julian Gregory, baritones Christopher Bruerton and Nick Ashby, and bass Jonathan Howard showcased their collective trademark well-blended close harmonies. Evenly divided between upper and lower voices, the overall sound was light and clean, and the Singers proved they could be dramatic when appropriate.
Like many who have performed under the King’s Singers umbrella, several of the current members honed their skills in the British choral tradition. This background provided each of the musicians with solid choral technique and the vocal independence necessary to hold one’s own in a group of six. All of these skills were well apparent Friday night, as the ensemble
moved through varied repertoire in multiple languages.
The bread-and-butter repertoire of The King’s Singers has historically been 16thcentury British sacred music, and in the motets of William Byrd and Thomas Tallis, the chorus was true to form. Byrd’s rarely-heard “Vigilate” was sung with the two countertenor voices floating like icing on the choral texture. In both of these anthems, the sound spun through the Richardson Auditorium acoustic, with chordal passages well blended. Bass Jonathan Howard provided a strong vocal foundation in Tallis’ “If Ye Love Me, Keep My Commandments.” This piece is scored for only four voices, but the Singers used the fifth and sixth vocalists to reveal different colors in the work as melodic themes traveled across the stage.
The Singers also ventured into other lesser-known pieces from later eras, including a secular motet by 19th-century French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. The group presented “Sérénade de d’hiver” as a true ode to the season of winter, communicating effectively with the audience as if listeners were the “ladies and poetry.” They demonstrated solid rhythmic precision in the humorous “Pica-Pau” of Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, accompanied by imaginative and technologically impressive visual effects created by Camilla Tassi.
The University Glee Club, as well as the Chamber Choir, joined The King’s Singers in several numbers, including the world premiere of “Drum Major!” by composer Stacey V. Gibbs. Best known for his arrangements of spirituals, Gibbs has created a musical call for justice and peace, which both ensembles presented with sensitivity and hopeful passion, accompanied by Kendall Williams playing steelpan drums. The combined group of performers closed Friday night’s concert with an energetic and cleanly sung arrangement of Albert Hammond’s “I’m a Train.”
In the Glee Club’s 150th anniversary weekend festivities, conductor Crouch brought several missions of the University choral program to life. With an audience full of Glee Club alumni and fans alike, Friday night’s event celebrated the choir’s illustrious history. The weekend also included a Gala Concert for a “massed choir of Glee Clubbers past and present,” followed the next day by an informal “sing” of Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem. Interspersed were many opportunities for Glee Club members to mix, mingle and reminisce, and enthusiastically launch the University choral program into its next century of music-making.
—Nancy Plum
The Princeton University Glee Club’s next concert will be Sunday, February 23 at 3 p.m. at Richardson Auditorium. This performance will feature the liturgical Misa Criolla by Argentine composer Ariel Ramírez. Ticket information can be obtained by visiting tickets.princeton.edu.
8 p.m. 11.23 2 +8 p.m. 11.24 2 p.m.
“Eurydice”
Updates a Myth, Retells it from the Heroine’s Viewpoint; Theatre Intime Delivers a Strong Staging of a Poignant, Poetic Script
According to the Greek myth, Eurydice — a nymph and, according to some versions, the daughter of Apollo — fell in love with Orpheus, who was said to be the son of the muse Calliope. Orpheus “was gifted with such extraordinary musical skills that even trees and rocks danced,” notes Britannica.com.
Fleeing to avoid the unwanted advances of Aristaeus, Eurydice was fatally bitten by a snake. Orpheus traveled to the underworld and charmed Hades with his music. Hades agreed to release Eurydice on one condition: “Orpheus and Eurydice were forbidden to look back while they were in the land of the dead.” Orpheus was unable to resist looking to see if Eurydice was following him, and she returned to the underworld forever.
With Eurydice (2003) playwright Sarah Ruhl transplants the legend to the mid20th century. (An exact time is unspecified, but in the opening scene the script requests swimming “outfits from the 1950s”). The general events of the myth
Kristen Tan’s sound design for the scene is skillful, giving the illusion that seagulls are flying from one side of the stage to the other. Tan also composes the production’s contemplative incidental music, smoothly and sensitively performed by cellist Rowan Johnson and harpist Kate Andrews.
From the underworld, Father (infused with gentle, debonair earnestness by Martin Brennan) writes Eurydice a letter for her wedding day. Generally he approves of Orpheus (“He seems like a serious young man; I understand he’s a musician”). He reveals that he is one of very few dead people who still can read and write, and there could be consequences if his ability is discovered.
At their wedding party Eurydice and Orpheus dance to “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me).”
The choice of this 1942 song — about being faithful until a romantic partner returns from duty in the armed forces — both supports a mid-20th century time setting and establishes a sense of immi
underworld. On either side of the “door” are flowers and a (mostly) white wall, perhaps symbolizing the ill-fated wedding.
Upon arriving Eurydice is disoriented — she thinks she is in a hotel — and finds that she is unable to communicate (language as we know it is useless). Her arrival and subsequent events are greeted with curiosity, disdain, and (rare) sympathy by a trio of Stones.
The Stones seem to fill two roles. The first is that of a Greek chorus; the second is an iteration of the Furies (the goddesses of vengeance), who also were characterized by a group of three.
All three actors playing the Stones — Madelyn Smoyer (Loud Stone), Harper Vance (Little Stone), and Nell Marcus (Big Stone) — are entertainingly ornery, especially in their early scenes. Ruhl likens the characters to “nasty children at a birthday party.” This production’s actors tend to deliver the lines more as condescending popular students in a teen comedy, which also is effective.
Father helps Eurydice become acclimated to the underworld — becoming the supportive mentor that his death prevented him from being in Eurydice’s lifetime. Garcia and Brennan are outstanding in their respective roles. All of their scenes together are moving, and Brennen’s soothing delivery of Father’s dialogue provides the needed contrast to that of the Stones. Garcia successfully conveys the three main legs of Eurydice’s journey: youthful infatuation and lack of life experience (mixed with subconscious grief for Father); disorientation when she arrives in the underworld, as well as doubt and mixed feelings when she tries to leave it; and comparative experience and assuredness when she returns to the underworld. (Toward the end, as Eurydice accepts her fate, she writes a letter.)
Marquardt is at her best when portraying Orpheus’ divided attention between passion for Eurydice and obsession with music (the young lovers’ first scene together has the right mixture of passion
Holiday Happenings
Kingston Presbyterian Church Celebrates Thanksgiving & Advent
Sunday, November 24th at 11am Join KPC for Worship Sunday, November 24th at 7pm The South Brunswick Area Interfaith Clergy Association invites you to our Thanksgiving Interfaith Service at Kingston Presbyterian Church 4565 Route 27, Kingston, NJ 08528
KPC Advent Season Worship Schedule:
December 1st at 11am ~ 1st Sunday of Advent December 1st at 7pm ~ Advent Dinner & Crafts in the KPC Assembly Room
December 8th at 11am ~ 2nd Sunday of Advent
December 15th at 11am – 3rd Sunday of Advent features the KPC Children’s Christmas Pageant
RENAISSANCE MEN: McCarter Theatre hosts the Renaissance Quartet, a group of Juilliard School graduates mentored by Itzhak Perlman, on Thursday, November 21. From left are Daniel Hass, Randall Goosby, Jeremiah Blacklow, and Jameel Martin.
Renaissance Quartet Comes To McCarter Theatre Nov. 21
The Renaissance Quartet, featuring violinists Randall Goosby and Jeremiah Blacklow, violist Jameel Martin, and cellist Daniel Hass, comes to McCarter Theatre on Thursday, November 21 at 7:30 p.m.
Graduates of the Juilliard School who were mentored by Itzhak Perlman, the quartet blends classical mastery with a reimagining of chamber music traditions. The New York-based ensemble takes a forward-thinking approach to appeal to a diverse audience.
The program opens with Mendelssohn’s Quartet No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op. 12, a work that highlights the ensemble’s classical virtuosity.
Next is Janácek’s Kreutzer Sonata, Quartet No. 1, followed by Love and Levity, an original piece by cellist Daniel Hass that blends classical and jazz influences. This varied selection reflects their commitment to exploring and expanding the classical music canon.
Grounded in more than a decade of friendship and musical collaboration, the members of the quartet share a vision that celebrates and reinterprets classical traditions, drawing from a diverse repertoire spanning Beethoven and Mozart to underrepresented and contemporary composers.
The Renaissance Quartet’s journey began in the intimate setting of the Hungarian Pastry Shop on
Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where they established their accessible, communityfocused approach to chamber music. Since then, they have performed in venues ranging from concert halls to community spaces and recently embarked on a 2023 tour in Jamaica, where they engaged with local schools and held a benefit recital for the Jamaican Red Cross and the Immaculate Conception High School Orchestra. Through their performances and outreach efforts, the Renaissance Quartet continues to inspire audiences, students, and collaborators to experience classical music in transformative ways.
Tickets start at $33. To purchase, visit mccarter.org or call (609) 258-2787.
Rock Musical Classic Comes to New Brunswick
State Theatre New Jersey presents The Musical Box – 50th Anniversary Genesis—Selling England by the Pound on Friday, December 6 at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $29-$49
Fifty years ago, Genesis released Selling England by the Pound and changed rock history. In 1973, Peter Gabriel’s famous theatrics and Genesis’ musical apex produced some of the most iconic images and sounds of the ’70s, which to this day have a cult following. The Musical Box, who shared the stage with Phil Collins and Steve Hackett as performing guests at such venues as London’s Royal Albert Hall and Paris’ Olympia, will perform the emblematic 1973 show in painstaking detail.
State Theatre New Jersey is at 15 Livingston Avenue in New Brunswick. Visit Stnj. org for tickets.
Phillips’ Mill’s third annual Play with Words Student Playwriting Challenge is accepting submissions through midnight on January 12, 2025. Winners will be announced in late January,
and winning plays will be presented at the location in New Hope, Pa., in a staged reading on March 1.
According to Fran Ferrone, who chairs the competition, one of last year’s winners, Saskia Cooper of The Pennington School, said that she “was nervous … that a joke wouldn’t land … but was really happy to see the actors having fun,” and plans to enter again this year.
She also quoted Abigail Wus of Pennsbury High School (Pa.), who thinks the pressure of juggling time between studies and her love of writing is worth it. “To anyone who has a notes app full of unfinished ideas and fragments of stories, I encourage you to write for Play With Words,” Wus said. “It provided me the motivation to try a new medium and helped me realize a new depth to writing that I will carry with me in the rest of my works.”
Now a freshman at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Finn Anderson, a senior last year at Upper Dublin High School, said, “When writing your play, make sure you’re writing from a place of attention and passion. The best way to connect to the audience is to show them your own passion and knowledge and allow that to take form in dialogue on-stage.”
Play With Words director Fran Young, a 39-year veteran high school teacher of English, theater, and creative writing, said, “While most high school students express themselves through journaling, short stories, or poetry, many are reticent to try writing a play. I was astonished by the level of writing exhibited.”
For more information and the submission for m, visit phillipsmill.org/drama/playwith-words.
MCCC Students in Two Productions at Kelsey
Mercer County Community College (MCCC) students from different departments are collaborating on an interpretation of a classic Greek tragedy The Bacchae of Euripides and A Mouthful of Birds, November 2124, at the Kelsey Theatre on MCCC’s West Windsor Campus.
Both productions involve students from the Theater, Dance, and Entertainment Technology; Fashion Apparel/Design; and Advertising and Graphic Design programs serving as performers and costume designers and
providing advertising/promotion support.
According to Jody Gazenbeek-Person, MCCC’s Theatre, Dance, and Entertainment Technology coordinator, the intra-program experience serves as a real-life lesson for a career in the entertainment industry, where understanding all aspects of a production is important for success.
“We have this wonderful collaboration across programs,” she said. “When you come to this college, you’re not just stuck doing your own program. These are really important opportunities that prepare you for the professional world.”
The Bacchae of Euripides is based on the original Greek tragedy The Bacchae, written by Athenian playwright Euripides around 400 B.C. It is considered one of Euripides’ greatest tragedies, and one of the best ever written. The Bacchae of Euripides is a 1973 adaptation written by Wole Soyinka, winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature. In his adaptation, Soyinka adds a scene to mirror the civil unrest in his native Nigeria, with a new ending that will surprise even the most dedicated scholar of ancient Greek literature.
A Mouthful of Birds is a play with dance loosely based on The Bacchae. This dance/theater collage depicts a Dionysian clash of seven urbanites on the verge of violent transformation — thus weaving tales of possession, lust, and madness into a swirling blend of contemporary and ancient forces. The performance is a series of seven independent vignettes, each focusing on a different character.
Similar to The Bacchae of Euripides, A Mouthful of Birds builds on themes and emotions of Ancient Greece and puts them in a modern perspective, Gazenbeek-Person said.
Performances of The Bacchae of Euripides are Thursday, November 21 and Saturday November 23 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, November 24 at 1:30 p.m. A Mouthful of Birds performances are Friday, November 22 and Sunday, November 24 at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, November 23 at 1:30 p.m. Both productions will be presented in the Black Box Studio Theatre, adjacent to the Kelsey Theatre on MCCC’s West Windsor Campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road. Tickets are $22, $18 for seniors, students and children. Visit kelseytheatre.org.
ANNIVERSARY TOUR: Time-travel to 1973 with “Selling England by the Pound,” at State Theatre New Jersey on Friday, December 6. (Photo by Jean-Marc Hamel)
PIANIST AND PROFESSOR: Mikhail Voskresensky will present an all-new program on Saturday, December 14 at 7 p.m. in Bristol Chapel, on the campus of Westminster Choir College, 101 Walnut Lane. He will perform works by Beethoven, Mozart, Grieg, Scriabin, and Chopin. Tickets are $45 ($20 for students).
Violinist and Pianist
Make Princeton Debut Dutch violinist Janine Jansen is set to make her long-anticipated Princeton University Concerts (PUC) debut with Belgian pianist Denis Kozhukhin on Wednesday, December 11 at 7:30 p.m. at Richardson Auditorium.
The program features Robert Schumann Violin Sonata No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 105; Clara Schumann Three Romances, Op. 22; and Johannes Brahms Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100 and Violin Sonata No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 108.
“We have been eager to present this legendary duo for a very long time,” said PUC Director Marna Seltzer, “and after the pandemic and illness delayed their debut, it feels surreal that this historic moment has finally arrived. As we head into the holiday season, I can think of no greater gift.”
“Anyone who joined us at the Princeton Garden Theatre a couple of years ago when we screened the documentary Janine Jansen: Falling for Stradivari will remember how Jansen’s playing and presence leapt through the screen,” said PUC Outreach Manager
Dasha Koltunyuk. “It was so clear that this was a once-ina-generation artist, and we cannot wait to witness her on the stage of Richardson Auditorium.”
Jansen, alongside her duo partners Kozhukhin and Sunwook Kim, has performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall, Vienna Musikverein, Paris Philharmonie, and Amsterdam Concertgebouw, among other venues.
She has toured internationally with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Camerata Salzburg, and Amsterdam Sinfonietta. She is the founder and artistic director of the International Chamber Music Festival Utrecht as well as co-artistic director of Sion Festival.
Winner of the First Prize in the 2010 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, Kozhukhin has appeared with the Chicago, London, and San Francisco Symphony orchestras; Israel, London, and Rotterdam Philharmonic orchestras; Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; Staatskapelle Berlin; Philadelphia Orchestra; and Philharmonia Orchestra. Tickets for this concert
($30-$50 general/$10 students) are limited. Call the Princeton University Concerts office at (609) 258-2800 or visit puc.princeton.edu.
Live Performance, Film Is Narrated Travelogue
On December 3 at 7:30 p.m., Princeton University’s Lewis Center for the Arts presents Courtney Stephens’ live performance/film essay, Terra Femme, at the James Stewart Film Theater, 185 Nassau Street. Admission is free and open to the public.
An essay film, a memoir, a post-colonial reckoning, Terra Femme is a work of live cinema that takes the form of a narrated travelogue, with Stephens leading the viewer through errant cinematic scrapbooks, seeking out the stories behind the images, and wondering after the early 20th century women who captured and witnessed them. This live performance/film has toured widely.
The essay film is comprised of amateur travelogues filmed by women in the 1920s1950s. With a score by Sarah Davachi, the fims raise questions about female representation in the archive, the role of amateurism in early nonfiction filmmaking, and the
YOUTHFUL DANCERS: Princeton Youth Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker,” choreographed by Risa Kaplowitz and Talin Kenar, is on stage at Princeton High School Performing Arts Center Saturday, December 7 at 4 p.m. and Sunday, December 8 at 12 and 4 p.m. This version of the familiar holiday ballet is a coming-of-age story. Tickets are on sale at pub.booktix.com.
politics of the Western gaze.
“ Terra Femme is one of those rare cinematic experiences that feels simultaneously monumental and intimate,” said Professor Christopher Harris, who is hosting the event. “I’m terribly excited to have Courtney here in person to present her live-documentary performance for the first time at Princeton. I hope the Princeton community will join us for this special event that can’t otherwise be recreated on demand.”
In addition to Terra Femme, writer/director Stephens codirected The American Sector with Pacho Velez, which questions the legacy of the Cold War on American selfunderstanding, following dozens of fragments of the Berlin Wall installed around the U.S. Invention , an experimental fiction feature, premiered in 2024 at the Locarno Film Festival. Her films have been exhibited at MoMA, The National Gallery of Art, The Barbican in London, and numerous other venues.
The event is being presented by Harris in conjunction with his fall course, “Places & Spaces: Exploring the Narratives of Site in Film.” The course focuses on the variety of ways filmmakers have imagined and represented the relationship between the virtual space of screens, primarily in the cinema but also on devices and in the art gallery, and the physical places we encounter in our daily lives.
Visit arts.princeton.edu for more information.
Chanticleer Vocal Ensemble Presents Holiday Program Princeton University Concerts (PUC) will welcome the Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer back for a special event performance of their A Chanticleer Christmas program of a cappella choral music, ranging from Renaissance masterworks to spirituals, on Saturday, December 7, at 7:30 p.m. in the Princeton University Chapel.
Prior to the concert, PUC will host a Do-Re-Meet LGBTQIA+ & Allies Mingle in the form of a festive “ugly sweater party,” at 5:30 p.m. at Maclean House on the campus.
Chanticleer first came to PUC in October 2023, engaging with the community by inviting singers of all ages and abilities to sing alongside as part of PUC’s free annual Chamber Jam conducted by Artistic Director Tim Keeler, a 2011 graduate of the Princeton University Music Department; singing for one of PUC’s free Live Music Meditation events; and performing a concert at Richardson Auditorium.
“Chanticleer’s unique ties to our community have made their engagement with our audiences feel even more intimate and meaningful,” said PUC Director Marna Seltzer. “I can’t wait to hear their gorgeous holiday program in the special atmosphere of the Princeton University Chapel within the warmth of our music-loving community, and for this communal spirit to begin even before the concert at our Do-Re-Meet event.”
Attendees at the pre-concert “ugly sweater party” can expect to meet fellow music lovers through ice breaker games and the friendly competition of ugly sweater contests, all with chances to win door prizes. There will be catered hors d’oeuvres from Olsson’s Fine Foods. At the conclusion of the event, revelers will take
a short walk to the Princeton University Chapel to enjoy Chanticleer, together. This event is part of PUC’s Do-ReMeet series of social events for music lovers.
Visit puc.princeton.edu for tickets.
Day With(out) Art 2024 Program at Garden Theatre
The Garden Theatre is partnering with the Princeton University Art Museum to again commemorate Day With(out) Art, an occasion to remember those artists and creators impacted by the AIDS crisis. This year’s program is on Tuesday, December 3 at 7 p.m.
The collection of videos Red Reminds Me…. will be screened, free to the public. The program will be introduced by Princeton University Art Museum Director James Steward, and followed by a discussion
between Steward and one of the video’s directors, David Oscar Harvey. Day With(out) Art was organized by Visual AIDS, “the only contemporary arts organization fully committed to AIDS awareness and creating dialogue around HIV issues today,” according to their website. It was first held on December 1, 1989, to coincide with the World Health Organization’s second annual World AIDS Day, and meant to “celebrate the lives and achievements of lost colleagues and friends.”
Red Reminds Me… was commissioned by Visual AIDS and reflects “the emotional spectrum of living with HIV today.” The Garden Theatre is at 160 Nassau Street. Tickets can be reserved at the box office or online at princetongardentheatre. org/films/red-reminds-me.
Art
“CRAFTING A HEART”: The Arts Council of Princeton will host a workshop with
right, and Diana
Arts Council to Host
“Crafting a Heart” Event
left, on Wednesday, December 4 at 6:30 p.m. A hands-on art activity and signed copy of Weymar’s new book are included in registration. workshop includes all materials and small-group instruction. Registration is $65 and is available on artscouncilofprinceton.org.
The Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) will present a workshop with Gisele Fetterman and craftivist Diana Weymar on Wednesday, December 4. Attendees will learn to create a unique mosaic heart out of ceramic and tile pieces and learn more about using art to transform anxiety into action.
All attendees will receive a signed copy of Weymar’s new book, Crafting a Better World. Additional books will be available for purchase at the event. This beginner-friendly
Fetterman has devoted her life to helping others, with a focus on nutrition, food equity, and meeting Pennsylvanians’ basic needs. With just an empty shipping container and an open lot, Gisele opened the Free Store, distributing household goods, baby items and bicycles to those in need. In addition, she co-founded 412 Food Rescue, which sends volunteers to retailers who have surplus food that risks go-
ing bad and delivers it to nonprofits that serve the hungry. Fetterman also cofounded the nonprofit For Good PGH which drives numerous initiatives on inclusion including “Hello Hijab,” which produces miniature hijabs for dolls, promoting tolerance and diversity. Most recently she founded The Hollander Project, a business incubator for female entrepreneurs.
Weymar is the creator of the subversive Tiny Pricks Project, a collection of projects, actions, and essays to transform people’s anxiety into action during troubled times.
Crafting a Better World is a new kind of call to action: a guidebook for combatting fatigue and frustration with the handmade. Featuring essays, exclusive profiles of well-known creatives, and projects that readers can create by themselves or with their communities, the book is a means to stay engaged, make stuff, and hold ourselves together as we navigate this uncertain personal and political landscape. Crafting a Better World is a response to this unique moment in time when so many feel, in equal measure, deep anxiety and deep hope.
The Arts Council of Princeton is at 102 Witherspoon Street. For more information, visit artscouncilofprinceton.org or call (609) 924-877.
Holiday Wreath Sale at Trent House Museum
The Trent House Association and the Garden Club of Trenton are continuing their decades-long partnership selling decorated wreaths for the December holidays, but with a 21st Century twist.
The members of the Garden Club will decorate fragrant balsam wreaths from Maine, accenting them with freshly-harvested sprigs of silvery and aromatic eucalyptus, shiny magnolia tips and faux red berries, and with seasonal ribbons. The wreaths are available in two sizes —22” diameter with red accents ($67) and 20” diameter with gold accents ($57).
New this year is preordering online on the Garden Club website at gardencluboftrenton.org/ products/seasonal-wreath. All wreaths will be available for pickup on Saturday, December 7th at the Trent House or in Pennington or Hopewell. Pick-up arrangements will be confirmed with buyers by December 3. Proceeds till benefit the William Trent House Museum and the Garden Club of Trenton.
The William Trent House Museum is a National Historic Landmark in the Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area and on the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail. The
museum is dedicated to sharing the authentic history of the house, property, and people with our communities, connecting the past with today and tomorrow. For more information, visit williamtrenthouse.org.
Day of Artful Joy
At Princeton Makes
Art Against Racism is partnering with Princeton Makes, a Princeton-based artist cooperative, to present a Day of Artful Joy on Saturday, November 23. It will be a day of creativity and fun celebrating International Art and Health Month. This event is part of Arts and Health Mercer, sponsored by Mercer County art and cultural organizations. Learn more at artshealthmercer. org. The activities will be held at Princton Makes, located in the Princeton Shopping Center.
The Lovey Monsters Beginners Sewing Class for Kids will be held from 10 to 10:45 a.m. Ronah Harris, an artist and the creator of Lovey Monsters, will help kids unleash their imagination and craft their very own adorable monster stuffy. To enjoy this blend of creativity and fluffiness, one can purchase the Monster Lovey kit available for $12.50.
Mary Lundquist, a Princeton-based children’s book author and illustrator, will be hosting a Storytime activity from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Princeton Makes. She will read her picture books and
invite guests to draw with her afterward. The event is free and open to the public. Signed books will be available for purchase.
From 12:30 to 2 p.m., artisan card maker Danyelle Kessler will teach children and adults how to make unique greeting cards. All supplies will be provided for one project. Pre-registration is required at https://forms. gle/up42zNzCn1zDoDXe6. Art Against Racism is a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to use the arts to educate individuals and communities about racism and to provide opportunities to create a healthier planet and a more just society.
Princeton Makes is a cooperative comprised of 37 local artists who work across a range of artistic genres, including painting, drawing, stained glass, sculpture, textiles, and jewelry. Customers will be able to support local artists by shopping for a wide variety of art, including large paintings, prints, custom-made greeting cards, stained glass lamps and window hangings, jewelry in a variety of designs and patterns, and more. Learn more at princetonmakes.com and artagainst racism.org.
Gisele Fetterman,
Weymar,
DAY OF ARTFUL JOY: Artisan card maker Danyelle Kessler will teach children and adults how to make unique greeting cards on Saturday, November 23 from $12:30 to 2 p.m. at Princeton Makes in the Princeton Shopping Center.
OPEN STUDIOS: At the 2023 Open Studios event a then-junior, now senior, shares their work with a visitor. This year’s event is on November 20 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at 185 Nassau Street on the Princeton University campus.
PU Program in Visual Arts Hosts Open Studios
Juniors and seniors majoring and minoring in visual arts at Princeton University will open their studios to share and discuss their works-in-progress on November 20 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at 185 Nassau Street on the Princeton campus. The event is free and open to the public.
The evening of Open Studios will feature work by students in a wide range of media including photography, sculpture, painting, drawing, printmaking, graphic design, and film, as well as multi- and interdisciplinary work. The student artists, from the classes of 2025 and 2026, will be present to discuss their work.
“Sometimes the process of creation is as interesting as
the product,” said Jeff Whetstone, director of the Program in Visual Arts. “Open Studios is a chance for the entire community to see the process of making art where students make it. Being with artists in their studios and having conversations about their work-in-progress is a great experience. Open studios at 185 Nassau is not to be missed!”
Juniors occupy a community of partitioned studios on the fourth floor of the building and seniors share semi-private studios of two or three artists on the second floor.
Refreshments will be served throughout the evening.
The Program in Visual Arts at the University offers courses in painting, drawing, graphic design, photography, sculpture, animation,
and film and video production. These studio courses emphasize direct, hands-on art making under the guidance of the faculty of practicing visual artists. In order to develop their work, students have access to stateof-the-art technical, analog, and digital labs.
Juniors and seniors pursuing a major in the Practice of Art Track through the Department of Art & Archaeology or a minor in visual arts through the Lewis Center’s Program in Visual Arts have 24/7 access to their studios, an unusual resource in an undergraduate visual arts program. Throughout the year, their work is exhibited in the Lucas Gallery, the Hagan Gallery, the Hurley Gallery at the Lewis Arts complex, and screened in the James Stewart Film
Theater, as well in other traditional and non-traditional venues on campus.
For more information, visit arts.princeton.edu.
Area Exhibits
Art@Bainbridge, 158 Nassau Street, has “Heléne Aylon: Undercurrent” through February 2. Artmuseum.princeton.edu.
Artists’ Gallery, 18 Bridge Street, Lambertville, has “Chromatic Wanderings” through December 1. Gallery hours are Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Lambertvillearts.com.
Art on Hulfish, 11 Hulfish Street, has “Under a Southern Star: Identity and Environment in Australian Photography” through January 5. Artmuseum. princeton.edu.
Arts Council of Princeton, 102 Witherspoon Street, has “The Super Hero’s Journey” in the Taplin Gallery and “Breaking the Chain: The Guard Dog Story” in the Lower Level Gallery through December 7. Artscouncilofprinceton.org.
David Scott Gallery, 253 Nassau Street, has “Available Light,” a collection of paintings by New York architect and artist Mark Oliver, through December 31. Davidscottfineart@ gmail.com.
Dohm Alley, next to 100 Nassau Street, has the Princeton Einstein Museum’s “Einstein’s “Attraction to Magnetism,” open 24/7 through November 30. princeton einsteinmuseum.org.
Ficus Bon Vivant, 235 Nassau Street, has “Capture the Rhythm” through January 12. Ficusbv.com.
Gourgaud Gallery, 23-A
North Main Street, Cranbury, has “In Plain Sight: A Lingering View of the World Around Us” through November 26. Cranbury artscouncil.org.
Green Building Center, 67 Bridge Street, Lambertville, has an art show by the MUGA Group through December 31. Greenbuildingcenter.com.
Grounds For Sculpture, 80 Sculptors Way, Hamilton, has “That’s Worth Celebrating: The Life and Work of the Johnson Family” through the end of 2024, among other exhibits. Groundsfor sculpture.org.
Historical Society of Princeton, Updike Farmstead, 354 Quaker Road, has “Princeton Reflected: Stories from HSP’s Collection” and “Einstein Salon and Innovator’s Gallery.” Museum hours are Thursday through Sunday, 12 to 4 p.m. Princetonhistory.org
Mercer Museum, 84 South Pine Street, Doylestown, Pa., has “The Doan Gang: Outlaws of the Revolution” through December 31, 2026. Mercermuseum.org.
Michener Art Museum, 138 South Pine Street, Doylestown, Pa., has “Monuments and Myths: The American Sculptors Augustus SaintGaudens and Daniel Chester French” through January 5 and “Charlotte Schatz: Industrial Strength” through March 9. Michenerartmuseum.org
Milberg Gallery, Princeton University Library, has “Monsters & Machines: Caricature, Visual Satire, and the Twentieth-Century Bestiary”
through December 8. Library.princeton.edu/monsters andmachines.
Morpeth Contemporary, 43 West Broad Street, Hopewell, has “At First Light” through November 24. morpethcontemporary.com.
Morven Museum & Garden, 55 Stockton Street, has “Morven Revealed: Untold Stories from New Jersey’s Most Historic Home,” through March 2. Morven.org.
Russell Marks Gallery at Princeton Windrows, 2000 Windrow Drive, has “Learning Curves: Works from the Beginning Drawing Classes” through December 31.
Silva Gallery of Art at the Pennington School, 112 West Delaware Avenue, Pennington, has “Alia Bensliman: From North Africa to North America” through December 13. Silvagallery@ penningtonschool.org.
Small World Coffee, 14 Witherspoon Street, has “Flore Organic Botanics” through December 3. Acrylic canvases by Bhumika Raghuvanshi are at the 254 Nassau Street location through December 3. Smallworldcoffee.com.
Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie, Cadwalader Park, Trenton, has “Mercer County Photography 2024” through December 1. Ellarslie.org. West Windsor Arts, 952 Alexander Road, West Windsor, has “Off the Wall Affordable Art Show” through December 21. Westwindsorarts.org.
Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers, 71 George Street, New Brunswick, has “Michelle V. Agins: Storyteller” through December 8 and “Smoke & Mirrors” through December 22. Zimmerli.rutgers.edu.
(Photo by Jon Sweeney)
Town Topics | Mark Your Calendar
Wednesday, November 20
12:30 p.m.: Live Music Meditation with the Isidore String Quartet , at Richardson Auditorium. Free. Instruction begins at 12 p.m. Guided by Matthew Weiner of Princeton University’s Office of Religious Life. Puc.princeton.edu.
4:30-5:45 p.m.: Amy Walter, editor-in-chief of The Cook Political Report, speaks at Arthur Lewis Auditorium, Robertson Hall, Princeton University. Free.
5:30-7:30 p.m.: The Lewis Center for the Visual Arts at Princeton University holds Open Studios at 185 Nassau Street. Students will be on hand to discuss their work in photography, painting, drawing, film, and more. Free.
6 p.m.: Princeton Public Library’s Board of Trustees meets at the library, 65 Witherspoon Street. Princetonlibrary.org.
6-7:30 p.m.: “Labor” and “Earth, Landscape, and Myth,” discussion hosted by poets Enriqueta Carrington and Carlos Hernandez Pena at Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street. Princetonlibrary.org.
6 and 9 p.m.: The Isidore String Quartet is part of the Performances Up Close series at Richardson Auditorium. The audience sits onstage alongside the musicians, who will play works by Mozart, Billy Childs, and Henri Dutilleus. $40 ($10 students). Puc. princeton.edu.
Thursday, November 21
10 a.m.-3 p.m.: Princeton Farmers Market is at
Hinds Plaza. More than 30 vendors with local organic produce, pasture-raised meat and eggs, cheeses, fresh flowers, knife-sharpening, jewelry, and more. Live music. SNAP/EBT cards and matches accepted up to $10 a day. Princetonfarmersmarket.com
11 a.m.: Learning session on how to navigate public transportation and technology by the Great Mercer TMA Travel Training Program at the Lawrence Headquarters Branch of Mercer County Library System, 2751 Brunswick Pike. Geared to seniors, individuals with disabilities, and people with lower incomes. Free. Mcl.org.
5:30 p.m.: Faculty panel presented by Princeton University Art Museum at Robertson Hall 016, on “Helene Aylon: Undercurrent.” Curator Rachel Federman talks with Katherine Bussard, Esther Schor, and Stacy Wolf on Aylon’s career as a feminist artist and ecological activist. Reception follows. Artmuseum.princeton.edu.
6:30-8 p.m.: Open Archive: Tavern Tales . The Historical Society of Princeton shares artifacts from the Hudibras Tavern at this drop-in program exploring the integral role of taverns in town life. At Princeton Public Library’s Discovery Center, 65 Witherspoon Street. Princetonlibrary.org.
6:30-7:30 p.m.: “Know Your Rights ” program at the Lawrence Headquarters Branch of Mercer County Library System, 2751 Brunswick Avenue. The New Jersey Division on Civil Rights provides an overview of the Law Against Discrimination and other anti-discrimination
laws. Registration is appreciated. Mcl.org.
7-10 p.m.: Bingo at Congregation Beth Chaim, 329 Village Road East, West Windsor. Open to those 18 and over. Bethchaim.org.
Friday, November 22
7 p.m.: Trans Day of Remembrance Vigil at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, 50 Cherry Hill Road. The names of those trans siblings lost since November 2023 will be read and their lives honored through reflection, prayer, music, and ceremony. Contact: rainbowministry@ uuprinceton.org.
Saturday, November 23
9 a.m.-1 p.m.: West Windsor Farmers Market at Vaughn lot, Princeton Junction train station. Fresh produce and much more. Wwcfm.org.
10-11:30 a.m.: Tai Chi lessons by Todd’s Tai Chi Group at Plainsboro Public Library, 9 Van Doren Street, Plainsboro. Beginners through intermediate. For more information contact gedenfield@aol.com.
12-5 p.m.: Winery Weekend Music Series at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Wine, light fare, and music from 1-4 p.m. by Sarah Teti. Terhuneorchards.com.
12:30-5:30 p.m.: Off the Wall Holiday Market , at West Windsor Arts, 952 Alexander Road.
One-of-a-kind artisan products and original artwork on view and for sale. Free. Westwindsorarts.org.
2 p.m.: Princeton Jazz Vocal Ensemble presents “1959: Music from the Greatest Year in Jazz.” At Taplin Auditorium, Fine Hall, Princeton University. Free.
7:30 p.m.: “The Moth” returns to McCarter Theatre, 91 University Place, featuring true stories told live. Mccarter.org.
7:30 p.m.: The Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra , led by Daniel Spalding, performs Bon Appetit, an opera about Julia Child, at the New Jersey State Museum Auditorium, 205 West State Street, Trenton. $40-$60. Pvco.org.
10 a.m.: Join a threemile walk along the D&R Canal. Meet at Turning Basin Park on Alexander Street. To be notified of cancellations due to weather, visit canalwalkers @ googlegroups.com
Sunday, November 24 9 a.m.-3 p.m.: HomeFront Holiday Market , 1880 Princeton Avenue, Lawrence Township. Handmade artisan gifts; all proceeds benefit HomeFront families. Homefrontnj.org.
12-5 p.m.: Winery Weekend Music Series at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Wine, light fare, and music from 1-4 p.m. by Mike Tusay. Terhuneorchards.com.
12:30-5:30 p.m.: Off the Wall Holiday Market , at West Windsor Arts, 952 Alexander Road. Oneof-a-kind artisan products and original artwork on view and for sale. Free. Westwindsorarts.org.
1-4 p.m.: Friends of the Ewing Library Holiday Sale , mini book sale and flea market, 61 Scotch Road, Ewing.
3 p.m.: Open Acoustic Jam at Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street. For local musicians; chord charts and lyrics for songs will be provided. Bring acoustic guitar, ukulele, violin, resonator, tambourine, and your voice. Princetonlibrary.org.
3 p.m.: The Richardson Chamber Players perform “Songs With/out Words” written by female composers Josephine Lang and Dame Ethel Smyth, among others. At Richardson Auditorium. Puc.princeton.edu.
3-5 p.m.: Early Music Princeton Fall Concert , at Taplin Auditorium, Fine Hall, Princeton University. “An Afternoon of Italian Brilliance and English Delights.” Free.
Monday, November 25
5:30 p.m.: “Euphoric Whispers: Improvisations for Tanbur and Percussion ,” with Pejman Hadadi and Aliakbar Moradi. At Frist Campus Center, Princeton University. Free but ticket required. Bit.ly/MRC1125.
6 p.m.: Poetry reading by Alicia Ostriker and Hayden Saunier at Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street. Princetonlibrary.org.
7 p.m.: Annual Thanksgiving service for the community at Princeton University Chapel, multifaith service led by clergy from around Princeton. Bring non-perishable food as a donation to Arm in Arm. Also available on livestream. Youtube.com/ officeofreligiouslifeprinceton
Tuesday, November 26 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Mid-Day Toastmasters meets on Zoom. Tinyurl.com/zoomwithmidday
NOVEMBER
Wednesday, November 27 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Leighton Listens . Councilman Leighton Newlin is available to discuss current events with members of the public at Maman Princeton, 43 Hulfish Street.
Thursday, November 28 9 a.m.: 14th Annual Hopewell Valley 5K Turkey Trot , at Rosedale Park, Pennington. Fundraiser for the Hopewell Valley Youth Wrestling and High School Wrestling Team. Hopewellturkeytrot.org.
Friday, November 29
10 a.m.-5 p.m.: Covered Bridge Artisans Fall Studio Tour, in nine professional artists’ studios in Lambertville, Stockton, New Hope, Pa., and Sergeantsville areas; plus the Sandy Ridge Church. Paintings, glass, jewelry, ceramics, sculpture, woodworking, quilts, and more. CoveredBridgeArtisans.com 12-5 p.m.: Holiday Wine Trail Weekend at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Wine, fire pits, hot chocolate, barnyard animals, Christmas trees, and more. Terhuneorchards.com. 2 and 7 p.m.: American Repertory Ballet presents The Nutcracker at McCarter Theatre, 91 University Place. Mccarter.org.
2:30-6 p.m.: Festivities for the annual tree lighting on Palmer Square begin with Ice Sculpture Philly carving a baby grand piano out of ice, followed with performances by the Flying Ivories, The BStreetband, and Princeton High School Choir. Palmersquare.com.
7 p.m.: The Best Time of the Year, musical for the whole family by the MTM Players at Kelsey Theatre, Mercer County Community College, West Windsor. Music, dance, projections, reception with Santa, treats. $20-$22. Kelseytheatre.org.
Saturday, November 30 10 a.m.-5 p.m.: Covered Bridge Artisans Fall Studio Tour, in nine professional artists’ studios in Lambertville, Stockton, New Hope, Pa., and Sergeantsville areas; plus the Sandy Ridge Church. Paintings, glass, jewelry, ceramics, sculpture, woodworking, quilts, and more. CoveredBridgeArtisans.com
10-11:30 a.m.: Tai Chi lessons by Todd’s Tai Chi Group at Plainsboro Public Library, 9 Van Doren Street, Plainsboro. Beginners through intermediate. For more information contact gedenfield@aol.com.
12-5 p.m.: Winery Weekend Music Series at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Wine, light fare, and music from 1-4 p.m. by Brian Bortnick. Terhuneorchards.com. 1 and 6 p.m.: American Repertory Ballet presents The Nutcracker at McCarter Theatre, 91 University Place. Mccarter.org.
Basketball Training, Clinics, Camps, and More Are Available at Jump Shot Gym in Hillsborough
It’s all about repetition,” says Jim Hoyt. Co-owner with his wife, Lara De Meo Hoyt, of Jump Shot Gym in Hillsborough, he points out the importance of practicing basketball shots again and again in order to achieve a successful outcome.
IT’S NEW To Us
“In a typical setting, players may get 20 to 50 shots in practice. Here, with our state-of-the-art program and special Dr. Dish machines, they get 400 to 900. They can make many more shots here. It’s all about repetition.”
“Great shooters like Steph Curry [Stephen Curry, professional basketball player with the Golden State Warriors] say that they are great because they got more reps than anyone else,” adds Lara De Meo Hoyt. “That’s what Jump Shot Gym is for. The design of the Dr. Dish machine naturally improves a player’s shot arc, and helps develop the proper muscle memory to build a consistent shot.”
Training Tools
Jump Shot Gym, located at 1 Jill Court, Suite 25, just off Stryker Road and Route 206 North in the Hillsborough Business Center, opened its doors in April 2024. Its location in a 4,500
square foot facility offers a spacious setting for basketball training tools: practice, drills, training, and shot repetition.
Jim Hoyt believes he found the perfect career move when he opened the gym.
“I had played a lot of basketball myself, as well as soccer, and I also was a youth basketball coach. I had been coaching my daughters, and I was looking for a place for them to practice shooting.
“We decided on the Hillsborough Business Center because it was near home and the size of the facility was appropriate for our program. Interestingly, there are also a lot of other sports facilities in the Center.”
The program is technologically-oriented, he explains. By means of customized apps and the Dr. Dish machines, students are able to hone their skills. “Each student has his or her own app, and program data are customized into each student’s app with all their information.”
Then, adds Lara De Meo Hoyt, “our Dr. Dish shooting machines catch both made and missed shots, and continuously pass the ball to the player. This allows the player to get up to nearly 1,000 game-like reps per hour. The machines also track the player’s stats and allow them to see their progress over time.”
Skill Development
Students are typically 10
to 16 years old, equally divided between boys and girls, reports Jim Hoyt. Middle school and high school students are especially interested in the program. There are also junior programs for younger students, even those in kindergarten.
Basketball has a growing appeal, across a wide age range, he points out. “The youngest students, kindergarten to fourth grade, don’t use the machines. They practice ball handling and skill development. Typically, they start using the Dr. Dish machines in fifth grade.”
Once they begin working with the machines, the apps are customized to each student’s needs and goals. This enables them to adjust and improve their technique through a variety of different means. In addition, Jump Shot Gym’s experienced staff of coaches is on hand to help each student.
“A lot of the players who come are very serious and dedicated to improving their skills,” reports Hoyt, “We have players from school teams and also local kids in college who come back in the summer, or whenever they are home, to practice.
“There aren’t many places like this in the country, and maybe four in New Jersey,” he notes. “This is a new technologically-oriented approach.”
Students are from all over the area, including Princeton, Montgomery, Hillsborough, and even farther
afield, he adds. “There has been an incredible response. We are very encouraged, and we are getting new students all the time.”
Great Place
According to a 16-year-old Montgomery High School student, an enthusiastic and committed player, “Jump Shot Gym is a great place. I’ve been coming several months now, and it’s an excellent place to practice. I can get many more shooting reps here.”
Sessions are 45 minutes, one hour, or an hour and a half. One-time sessions, packages, and membership plans are all available. Many players opt for memberships, as well as packages, which offer savings.
The first session is free, adds Hoyt, so a prospective student can get an overall idea of what opportunities are available.
In addition to the regular training sessions, Jump Shot Gym offers private, semiprivate, and team training, camps, clinics, parties, and facility rentals. “Birthday parties are really popular,” says Hoyt. “You can reserve space for part of or the entire room.”
As basketball becomes increasingly popular, Jump Shot Gym is ready to help players at all levels, he emphasizes. “We want to be a place to welcome everyone, a place where anyone can walk in and be comfortable. I look forward to introducing even more students to our great facility. I want to see students coming in to work hard and improve, but also to have fun and experience a good time. We are very
proud of what have built here.”
The gym is open seven days; Monday through Friday 4 to 9:30 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For further information, call (908) 8294322 or visit the website at jumpshotgym.com.
—Jean Stratton
SHOOTING SKILLS: “Jump Shot Gym is a specialized facility with eight basketball hoops and Dr. Dish shooting machines.” says Lara De Meo Hoyt, co-owner, with Jim Hoyt, of Jump Shot Gym. Shown is a student sharpening her shooting skills with the aid of the Dr. Dish machine and her customized app.
S ports
Producing Stirring Run to Ivy Tournament Title, PU Men’s Soccer Facing Akron in
The Princeton University men’s soccer team put together its finest soccer of the season in a whirlwind weekend to get back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2021.
Senior forward Nico Nee scored the tying goal in a 3-2 double overtime win for the third-seeded Tigers over second-seeded Cornell in the Ivy League Tournament semifinals last Friday, then the first goal of a 3-1 win over Penn for the Ivy tournament title Sunday. Junior forward Danny Ittycheria scored twice in the win over Cornell, and capped off the win over Penn with a late tally. It’s the Tigers’ first Ivy League Tournament championship in just the second year the event has been held.
“I’m so proud of the guys,” said Princeton head coach Jim Barlow. “They were within like six minutes of their season ending on Friday night and just found a way to stick with it and beat a really good Cornell team and then a really, really good Penn team two days later. They just played their best soccer of the year this weekend and I’m really happy for all of them.”
The emotional wins gave Princeton the Ivy’s automatic berth for the NCAA tournament. The Tigers (12-6 overall) will play in an NCAA first round contest on November 21 at Akron (11-4-4), which
reached the semifinals of the Big East Tournament before losing to Georgetown. The first-round victor plays at 14th-seeded Indiana on November 24 in the second round. The Tigers are hoping that their Ivy wins have them ready for their first NCAAs in three years.
“The Ivy tournament is really good preparation for it because you know if you don’t win in the semifinal you’re done and you go home and for us it might have meant the end of our season,” said Barlow. “I don’t know, but that’s the mentality that we had going in. And then, for the first time all year, there’s overtime. So having a little bit of preparation for that in the Ivy tournament, I think is helpful. And we’ve scheduled a lot of really good teams this year. So I think all of those games will help us know what to expect and be ready for all the challenges that we’ll see.”
Princeton was up for a myriad of challenges in the Ivy tournament. The first was the overarching idea that the Tigers might need these big wins to just get into the NCAA tournament.
“We were thinking we probably needed to win at least Friday night, but we weren’t sure,” said Barlow. Their only two Ivy regularseason losses had come at the hands of second-seed-
NCAA Opener
ed Cornell and top-seeded Penn. The Tigers hadn’t scored in either regular-season game against their Ivy tournament foes.
“Our attacking was really stymied against both of those,” said Barlow of the regular season games. “We didn’t have a ton of chances in either game. Just recently it seems, I don’t know, maybe starting with the Seton Hall game when we were able to score five, I think our attack has gotten really into sync.”
The Tigers were under immediate pressure to respond Friday when Cornell took a 2-0 lead only 20 minutes into the game. Ittycheria headed in a serve from Jack Jasinski on a corner kick to cut that deficit in half, and Nee tied the game with seven minutes left in regulation. Ittycheria ended it in double overtime with his head again on a pass from Roka Tsunehara.
“I think the game Friday night boosted our guys’ confidence so much,” said Barlow. “I think going into the weekend we have felt like we had made so many strides from the end of last year, and even the beginning of this season to the end of the season, but we still felt like the two teams at the top of the table, Penn and Cornell, we hadn’t been able to get over those hurdles. And I think the guys just wanted it so badly
TOURNAMENT TOUGH: Princeton University men’s soccer player Nico Nee, right, battles for the ball in game earlier this season. Last weekend, senior forward Nee starred as third-seeded Princeton won the Ivy League Tournament, topping second-seeded Cornell 3-2 in overtime in a semifinal contest on Friday and then defeating top-seeded Penn 3-1 in the final on Sunday. Nee scored the tying goal against Cornell and the first goal in the win over Penn. The Tigers (12-6 overall) will play at Akron (11-4-4) in an NCAA first round contest on November 21 with the victor playing at 14th-seeded Indiana on November 24 in the second round.
that they just found a way to deal with the soreness from Friday night and the fatigue and threw all the excuses out the window and just said, ‘We have a chance to win a championship, let’s go for it.’” Princeton scored the first three goals of the game against Penn, meaning they scored a combined six unanswered goals in their wins. Nee knocked in a rebound to give Princeton an edge and some energy. The Tigers flew out to an 11-0 shot advantage at the start of the game. Early in the second half, with Penn still within a goal, Jasinski came up with a huge steal right at the Penn 18 and fed Ian Nunez for a relatively easy score and more momentum. It was Jasinski’s 11th assist of the season. Ittycheria scored late in the game to cement the win and make Princeton the first team to score more than two goals on Penn this
season. The Tigers had only scored two goals on Penn in total since 2019.
“Nico Nee is finally healthy,” said Barlow. “He missed a good stretch of the year with an injury, and he’s back and I think that’s made a big impact on our team and Danny’s kind of found his form and had a great weekend and just was such a presence in both games demanding the ball and taking people on and getting shots and getting on the end of crosses. I think every time you score a goal pushes your confidence and I think our guys after scoring three on Friday night against Cornell, thought they could do it again against Penn.”
Princeton didn’t let in a goal until the final seven minutes of the game, and by then they had established a big enough lead that it didn’t feel too dangerous when Penn finally scored.
“We did a much better job defending higher up the field and making it hard for them to find their midfielders and get out of their own end,” said Barlow. “We were able to sustain pressure in their end for longer stretches (Sunday) than we were last week and the guys up the field all did such a really good job with their transition defending and pressing and just worked really, really hard to win the ball back when we lost it and make it hard for them to get comfortable possessions and comfortable with their build-up, which was pretty amazing because we had some guys just run close to nine miles on Friday night and to be able to do it again yesterday without having any games all year that were within 36 hours of another, I think it was pretty amazing that the guys were able to find the energy.”
Both Cornell and Penn both also will be in the NCAA tournament. The Big Red will host Fordham, while Penn received the No. 6 seed and awaits a firstround winner.
“Our league is a really good league; the teams that didn’t make the Ivy tournament were just as capable of making a run in the Ivy tournament as we were,” said Barlow. “I mean, Columbia was beating us in the second half (before Princeton won 2-1). The Harvard game was a really close game. The Dartmouth game was really close. Yale was the champs last year and they didn’t make the tournament this year. It just shows how much parity there is and how easy it is to go from closer to the bottom of the league to the top or from the top to closer to the bottom. Every game is just really close and teams are good and you need to get a little bit hot at the right time and get some breaks. And in the Ivy games this year, that happened.”
— Justin Feil
(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
With Sophomore Chea Emerging as Floor General, PU Women’s
Hoops Tops Villanova
During her freshman season with the Princeton University women’s basketball team last winter, Ashley Chea served as an understudy to senior star point guard Kaitlyn Chen.
With Chen having departed and now playing for UConn as a graduate transfer, Chea is now applying the knowledge she gained from her mentor.
“I learned so much from her, I think that this year I am trying to take on her role but me and Kaitlyn play super differently,” said Chea, a 5’8 native of Los Angeles, Calif. “I think both of our confidence spikes up when times are heated. I just try my best to lead the team and do whatever they need me to do.”
Last Wednesday as Princeton hosted Villanova in its home opener at Jadwin Gym, Chea led the way, tallying a career-high 17 points to help the Tigers prevail 70-61.
“After my first two shots, I felt super confident in myself,” said Chea. “My teammates kept on passing the ball back to me. They trust me and I trust them. My confidence comes from how much my teammates trust me as a point guard. When they put that confidence in me, I exert that back out to them. Every game we have to build on each other and I think we did that today.”
Chea is also speaking up more on the court. “Honestly it is tough for me to yell super loud,” said Chea. “With time, with poise and with patience, I think my voice will come as time goes on.”
With the game knotted at 28-28 at halftime, the Tigers made some noise in the third quarter, going on a 15-2 run to seize momentum.
“We came out with more poise and more confidence in each other,” said Chea. “We
in Home Opener
made the right plays at the right time, we found the hot hand.”
Chea looked inside to find the hot hands as forwards Parker Hill and Tabitha Amanze came up big with senior Hill tallying 10 points in 17 minutes of action and junior Amanze chipping in eight points in 14 minutes.
“Coming into this game, we knew that we have great posts, we want to get paint touches as much as possible,” said Chea. “Against Villanova, we had a size advantage. Parker and Tabby did a great job in every aspect. They came in this year as completely different players. They are more confident in themselves, they are ready to catch the ball whenever. They do their job. I am super happy to play with them.”
In the fourth quarter, Villanova did a good job as it pulled to within 59-58 before Princeton went on an 11-3 run to close the deal.
“We just had to get stops at the end,” said Chea. “Coach (Carla Berube) is super big on defense — we got stops when we needed to.”
Princeton head coach Berube liked the way her players responded down the stretch.
“Villanova turned the page a little bit in the fourth quarter, they started hitting some big shots,” said Berube. “They cut it to one and we had to find what we were made of and battle back and find some resiliency and I think we did that. It was a good ending.”
The Tigers have been getting some very good work from Chea.
“Ashley is doing great, she works so hard in practice, she is watching film, doing individual workouts,” said Berube. “She wants this, she wants to be the leader and the floor general. It is a work in progress. We are going to have some ups and downs. She just needs to stay the course because we have all of the confidence in the world in her. It was great to see her finding
defeat Villanova 70-61 in its home opener. On Sunday, Chea tallied 14 points in a losing cause as the Tigers fell 74-66 at
a good rhythm offensively. I thought she did a pretty good job defensively too. I have been really excited about her and her growth from last year to this year.”
Berube was excited by contributions she got from Hill and Amanze against Villanova.
“We saw that from Parker last year, really stepping up,” said Berube. “Tabby has been so hobbled by injuries here. She hasn’t played basketball for a whole season for a really long time. She is getting her feet wet, she did some really great stuff today. We are trying to pound the ball inside, we are trying to attack the basket.”
In stepping up to hold off the Wildcats, the Tigers were spurred by a raucous crowd of 925 on hand at Jadwin.
“It so fun being back here, it was a great crowd too on a Wednesday night,” said Berube. “It is an amazing time for women’s basketball right now. Hopefully we can benefit from that and the way things are trending. Who knows if we were on the road if we win this game. Being in Jadwin in front of the amazing fans, we could pull out the victory.”
The win also helped Princeton develop some grit. “We are finding our identity and our character,” said Berube, whose team fell 74-66 at
Quinnipiac last Sunday to move to 2-2 and plays at Seton Hall on November 21 and at Rutgers on November 24. “You have to dig deep in some of these games and find what you are made of and who is going to step up.” Chea, for her part, believes that the Tigers have plenty of character.
“We play with such resilience, no matter what is happening,” said Chea. “We come out and we are there for each other. That is one of the biggest things we have learned over time, that we can lean on each other and lean on the coaches.”
—Bill Alden
ON POINT: Princeton University women’s basketball player Ashley Chea heads upcourt in a game last season. Last Wednesday, sophomore point guard Chea scored a career-high 17 points to help Princeton
Quinnipiac. Princeton, now 2-2, plays at Seton Hall on November 21 and at Rutgers on November 24. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
PU Men’s Hoops Falters Late in Loss
to Loyola, Bounces Back to Defeat Merrimack, Now 4-1
In its first three games this season, the Princeton University men’s basketball team displayed a knack for pulling out nail-biters.
In its season opener against visiting Iona on November 4, Princeton overcame a 16-point second half deficit to pull out an 81-80 win. Against Duquesne four days later, the Tigers trailed by four points with five minutes left before prevailing 75-68. Facing Northeastern on November 10, Princeton trailed 74-71 but produced another late surge to win 79-76.
Hosting undefeated Loyola University Chicago last Friday evening before a crowd of 2,472 at Jadwin Gym, it looked like the Tigers were going to come through down the stretch again as they trailed 63-62 but forged ahead 68-66 with
1:41 left in regulation. But this time there was no late game magic for Princeton as the Ramblers reeled off a 7-0 run to prevail 73-68.
Afterward, Tiger head coach Mitch Henderson credited the feisty Ramblers with out-hustling Princeton in the waning moments of the contest.
“I have so much respect for Loyola Chicago, they are an incredibly well-coached team, they play so hard,” said Henderson. “We didn’t have an answer for how hard they were playing and they came up all of the big plays in the last four minutes of the game and it cost us. We have been really good at that over the years and a great opportunity for us to learn from it.”
The disappointing finish resulted in a hard postgame conversation.
INSIDE PRESENCE: Princeton University men’s basketball player Malik Abdullahi defends a foe in recent action. Freshman forward Abdullahi has provided the Tigers with a spark in the paint. Abdullahi scored 11 points and had four rebounds along with one block in a 73-68 loss to Loyola University Chicago on Friday and followed that up with eight points and three rebounds in a 68-57 win over Merrimack last Sunday. Abdullahi was later named Ivy League Rookie of the Week. Princeton, now 4-1, will be competing in the Myrtle Beach Invitational in Conway, S.C., from November 21-24 before returning home to host Nazareth on November 27. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
“We had a very direct talk in the locker room,” said Henderson.
“We got outworked in parts of the game. We responded but when they make more free throws than you and they are beating you up on the boards you have got to work really hard for that. In the last three minutes of that game, it was anybody’s ball game and we have been really good at coming up with those wins.”
The Tigers did get very good performances from star guards Xaivian Lee and Dalen Davis as they both tallied 17 points.
“I will say this to both of them — there is so much that they are doing that is good,” said Henderson. “It is hard when you lose to focus on the good things, but there is so much that is good. Dalen and Xaivian are such good players. They have to lead us in all of the littlest things that matter. We didn’t make the tough plays towards the end of the game. I want Dalen and Xaivian to lead us on those things. When they do that, boy, there is so much we can do.”
Junior star Lee acknowledged that the Tigers didn’t show toughness down the stretch. “We played four games like that, in the first three, we were the one making all of those plays, today they were,” said Lee. “Credit to them, they came out very aggressive and physical and they played like that the whole time. We have got to come up with those plays, simply put.”
Davis, who drained 5-of7 three-pointers to help spark the Princeton offense, agreed with Lee’s analysis.
“I was just doing whatever my team needed to keep us in the game,” said Davis. “We have got to come out more aggressive, they started with a 7-0 run. It is go back to the drawing board and come out Sunday (against Merrimack).”
While the loss stung, Henderson took a larger perspective.
“This is not the end of the world. The end of the world is March, losing then,” said Henderson. “This is the best thing to play a really good team and come up short. It is November, there is so much basketball to play. We have some really good players and I hope they can keep coming together.”
On Sunday at Merrimack, things came together for the Tigers as they overcame a 29-15 first half deficit to win 68-57 in improving to 4-1.
“It is how do we respond, that is what really matters,” said Henderson, whose team will be competing in the Myrtle Beach Invitational in Conway, S.C., from November 21-24 before returning home to host Nazareth in November 27. “Let’s address things head on and go forward. I am so bullish on the group. I said some difficult things in the locker room. I think it is important that we, as a group, everybody from head coach all the way down look at why is it that they outworked us at the end of the game. That can’t be happening.”
—Bill Alden
Princeton Football Squanders 28-21 Lead at Yale, Falls 42-28 to Bulldogs, Hosting Penn in Finale
It proved to be a disappointing case of déjà vu for Bob Surace and the Princeton University football team as the Tigers played at Yale last Saturday.
Jumping out to a 28-21 lead over the Bulldogs early in the third quarter, things went downhill from there for Princeton. Yale reeled off 21 unanswered points to pull away to a 42-28 win before 7,594 at the Yale Bowl, dropping the Tigers to 2-7 overall and 1-5 Ivy League.
It marked the fifth straight road loss for Princeton this fall and it followed the script which has seen the Tigers hanging tough in each of these games only to see the roof fall in down the stretch.
“We had the lead versus Columbia (a 34-17 loss on October 5), against Lehigh (a 35-20 loss on September 21) we brought it to a onescore game,” said Princeton head coach Surace. “Against Mercer (a 34-7 loss on October 12), for a team that is top 10 in the country we were right there and at Harvard (a 45-13 loss on October 26), we got it to where it was a one-score game and then this one. In all five road losses, they have been very competitive games that from the mid-third quarter through the end, we looked like we have lost our legs. It is not that we are not trying.”
The Tigers got off to a promising start in the 146th renewal of the Ivy League’s oldest rivalry and the second-oldest rivalry in all of college football. Princeton recovered a Yale fumble on its second possession and cashed that in for a touchdown on a three-yard run by Ethan Clark to go up 7-0. After the Bulldogs responded with 14 straight points, the Tigers knotted the game at 14-14 on a oneyard TD run by Clark. The Bulldogs then regained the lead on a fumble return for a touchdown. Princeton ended the half with a 14-yard TD pass from Blaine Hipa to AJ Barber to make it 21-21 at the break.
“We had 21 points but even with that, we left a little bit out there,” said Surace. “It was a tough day to throw the ball down the field, it was gusty. We had a couple of opportunities in terms of that as well. For the most part, we did a very good job offensively with just a few negatives that prevented this from being a complete shootout.”
On their first possession in the third quarter, the Tigers got a very good play from senior running back John Volker as he raced 37 yards for touchdown to give Princeton a 28-21 lead. Yale responded with a pair of TDs in a 4:24 stretch in the third quarter and tacked on another TD early in the fourth quarter to end the scoring.
The running of Clark and Volker was a bright spot on the day for the Tigers as Clark gained 79 yards on 21 carries with two touchdowns while Volker rushed for 56 yards on nine carries with one TD.
“I would say that Volker and Ethan had a full week of practice,” said Surace. “When we played Dartmouth, neither one of those guys practiced. We knew it was going to be a game day decision because they didn’t practice so that piece was good. Having a full week of practice certainly makes a difference. This is a tough sport to play. We play tough teams and when you are just doing walk-throughs and then going in on Saturdays, it is hard to be at your best. These guys, and I have a number of them, are playing at 75-80 percent fighting through things. I really thought John and Ethan both really looked like it was early in the season for them, they looked healthy.”
Surace is confident that the Tigers will keep fighting as they host Penn (4-5 overall, 2-4 Ivy) on November 23 in their season finale.
“It is Senior Day — that is such an emotional day. For many of the guys, they are playing their last game,” said Surace. “They have all meant
so much to the program. They have had some incredible highs and we are going through some disappointment right now. The great thing with these guys, I promise you if you walked over into the stadium for practice, you are going to see guys hustling their butts off. When we go out on Tuesday, it feels like 2018 (when Princeton went 10-0). Their attitudes are great, the accountability is great, they work hard. We are just not getting the results. It has been tough. I am going to hug every one of them on Saturday. Life is sometimes not fair. When things are going great the ball bounces your way and sometimes it doesn’t.”
Princeton will have to play hard to get a good result against a dangerous Quaker squad.
“Offensively they had a quarterback (Aidan Sayin) who started for three-and-a half years that got hurt,” said Surace. “They are playing a younger guy (Liam O’Brien), a junior; this guy is a running threat, that has really opened up their run game. They have one of the best running backs (Malachi Hosley) in the conference. they have an outstanding receiving corps. They are always physical up front on both sides. Their linebackers are their leaders, they are sidelineto-sideline physical players. They are good on the back end as well.”
With Penn coming off a tough 31-28 loss to Ivy frontrunner Harvard last Saturday, Surace knows that Tigers will be in for a fierce battle as the rivals will be with be hungry to end the fall on a high note.
“They, like us, had some bad bounces yesterday; when you watch them, they are a very good team,” said Surace. “The difference between them being in first place and Harvard being in fifth is a couple of bounces. It is always a physical game. They have a big senior group too so it will be a very emotional game. I feel like we have had some great games against them over the years.”
—Bill Alden
CRUNCH TIME: Princeton University football running back John Volker gets corralled by two Dartmouth defenders earlier this season. Last Saturday, Volker rushed for 56 yards and one touchdown but it wasn’t enough as Princeton fell 42-28 at Yale. The Tigers, now 2-7 overall and 1-5 Ivy League, host Penn (4-5 overall, 2-4 Ivy) on November 23 in their season finale.
(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
PU Sports Roundup
Princeton Men’s Hockey Posts 1-0-1 Weekend
Earning it first win under new head coach Ben Syer, the Princeton University men’s hockey team defeated Yale 4-1 last Friday night in New Haven, Conn.
Junior forward Brendan Gorman triggered the Tiger offense in the win, tallying a goal and two assists.
A day later, the Tigers skated to a 1-1 tie at Brown as junior defenseman David Ma scored the Princeton goal and senior goalie Ethan Pearson made 29 saves.
The Tigers, now 1-2-1 overall and 1-2-1 ECAC Hockey, play at Colgate on November 22 and at Cornell on November 23.
PU Men’s Cross Country 2nd at NCAA Regional
Myles Hogan led the way as the Princeton University men’s cross country team placed second at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional last Friday at University Park, Pa.
Junior Hogan placed
seventh individually, covering the 10,000-meter course in a time of 29:42.8.
In the team standings, Princeton had a score of 80 in the event won by Villanova at 50.
The Tigers are next in action when they compete in the NCAA Championships on November 23 in Madison, Wis.
Tiger Women’s Cross Country Places 4th at NCAA Regional
Mena Scatchard set the pace as the Princeton University women’s cross country team took fourth at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional last Friday at University Park, Pa.
Senior Scatchard placed ninth individually, clocking a time of 19:58.2 over the 6,000-meter course.
In the team standings, Princeton had a score of 99 in the event won by West Virginia at 41.
With her performance, Scatchard qualified individually for the NCAA Championships which are taking place on November 23 in Madison, Wis.
PU Women’s Volleyball Tops Harvard, To Host Ivy Tourney Sparked by Kamryn Chaney, the Princeton University women’s volleyball
team defeated Harvard 3-1 last Saturday.
Sophomore star Chaney piled up 20 kills, 10 digs, and four blocks to help the Tigers prevail 25-16, 2225, 25-13, 25-17. The win helped Princeton clinch a tie for the Ivy League regular season title and the right to host the upcoming league postseason tournament.
Princeton, now 14-10 overall and 12-2 Ivy, will host fourth-seeded Brown in a semifinal contest on November 22 with the victor advancing to the final on November 24. The winner of the event will earn the league’s automatic berth in the upcoming NCAA tournament.
Princeton Wrestling Earns Split Decision
Competing in its first duals of the season, the Princeton University wrestling team fell 34-6 to N.C. State and then defeated LIU 28-14 last Sunday.
The Tigers featured a pair of double winners on the day as sophomore Ty Whalen won both of his bouts at 149 pounds while senior Luke Stout went 2-0 at 197.
Princeton faces Purdue and Chattanooga in duals on November 23 at Chattanooga, Tenn.
PU Women’s Swimming Defeats Rutgers
Sparked by Eleanor Sun, the Princeton University women’s swimming team defeated Rutgers 176-124 last Saturday.
Sophomore Sun placed first in the 200-yard backstroke and the 200 individual medley. She also took second in the 200 butterfly and helped the 200 medley relay place first.
Princeton, now 3-0, faces Cornell and Penn
on November 23 in Philadelphia.
Tiger
Men’s Swimming Tops Columbia 168-132
Yanning Zhang starred as the Princeton University men’s swimming team defeated Columbia 168-132 last Friday.
Sophomore Zhang placed first in the 100-yard backstroke in a pool record time of 47.13 and helped the 200 medley relay place first in a pool record time of 1:29.94. Princeton, now 3-0, faces
Cornell and Penn on November 23 in Philadelphia.
Princeton Men’s Squash Defeats Navy in Opener
Opening its season and new facility in style, the Princeton University men’s squash team defeated Navy 9-0 last Saturday. The Tigers posted eight 3-0 wins in the match as they christened their new home courts in Princeton’s Meadows neighborhood, Princeton hosts Drexel on November 23.
NO QUARTER: Princeton University field hockey player Ella Cashman dribbles the ball in recent action. Last Sunday, Cashman and the Tigers fell 1-0 to Saint Joseph’s in the NCAA quarterfinals. Princeton, which had edged Boston College 1-0 on Friday in an NCAA first round contest, ended the fall with a 14-6 record.
(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
GOING SOUTH: Princeton University women’s soccer player Pietra Tordin, right, controls the ball in a game earlier this season. Last Friday, junior star Tordin scored a goal in a losing cause as Princeton fell 2-1 to Virginia in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The defeat left the Tigers with a final record of 14-5.
(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
As Lois Matsukawa served for Princeton High girls’ volleyball team to open its New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group 3 state final against Ramapo last Saturday, she zipped the ball over the net which resulted in the Tigers taking a 1-0 lead on a block at the net.
PHS rattled off five straight points on Matsukawa’s serve and never looked back on the way to a comprehensive 2-0 (25-8, 25-11) win over the Raiders at Franklin High, earning its second straight Group 3 state title and putting the finishing touch on a sensational 28-1 campaign.
With PHS having won the program’s first-ever state title last fall, senior center Matsukawa and her teammates were calm and collected as they took the court last Saturday.
“Knowing the court and having that mentality that we are going to states, it definitely felt a little less nervous and a little less pressure,” said senior Matsukawa. “We have been playing so well this entire season. We have been playing with so much confidence.”
The Tigers were locked in from the start, jumping out to a 15-3 lead in the first set.
“Our passing was phenomenal and our serving was even better, we were serving them so well,” said Matsukawa. “They are such a great hitting team and we wanted to try to get them out of system as much as we could so they couldn’t hit
2nd Straight State Title
anywhere we weren’t there. We were picking every single ball up, especially with the blocks in the first couple of points. Those were huge for us because we really wanted to shut down these great hitters on the other team. We just had a really great start to the match.”
In the second set, the Tigers built a 19-5 cushion on the way to closing out the match.
“It was the same mindset, we were saying that team is going to come back with even more force,” said Matsukawa, who tallied 14 assists and 11 service points in the win.
“We were saying we want to be just as prepared. I think this is the strongest we have ever looked this entire season with our serving, our passing and our communication on the court. There were a couple of mishaps here or there. We played with so much confidence, just to win.”
Heading into the fall, the Tigers were confident they could achieve the title repeat.
“This is huge for us,” said Matsukawa. “We are such a young team so coming back and pretty much having the same starters again this year, we just had that mentality that we are going to make it back here. We know how strong we are and how much we have worked in the offseason to get here.”
In reflecting on what makes the squad special, Matsukawa pointed to talking during games.
“I think the communication on the court, we have done a very great job with that,” said Matsukawa, who ended her PHS career with a program-record 1,738 assists. “Pearl [Agel] has done a great job out of system, shouting out open spots in the middle of a rally and also communicating with our hitters, like do they need a higher set, do they need a faster set. It is communicating and being able to play so loose and confident.”
PHS junior star outside hitter Naomi Lygas, who was up to speed after tweaking her leg in the Group 3 semifinal 2-0 win over Moorestown on Thursday, was focused on getting off to a hot start against Ramapo.
“We had never played that team before, we watched some film on them,” said Lygas, who had 11 kills in the win to increase her program record total to 852. “The biggest thing was getting out to an early lead. We didn’t really know what they had with them. We know we play the best when we have that confidence going.”
Like Matsukawa, Lygas believed the Tigers could make it two state titles in a row.
“Last year we were the underdogs, we were coming up putting Princeton on the map and this year we had a lot of pressure coming into it so that was a big thing,” said Lygas. “We were trying to prove ourselves. People have asked us is it an option not to repeat and we said not really because of how hard we work.”
In addition to working hard, the Tigers have developed a special camaraderie which translates to the court.
“It is everything about it; we are so connected, we are such a hardworking team,” said Lygas. “If there is something that is not working, we find it and fix it. That is something that is so huge about us. We probably spend the most time together out of a lot of teams. We have lunches, we have after school bonding. That just makes it so easy to play together, it is such a supportive team.”
PHS head coach Patty Manhart cited her players’ dedication as a key to their success.
“They are so committed to the sport, coming in their freshman year for Lois’ class and Naomi’s class, it is knowing that I have volleyball players,” said Manhart “They were coming in as good players who love the sport who I know from freshman to senior year are going to be playing almost 365 days of the year. Kaelin [Bobetich], Charlotte [Woods] and Naomi were good enough to start as freshmen, that was the year we lost in the sectional final. That was such a good omen, knowing that if this is where we are coming in with people who are brand new to the high school team and adjusting, playing together for the first time and this is the bar that they are setting. That just told me that we had good things ahead going forward.”
Even though PHS came into the fall with a target on their backs, they kept their focus despite the extra attention.
“There is so much that happens in the fall; they are high school students, the quarter is wrapping up they have so much work, they have APs,” said Manhart. “You can have a lot going on that can change your game and how you are feeling that
day but they know as long as they come out into the gym and they lock in. They still have to work, nothing is going to be handed to them. We could potentially have off days but they know that no matter how good you are, they still need to work.”
In the win over Ramapo, the Tigers produced some very good work.
“It is different than how we started last year; I am thinking about our serve receive against Millburn going back and forth, trading points with them in the first set,” said Manhart.
“I think the advantage was just like having done this, pretty much the whole starting lineup coming back. They did this last year and you saw in how they played, there was no state final heebiejeebies to work through. It is such a privilege. We were in system for everything. We just played really good, smooth volleyball which was nice to see.”
While Manhart was confident that her squad would earn the title repeat, her players didn’t take anything for granted.
“I am wrapping my head around it,” said Manhart. “It is something that last year, knowing where we finished and who were returning on paper it just made sense that we were going to do it. But you still have to go out and do it. It is yes of course we we’re going to be here and do it again but the flip side, it takes a lot of work, staying healthy and staying together for a long time. To be able to do it so I am just so happy to be here and see what the girls did tonight.”
Manhart credited her senior group of Matsukawa, Agel, Zoe Nuland, and Anya Haeberli with helping to hold things together for the team.
“I will miss them, Pearl and Lois were captains for the past two years and we’ll miss that leadership,” said
Manhart. “Anya and Zoe grew so much to become important pieces of what we do. Having underclassmen that see the leadership and look up to them and also know that those spots are open next year, I think that makes people driven to keep working and get ready for August.”
With its trio of heavy hitters, junior stars Lygas, Woods, and Bobetich, returning next year, PHS will begin the hunt for a title three-peat.
“I think we are capable of doing anything we want to do,” said Manhart. “With Charlotte, Naomi and Kaelin coming back and how hungry they are to finish their senior year, they are definitely going to set that bar. I think we will be in good shape for next year.”
Matsukawa was thrilled to finish her senior year with a second state title.
“I am so grateful for this program, I am so grateful for coach being able to coach this team to great victories, back-to-back state championships,” said Matsukawa. “I never would have thought my freshman year that I would be here especially back-to-back. I would never thought that in my high school career and the fact that we are here and we also just won by a lot and played with so much confidence. I never would have guessed that this would have been the end of my season.” Lygas, for her part, hopes to end up in the same place next November.
“I am super excited for senior year,” said Lygas. “We made a promise to one of the photographers here that we would be back next year so that is definitely our goal. We are losing some amazing people. It is going to be a change but I am looking forward to seeing what we make out of it.”
—Bill Alden
ENCORE PERFORMANCE: Members of the Princeton High girls’ volleyball team celebrate last Saturday after they defeated Ramapo 2-0 (25-8, 25-11) in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group 3 state finals at Franklin High. It marked the second straight Group 3 state title for PHS and putting the finishing touch on a sensational 28-1 campaign.
(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
Senior Libero Makes Home Finale Memorable, Helping PHS Girls’ Volleyball Return to State Final
As the Princeton High girls’ volleyball team hosted Moorestown last Thursday in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group 3 state semis, it was the last-ever home game for Pearl Agel and she was determined to make it memorable.
“We were excited, we just really wanted to bring our all,” said senior libero Agel. “We always say, ‘Let’s play Princeton volleyball. Let’s play together, that is really important.’ I have had such a blast at the school and I am so happy.”
The defending Group 3 state champion Tigers had a blast as they rolled to a 2-0 (25-8, 25-9) win over Moorestown.
“We knew they had really good middles, that is always tough for a defense,” said Agel. “We just really focused
in trying to put them out of system so they couldn’t set their middles. I think we did a really good job of hard, tough serving but also keeping the ball in and just playing defense because defense wins games.”
In the second set, Agel helped the Tigers pull away as they reeled off a 5-0 run on her serve.
“I have really been trying to work on my serve to get it consistent,” said Agel, who also had eight digs in the win. “At the beginning of the season, I had a back injury so I have really been trying to focus on getting a good, consistent serve. That is also putting teams out of system. I think I have gotten it.”
Earning a return trip to the state final made the home finale unforgettable.
“It is a really big thing for us, we have been planning
since the start to go back,” said Agel. “We want to show people we can be No. 1. It is also just amazing because I get to play as many games as possible with my best friends.”
On Sunday, the Tigers showed how dominant they can be, topping Ramapo 2-0 (25-8, 25-11) in the Group 3 final at Franklin High. Coming into the final, Agel and her teammates were drawing on their postseason experience as they went for the title repeat.
“I think last year I was definitely very nervous about that game, it was our first big crowd,” said Agel. “We know what to expect. This year we have become accustomed to playing with big crowds, big teams and lots or pressure. We just know to bring our all and not to worry about anything else but the game and play Princeton volleyball.”
Over her PHS career, Agel emerged as a big star for the Tigers
“I am really happy with my progress over the years, I started club as a freshman,” said Agel, who piled up a program career record in digs with 848. “Being surrounded by such great players helps you, it motivates you. They are constantly picking me up, they believe in me. I am really proud of my improvement. I hope to play volleyball in college.”
Playing with her fellow seniors, Lois Matsukawa, Zoe Nuland, and Anya Haeberli, has helped enhance her Tiger experience.
“Me and Lois have been together since freshman year on the team, it is crazy to see how far we have come,” said Agel. “We all trust each other. We spend time outside of practice, I am playing with my best friends every day.”
PHS head coach Patty Manhart is proud of how far Agel has come in her career
With Hamerschlag’s Header Making the Difference, PHS Boys’ Soccer Tops Monroe 1-0 in Sectional Final
In the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) tournament final on October 26, Chase Hamerschlag headed in a goal off a pass from Aaron Thyrum on a corner kick in the second half to give the Princeton High boys’ soccer team a 1-0 win over Notre Dame.
History repeated itself last Friday as third-seeded PHS hosted fifth-seeded Monroe in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey Group 4 sectional final. With the teams knotted in a scoreless tie in the second half, junior center back Hamerschlag soared above a Falcon defender to head in a pass from Thyrum on a set piece to give PHS a 1-0 victory.
The Tigers, who improved to 18-2-4 in winning their second straight sectional title as they go for a state title repeat, were slated to play at Southern (17-5-1) on November 19 in the Group 4 semis with the victor advancing to the state final on November 24.
In reflecting on the goal, Hamerschlag found himself in the right place at the right time.
“I am the guy they are looking for on the back post, I have been there all season,” said a grinning Hamerschlag. “We tried something new and it worked. I saw the ball soaring in the air, it went over the last defender’s head and I was just right there to put it away. I knew it was going in.”
In the first half, the Tigers had to hold the fort as the Falcons put pressure in the PHS defense.
“From the first time that we have played to now, there has been much growth,” said Hamerschlag. “I like the transition from striker to center back; I get to take free kicks and score on headers.”
In winning their second straight sectional crown, the Tigers have grown into a force.
“That is huge, back-toback, the year prior, we were .500,” said Hamerschlag. “Last year we came back and won sections and the state final and we are hoping to do the same thing here.”
PHS head coach Ryan Walsh knew his team faced a huge challenge in trying to overcome Monroe.
“They had the wind with them, we knew we had to survive the first half,” said Walsh. “They came out and played hard. They are a pretty tenacious team, they press really hard. With the wind and tenacity, our job was just get out of the half 0-0 and flip the script with the wind.”
Walsh was not surprised to see Hamerschlag break through with the winning tally.
The Tiger defense came up big in handling the dangerous Falcons and their corner kicks.
“We work a lot on that in practice, we trust Nick [Holmelund] our goalie,” said Walsh. “Chase and Connor [Hewitt] are the ones that handle those defensive set pieces along with our whole back four. Monroe had a couple of really dangerous players, the 10 shirt and the 30 shirt. I thought we handled that really well.”
While PHS lost a number of key performers from its 2023 state champion squad, this year’s group is displaying a comparable postseason pedigree.
“It has been great, this team is so different from last year,” said Walsh. “There is great leadership and togetherness on this team, that is a similar feel from last year. All of these guys just want to win so bad you can tell. They do all of the dirty work to win games 1-0, 2-1. That is what it takes to win a tournament.”
Looking ahead to the Group semis, Walsh believes the Tigers are peaking.
“We are definitely playing pretty well,” said Walsh. “I think in our last 10, 11 games, ever since that Steinert loss (2-0 on October 8), we have just kind of flipped a switch. We got real focused to turn the season around.”
In Hamerschlag’s view, that focus has PHS on track for another state crown.
SHINING PEARL: Princeton High girls’ volleyball player Pearl Agel sets the ball last Saturday in the New Jersey State In terscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group 3 state fi nal. Senior libero Agel starred as PHS defeated Moorestown 2-0 (25-8, 25-9) in the NJSIAA Group 3 state semifinal round last Thursday in its home finale and then went on to top Ramapo 2-0 (25-8, 25-11) in the Group 3 final on Sunday at Franklin High.
“Heart, soul, body, pride, spirit; all that extra that you can’t coach per se,” said Manhart, when asked the qualities that make Agel special. “Pearl is one of the hardest workers, she is so focused and so driven. She brings that extra piece, the intangibles.”
Agel, for her part, believes that working with her teammates have helped her on and off the court.
“We all spend so much time together and they have helped me grow so much as a person and as a player,” said Agel. “There are aspects of me now that are thanks to them. I feel like they have helped me come this far.”
—Bill Alden
“They have a lot of talented players just as we do, we were working back and forth against them,” said Hamerschlag. “We were moving it up and down the field, no matter if we were attacking or they were attacking. We just all had to focus in and keep them from putting the ball in the back of the net.”
While the foes were knotted in a scoreless stalemate at halftime, Hamerschlag was confident that the Tigers would break through with a goal in the second half.
“We had a lot of chances at goal in the first half, we knew that one of those chances was going to put in the back of the net,” said Hamerschlag. “We just planned on doing the same thing, working it up the field, working it to our middle guys with our outside guys crossing it in. Doing that, we knew we were going to put one in the back of the net.”
After PHS found the back of the net, it was able to stifle a late charge by Monroe as it generated several corner kicks in the final minutes of regulation.
“They were down 2-0 to Hunterdon Central (in the sectional semi) and they came back right away and put one in the goal to end it,” said Hamerschlag. “Of course we were nervous but I think that we shut them down pretty well.”
Having moved to defense after playing at forward last year, Hamerschlag has helped shore up the Tiger back line.
I thought in the second half, we had a lot of chances and we were starting to get a little dangerous with Archie [Smith], Azariah [Breitman], and Aaron and finally that set piece got us through,” said Walsh. “Chase is such an asset, he has been great at center back for us. He cleans up a lot, he is super athletic, covering a lot of ground. Then when we have a set piece in attacking third, he is just a handful to handle. He has scored a couple of game winners for us here.”
“We have known the whole season that we were going to be the ones to go back-to-back,” said Hamerschlag. “We just keep going. It seems like every game we keep getting better and better and improving on the little things. That is all we can ask for.”
—Bill Alden
Princeton
boots the ball last Friday as PHS hosted Monroe in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey Group 4 sectional final. Junior center back Hamerschlag scored a goal on a header to give thirdseeded PHS a 1-0 win over fifth seeded Monroe. The Tigers, who improved to 18-2-4, were slated to play at Southern (17-5-1) on November 19 in the Group 4 semis with the victor advancing to the state final on November 24.
TITLE CHASE:
High boys’ soccer player Chase Hamerschlag
(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
With Hegedus Setting the Tone with Bold Start, PHS Girls’ Cross Country Takes 2nd at MOC
Grace Hegedus has been bursting from the starting line over the past two seasons for the Princeton High girls’ cross country team.
The sophomore set the tone for a team on the rise last year in her first varsity season, and this year she continued to do so as the deeper Tiger squad reached heights unseen.
Hegedus helped pace PHS to second in the team standings at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Meet of Champions last Saturday at Holmdel Park. The Tigers had never placed better than fifth in girls program history, and that came more than 20 years ago.
“It felt really exciting,” said Hegedus, who finished 26th individually in 19:31. “We worked really hard for this moment all throughout summer and it’s just amazing to see all that work paid off. It shows our team is greater than we ever thought.”
Each of the Tigers’ top seven was important to their runner-up finish behind three-time champion Union Catholic, who prevailed with 80 points. PHS scored 101, well ahead of third-place Colts Neck’s 130 points.
“I’m thrilled,” said PHS head coach Jim Smirk. “We had this great race of sectionals, and we kind of took a little mini step backwards last week. And the whole week was talking about, here’s the things we need to do to put ourselves in a better position. And I think
we did that. I think we ran absolutely brilliantly. I think five out of seven had PRs on the course.”
Junior Kajol Karra set a school record on the Holmdel course of 19:03 while placing 12th and Hegedus was less than 30 seconds behind.
“Kajol going 19:03, setting a new school record, running that course as effectively as they did is huge for us,” said Smirk. “And Grace was saying, ‘I thought I had a better race in me,’ but absolutely took control of the race early and forcing an entire field to react to her at some level is pretty impressive, and just an amazing building block for what’s next for them.”
Sophomore Eowyn Deess took 39th in 19:49, a best for her on the course. Freshman Rosemary Warren ran a course PR of 20:04 for 58th in her first MOC. Sophomore Phoenix Roth was also in her first MOC for cross country and ran 20:09 for 64th. Freshman Sevanne Knoch, another first-time MOC competitor for PHS, also lowered her course PR, to 20:33 for 89th place.
Senior Rica Eleches-Lipsitz was 120th in 21:08.
“We had a little hiccup this week,” said Smirk. “Rica was feeling under the weather and was a lastminute go. Eowyn ran another PR on that course, Rosemary stepping up after a tough week last week and leaning in and I think she ran only two seconds slower
at Holmdel than she did it at Thompson (Park). You have performances like that. So I’m really happy.”
It just took some belief from the Tigers, who won their first Group 4 title the week before at Holmdel. Hegedus has helped to instill confidence with her bold starts and has motivated the team to push their boundaries.
“In a lot of ways she has her thumbprint of all over our team,” said Smirk. “The commitment to racing hard right from the gun, setting up your teammates, not quitting when it’s tough, attacking the hardest parts of the courses. That is built into who we are and our team has benefited tremendously from that and she has done that week in and week out, often putting herself maybe not necessarily in the perfect position for her own individual performance, but the perfect position for our team performance. I can’t speak highly enough of Grace in terms of the success we’ve had this year.”
Hegedus jumped onto the scene last year. She was the top runner as a freshman and gave PHS a perfect starting point in building a young group. She was confident that this season would be even stronger.
“I thought we were going to be better than last year because we have new teammates coming in from the middle school and we had people just working hard throughout the summer, so it was going to be better than last year,” said Hegedus. “And I think it showed that we did. But I think our bonds really connected us to work together and it was just awesome to see.”
Hegedus has come back this year with more experience and remained a top performer. She has consistently given the Tigers a dynamic one-two punch along with Karra. In the first mile
Saturday, she was part of a pack that was chasing the top six overall girls.
“I think I was a little less nervous because I understood that it was a tough race and I lived that before, so I just needed to do my best and push harder even if it was tough,” said Hegedus. “I think I placed better and passed a lot more people than last year because last year I was like 44th and then this year I got 26. I’m also stronger, I think, because of my training. And so is our team.”
The team started to come together over the summer. The incoming freshmen and new runners like Roth worked alongside the returning runners. They ran plenty of miles together as part of their training program.
“It was a lot of work, but I think it was really worth it,” said Hegedus. “I think part of it is you need to enjoy running and that makes it more fun and better because you like the sport better. It makes you want to go. It makes you encouraged to go and enjoy a run, and that caused a good product this week and this competition season and it really shows.”
PHS continued to build confidence through the season with strong showings at big meets like the Bowdoin XC Classic, the Shore Coaches Invitational, and Manhattan Invitational. Their experience together grew to put themselves in position for their highest finish in girls history.
“It proves that if you commit to the people you’ve got and you give them opportunity to find success, that there’s a lot of opportunity there,” said Smirk. “And I think that’s what we showed. We have some new bodies on the team, and some new athletes on the team with Phoenix coming over from track and a couple of freshmen. But the reality is these are people who are involved in our program and we invested in them and they invested in each other. And this is kind of the end result.”
The training came to fruition over the final month of the season. Against the toughest competition, the Tigers had the fitness to compete for the top spot in every race. They captured the sectional and group titles, and looked at the MOC as an opportunity to improve on their group win.
“Just like working harder
in the middle, it’s really easy to mentally be unfocused in the middle of the race because you’re so tired, but you really have to focus to try to pass people,” said Hegedus. “And I think we all did a great job on that and using the hills because it’s a very hilly course.”
On Saturday, Hegedus went after the hills from the start. She was just outside the top 15 as the field quickly left the start area for the meandering paths up into the hills of the course.
“You’re supposed to start out strong, but you have to save your energy because it’s a long race,” said Hegedus. “Going out strong in this race was a key thing because there were a lot of people and it goes into a thin path so it’s important to go ahead and find your place for the team. And in groups, the other teams’ strategy was to follow us and beat us at the end, but since we started so strong, I think Smirk was happy that I started so strong because it followed through the race and I think gave us that win.”
Hegedus has been a strong front-runner through her first two years. She has continued to drop her times while being a key example to her less experienced teammates.
“She doesn’t really put that out there that she’s that influential,” said Smirk. “But from our side as coaches and being able to see the decision she makes, it’s just been nothing but absolute commitment to working towards perfecting her craft. And that makes us a better team.”
Hegedus has been faster across the board this year. She has lowered her times 30-plus seconds on most courses from a year ago and been more consistent. She posted an 18:49 run at sectionals at Thompson Park this year after running 19:38 there last year at the Mercer County Championships. She has gotten more serious about running in the last two years after starting with the middle school in sixth grade and doing the Girls on the Run program.
“I just did it for fun because I just liked the people and it was just a good environment,” said Hegedus. “And now in the start of freshman year I started working harder because I wanted to be better, and I think the work paid off and it’s just fun and exciting to
see that you’re capable of doing something.”
Success came quickly to her last year. She was third in Princeton’s race at the Shore Coaches Invitational, second at the XC Fall Classic, and sixth at the county championship meet.
“I think I was really surprised,” said Hegedus. “I think I did good. I got somewhere near the top in the county for cross country and that was really exciting. I had amazing teammates to support me through it all and it was just great to see it and I’m really excited that I’m able to do these things and work with my teammates and accomplish so much.”
This year has been even more exciting for her because the team success has followed at an even higher level. Eleches-Lipsitz is the only senior in PHS’ top seven, and the future looks bright.
“The big thing is, can we take the lessons we learned this year about caring about each other, finding joy in hard work and commitment and seeing ourselves through the entire season,” said Smirk. “If we can take those lessons and build on them, then I think we’ll be where we are now and have a shot at maybe the next step, which would be challenging for that top spot at Meet of Champions.”
The Tigers aren’t done yet this year. They will compete on Saturday in the Nike Cross Nationals Northeast Regional meet.
“If we race this way next weekend, it could be an interesting race for sure, because there’s going to be a lot of teams in there and who knows how it shakes out?” said Smirk. “We’ll give ourselves a shot.”
Hegedus will be out fast to set the pace. And this year, there has been a stronger group around her to represent PHS well in the biggest races of the season. That point was reinforced as the Tigers put it all together for a historic finish at the Meet of Champions.
“It shows how the hard work paid off, and we all love each other and I think we’re working together as a team to show how cross country is actually a team sport and it’s not just individual,” said Hegedus. “It’s the team, and the team aspect is the best part.”
—Justin Feil
FAST COMPANY: Members of the Princeton High girls’ cross country team show off the medals they earned for placing second in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Meet of Champions last Saturday at Holmdel Park. It marked the highest-ever finish for the program at the meet.
PDS
Boys’ Cross Country : Grayson McLaughlin was the frontrunner for PDS as it took 14th in the team standings at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Meet of Champions last Saturday in Holmdel Park. Junior McLaughlin placed 95th individually, covering the 5,000-meter course in a time of 17:10.
right way, teamwork, and having fun.
To register, log onto register.communitypass.net/ princeton under “2025 Winter Sports Programs.” Registration is open until January 3, or until divisions are at capacity. More information can be found at princetonrecreation.com.
Princeton Junior Football Championship Game Results
Determined Group of Seniors Set Winning Tone As PDS Boys’ Soccer Made Run to Sectional Final
Although the Princeton Day School boys’ soccer team brought a mediocre 5-13 record into the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) South Jersey NonPublic B tournament, Todd Devin was confident that the squad would be a tough out in the tourney.
beat Pennington in overtime in the 2021 Prep A state final. “This team relied on heart and guts. I would say Moorestown was a little bit better than us but in the match it was a 50-50 game. We had more territory than they did.”
I think every player played their best. We all had our best game, we all left it out on the field. No one had any regrets at the end.”
Roberts credited his senior group with leaving it all out on the field as they tried to keep the season going as long as possible.
Local Sports PHS
In the championship game of the Princeton Junior Football League (PJFL) Seniors division (Grades 7-8) last Sunday, t he Besler Chiefs defeated the UOA Broncos 19-7. Henry Ambra threw a pair of touchdown passes to Shail Besler in the victory while Dylan Chambers rushed for a TD. The Giants lone score came on a TD pass from John Monica to Nathan Stock.
Boys’ Cross Country : Competing individually for PHS in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Meet of Champions last Saturday at Holmdel Park, senior star Felix Farrugia placed 64th overall. Farrugia clocked a time of 16:54 over the 5,000-meter course.
In the Super Juniors division (Grade 5-6) championship game, the Christine’s Hope Giants defeated the Steelers 28-15. Leo Miele led the charge for the Giants, rushing for two touchdowns and also connecting with Ben Heady and Rylan Kukla for TD passes. As for the Steelers, Carson Smith caught two touchdown passes from Jax Cherian.
“We started playing this tournament my freshman year and every year we are told at the beginning of the year no matter how the regular season goes, we can always make a run,” said PDS senior midfielder Devin. “That was pretty prevalent early in because we were playing in the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) and we were playing the best teams. Five of seven teams went far in states. We know we are playing good competition through the whole season. We get to the state tournament and we always know that we have a chance to win and no game is out of our reach.”
PDS head coach Gary Roberts encouraged his players to believe in themselves.
Even though PDS trailed 1-0 at halftime, Roberts told his players to stay the course. “I said even if they score again, we are going to stick to what we are doing and we will be able to come back,” said Roberts. “I made that clear.”
After Moorestown went up 2-0, PDS got on the board with 15 minutes left in regulation as sophomore Keegan Fullman scored off a corner kick from senior Hart Nowakoski.
Devin then tallied two straight goals, one on a free kick with 13 minutes left and another with six minutes remaining as PDS forged ahead 3-2.
“The seniors, Penn [von Zelowitz], Todd, Hart, Oren [Yakoby], Max [Schragger] and Mark [Nahas] all absolutely played their butts off,” said Roberts. “They could walk out of their last-ever high school game knowing that they did everything they possibly could from quality soccer to ugly soccer with their heart and work rate.
It is the most brilliant loss you can deal with as a player and as a young man to help you go forward in life. You could not ask for anything more out of them. I hugged everybody after the game.”
Devin, for his part, is taking some valuable life lessons from his PDS career.
where I got banged up pretty bad but you have to keep pushing. Overall, any career was a fun time and I learned a lot. As a younger player, I learned the most from the older players. I was able to imitate that when I was older. My freshman year and my senior year were probably my two best years. It was good that I got to have some ups and downs. It wasn’t all just winning and all glory, I think that was really good for me.”
The battle with Moorestown Friends proved to be a microcosm of Devin’s high school soccer experience.
Dillon Hoops League
Accepting Registrations
The Princeton Recreation Department is now taking registrations for the 2025 Dillon Youth Basketball League.
The Dillon Youth Basketball League is entering its 53rd season and is a cherished tradition in the Princeton community. The league consists of both games and practices. It is open to boys and girls in grades 3-8 who are Princeton residents and non-residents who attend school in Princeton.
The league’s games will be taking place from JanuaryMarch 2025 and will be held Saturday mornings at local schools. A recreational league intended for players of all skill and experience levels, Dillon Basketball is about playing the game the
In the Juniors division (Grades 3-4) championship game, t he Mercato Eagles defeated the Christine’s Hope Giants 21-6. Aiden Russo hauled in two TD catches from Chase Barr for the victors and also grabbed three interceptions. Caleb Gladney added a rushing TD for the Eagles. Aiden Spies rushed for touchdown in a losing cause for the Giants.
Wilberforce Cross Country’s Sallade Takes 37th in Meet of Champions Competing individually for Wilberforce School girls’ cross country team in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Meet of Champions last Saturday at Holmdel Park, Laura Sallade placed 37th overall.
Junior standout Sallade covered the 5,000-meter course in a time of 19:45. Wilberforce sophomore Stella Blanchard also qualified for the race and ended up 140th in a time of 21:52.
TALENTED TIGERS: Princeton High senior student-athletes are all smiles as they gathered recently to celebrate their commitments to continue their athletic careers for Division I college programs. Pictured, from left, are: David Brophy – Colgate University (swimming), Brendan Beatty – University of Vermont (lacrosse); Sean Wilton – Brown University (track and field); Blase Mele – Princeton University (wrestling); Rhea Kaycee –Cornell University (rowing); and Ellen Kovalick – University of Wisconsin (rowing).
“I was telling them the entire time that we are going to advance and we are going to keep winning,” said Roberts. “There is no doubt that we are prepared as well as anybody. No team that we are going to play in the tournament has played the schedule that we have played. I talked about getting better every day and our practices were better and better.”
The sixth-seeded Panthers advanced to the final with a run of three straight shutouts as they topped 11thseeded Bishop Eustace 2-0 in the first round, edged third-seeded Doane 1-0 in the quarters and then beat second-seeded Wildwood Catholic 1-0 in the semifinal round.
Heading into the final at top-seeded Moorestown Friends last Friday, Devin and his classmates were determined to extend their PDS careers.
“We are a very senior heavy team, we didn’t really want the season to end because last year in the state tournament we had an earlier exit against St. Rose,” said Devin. “We were excited to have some games we could win early on. As long as we did our thing, we would get to the final so that was pretty exciting.”
The final turned out to be an exciting contest as the Foxes built a 2-0 lead early in the second half before PDS rallied with three straight goals as Devin found the back of the net twice. Moorestown Friends scored a late goal to force overtime. After neither team scored in the extra session, the game was decided on penalty kicks and the Foxes came through with a 3-0 edge on PKs to win the title. Roberts won’t soon forgot the dramatic contest and how hard the Panthers battled as his team ended the fall at 8-14.
“First of all, it was the most exciting event, I have been part of in my 57 years of life, that includes winning the state championship at Hun,” said Roberts, who was an assistant coach for the Hun girls’ squad that
“I received the ball around midfield, I started dribbling and I knew the whole game they were doing smart, tactical fouls,” said Devin, reflecting on his free kick tally. “I got by the one kid and then he fouled me and I went down. It was a little far out from the goal. The goalie was on the smaller side so I knew if I kept the ball high it had a chance of going in. I didn’t focus that much on placement, I used a bit more power than I usually do. It went a little bit to the right of the goalie, up high just under the crossbar. When that goal went in, I think the whole team understood this is our game to win.”
On his second goal, Devin took advantage of a favorable bounce.
“Our game plan was to force the ball to one side, as the right center back kicked the ball off of Mark [Nahas],” said Devin. “It jumped and hit his back and the ball rolled slightly outside the box right where I was. It was left foot on the left side and I curled it and it ended up on the far right side.”
Even though the Foxes answered back to get the game into overtime the PDS players weren’t deflated.
“Everyone was pretty tired but we knew that this was one of the last games, we would be playing in our high school career,” said Devin. “I think our whole team was able to push through tiredness. We got the better side of the chances, the consensus was that it was going to go to PKs with teams that were playing defensively.”
While PDS ended up coming up short when the contest went to penalty kicks, Devin had no qualms about how the Panthers fought to the end.
“Even though we lost that game, it was probably one of the most exciting games I have ever played in; it literally reminded me of the World Cup final,” said Devin. “Those last 20 minutes were crazy with four goals, they were obviously a good team. I think on paper, they were a little bit better than us. Obviously winning would have been the best. When the game ended we were all sad on the bus ride back but happy with the experience.
“I remember playing as a freshman and sophomore how physical it was,” said Devin. “I learned a lot about
“The reason I really enjoyed the final game was because it felt like our team used everything we have learned over the last two years, especially the seniors,” said Devin. “It is understanding some of the mental side of the game like when you are 2-0 down anything can happen. It was a great game to encompass my high school career. It had everything, it was a really cool experience.”
—Bill Alden
seeded PDS fell to top-seeded Moorestown Friends on penalty kicks after the teams had tied at 3-3 through regulation and overtime in the final of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) South Jersey Non-Public B tournament.
defeat left the Panthers with a final record of 8-14.
BEST FOOT FORWARD: Princeton Day School boys’ soccer player Todd Devin, right, kicks the ball in a game last season. Last Friday, senior midfielder Devin scored two goals as sixth-
The
(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
Obituaries
Memorial Service
Bill & Connie Tate
A Memorial Service to celebrate the lives of Bill and Connie Tate will be held on Monday, November 25 at 4 p.m. at Trinity Church, 33 Mercer Street, Princeton.
Constance Tate
Constance Klein Tate, a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, passed away peacefully at home on October 13 at the age of 88. Born on September 24, 1936, in Gross Pointe, MI, Connie grew up in Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Washington, DC. She graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1954 and pursued
her passion for nursing at Grace New Haven School of Nursing and Boston University. In 1964, Connie met Dr. William James Tate III, a medical resident at Yale New Haven Hospital. They married that same year and moved to Pittsburgh, PA, and Morgantown, WV, before settling in Princeton, NJ, in 1969 to raise their
family. Bill passed away in May 2020.
As her children grew older, Connie returned to nursing, dedicating 15 years to caring for students at McCosh Infirmary at Princeton University. She also worked as a substitute nurse in Princeton schools and for Hoffman LaRoche, supporting clinical trials. She proudly completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) in the early 1990s.
An avid traveler, Connie’s adventures began in her early 20s when she spent a summer riding a scooter through Europe with her younger sister. In the early 1970s, she drove from New Jersey to Costa Rica twice in an unairconditioned VW Beetle with graduate student friends. Later, she and Bill completed the 192-mile coast-to-coast walk in England and joined Bill on Yale Alumni Chorus trips to Armenia, Georgia, Turkey, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.
Connie pursued lifelong learning with enthusiasm, auditing courses in history, politics, and literature at Princeton University, often arriving early on registration day with Bill so they could secure their first choices. She also discovered a passion for painting, finding joy in icon writing classes at Trinity Church through The Prosopon School of Iconology.
Connie is survived by her children, William (Anne Christine), Abigail Reynolds (Spencer), and Sarah Constable (Ian); her sister Carole and brother Fred in Florida; and her grandchildren, Spencer, Sydney, Peyton, and James Reynolds, and Emma and Matthew Tate.
A celebration of the lives of Connie and Bill Tate will be held on Monday, November 25, at 4 p.m. at Trinity Church in Princeton.
Mike was active in the Debate Council and Forum, the Russian Club, and as a staff member of the cadet magazine, the Pointer.
After graduating from West Point in 1956, Mike married his beloved Jane Sanford of Mount Vernon, NY. Upon completing training at Ft. Belvoir, Mike and Jane moved to Germany, where they began their family of four sons: David, James, Thomas, and William. Mike served in Germany until the end of his commission in 1959.
Upon returning to the U.S., Mike and Jane then settled in Princeton, NJ, their home for over 20 years. Mike entered the graduate school in Princeton University, achieving a Masters in of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 1963, a Master of Materials Science degree in 1964, and a Ph.D. in AE in 1965. Mike was named a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Princeton, also working as a consultant for Systems Technology.
In 1966 Mike was named an Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering, initially teaching courses in optimization theory and stability theory while also serving as principal investigator for a NASA contract on optimum space trajectories. In 1970 he advanced from Assistant to Associate Professor, then in 1974 to full Professor of Civil Engineering.
Intrigued by changes in society circa 1970, Mike looked to apply his research to less esoteric and more practical optimization challenges that would directly benefit people. In 1972, Mike developed the concept of a graduate program in Transportation, to be jointly supported by the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the School of Public and International Affairs, and the School of Architecture and Urban Planning. Upon approval from the Board of Trustees, he obtained start-up funding from the Ford Foundation, and the Transportation Program accepted its first graduate students in the Fall of 1972. The program continues as one of the University’s most respected interdisciplinary programs. Upon his handing over the reins of the Program to his former grad student and hand-picked successor, several of his students created a scholarship fund in his honor.
2024. Mike, as he was universally known, was born in Washington, DC, the only child of Paul Michel Lion Jr. (USNA 1925) and Louise Chandler Lion.
Growing up in a Navy family, Mike attended the Sidwell Friends School in Washington, DC, from kindergarten through sixth grade, when they moved to Westchester County, New York. He graduated from White Plains High School in 1952, then competed for and won a Presidential appointment to West Point, entering just eight days after his high school graduation. Mike excelled at West Point, achieving a standing of 12 of 480 on the graduation Order of Merit List.
Mike enjoyed a Perfect Manhattan, and rooting for his Redskins, the Yankees, the Princeton Tigers, and especially, his alma mater. “Go Army!” was a common call on fall weekends in the Lion’s den.
Mike was a brilliant technical analyst, professor, and mentor. He launched hundreds of students on their careers, teaching them to use what he taught to define and solve the problems in transportation, logistics, and other applications of operations research. He was a broad and deep reader, ever-expanding his knowledge and understanding of the world, and then to apply that understanding to help someone or solve a problem.
But more than that, he was a friendly, funny, charming man who took serious interest in others, and in sharing what he knew, what he thought, and what he found humorous. He was a champion of puns and of “Dad jokes” to his boys. In their youth he acted as an Indian Guide chieftain, their Little League baseball coach, and a very vocal advocate for their academic and athletic endeavors. His grandchildren called him Pops.
Mike was predeceased by his son, William. He will be deeply mourned by his wife of 68+ years, Jane, and three sons, David, James (Aisha), and Thomas (Cynthia); a granddaughter, Alexa (Andrew) and a great-granddaughter due in December; a grandson, Nicolas; and many cousins and their families.
Services were held on Saturday, November 16, 2024, at 2 p.m. at Greenwich Presbyterian Church in Nokesville, Virginia. Memorial contributions may be made to The P. M. Lion Senior Thesis Fund at Princeton University by contacting Jane Maggard, Associate Dean, Development, School of Engineering & Applied Sciences; or to the Generation to Generation Fund of the Greenwich Presbyterian Church, 15303 Vint Hill Rd, Nokesville, VA 20181.
Gratina LaFauci
Gratina A. LaFauci (nee Zoccola), 93, of Princeton, NJ, passed away on Monday, November 11, 2024, at Ciel Assisted Living of Princeton in Monmouth Junction, NJ. Born in Princeton, NJ, Gratina was a lifelong resident of Princeton.
Gratina was employed by Princeton University and was on the Firestone Library staff for 49 years, before retiring. She is preceded in death by her husband, Michael, and her parents, Josephine and Peter Zoccola.
Gratina is survived by her sister, Donna Zoccola Soultoukis and her brother-inlaw Dimitrios Soultoukis, of Yardley, PA; three stepsons and their spouses: Michael and Donna LaFauci, Jr., Thomas M. and Sonia LaFauci, Gerald and Donna Watko; a stepdaughter, Michele LaFauci; and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.
Visitation was held on Saturday, November 16, 2014, in the Kimble Funeral Home, 1 Hamilton Avenue, Princeton, NJ, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Paul Catholic Church, 214 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ. with interment in St. Paul Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Arthritis Foundation (arthritis.org) or Meals on Wheels of Mercer County (mealsonwheelsmercer.org). Extend condolences and share memories at TheKimbleFuneralHome.com.
Mike left the University in 1979 to continue putting his technical skills and theoretical knowledge to practical use. He served the U.S. Railway Association, Snavely King & Associates, and the Technical Resources Center of Arthur D. Little Inc., with a focus on improving the efficiency of the USPS. He retired as Vice President of Washington Operations for ALK Associates, a firm producing software for the transportation industry.
During their Washington years Mike and Jane lived in McLean, VA. They also had a cottage in Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard where they summered. In 2005 they moved to Gainesville, VA, where they gained many friends in a senior-focused community. Mike’s friendships from West Point were precious to him and Jane, remaining lifelong companions and adventurers.
Princeton University Chapel
Preaching Sunday, November 24 is Rev. Dr. Catherine Cook Davis Interim Associate Dean of Religious Life and the Chapel, Princeton University.
University Chapel Choir with Nicole Aldrich, Director of Chapel Music and Chapel Choir, and with Eric Plutz, University Organist.
Betty Grae Fishman
December 6, 1923 –
November 11, 2024
Betty Grae Fishman passed away peacefully on November 11, surrounded by her loving family, just three weeks before her 101st birthday.
Betty was a celebrated leader, advocate, educator, and champion of the arts in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Throughout a life of achievement, she received numerous honors, including an honorary PhD from Saint Francis College, the Governor’s Award for highest service in 1971, and the declaration of Betty Fishman Day by the mayor of Fort Wayne in 2004. She was an active member of the Achduth Vesholom Congregation, a sustaining member of the Delta Gamma Sorority, Designer Craftstmen, and the Ex Libris Book Club.
Betty was born on December 6, 1923, in Defiance, Ohio, at the home of her grandparents, William and Viola Wagner. Her parents were Marguerite Lunger and Dr. Guernsey Reiner Lunger. She spent her early childhood on her grandparents’ farm, where the natural surroundings sparked a lifelong love of gardens, plants, animals, and woodland forests.
At the age of five, Betty
moved to Hicksville, Ohio, to live with her mother and step-father, Arlie Smith, a widower with three daughters, who owned the local lumber yards. She was a spirited child and did well at school, showing talent in both drawing and writing.
Betty graduated as Salutatorian from Hicksville High School and went on to attend Miami University in the fall of 1942. However, with the attack on Pearl Harbor, everything changed. In the midst of wartime upheaval, Betty quickly married her sweetheart, Howard Campbell, a jazz saxophonist she had dated during summer nights spent dancing at the Cold Springs Hotel at Hamilton Lake.
Betty and Howard moved to Arizona, where he trained fighter pilots while Betty worked in canning factories. At just 20 years old and far from home, Betty embraced her new life with a sense of national pride and purpose. She and her friends worked hard, but also played hard — playing rounds of bridge late into the night and sneaking rides in fighter jets on weekends. Betty never forgot her time in Arizona, cherishing her exposure to Native American culture, and taking up interests in weaving and ceramics.
When the war ended, Betty divorced and returned to Ohio, where she completed her studies at Ohio State University. There, she pursued a diverse academic path, studying fine arts, food science, and textiles. Along the way, she was both an honor student and a beauty queen.
In 1949, Betty married Marvin Fishman, a Jewish merchant and prominent member of the Fort Wayne community. As a young
mother, she became deeply involved in the cultural life of the city. Betty’s daughters, Katie and Marguerite, fondly recall her sitting by the telephone stand, making calls from lists she had carefully compiled for various fundraising efforts.
During these years, Betty served on the board of the Fine Arts Foundation, where she played a key role in the creation of the Louis Kahndesigned Theatre of Performing Arts, now known as Arts United Center. She often shared stories of the interviewing process for this project, recalling her interactions with world-renowned architects who competed for the commission. Betty also contributed to the development of Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne, serving on the committee that helped designate its new location, and facilitated the merger of the Fort Wayne Art School with the university.
Nature was often the wellspring of Betty’s creative inspiration. Her daughters remember accompanying her to the fields of Indiana, where she would set up her easel to create plein air charcoal drawings while they played nearby. Throughout her life, her family and friends grew to depend on her knowledge of the natural world, often asking, “What bird is making that call?” or “What is the name of that tree?”
Throughout her busy life, Betty always made time for her own artistic practice, exploring a variety of mediums including painting, drawing, cyanotype, textiles, printmaking, and bead work. The Fort Wayne Museum of Art is proud to have several examples of her work in their collection.
As her children grew older,
Betty pursued further education, taking classes and workshops at the Fort Wayne Art School, Penland School of Craft, and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. In the 1960s Betty joined the ranks of women who found the role of homemaker and volunteer confining. After her divorce, she married Russell Oettel, a painter and art professor who deeply admired her and supported her passion for the fine arts. They moved to a charming log cabin nestled in the woods, where they cultivated a large organic garden. Betty grew beautiful flowers and vegetables, made pickles, jams, and jellies, and baked bread every weekend.
of Princeton, New Jersey; her two sons-in-law, Patrick George and Nick Eastridge; and her two grandsons, David and John Eastridge. The last big smile of her life was given to her baby greatgranddaughter, Eva Rose Eastridge.
and celebrated at the iconic Chateau de la Batiaz. They soon moved to the United States where they welcomed their children Philippe and Catherine.
In this period, Betty completed her master’s degree in arts education at the University of Saint Francis, setting the stage for a fulfilling 21-year career teaching art to elementary and middle school students in East Noble, Indiana.
When she retired from teaching, Betty embarked on her next career at Artlink, where she served as the Executive Director of the nonprofit art gallery from 1990 to 2006. During her tenure, Betty transformed the small gallery into a vibrant cultural hub and a major force in the Fort Wayne community. She brought artists and community members together by establishing an artist panel to select and curate exhibitions. Betty’s gallery openings became legendary in Fort Wayne, often standingroom-only events where community leaders, artists, and art lovers gathered to support and celebrate the featured work.
Betty is survived by her two daughters, Marguerite Fishman of Pacific Grove, California and Katie Eastridge
Marie-Louise Jordi
Marie-Louise Jordi (Loulette) died peacefully on October 16, 2024 at The Greens of Greenwich in Greenwich, Connecticut. She was 93 years old.
Loulette was born on September 29, 1931 in Sion, Switzerland, to Louis DalPont and Germaine Maret DalPont. She grew up in Martigny where she spent many summers with her grandparents in the alpine village of Bruson. At a young age, she discovered her wanderlust and traveled to Hempstead Long Island where she worked as an au pair. She discovered New York City and the beauty of the Long Island Sound and Connecticut.
Upon her return to Switzerland, she joined Air France and found her true calling in the travel business. She worked in Zurich where she met her future husband, Edouard Jordi, who was working in Dusseldorf, Germany. They were wed in November of 1960 in Martigny, Switzerland,
Loulette returned to the travel business working for Revere Travel in Princeton, NJ, and then with American Express Travel. Her vast knowledge of Europe, fluency in five languages, and love of travel brought her scores of clients who eagerly sought her advice and recommendations. Her career in travel spanned over 30 years.
Travel was one of her great passions in life that allowed her to experience many diverse cultures across the world. Her love for her Swiss family often brought her and her family back to visit her parents and siblings and their families. Loulette’s greatest source of pride were her two children and their families. After Philippe moved to Martha’s Vineyard, she would come to the island with Catherine and her family to spend the summers on the Vineyard, the start of a long family tradition.
Preceded in death by her husband, Edouard and her sister, Aurelie Berger, Loulette is survived by her children, Philippe Jordi (Randi Baird) of West Tisbury, MA, and Catherine Marcus (Drew) of Greenwich, CT; grandchildren Alexander Marcus (Lara), Olivia Parnon (Eric), Julia Marcus, Elie Jordi and Miles Jordi; and her brother Pierre DalPont. A private memorial service will be held in Switzerland next year.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be made to Vineyard Village at Home, PO Box 1356, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568.
DIRECTORY OF RELIGIOUS SERVICES
S unday S
8:00 am: Holy Communion Rite I
10:00 am: Holy Communion Rite II
5:00 pm: Choral Compline or Evensong
The Rev. Paul Jeanes III, Rector The Rev. Canon Dr. Kara Slade, Assoc. Rector Wesley Rowell, Lay Pastoral Associate
33 Mercer St. Princeton 609-924-2277 www.trinityprinceton.org
Wherever you are in your journey of faith, come worship with us
First Church of Christ, Scientist, Princeton 16 Bayard Lane, Princeton, NJ
You are welcome to join us for our in-person services, Sunday Church Service and Sunday School at 10:30 am, Wednesday Testimony meetings at 7:30 pm. Audio streaming available, details at csprinceton.org.
Visit the Christian Science Reading Room Monday through Saturday, 10 am - 4 pm 178 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ For free local delivery call (609) 924-0919 www.csprinceton.org • (609) 924-5801
Mother of God Joy of All Who Sorrow Orthodox Church
904 Cherry Hill Rd • Princeton, NJ 08525 (609) 466-3058
“ Truthfulness is the foundation of all human virtues"-Paris Talks, Abdu'l-Baha
"Without Truthfulness progress and success, in all the worlds of God, are impossible for any soul." -Shoghi Effendi Rabbani
Principles of the Baha'i Faith: One God- the Mover of the Universe Oneness of Religion
All People are members of One Human Family
Elimination of all forms of prejudice For more information go to: https://princetonbahais.org
www.bahai. org/beliefs
TOWN TOPICS CLASSIFIEDS
Water Restrictions in New Jersey: A Call for Conservation
New Jersey residents are facing tightened water restrictions as the state grapples with a prolonged drought. With reservoirs and groundwater levels dropping below seasonal norms, these measures aim to curb unnecessary usage and preserve vital resources. Restrictions include limits on lawn watering, car washing, and filling swimming pools, emphasizing the need to prioritize essential water use.
This situation is a stark reminder of how climate change and increased demand strain our water systems. While some may see these restrictions as inconvenient, they highlight a critical reality: water is not an unlimited resource. By adopting simple conservation habits like fixing leaks, using rain barrels, or turning off the tap while brushing, residents can make a meaningful difference.
These restrictions may feel temporary, but the lessons in sustainability they bring should last. Water is life, and protecting it is a responsibility we all share.
Put an ad in the TOWN TOPICS to let everyone know! Call (609) 924-2200 ext. 10; classifi eds@towntopics.com
DEADLINE: Tues before 12 noon tf
HOME HEALTH AIDE: 25 years of experience. Available mornings to take care of your loved one, transport to appointments, run errands. I am well known in Princeton. Top care, excellent references. The best! Call (609) 356-2951 or (609) 751-1396.
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LOLIO’S WINDOW WASHING & POWER WASHING: Free estimate. Next day service. Fully insured. Gutter cleaning available. References available upon request. 30 years experience. (609) 271-8860.
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JOE’S LANDSCAPING INC. OF PRINCETON
Property Maintenance and Specialty Jobs
Commercial/Residential
Over 45 Years of Experience
• Fully Insured • Free Consultations
Email: joeslandscapingprinceton@ gmail.com
Text (only): (609) 356-9201
Office: (609) 216-7936
Princeton References • Green Company HIC #13VH07549500 tf
FLESCH’S ROOFING
Built-In Gutters
ADVERTISING SALES
Witherspoon Media Group is looking for an advertising Account Manager to generate sales for our luxury magazines, newspaper, and digital business.
The ideal candidate will:
• • •
Establish new and grow key accounts and maximize opportunities for each publication, all websites, and all digital products.
Collaborate with the sales and management team to develop growth opportunities.
HOME REPAIR SPECIALIST:
Interior/exterior repairs, carpentry, trim, rotted wood, power washing, painting, deck work, sheet rock/ spackle, gutter & roofing repairs. Punch list is my specialty. 40 years experience. Licensed & insured. Call Creative Woodcraft (609) 586-2130 tf 24/7 PROFESSIONAL
NURSES AND AIDES
Personal care, nutrition, social activities, support, respite care & family relief.
Live-in and live-out in the greater Princeton and other NJ areas.
I BUY ALL KINDS of
Personal Home Care of Hillsborough (609) 216-5000 or (908) 306-0985 tf FOX CLEANING (609) 547-9570
FENCE INSTALLATION AND REPAIR LAND CLEARING AND FALL CLEANUP
Best price on jobs that can start immediately. Fully insured. Call or text: (215) 824-5005. 11-27
PART-TIME HOUSECLEANING AND LAUNDRY. Help with the holidays! Experienced, with excellent references. Please call Ruth at (609) 924-9654. 12-25
CLEANING SERVICES EVERY WEEK, every two weeks or once a month...or even just once! Also on Saturdays and Sundays. I am a responsible person, I do my job conscientiously, I take care of clients’ homes and take their opinions into account. If you need help, call me. I am available anytime. Malgorzata: (609) 594-0991. 12-04
Prepare strategic sales communications and presentations for both print and digital. Develop industry-based knowledge and understanding, including circulation, audience, readership, and more.
Prepare detailed sales reports for tracking current customers’ activity and maintain pipeline activity using our custom CRM system.
Positions are full- and part-time and based out of our Kingston, N.J. office. Track record of developing successful sales strategies and knowledge of print and digital media is a plus.
Compensation is negotiable based on experience. Fantastic benefits and a great work environment.
Please submit cover letter and resume to:
robin.wallack@foxroach.com
and
First
seamlessly
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This important home has a circular driveway and is located on almost an acre of land with a three car garage and is waiting for a new owner to make it their own.
