Plenty of Patriots Week
Activities December 2631 in Trenton 5
Gas-Powered Leaf Blower Ban Back in Effect 9
High School Juniors Are Making a Difference With Music 11
McCarter Theatre Presents A Christmas Carol 15
With Junior Amanze
Displaying Her Potential, Tiger Women’s Hoops
Defeats Rhode Island 24
Smiegocki Bringing Emphasis on Preparation In Debut Season Coaching PHS Girls’ Hoops 27
Two new electric school buses will be traveling the roads of Princeton, possibly as early as the summer of 2025, following the award of up to $620,000 from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) as part of a $15 million statewide program to help school districts transition to electric transportation.
The Princeton Public Schools (PPS) announced that the grant will also help to fund a fast-charging station for the electric vehicles. The station requires about six hours to fully charge both vehicles simultaneously, and each will be capable of traveling about 110 miles per charge. Once New Jersey has a program in place, this station will be able to send energy back to the grid during high-demand periods.
PPS Business Administrator Matthew Bouldin applauded the state’s contribution to the district’s sustainability efforts.
“We believe governmental entities can and should take the lead in modeling sustainable practices, especially when we can achieve this within our fairly strict budgetary framework,” he said.
“Programs like the NJDEP grant make sustainable choices attainable.”
On its Electric School Bus Grant Program web page the NJDEP notes, “Of the 21,700 school buses registered in New Jersey, over 99 percent run on fossil fuels. While providing vital transportation services, these buses negatively impact the health of students and residents of the communities in which they operate.”
Electric school buses reduce or eliminate exhaust emissions, which are linked to asthma and other health risks.
“This initiative is a significant step toward reducing our community’s carbon footprint and improving air quality for Princeton,” said Jenny Ludmer, program manager for Sustainable Princeton, which works with the district on its sustainability efforts and partnered with PPS in developing the grant application.
“These two buses will provide a quieter ride for students to and from school, and some cleaner air, thanks to the lack of tailpipe emissions.”
She went on to highlight the progress in electric transportation and to express optimism for future expansion. “Sustainable Princeton is proud to support the school district in seeking grants and
As Municipal Attorney Trishka Cecil reported to Princeton Council at last week’s meeting, the town’s plans for deer management, using both lethal and non-lethal means, are at an impasse.
“I am very disappointed,” Cecil told Council members. “Your constituents, your Council, and White Buffalo [the town’s deer management contractor] all want to include non-lethal means. They want you, as scientists, as people committed to responsible deer management — they want you to be able to use every tool that is available in your toolbox, and you are being confronted with a division that for reasons I cannot understand seems dead set against it.”
Princeton’s deer management program has been in place since 2000, and the existing sharpshooting initiative carried out by White Buffalo Inc., which operates nationwide and specializes in population control of white-tailed deer, has helped to reduce the town’s deer population, with some assistance from recreational bow hunters.
For the last two years the town has tried to include non-lethal as well as lethal components in its application for licensing by the Fish and Wildlife Division (F&W) of
the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. This year’s deer management resolution, approved on July 8, 2024, called for “surgical sterilization — in those areas of the municipality in which other deer management methods have proven infeasible.”
Cecil described submitting voluminous application materials and repeatedly being met with long delays followed by more questions and demands for more details and more information.
“Where we are at the end of the day,
they’ve made it pretty blatant that they’re going to continue to stonewall,” she said. “For three years we’ve been asking to meet with them, with representatives of White Buffalo, and members of the community to make sure we’re addressing all of their concerns. They’ve never so much as acknowledged our request to meet.”
Cecil went on to cite communities in other parts of the country that had received rapid approval for non-lethal deer management plans. Princeton is looking
Beth Archer Brombert, widow of esteemed Princeton University professor, author, and war hero Victor Brombert, who died on November 26 at 101 years old, went out to get the newspaper in the driveway of their Princeton home on the morning of November 30, four days after her husband’s death. She described what happened next.
“On returning to the house, I glanced at the dry, brown clematis on the brick wall to the left of our front door. To my astonishment, on the very top of the
desiccated vine, on a stem well above the dead leaves, standing like a star on a Christmas tree, I saw a single purple ower — fully open.”
Beth Brombert, herself an acclaimed writer of both ction and non ction, continued, “In the 20 plus years since I planted it, I have watched it grow and seen its delicate purple owers increase in size and profusion. It has never, ever bloomed in November.”
The clematis ower, blooming from a
Here’s to our staff!
the lives of our residents.
We acknowledge and congratulate our staff members and thank them for being true pillars of this community.
We thank them for bringing a smile to everyone at Princeton Windrows every single day.
As
As we begin a new year, the residents of Princeton Windrows wish to celebrate our exceptionally talented and dedicated staff.
Their hard work and service to this community keep all of us thriving. We are consistently amazed by the performance of every member of our staff, from senior management to front desk attendants who know all of us by name and greet everyone with a smile, to the housekeeping, culinary, and facilities teams who keep our community running smoothly. Our professionally trained employees are always striving to improve the lives of our residents.
We acknowledge and congratulate our staff members and thank them for being true pillars of this community.
We acknowledge and congratulate our staff members and thank them for being true pillars of this community.
We thank them for bringing a smile to everyone at Princeton Windrows every single day. Here’s to our staff!
We thank them for bringing a smile to everyone at Princeton Windrows every single day.
Leighton Listens: Councilman Leighton Newlin holds one-on-one conversations about issues impacting Princeton from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 18, at Jammin’ Crepes, 20 Nassau Street, and on January 8 at Tiger Noodles, 255 Nassau Street.
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.
Homefront Treasure Trove Holiday Boutique: Through December 22 at 31 West Broad Street, Hopewell. Vintage and collectible décor, dinnerware, furniture, holiday décor, art, and jewelry. Proceeds benefit HomeFront’s mission to end homelessness in central New Jersey. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays, and 12-4 p.m. Sundays. Homefrontnj.org.
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.
Volunteer Land Stewards Wanted : On Wednesday, December 18, Friends of Princeton Open Space (FOPOS) is holding a stewardship session from 1-3 p.m. Volunteers will work under the guidance of the FOPOS stewardship staff at the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve in Princeton to help restore riparian and forest areas, remove invasive plants, and plant native trees and shrubs. Dates, start times and registration at fopos.org/events-programs.
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.
Free Rabies Clinic: Open to all New Jersey residents, at Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad, 1 Valley Road on Saturday, January 18 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Pets must be at least 3 months old. Dogs must be leashed; cats secured in a carrier. All pets must be accompanied by an adult. Visit princetonnj.gov for more information.
BIGGER, BETTER, AND BROADER: The annual Patriots Week celebration in Trenton includes “the usual suspects” — battle reenactments and musket firing demonstrations, pub tours, and a Colonial ball — as well as more activities geared to all ages and varied interests.
With the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence just a year away, planners of this year’s Patriots Week are hoping that the lineup of interactive events — all related to Trenton’s role in
shaping the nation — will generate more than the usual level of excitement.
Enthusiasm has been building, in fact, since last year’s Patriots Week, the first since coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual series of activities is designed to give visitors and residents a chance to not just hear about, but relive pivotal moments of the American Revolution.
“Last year, we were learning how to do it again after COVID,” said Mike Keeler, communications officer for the nonprofit Crossroads of the American Revolution, and for the public entity Revolution NJ. “It’s back, and perhaps bigger than before. The Old Barracks and the Trenton Downtown Association and other partners have really gotten out in front of this, leaned into it, and made it very exciting.”
Patriots Week is officially billed as beginning on December 26. But the celebration gets off to a start on Christmas Day with the annual reenactment of Washington Crossing the Delaware at Washington Crossing Historic Park in Pennsylvania. On December 26, veteran tour guide Ralph Siegel leads a discussion before taking visitors on a 10-block walking tour that will bring the two battles of Trenton to life.
More events that day include tours of the New Jersey State House, a musketfiring demonstration at the Old Barracks Museum, a show at the New Jersey State Museum Planetarium exploring the night sky as George Washington and his troops would have seen it in 1776, a “Hidden History” tour of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, a children’s workshop on making a quill pen and writing like John Hancock, and a talk by historian and author Larry Kidder titled “Jacob Francis: A Free Black Man’s Experiences in the American Revolution.” Then there is the Revolutionary Pub Crawl, and a program at the Trenton Free Library, “Songs and Stories of the Revolution.”
As the week continues, look for a tour of the Petty’s Run dig, led by archeologist Richard Hunter of Hunter Research; a Revolutionary Tea presented by tea specialists Deborah and Michael Raab, Patriots’ Scrabble for all skill levels at Classics Books, the annual Colonial Ball at the Masonic Temple, a puppet show, a tour of the First Presbyterian Church Cemetery, and much more. The Hogmanay Scottish Celebration of the New Year event at the 1719 William Trent House on Saturday, December 28 starts off with bagpipers, followed by the opportunity for visitors to
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learn an authentic Colonial recipe for shortbread while enjoying hot cider and other treats.
“You have the usual suspects — the reenactments, the Colonial Ball, the puppet show,” said Keeler. “But there is a lot more to experience this year. The libraries, the State House, pretty much everybody who could pitch in is pitching in.”
Mark Turdo, the assistant director of interpretation and curation at the Old Barracks Museum, agreed.
“We definitely want to get these crucial battles out in front of people in an engaging way,” he said. “People can actually interact with the reenactors, and ask questions. But it’s more than that. We’re interested in getting more folks out, and being more welcoming. The City of Trenton is making great efforts to do just that.”
Most of the Patriots Week events are free. Families are especially encouraged to take part.
“We hope to get the folks who love history and come out every year,” said Keeler. “But what we really hope is that more families discover us, especially people from across the [Delaware] river in Pennsylvania. It’s great for kids.”
For a full schedule of Patriots Week events, visit patriotsweek.com.
—Anne Levin
After several years of successful virtual events, the Princeton Community Works (PCW) Annual Conference is returning to an in-person format for 2025. The conference will be held on Monday, January 27, at the Mercer County Community College Conference Center from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
A forum for the expression of opinions about local and national issues.
“What are your favorite, and least favorite, holiday songs?”
(Photos by Thomas Hedges)
This year’s theme, “Come Together, Build Community, Be Inspired,” invites nonprofit professionals, volunteers, and community leaders to unite for a day of learning, networking, and collaboration. With a focus on the evolving needs of nonprofit organizations, this year’s conference will offer workshops designed to provide both practical tools and fresh perspectives on key challenges and opportunities facing the sector.
Workshops and panel discussions include “The Joy of Fundraising,” “Broadening Audience Through Media,” “Listening as a Superpower,” “Stress Management Techniques,” and “Volunteers: Valuable Assets.” Additional topics include “Building an Effective Team,” “Radical Collaboration: Strategic Partners,” and “Grant Writing: Essential Techniques.”
Registration is open at princetoncommunityworks. org/register. The cost is $40 and scholarships are available.
well loved and well read since 1946
The one and only place in New Jersey designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute.
RWJBarnabas Health, together with Rutgers Cancer Institute, the state’s only National Cancer Institutedesignated Comprehensive Cancer Center, offers the most advanced, patient-centric cancer care for adults and children. Our nationally renowned, multidisciplinary care teams ensure a compassionate, comprehensive approach, creating individualized cancer treatment plans for our patients, who have access to blood and marrow transplant, CAR T-cell therapy, innovative clinical trials, and cellular therapies - all close to home. Together with our NCI Consortium partner, Princeton University, the longest NCI Consortium Cancer Center relationship in New Jersey, we are driving cutting edge research and advancing scientific discoveries into clinical practice. Visit rwjbh.org/beatcancer or call 844-CANCERNJ
continued from page one opportunities to showcase the feasibility and benefits of electric transportation,” she said. “Assuming success with these two buses, we will continue to seek any other federal or state grants that could allow the district to expand its fleet of electric buses.”
The cost for two electric buses and a fast-charging station is just over $1 million, as opposed to about $276,000 for two gasolinepowered buses. The NJDEP grant, the proceeds from the sale of an older bus, and a $40,000 federal clean vehicle credit reduce the cost difference to $24,000, and with savings on fuel and maintenance, the district expects to recoup its investment in four to seven years.
Bouldin described the acquisition of electric buses as a “trial run,” and noted that
PPS is open to the idea of expanding its electric fleet in the future, though the transition will be gradual since the current fleet is relatively new and school buses have a long service life.
This PPS sustainability initiative follows in the footsteps of Princeton University, which just over a year ago launched its new electric bus fleet. The Rick Bus Company, the district’s transportation contractor, has also begun this transition to electric, according to a PPS press release.
The press release further notes, “Princeton Public Schools’ commitment to sustainable practices not only supports environmental goals but also serves as a model for other school districts, showcasing how local entities can lead in creating a healthier, more sustainable future for students and the community.”
—Donald Gilpin
The American Red Cross is asking donors to give blood or platelets now to help those in need enjoy the rest of the holiday season with loved ones. Donors with type O negative blood and those giving platelets are especially urged to give now so patients can continue to receive the care they count on in the coming weeks.
This is a busy time for many. In addition to travel, seasonal illness and the threat of winter weather can also lead to lower appointment numbers and decreased donor turnout, making it tougher to keep the blood supply stable. Those who give regularly and those looking to give for the first time are encouraged to take one hour this December to help save lives with a blood or platelet donation.
Those who come to give through January 3 will receive a Red Cross longsleeved T-shirt, while supplies last. Those who come January 1-26, during National Blood Donor Month, will be automatically entered for a chance to win a trip for two to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. Details are available at RedCrossBlood. org/SuperBowl.
Schedule an appointment by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800733-2767). All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who
are 17 years of age in most states (16 with parental consent where allowed by state law), weigh at least 110 pounds, and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.
On December 16, at 5:52 p.m., it was reported that two females entered a Nassau Street retail store and stole $4,590 worth of merchandise. They then fled the area in an unknown direction. One was described approximately in her late 20s, approximately 6’0, medium build, with red braided hair, a blue hospital mask over her face, wearing a black shirt, and carrying a large bag. The other suspect was described as approximately in her late 20s, approximately 5’3, medium build, with black braided hair, a blue hospital mask over her face, wearing dark clothing, and carrying a large bag.
On December 15 at 5:49 p.m., the manager of a Hulfish Street retail store reported that two males entered the store and stole an unknown amount of merchandise before fleeing the area in a vehicle. The manager was unable to provide a description of the vehicle. One suspect is possibly in his early 20s, slim build, wearing all black with a black durag on his head. The other, also possibly in his early 20s, and of medium build, had
braided shoulder-length hair, wearing all black.
On December 13, at 6:46 p.m., an individual reported that someone attempted to enter his vehicle parked in his driveway on Wheatsheaf Lane. During the attempted burglary, the driver side door handle was damaged, causing him to be unable to enter his vehicle. Further investigation revealed that the New Jersey temporary registration was stolen from the vehicle. There is no damage estimate.
On December 12, at 12:15 p.m. an individual reported that an unknown person scratched the driver side of her vehicle while it was parked in a marked parking staff at Redding Circle. There was no damage estimate at the time of the report. There are no suspects at this time.
On December 9, at 9:29 a.m., Princeton police responded to a report of a commercial burglary on Nassau Street. The on-scene investigation revealed that an unidentified suspect forced entry and stole approximately $100 worth of currency. The Detective Bureau is investigating.
On December 9, at 9:29 a.m., Princeton police responded to the report of a commercial burglary on Nassau Street. Here, the on-scene investigation revealed that an unidentified suspect forced entry and stole approximately $200 worth of currency. The Detective Bureau is investigating.
On December 9, at 9:29 a.m., Princeton police responded to a Nassau Street establishment on the report of criminal mischief. While investigating, it was determined that the unknown suspect attempted to enter another Nassau Street establishment, but they were unsuccessful.
On December 8 at 11:08 p.m., an individual reported that two males unsuccessfully attempted to gain entry to two vehicles in the individual’s driveway on Hunt Drive. The suspects fled the area in a white, four-door sedan. One suspect was described as approximately 5’10 with a slim build wearing a black face mask, black hooded sweatshirt, olive green vest, white/ black gloves, black pants, and gray/black white sneakers. The second male was of the same height with a medium build, and was wearing a black face mask, black hooded sweatshirt, white/ black gloves, black pants, white socks, and black/white sneakers.
On December 8, at 7:46 a.m., subsequent to a notification from the Evesham Police Department regarding a stolen vehicle, Princeton police were able to locate the stolen vehicle on State Road. The driver of the vehicle, a 22-year-old male from Millersburg, Pa., was placed under arrest for receiving stolen property. He was also charged with Hindering Apprehension after it was determined that he provided false information to Princeton patrol officers during their initial investigation. He was later turned over to the custody of the Mercer County Correctional Center.
On December 7, at 4:52 p.m., an individual reported that, on December 6, he fell off his skateboard on Stockton Street and later realized he lost several items in the process. The belongings, valued at approximately $300, were later taken by an unknown person.
Unless noted, individuals arrested were later released.
Princeton’s leaf blower restrictions went back into effect this week, prohibiting landscapers and residents from using gas-powered blowers between now and March 14.
An ordinance adopted unanimously by Princeton Council in October 2021, after almost a year of deliberations, maintained that “residents and landscapers shall use only electric or battery-powered leaf blowers for leaf and debris-blowing needs. Property owners and their landscape contractors are co-responsible to reduce the amount of noise and air pollution and to achieve more sustainable landscaping practices in our community.”
Councilwoman Eve Niedergang, who was closely involved in development of the ordinance, said that while many are playing by the rules, there is still room for improvement.
“As with any restrictions, people are trying to find ways around it, and there are continuing frustrations,” she said. “I get regular emails about violators — sometimes residents, sometimes landscapers — about people not obeying the rules. But without sounding like a Pollyanna, I think it’s a process. As time goes on, and people are replacing their gas leaf blowers and realizing that in the long run that electric is cheaper, we’ll see a gradual increase in compliance.”
The ban on gas blowers was initiated to address issues noise and, especially, environmental pollution. The effort was led by Sustainable Princeton, Quiet Princeton, the Princeton Environmental Commission, and the Princeton Board of Health.
“As the word gets out about the health hazards to people using the equipment, which is the worst problem, and as landscaping companies are able to transition
to electric blowers, and as people who are hiring landscapers are requesting them, we are seeing more compliance,” Niedergang said. “It’s a long road, and it’s not magic.”
The gas leaf blower ban is only one part of the town’s overall landscaping initiative. “Leaving the leaves” on lawns and recognizing the toxic effects of pesticides and fertilizers are also part of the effort. Violations can be reported through the SeeClickFix link on the municipal website at princetonnj.gov.
Niedergang, who is stepping down from Council on December 31, hopes to see movement on the gas-powered leaf blower issue at the state level.
“That would come with some tax credits,” she said. “When we did the ban, Sustainable Princeton did some fundraising to help people replace their equipment. A big, statewide program with 50 percent tax credit would really make a difference. And it would be better to have a single rule throughout the state instead of town by town.”
Niedergang has been working on a complete ban on gas-powered equipment in Princeton. “But after the election, and understanding what might be coming from Washington in terms of retribution and the rounding up of undocumented immigrants, I just felt it wasn’t a good time to put additional burdens on the Spanishspeaking community, which makes up a good portion of the landscaping workers here,” she said.
The ban does allow mowers, gas-powered as well as battery-powered, to be used year-round, but the ordinance encourages landscapers to replace gas-powered with battery-powered equipment.
—Anne Levin
Deer Management continued from page one to become the first town in the state to gain a permit to use fertility control to manage its deer population.
“This is like hitting our head against a brick wall,” Cecil said, but she promised to persevere. “We’re going to come back to them with the information they’re looking for.”
Town Topics reached out to F&W requesting information about Princeton’s application and specifically F&W’s apparent stonewalling and opposition to non-lethal deer management, but had received no response by press time Tuesday.
F&W was expected to meet this week to approve the Princeton application for the lethal component of their deer management program as it has been implemented in past years, but the request for a non-lethal component seems to be still under discussion. Princeton authorities are hoping for a breakthrough before February when White Buffalo usually conducts its sharpshooting operation and would like to implement fertility control as well.
Councilwoman Eve Niedergang shares Cecil’s disappointment. “What is frustrating for us is that the reasons were not entirely clear why Fish and Wildlife seems to be absolutely set on preventing us from doing the non-lethal component,” said Niedergang.
Niedergang went on to explain that nobody really wants to kill deer, but Princeton does have a major problem with a deer population that is out of control. “We need some kind of tool in our arsenal to deal with the environmental impact and the motor vehicle crashes,” she added, noting that over the last 20 years, with the deer management program in place, the number of motor vehicle crashes involving deer has gone down by more than 50 percent.
“We’re saving lives and property,” she said, “and reducing the environmental impact of unchecked deer on both individual and municipal property.”
She went on to explain that sterilization is inoffensive and safe. “It doesn’t harm the animal, but it reduces the deer population. It can’t replace the lethal methods, but it can be really useful in supplementing it.”
Niedergang emphasized the need to accelerate deer management in Princeton with the addition of a nonlethal program. “This method clearly has the support of the community, and we feel we’ve answered every question and objection raised by F&W, and we want to move forward with this,” she said. “It’s an integral part of our deer management plan because of the very justified restrictions placed upon where you can discharge a gun or where you can bow hunt.”
On Saturday, December 21, Brooke McMinn, lead gardener for the Historic Garden at Point Breeze, will showcase live historic decorations, available for sale, and talk about the historic holiday decor of the 1800s when Joseph Bonaparte lived on the estate. The event takes place at the Discovery Center at Point Breeze, located at 101 East Park Street, Bordentown.
The Discovery Center is open to the public from 12 to 4 p.m. with the talk taking place at 2 p.m. The gift shop will be open, and refreshments will be served. A donation of $10 is requested.
McMinn is a resident of Bordentown City and a graduate of Rutgers University, with a certificate in medicinal and economic botany. Before moving back to her home in Bordentown, she spent five years at the famous Birmingham Botanical Gardens in Alabama, where she oversaw the country’s only public library dedicated to horticulture, gardening, and the environment, and provided programs to enhance the visitor experience.
In 2024, McMinn designed and managed the historic garden at Point Breeze, growing 1,303 lbs. of vegetables and herbs donated by D&R Greenway to the Bordentown community to feed those in need. The garden includes historic crops that were cultivated when Joseph Bonaparte owned and lived on the former estate from 1816-1839. In the spirit of that era, McMinn will show historic decorations made from live greens and offer them for sale. Her talk will highlight how people of the 1800s would have decorated for the holidays.
The museum at the Discovery Center of Point Breeze will be open from 12 to 4 p.m. Exhibits feature the many eras of people who lived at Point Breeze, from the Lenape to Bonaparte to Divine Word Missionaries. Visitors will view artifacts from the different eras and learn about famous visitors, including John James Audubon. The gift shop will be open with unique gifts, including ring trays by Mottahedeh, a porcelain company that has designed White House china. Native wood carvings are available for sale, including intricately carved walking sticks.
For more information, visit drgreenway.org.
Friends of Princeton Open Space (FOPOS) is undergoing a strategic planning process to prepare for the next five years. The organization is asking stakeholders to participate in an online survey to help in gathering candid input and feedback about the organization.
Since its founding, FOPOS has helped to establish over 1,200 acres of parkland and a network of trails that nearly encircles Princeton. Through grants and the contributions of hundreds of people in the community, FOPOS has helped raise over $6 million for land purchases and easements on properties that might have been bulldozed for development.
In addition to land preservation, FOPOS also leads in stewardship, from creating and maintaining hiking trails, boardwalks, and footbridges to removing invasive species and replanting native varieties. FOPOS also sponsors community programs and activities, such as nature walks and educational workshops, and advocates for governmental actions that protect our water, land, animals, and plant communities.
The survey takes only a few minutes to complete. It is available through Friday, January 3 at surveymonkey. com/r/FOPOS.
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She continued, “In a lot of the former Borough you cannot do any deer management unless you have the non-lethal component. And we hear from people who are suffering because of the deer and places where the deer are more likely to encounter motor vehicles.”
Niedergang expressed the frustration that is felt by many Princeton officials and residents concerned with deer management. “We’ve been asking for a meeting with Fish and Wildlife for a long time,” she said. “They won’t sit down and have a meeting with us. It boggles the mind.”
—Donald Gilpin
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Victor Brombert
continued from page one dead vine in late November, is not the only manifestation of Victor Bromberg that lives on.
In addition to the thousands of students he taught and inspired at Yale University for 25 years from 1950 to 1975 and at Princeton University from 1975 until his retirement in 1999, there are more than 15 books and numerous essays he has published, and, perhaps most astonishing of all, the enduring history of his four years as a World War II hero, a “Ritchie Boy” in a secret U.S. Army intelligence unit whose multi-lingual members “fought in every major European battle and supplied most of the intelligence that the United States gathered on the continent,” according to The New York Times.
Brombert, described by The Wall Street Journal as “one of the glories of
humanistic scholarship,” continued to write up until his death. His The Pensive Citadel, a collection of essays, was named one of The New Yorker’s Best Books of 2023, and an essay about his experience as a Ritchie Boy, written in October of this year, is scheduled to appear in the Hudson Review in early 2025.
Born on November 11, 2023 in Berlin, Brombert was the son of Russian-Jewish parents, who had fled from Russia to Germany at the outbreak of the Russian Revolution, and then fled to Paris when Hitler came to power, and eventually emigrated to New York in 1941 on a banana freighter along with 1,200 other refugees. The press greeted the boat as a “floating concentration camp,” according to an obituary written by Bromberg and his family last. month, shortly before his death.
Soon after Pearl Harbor, Brombert was drafted into the U.S. Army and because
of his fluency in several languages was sent to Camp Ritchie in Maryland for frontline intelligence training. In June 1944 he was part of the first American armored division to land on Omaha Beach. He participated in the battle of Normandy, the breakthrough at Saint-Lo, and the liberation of Paris.
Then, according to the family’s obituary, he took part in the Battle of Hurtgen Forest, the Battle of the Bulge, and the liberation of Alsace, during which he was responsible for frontline interrogation of prisoners, behind-the-lines reconnaissance work, and liaison with the French Resistance. After the war Brombert also did liaison work with the Soviet army in Berlin, dealing with displaced persons camps.
Many years later he was one of the main participants interviewed in The Ritchie Boys, a 2004 documentary, and also appeared on 60 Minutes and in other histories of the Ritchie Boys.
Brombert enrolled at Yale University in 1946 on the GI Bill, earned a bachelor’s degree in English in 1948, a Ph.D. in romance languages and literature in 1953, and became a member of Yale’s Department of Romance Languages, where he served three successive terms as department chair. He married Beth Archer in 1950.
Transferring to Princeton in 1975, Brombert, the Henry Putnam University Professor of Romance and Comparative Literatures, received a number of distinguished appointments,
honors, and awards, including visiting professorships at several universities in Italy, France, and across the U.S. He holds honorary degrees from the University of Chicago and the University of Toronto, and in France he was made both Commandeur des Palmes Academiques and Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur.
Brombert put into words his love of teaching in a 2021 interview with Princeton Alumni Weekly. “I loved every moment of my teaching profession,” he said. “I liked the small seminars, I liked the discussion classes, I liked the large lectures. But what I liked most of all, I think what gave me the greatest satisfaction, also of a histrionic nature, is the
large lecture course I had for a freshman class in European literature. I had between 300 and 400 students every year.”
As described in the obituary written by the deceased and his family, “Brombert was passionate about words, language, food, wine, travel, and music. Wherever he was, music was playing.
A bass-baritone, he was informed as a young man by a voice teacher that he could have an operatic career. Ambitious by nature, he opted for academia, in which he believed he had a higher likelihood of reaching the very top of his profession.
“Colleagues, students, and friends have fond memories of Victor (a consummate performer) spontaneously
bursting into song. He commanded a wealth of operatic arias, as well as Russian, French, and German songs that he had learned in his youth. He would also recite — even in his last days — entire poems in Russian, German, Italian, and English. Always elegantly attired, he charmed everyone he met with his charisma, wit, and eloquence.”
In addition to his wife of more than 74 years, Brombert is survived by their children, Marc and Lauren Brombert. Donations may be made in Brombert’s honor to Penn Medicine Princeton Health and the Center for Modern Aging Princeton, both organizations designated by the family.
—Donald Gilpin
For the four high school juniors who make up the Del Forzza Chamber Music Society, helping others is as important as making music together.
This quartet, made up of two flutists and two saxophone players, will perform at the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville on Sunday, December 22 at 3 p.m. Their goal is to raise funds to aid the victims of Hurricane Helene, which caused catastrophic damage in North Carolina last September; and Hurricane Milton, the destructive tropical cyclone that hit Florida a month later. Also on their list are the wildfires that devastated Lahaina, Hawaii, in August 2023.
“We are an independent, student-run club volunteering for our community and driven by our beliefs that we can make a small difference in this world,” said Aleena Zhang, a flutist who attends Princeton High School.
Along with Zhang, the ensemble includes a flutist from West Windsor/Plainsboro North High School, and saxophone players from Montgomery High School and Union County Magnet High School. The musicians have been working together for a year.
“We all have the same music teacher. We came together and thought it would be cool to do something with our music, and give back to the community,” said Zhang. “We were initially inspired by the Lahaina fire, but once those hurricanes occurred, we added them to our cause.”
Pairing flute and saxophone is an unusual combination. “It was hard for us to find music for our group,” said Zhang. “My flute teacher helped us to rearrange
some woodwind quartets. The other flutist in the group is also learning how to compose, so she and our teacher did that together. It definitely hasn’t been easy, but we’ve made it work.”
The name of the quartet comes from the musical term “forzza.”
“In Italian, it means ‘to be strong,’ and we have four pillars that connect to that,” said Zhang. “They are loyalty, integrity, teamwork, and organization. We operate on those values.”
Future plans for the ensemble include more fundraising for causes the musicians feel are important. “We want to continue to raise money. We’re looking for some other target areas outside of America,” said Zhang. “We’re hoping to ramp it up on a larger scale, but will stick to the same instrumentation for now. But we all have a bit of background in piano, so we can do that, too.”
Music for the upcoming concert will include classical selections and some holiday carols, as well as a sing-along with the audience. While admission is free, the group is hoping for donations from those who attend. Proceeds will directly support organizations providing essential aid such as emergency shelter, food, medical assistance, and long-term recovery support.
“The event aims to not only raise funds, but also bring hope and solidarity to the affected communities through the universal language of music,” reads a release about the event.
The Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville is located at 2688 Lawrenceville Road (Route 206). The concert will be held from 3 to 5 p.m.
—Anne Levin
DONATING FOR RECOVERY: To help a town in North Carolina recover from Hurricane Helene last month, Princeton opted to donate, rather than sell, a surplus fire truck. From left are Mayor
Fire
Adam
Councilwoman
and Fire
Princeton Donates Fire Truck To Support Recovery Efforts
In November, the Municipality of Princeton donated one of its surplus fire trucks, the 1999 Pierce Dash, to Banner Elk Volunteer Fire & Rescue in Banner Elk, North Carolina, to aid in their recovery efforts following the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene.
The truck, a Pierce pumper with a 75-foot aerial waterway, provides the mountainous town of Banner Elk with critical firefighting capabilities, particularly in hard-to-reach or elevated areas.
“This truck fills a critical gap for us,” said Banner Elk Fire Chief Tyler Burr. “It gives us the ability to reach those who need us most when it matters most.”
Hurricane Helene, which struck in late September, caused severe flooding and wind damage across North Carolina, leaving small
mountain towns like Banner Elk isolated and placing immense pressure on predominantly volunteer fire departments. Despite these challenges, Banner Elk’s firefighters worked tirelessly to protect their community.
“I cannot say enough about what our residents have done for their community,” said Burr. “To see young volunteers stay behind during an evacuation, saving lives under harsh conditions, was extraordinary.”
Initially, the Municipality of Princeton planned to sell the truck through GovDeals, an online marketplace for government surplus items. However, when Princeton Fire Chief Adam Kooker saw the impact of the hurricane in North Carolina, he proposed donating it instead.
“When we saw the need, we knew we could make a meaningful difference,” said Kooker. GovDeals facilitated the donation process,
quickly matching Banner Elk’s need with Princeton’s surplus vehicle, and covered the shipping costs to ensure prompt delivery.
In addition to enhancing emergency response, the new fire truck is expected to bring financial relief to Banner Elk residents. “This truck will have a huge impact the next time we rate for insurance,” explained Banner Elk Assistant Fire Chief Will Treen. “It’s not only going to help with firefighting capabilities and performance, but also the taxpayers, business owners, and homeowners. It’s a win for the entire community.”
Princeton Mayor Mark Freda emphasized the broader significance of the donation. “In times of crisis, we stand with those in need. This donation is an example of the strength of communities helping each other.”
Plainsboro Mayor Peter Cantu informed his Plainsboro Township Committee colleagues on Wednesday, December 11 that he will not be asking them to support him for another term as mayor. Having been mayor for 44 years and a member of Plainsboro Township Committee for 50 years, Cantu says he intends to remain a committee member — his current term goes through December 2026.
In the township committee form of government, the committee members at the annual municipal reorganization meeting choose a mayor for a term of one year. The committee members in Plainsboro now have a few weeks to consider other candidates for the position of Plainsboro’s mayor. The annual reorganization meeting is scheduled for January 2 at 6 p.m., when Cantu’s decision will be formalized.
“I am happy to assist in the transition in any way possible,” said Cantu. “I have full confidence that my colleagues will agree upon a highly qualified and
dedicated individual to become mayor, who will work with township committee members to keep the town moving forward with its vibrant and successful economic, cultural, health, and educational initiatives,” he said.
The reason for the decision to end his decades of service to the town as mayor is “nothing dramatic, no particular health or personal crisis. At the age of 84, I feel it is time for me to back away from the considerable day-to-day mayoral responsibilities and demands. This is a job to which I have devoted enormous time and energy — as has my wife of 63 years Gale Cantu, who has been with me on this incredible journey every step of the way,” Cantu said .
Cantu, a Democrat, has been a member of the Plainsboro Township Committee since 1975, and he was first chosen by committee members to serve as mayor in 1977. Cantu has been a resident of Plainsboro since 1955, and neither he nor his wife, who was born in Plainsboro, has any desire to leave “this terrific, multicultural community,” of 24,000 residents.
“Plainsboro certainly is different from the very small farming town I encountered when I first came to Plainsboro that featured a population of 1,200 people and 1,600 cows,” he said.
“Plainsboro nowadays has been recognized by New Jersey Monthly magazine as one of the top 10 “Best Places to Live” in New Jersey and by Fortune Small Business magazine as one of the “100 Best Places to Live and Launch a Small Business.”
Tell them you saw their ad in
To the Editor:
We are strongly in favor of the three components of the schools referendum, which is up for a vote on January 28. As parents at Community Park (CP) for many years and now at Princeton Middle School (PMS), we have seen the best of Princeton education, and also the worst of PPS’ facilities challenges. CP is a phenomenal community where the innovative DLI program complements PPS’s strong pedagogy and student support programming. But it has been bursting at the seams for years, with some faculty/ student meetings occurring in repurposed maintenance closets. With significant new housing development nearby, the time is right is to expand CP so that new kids can walk to their neighborhood school, fewer families in town will need to be redistricted, and the DLI program can remain for those who choose it. CP’s proximity to the municipal parking lot and a large playground also make it a good candidate for expansion, but the issues of traffic circulation, secure access to the school, and maximization of recreational facilities need to be carefully considered as part of the planning.
PMS is a special, nurturing environment where a fantastic mix of arts and enrichment opportunities build on the strong core educational foundation. There too though, facilities are a barrier — the schedule is super complicated to squeeze every inch out of the overtaxed building, which will be increasingly inadequate as the student body grows and technological change requires new teaching approaches. Our kids have been fortunate to benefit from HVAC upgrades at their schools that have brought better temperature control, air quality, and environmental sustainability. PHS, on the other hand, still has ancient boilers that are surviving on duct tape and a dream.
The referendum addresses these issues thoughtfully, with targeted investments to fix what is needed, make the most of what we have, and leverage state dollars and energy efficiency to minimize the tax burden. Indeed, if all three questions pass, facilities-based taxes will be hardly higher than they were in 2022.
Princeton prides itself in its quality education, but that is not a given, and nothing lasts if you don’t invest in it. So the real questions the referendum is asking are, what kind of community are we? Are we the kind of community that invests in our children’s future? Are we the kind of community that embraces change and adapts, rather than
just resting on its history of past success? Are we the kind of community that, rather than continually asking our teachers to do more with less, instead gives them the modern and effective tools and environments they need to do what they do best?
We believe that Princeton is that kind of community. If you do too, please come out to vote in favor of the three referendum questions on January 28.
JEFFREY AND TARA OAKMAN Valley Road
To the Editor:
I am writing in support of the upcoming Princeton Public Schools referendum (January 28, 2025) which will approve raising money to alleviate crowding in many of the schools and update the high school HVAC system, and to encourage Princetonians to vote “Yes” to all three questions.
As a supporter of both public education and more affordable housing, I view the referendum as a moral good for our community. Expanding Community Park, Littlebrook, and Princeton Middle School will accommodate the predicted growth in the number of students in the district as well as current overcrowding and will also prevent more redistricting. The new classrooms planned for Community Park will allow more students living in that neighborhood to walk to school instead of being bussed elsewhere. Expansion of Littlebrook, where my granddaughter is a third grader, would allow the restoration of rooms for the school’s music and language programs. Changes to Princeton Middle School with close to 800 students, with nearly 900 expected, will prevent existing crowded conditions from worsening. The high school’s HVAC system was old and poorly functioning when our youngest child graduated in 2010, and 15 years later it has not improved.
The district has been judicious in planning for these expansions and improvements. They cannot be paid for out of existing operating funds because of the state-imposed 2 percent cap on the amount school taxes can grow year to year. A bond referendum is also necessary to obtain maximum state aid ($19-20 million, or 14-15 percent of the total project) to subsidize part of the cost of the improvements, aid that is available for renovations but not new construction.
I urge you to support the referendum on January 28 for the sake of our community and its children.
LINDA OPPENHEIM South Harrison Street
To the Editor:
The Westminster Community Orchestra (WCO) would like to extend its thanks to the members of the Princeton community who attended our recent holiday concert and contributed to our annual collection for area service organizations. This year’s donations were divided between Mercer Street Friends, TASK, Arm In Arm, HomeFront, the Princeton Mobile Food Pantry, and the Rider University Food and Resource Pantry.
Over the past 12 years, the WCO has been able to donate thousands of dollars to worthy organizations, thanks to the generosity of our holiday concert audiences. We greatly appreciate the kindness and compassion of our concert attendees and hope to continue to support the important work being done in our community for our neighbors in need for years to come. We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming concerts.
Best wishes for a happy, healthy, and musical New Year! DR. RUTH OCHS Conductor, and the members of the Westminster Community Orchestra Walnut Lane
To the Editor: I write to you today in order to encourage my neighbors to support the January 28, 2025 Princeton Public Schools referendum. Our town is growing quickly — well over 1,000 units will be added in the coming decade — and our schools must grow accordingly. The district has designed an efficient, strategic solution to handle growth while maintaining high quality. The election allows voters to respond to three tiered questions (Question 1 must pass for Question 2 to pass, and both Question 1 and Question 2 need to pass in order for Question 3 to pass).
Question 1: Expands Community Park Elementary School and replaces Princeton High Schools’ end-of-life HVAC. Question 2: Expands Princeton Middle School and strategic renovations at Princeton High School. Question 3: Expands Littlebrook Elementary School.
Voting “Yes” on all three questions is the right choice for the following reasons: Renovation, rather than new construction, brings us more money from the state; total cost is only $532 per average assessed household; at the elementary level, the referendum minimizes redistricting, preserves small class sizes, and enhances walkability; and the referendum will preserve and enhance Princeton home values.
As a parent of a high schooler and a middle schooler, I see firsthand that our schools are overcrowded and only getting worse.
To dig deeper into why to vote “Yes” for the referendum, please visit princetonk12.org/future.
ELISSA BRITO Baker Court
To the Editor:
In 1837, Horace Mann laid out the definitions of public education in America:
1. Public Education for All: Mann believed that ignorance and freedom cannot coexist, advocating for universal education funded and maintained by the public.
2. Inclusivity: Education should be accessible to children of all social, ethnic, and religious backgrounds without discrimination.
3. Nonsectarian Approach: Schools should be free from sectarian or partisan religious influence, focusing instead on universal moral principles.
4. Democratic Ideals: Education should reflect the discipline and spirit of a free society, promoting democratic values.
5. Professional Teachers: Emphasized the importance of well-trained, professional teachers to deliver quality education.
6. Moral and Character Development: Schools should build character and values through structured regimens and discipline.
I write to encourage all of us to vote yes on January 28, 2025. As to No. 3, let us remember that the conversations between young Jemmy Madison and the Rev. John Witherspoon led to the Establishment Clause in our Bill of Rights. Our public schools are excellent and they matter! SHELDON STURGES Birdie Way
To the Editor:
Several of us retired librarians from the Princeton Public Library were happy to see your coverage of the current production of A Christmas Carol featuring Vivia Font [“Actor Appearing in A Christmas Carol Credits McCarter with Inspiring Her Career,” December 11, page 5].
She was sort of our institutional child as we worked side by side with her mom Elba Barzelato. We watched Vivia grow from preschool days through her graduate studies and many theatrical assignments to become the lovely professional actor she is. We are all the beneficiaries of her fine talent.
MARY LOUISE HARTMAN, MLS James Court
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.
Free Black Patriot Jacob Francis is Topic of Patriots
The Trent House Association will host a talk by Larry Kidder based on his book, The Revolutionary World of
a Free Black Man – Jacob Francis, 1784-1836. This free talk will be held during Patriots Week on Thursday,
December 26, at 2:30 pm. in the Trent House Museum Visitor Center. The Museum is located at 15 Market Street, Trenton, with free parking behind the museum property off William Trent Place.
Jacob Francis from Amwell Township, Hunterdon County, was a free Black man who enlisted in a Massachusetts Continental regiment in October 1775 and served through the siege of Boston, the New York campaign, and the Battle of Trenton. In 2021 Kidder published a biography of Francis’ life and legacy. In his talk Kidder will describe the details of Francis’ service and how his service in the Revolutionary War continued to influence the fight for freedom in the new nation. Kidder will also sign copies of his book.
Kidder is author of many books and articles on the Revolutionary War, particularly in New Jersey, including A People Harassed and Exhausted: The Story of a New Jersey Militia Regiment in the American Revolution; Crossroads of the Revolution: Trenton, 1774-1783; Ten Crucial Days: Washington’s Vision for Victory Unfolds; and Revolutionary Princeton 1774-1783: The Biography of an American Town in the Heart of a Civil War. His newest book is Defending Fort Stanwix: A Story of the New York Frontier
in the American Revolution , published this past November.
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. Owned by the City of Trenton, it is operated by the Trent House Association. For more information, visit williamtrenthouse.org.
One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other.
—Jane Austen (1775-1817), from Emma
According to A Book of Days for the Literary Ye ar, the week of December 15 begins with the publication of Emma, a day before Jane Austen’s 40th birthday in 1815. Emma Woodhouse’s comment about a divided understanding of the world’s pleasures, spoken soon after she herself disastrously misunderstands a courtship charade, has me thinking about Authors, the card game that my parents and I played when I was a boy. The fact that Jane Austen had been overlooked by the creators of the game (the only female being Louisa May Alcott) naturally didn’t occur to me, although when my wife and I played Authors with our son decades later, her absence was front and center. How could they leave her out, a question that had serious resonance on the Christmas morning I gave my wife illustrated editions of Persuasion and Mansfield Park
John Greenleaf Who?
The next stop in the Literary Year’s “week that was” is December 17, 1807, which marks the birth of John Greenleaf Whittier, the only author in the game whose presence there I didn’t understand. I’d heard of all the others thanks to my obsessive reading of Classic Comics , but my parents were never able to answer my question about Whittier, as in what’s he doing here? And even though he merits a place in the Literary Year, the editors utterly ignore him after noting Atlantic Monthly’s party to celebrate his 70th birthday in 1877, where that rogue Mark Twain stole the show, “shocking the diners” by comparing his fellow dinner guests Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Oliver Wendell Holmes “to three drunken tramps in the Sierras.”
Reading Twain
What can you say? As you can see from the face on the Authors card, Twain’s a man to reckon with. Still, thanks mostly to my mother, who read all of Tom Sawyer aloud to me one summer, he was the author I knew best. As stern as he looks under those beetling white brows, he could always make me laugh, a tribute to my Missouri-born mother’s ability to take on different voices, although the passages she did most memorably were the love scenes between Tom and Becky, especially when they were lost in the cave.
Dickens Owns the Date
With Christmas only a week away, December 17 obviously belongs to Charles Dickens, that being the day in 1843 when
A Christmas Carol was published. It’s also one of the four titles on the Dickens card, along with The Pickwick Papers , David Copperfield, and Oliver Twist. One of the pleasures surely more than half the world can understand is when Scrooge follows Marley’s ghost to the window and looks out at the night “filled with phantoms, wandering hither and thither in restless haste.” And then when he looks out on the brightness of Christmas morning in an ecstasy of light and warmth and hope and good cheer after the spirits of Christmas past, present, and future have transported and transformed him.
The card portrait of Dickens in profile always struck me as impressively lifelike, perhaps because of the touch of color in his cheeks and his steady gaze. In the words of the American Antiquarian Society’s entry on the origins of the game, “Before the world ogled over athletes and movie stars, the greatest celebrities were authors. People traveled far and wide to see the performances of Charles Dickens and Mark Twain as they read their stories aloud, complete with character voices and, in Dickens’s case, such taxing physicality that some believe it may have hastened his death.”
Things Get Grim
higher and greater standard of principle. Washington could not lie. I can lie, but I won’t”). In 1968, however, John Steinbeck ( The Grapes of Wrath ) dies of a heart ailment in New York City, and on December 21, 1940, in Los Angeles, Princeton’s prodigal son F. Scott Fitzgerald dies at 44 of a heart attack, leaving his Hollywood novel The Last Tycoon unfinished.
December 18 is a dark date in the Literary Year John Dryden is attacked by minions of the Earl of Rochester in 1679; the poet Samuel Rogers ( The Pleasures of Memory ) dies in 1855; born that day in 1870, storywriter Saki (H.H. Munro) is killed in battle in France in 1916. December 19 isn’t much better. In 1832, New Jersey poet Philip Freneau gets lost in a snowstorm while returning from a tavern and dies near his home in Middletown Point; in 1848 Emily Brontë dies of consumption at 30, after catching cold at her brother Branwell’s funeral. For December 20, the editors resort to Mark Twain again to lighten things up, as he did in 1871, comparing himself to George Washington (“I have a
A Special December 18 I’ve been pacing around this particular date for over a week. Needless to say, my mother isn’t in the Book of Days for the Literary Year. She did desperately want to be a writer and kept at it from her late teens to her early forties. The closest she came to success was in 1950 when the Kenyon Review published her story about a paranoid judge, which led to a mention in Best American Short Stories of 1951 and an agent and several years of top publishers reminding her of the bestselling novel they were sure she “had in her.” She tried, leaving dozens of aborted opening chapters, with whole typewritten paragraphs x-ed out. Instead, she produced some stories her agent sent around, but most of the time she sat at the Royal portable typing hundreds of pages of an extremely personal journal that answered many of the questions I had about her life but never had the nerve to ask.
I found her papers in a blue vinyl suitcase the day she died on December 18, 1978. I sat up all night reading her, getting to know the woman she was in her prime, a ritual I have followed every December 18 for decades.
“I Wrote a Story!”
Of all the glimpses of my mother I found in the journals, the one that spoke to me, writer to writer, begins, “But now look what’s happened! I’ve written a story clear through! It’s a spring night with the wind demanding to be heard and rain falling every now and then, gently. When I come
out, I find a misty world dripping like a freshly sprayed vegetable, the full moon like a huge street lamp seen through the rain. And how funny it is what the touch of the wind on my face does to me, this soft, restless wind, reaching right inside me and touching every sense I possess. I could do desperate and violent things when the wind is this way. I started writing at 1:30 A.M. and finished the story by about 5:00. It runs to 5000 words. Delirious with happiness I celebrate by going for a long drive just as the sun’s rising.”
Sharing a Book
That summer of sharing Tom Sawyer, cuddled up on the big bed, my mother reading, me listening with eyes closed, imagining Tom and Becky in the cave, came back full force when I saw the two Neapolitan schoolgirls cuddled together sharing their copy of Little Women in My Brilliant Friend . That’s when I bonded with the series. Just now I looked at Louisa May Alcott’s portrait card in the Authors deck. She’s shown in profile, a handsome woman in middle age, her gaze fixed as if on some distant prospect. Her expression is mild, as if she were picturing future readers like the girls in My Brilliant Friend
If Alcott were thinking of her fellow author, Mark Twain, her gaze would likely darken, for she reportedly helped make sure that Huckleberry Finn was banned from the Concord Public Library, having once declared, “If Mr. Clemens cannot think of something better to tell our pureminded lads and lasses, he had best stop writing for them.”
Twain and Jane
In the context of Emma Woodhouse’s observation that one half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other, I’ll close with Mark Twain, from an unpublished 1905 essay that eventually appeared in the Winter 1999 Virginia Quarterly Review: “Whenever I take up ‘Pride and Prejudice’ or ‘Sense and Sensibility,’ I feel like a barkeeper entering the Kingdom of Heaven.... Does Jane Austen do her work too remorselessly well? For me, I mean? Maybe that is it. She makes me detest all her people, without reserve. Is that her intention? It is not believable. Then is it her purpose to make the reader detest her people up to the middle of the book and like them in the rest of the chapters? That could be. That would be high art. It would be worthwhile, too. Someday I will examine the other end of her books and see.”
—Stuart Mitchner
“A
McCarter Theatre’s annual presentation of A Christmas Carol has returned to delight Princeton audiences. Working from her adaptation of Dickens’ 1843 novella, Lauren Keating again directs (assisted by Jaimee HarmonTaboni), guiding a uniformly talented cast and creative team through a production that artfully juxtaposes the story’s darkest themes against festive caroling and dances.
Community involvement in the show — exemplified by the opportunity to participate in the youth ensemble — has long been an integral part of McCarter’s adaptations of the story. Keating extends this to her staging; as the show opens, carolers dance down the aisles as they sing to the audience. Immediately, we are part of the action.
Upon reaching the stage, the ensemble begins to narrate the story to us. The warm, festive mood is interrupted by the arrival of Ebenezer Scrooge (portrayed by Joel McKinnon Miller, who — along with other members of the cast and creative team — returns from last year’s production.).
Costume Designer Linda Cho dresses the embittered miser in a brown coat, underlining his difference in attitude from the brightly colorful (predominantly red and green) outfits, sufficiently evocative of the Victorian era, worn by the ensemble.
Scrooge dismissively rebuffs the dinner invitation extended by his nephew Fred (JP Coletta, who infuses the character with youthfully innocent enthusiasm) and Fred’s new wife Caroline (Lisa Helmi Johanson); and a request for a charitable donation by two solicitors, here named Cate (Legna Cedillo) and Mary (Maria Habeeb).
Ebenezer also denies his housekeeper Mrs. Dilber (Polly Lee, whose apt portrayal is brusquely matter-of-fact) permission to take Christmas day off to be with her family, but reluctantly allows Bob Cratchit (a joyfully paternal Kenneth DeAbrew) to be absent from work. As Bob’s wife Margaret, Vivia Font offers a memorable delivery of the monologue in which Margaret defiantly specifies the extent to which she is willing to drink to Scrooge.
Keating establishes certain relationships earlier than Dickens does, particularly that of Mrs. Dilber and the generous Old Jo (Gina Daniels). The latter character is a refashioned version of the novella’s rather more sinister pawnbroker Old Joe.
Composer and Sound Designer Palmer Hefferan provides a seamless transition in mood during these scenes. (Chris Frisco capably provides the music direction.) Joyous music gives way to eerie, ghostly sounds; we get the sense that spirits are watching Scrooge, and reacting to the way he treats people.
Miller, who currently may be most recognizable to audiences via his appearances
on NBC’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine and HBO’s Big Love , offers an interesting delivery of Scrooge’s lines during these early interactions. His tone often is less contemptuous than curtly nonchalant; rather than despising Christmas, as some other iterations of the character do, Miller’s seems to have grown apathetic toward it (though he still resents the expectation of financial obligation). The portrayal suggests that there is a part of Scrooge’s soul that already regrets his behavior.
Similarly, the ghost of Jacob Marley (Grayson DeJesus), whose arrival is marked by a trail of dry ice, is more mournful and anguished than menacing. Some of the character’s lines are delivered more conversationally, and with a bit less of an emphasis on loud, explosive vocal outbursts, than other iterations of the tormented specter. One gets the sense that Keating wants nuance to outweigh sturm and drang.
There are several interesting choices in casting actors in multiple roles. In some cases, the characters played by a performer are similar. In addition to Solicitor Cate, Cedillo plays Christmas Past, who is portrayed as serene bordering on impish, albeit at times chiding. (Perhaps the Spirit’s youthful demeanor is reflective of the point in Ebenezer’s life it is assigned to cover.)
Andrea Goss, who plays Mrs. Fezziwig, infuses Christmas Present with similar exuberance (seamlessly handling the spirit’s dark change of mood at the end of its segment). In addition to Solicitor Mary, Habeeb also plays Belle, Scrooge’s
Other dual roles are strikingly contradictory. Coletta is equally successful both as the innocently kindhearted Fred; and as Scrooge as a young man, whose partnership with Marley increasingly hardens his heart. Cameron Knight plays both the gregarious, flamboyant Mr. Fezziwig and the spookily silent Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Similarly, youth ensemble member Mikayla Irene doubles as an affably bemused Turkey Kid, and the eerie Want. (Rafaella Mousa plays Want’s counterpart, Ignorance.)
The members of the youth ensemble all deliver admirable performances. Ezra Cayton-Hodges depicts Young Scrooge as a character whose early experiences, particularly with an unkind Father (Alex Brightwell) who is sent to a workhouse) already are taking their toll. CaytonHodges’ scene with Alesiandra Nikezi, who plays Ebenezer’s sister Fan, is brief but memorably tender.
Ably rounding out the youth ensemble are a Caroler (Skarlett Rose Willis), and the Cratchit children: Martha (Addison Hall), Belinda (Zayda Knowles), and Peter (Ethan Lee). As Tiny Tim, Caryna Desai Shah charms the audience with his delivery of the character’s iconic line.
Scenic Designer Daniel Ostling often juxtaposes open exteriors against oppressively dark and secluded interiors. Scrooge’s counting house — a set within a set — is surrounded by the cheerfully bustling activity of outdoor London, established by the silhouette of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Scrooge’s arrival home is preceded by his front door rising from the stage — in a nice bit of foreshadowing, it is shaped like
“A Christmas Carol” will play at McCarter’s Matthews Theatre, 91 University Place, through December 29. For tickets, show times, and further information call (609) 258-2787 or visit mccarter.org.
a tombstone; spiritually, he already has buried himself. The interior, like Scrooge’s coat, is a gloomy brown. Later, these oppressive walls fly open to offer a bright, open-air backdrop for Christmas Past, followed by an idealized, snow globe-like setting for Christmas Present.
Paul M. Kilsdonk’s lighting is particularly striking for a scene that opens the second act, in which we see Scrooge relive, in his mind, memories shown to him by Christmas Past. Hefferan’s sound design creepily distorts Christmas Present’s voice for her waspish quotation of Scrooge’s callous “Are there no prisons…?”
Both David Thompson’s adaptation, which McCarter presented through 2019, and Keating’s involve the plot device of a music box that is given to Scrooge by Fan. (Previously the music box has been contained in a snow globe; here it is wooden cube that opens to reveal a diorama.)
In a few places I miss the pre-2020 adaptation. The most notable example involves Fan’s gift, which, in a powerful scene, is destroyed in that version. I also was partial to a sequence in which children surround Scrooge and quote the “Are there no prisons?” line at him.
Nevertheless, Keating brings a talent for using music and dance to the story’s benefit. Emily Maltby’s joyful choreography is not only eye-filling; it advances the plot. A sequence in which the dancing at Fezziwig’s party is interrupted by the meeting of Scrooge and Belle, and then resumes with heightened meaning, brings the show into the territory of musical theater. Keating’s adaptation deftly focuses on a theme of influences. (Notably, both Father and Marley repeat Scrooge’s “Bah! Humbug!” line.) The script is particularly interested in the extent to which Marley’s obsession with financial success, instinctively shared by Scrooge, steadily wrests the latter away from Belle’s kindness and moral center.
As a director, Keating adds an inventive motif. As characters that are projected by the Spirits discuss Scrooge, they look in his direction or even approach the place where he is standing, even though he cannot see them.
In a nod to the Victorian setting’s distant future — our own time — the curtain call is accompanied by pop music. Some may find this to be a jarring contrast with the traditional carols heard during the show, but the choice is not inconsistent with some of the story’s themes. Indeed, it recalls Scrooge’s promise to honor Christmas past, present , and future
With its predecessors this iteration of A Christmas Carol joyfully shares a central theme: one generation giving holiday spirit to another. — Donald H. Sanborn III
HAPPY NEW YEAR: The annual concert celebrating New Year’s Eve at Trenton’s Patriots Theater at the War Memorial is a Capital Philharmonic
Strauss, Gershwin, and More
At New Year’s Eve Concert
The Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey presents its annual New Year’s Eve concert at Patriots Theater at the War Memorial in Trenton, starting at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, December 31.
Preceding the concert at 7:10 p.m., Brett Miller gives a recital on the theater’s organ. Sebastian Grand conducts the concert, which includes Leonard Bernstein’s overture to Candide , a Strauss waltz, music from cinema, and Gershwin’s Strike Up the Band
The orchestra is also planning its annual gala on February 25 at the Trenton Country Club. Outreach initiatives of the ensemble include the Mary G. Roebling Youth Concerto Competition; the Musicians’ Choice Chamber Music Concerts; efforts to Trenton area schools; music workshops; free pre-concert lectures; and Ten for Trenton, acknowledging individuals who make Trenton a more livable city for all. For tickets to the New Year’s Eve concert, visit capitalphilharmonic.org or call (800) 514-3849.
On Saturday, January 11 at 8 p.m., State Theatre New Jersey presents “Croce Plays Croce — The Jim Croce Birthday Bash.” Tickets range from $29 to $99.
A.J. Croce performs this special night of music featuring a complete set of classics by his late father Jim Croce, some of his tunes, and songs that influenced him and his father. Such songs as “Operator,” “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim,” “Time in a Bottle” (a song written for A.J.), “Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy),” and “Lovers Cross,”
are among those on the program. Classic covers may include songs by Lieber and Stoller, Bessie Smith, and other folk and roots artists.
A.J. Croce, a Billboard charting singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, taught himself guitar and several of his father’s classics, debuting with a concert that celebrated the legacy of his father’s songs, stories, and music, as well as his own. That show featured two generations of Croce music and many songs by other artists which connect father and son as performers.
Over the past three decades, he has established his reputation as a piano player and vocal stylist in blues, soul, pop, jazz, and rock n’ roll. A virtuosic piano player, Croce toured with B.B. King and Ray Charles before he was 21. Since then, he has performed with a wide range of musicians, from Willie Nelson to the Neville Brothers, to Béla Fleck and Ry Cooder.
State Theatre New Jersey is at 15 Livingston Avenue in New Brunswick. Visit stnj. org for tickets.
Pianist David Leifer will play a selection of Italian composers’ solo piano pieces and opera transcriptions from the 18th to 20th centuries on Sunday, January 5 from 5-7 p.m. at Dorothea’s House, 120 John Street. Leifer is an adjunct professor of piano at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, and an independent piano teacher. His program will focus on these composers’ many contributions to the vast keyboard literature. It will begin with works originally written for harpsichord, moving to works written for the piano, and feature pieces from composers including Scarlatti, Clementi, Puccini, and Verdi. Admission is free. Participants are encouraged to bring refreshments to share at a post-program reception. Doors open at 4:45 p.m. Visit dorotheashouse.org for more information.
Lewis Center Names Next Hodder Fellows
Princeton University’s Lewis Center for the Arts has announced the selection of five Mary Mackall Gwinn Hodder Fellows for the 2025-26 academic year. This year’s recipients include sculptor Carlos Agredano, performing and visual artist Satoshi Haga, novelist Ayana Mathis, composer Peter Shin, and playwright Catherine Yu.
“The Lewis Center is thrilled to welcome this impressive and diverse cohort of Hodder Fellows, and to express our enduring gratitude to Mrs. Hodder for making their time with us possible,” said Lewis Center Chair Judith Hamera in making the announcement. “These inventive and rigorous artists challenge our perceptions of foundational issues, from the seeming solidities and histories of urban infrastructures and personal beliefs to the ephemeralities of belonging and connection. We look forward to the insights, new ideas, and collaborations they will bring to us in their fellowship period.”
Hodder Fellows may be writers, composers, choreographers, visual artists, performance artists, or other kinds of artists or humanists who demonstrate, as the program outlines, “much more than ordinary intellectual and literary gifts.” Artists from anywhere in the world may apply in the early fall each year for the
following academic year. Past Hodder Fellows have included novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, painter Mario Moore, poet Natalie Diaz, choreographer Okwui Okpokwasili, playwrights Lauren Yee and Martyna Majok, and Zimbabwean gwenyambira (mbira player), composer, and singer Tanyaradzwa Tawengwa. Agredano lives and works in Los Angeles. He plans to work with Princeton’s High Meadows Environmental Institute to expand his research methods about hyper-local air pollution. Building on Robert Smithson’s concept of the “nonsite” — a type of land artwork that indexed specific locations across New Jersey — Agredano aims to create a new land artwork that addresses the absent social and political contexts of the “non-site” in America.
Haga is a performing and visual artist from Fukushima, Japan, who began his artistic career in the 1980s in New York City. He is a director of binbinFactory in New York City, collaborating with Rie Fukuzawa since 2010, where they merge Eastern and Western cultures through their dance and theater performances. Haga said that his time as a Hodder Fellow will center the development and groundwork for his new project, “Night Forest.” Mathis is a novelist and essayist based in New York City. She describes her fiction and nonfiction as explorations of the same subject: the lived social and historical experience of poor Black women and families. As a Hodder Fellow, Mathis will work on a memoir-in-essays entitled My Brief Salvation, a collection of critical and personal essays about iterations of belief in literature, political life, and the writer’s own formative years in Philadelphia in the turbulent 1980s.
Shin is a composer from Kansas City, Mo., based in Los Angeles. During the Hodder Fellowship year, Shin will create his second work for the vocal band Roomful of Teeth in collaboration with the modern music collective Wild Up. His first work, Bits torn from words , was recorded on Roomful of Teeth’s 2024 Grammy Award-winning album, Rough Magic . Yu is a Chicago-based writer of plays and opera librettos. Her time as a Hodder Fellow will focus on the writing of a play about an Asian American immigrant family told through a Japanese narrative structure.
In addition to creating new work, Hodder Fellows may engage in lectures, readings, performances, exhibitions, and other events at the Lewis Center for the Arts, most of which are free and open to the public.
History of “The Nutcracker” Is Topic of Online Exhibit
“Winter Wonderland: George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker” is the title of an exhibition currently on view via the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts’ website, nypl.org.
The show, which is online only, tells the story of the 70-year-old holiday classic choreographed for the New York City Ballet by George Balanchine.
While The Nutcracker today an annual event performed by ballet companies across the globe, it was not an immediate success when Balanchine debuted his version in 1954. But when a televised and narrated version brought the work into people’s homes across America in 1958, a classic was born.
Princeton Symphony Orchestra Marks Maestro’s 60th Birthday
The centerpiece of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra’s (PSO) 2024-25 season is the upcoming celebration of Music Director Rossen Milanov’s 60th birthday at concerts held at Richardson Auditorium on January 11 and 12.
“In 1964, the ballet saw some choreographic changes, and brand new costumes and sets were commissioned from the artists Barbara Karinska and Rouben TerArutunian,” reads information from the exhibition.
“The modifications brought iced perfection to an already sweet work, and George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker has remained untouched since this time, allowing multiple generations to bond over a shared experience year after year with the New York City Ballet.”
Divided into sections titled “The Beginnings,” The Children,” “Mice!,” “Original Interpreters,” “Set Concepts,” “Stage Magic,” and “Barbara Karinska,” the show charts the early years of the ballet’s life, from its premiere in February 1954 to the success of the remounted production in 1964. Items from the archives of the Library’s Jerome Robbins Dance Division that are in the show include photographs, set models, and costume designs. Visit nypl.org to get the link for the exhibit.
Designated as the season’s Edward T. Cone Concert, the program consists of Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto with Leila Josefowicz as soloist and Tchaikovsky’s rarely heard Manfred Symphony.
“I’m thrilled to collaborate creatively again with my friend, the superb violinist Leila Josefowicz, and I am celebrating my birthday by conducting two works among my favorites in the orchestral repertoire,” said Milanov. “I’m Slavic by birth, so when it comes to conducting works by these great composers, I feel deeply connected to the music.”
Minnesota Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Gulbenkian Orchestra, and Houston, San Diego, KBS, Singapore, City of Birmingham, Prague, and BBC symphony orchestras.
Sunday’s concert includes a 3 p.m. pre-concert talk hosted by Milanov discussing the works to be performed. The talk is free to ticket holders with general seating in Richardson Auditorium.
In advance of the concert weekend, Milanov will reflect on his years at the PSO with former PSO Executive Director Melanie Clarke at a special PSO Soundtracks presentation, “A Symphony Celebration ,” at Princeton Public Library on Tuesday, January 7 at 7 p.m.
For concert tickets, visit princetonsymphony.org.
Following some weekend performances of A Christmas Carol at McCarter Theatre, a “show after the show” will take place in the Lockwood Lobby.
Actor/musician JP Coletta, a member of the cast, will perform holiday music and take audience requests on Friday and Saturday, December 20 and 21 and 27 and 28. On Fridays, the music starts at 10 p.m. and bars stay open until 11 p.m. On Saturdays, the music starts at 8 p.m. and the bars are open until 9 p.m.
This one-day celebration of the arts consists of master classes, workshops, and hands-on art-making activities. Through these sessions, teens have an opportunity to make new connections and network with peers, to learn new artistic skills, and to enhance skills they already have.
Many workshops are led by Mercer County Community College’s faculty members. Among the offerings are classes in media and visual art, dance, drama, vocal and instrumental music, film, and creative writing.
Critique sessions are also a key aspect of the day. Experts and teachers in each arts field offer students constructive feedback on their
work and performances, suggestions for future exploration in their field, and even guidance for their future academic and career endeavors, offering an opportunity for the students to understand their work in a new light.
All art and performances presented for critique are further evaluated by adjudicators, and a select group of students are offered a special opportunity to present their work at the State Teen Arts Festival from June 3- 5 at Middlesex College.
Questions about the Mercer County Teen Arts Festival may be directed to Tim Hoh at teenarts@mercercounty.org or (609) 5322634.
is printed entirely on recycled paper.
operas presented by Komische Oper Berlin and Opera Columbus, as well as the Spanish premiere of Tchaikovsky’s Mazeppa and Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle with Opera Oviedo (awarded best Spanish production for 2015). He has conducted over 200 concerts with the Philadelphia Orchestra and performances with the New York City Ballet, Zurich Ballet, and La Scala Ballet in Paris. He presents education projects with Carnegie Hall and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and leads the PSO’s BRAVO! concerts for school children.
Coletta is a New York City-based actor and musician with credits including A Charlie Brown Christmas , Million Dollar Quartet , White Christmas , Sweeney Todd , and more. He is also the creator and star of Rock n’ Roll Piano Man, a theatrical concert celebrating the history of the piano in rock ‘n’ roll
A Christmas Carol runs through December 29. Visit mccarter.org or call (609) 258-2787 for tickets.
As Edward T. Cone Music Director of the orchestra, Milanov regularly collaborates with artists of the orchestral world, and heads the PSO’s June performing arts celebration, the Princeton Festival. He is also the music director of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. Milanov has conducted
Josefowicz received Grammy award nominations for her recordings of Scheherazade.2 with St Louis Symphony conducted by David Robertson, and Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Violin Concerto with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by the composer. Her 2024-25 season includes performances of Luca Francesconi’s Duende — The Dark Notes with New York Philharmonic and Susanna Mälkki, and the British premiere of Helen Grime’s Violin Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sakari Oramo at the Aldeburgh Festival. Further engagements include
On May 2, 2025, hundreds of young artists and performers will have the opportunity to experience the Mercer County Teen Arts Festival. This annual festival provides high school and middle school students from Mercer County’s public, private, parochial, and independent schools the opportunity for a day of full arts immersion at the West Windsor campus of Mercer County Community College.
“For many students across Mercer, the Teen Arts Festival is one of the highlights of the year,” said County Executive Dan Benson. “We’re excited to offer another opportunity for students to come together to learn, hone their talents, and grow as artists.”
POP-UP ACTIVATION: Colette Fu’s work “Noodle Mountain” will be opened on Saturday, December 28 at 12 p.m. at Grounds For
On Saturday, December 28 from 12 to 12:30 p.m., artist Colette Fu will open the pop-up book Noodle Mountain, followed by a short artist talk, in the Domestic Arts Building at Grounds For Sculpture where a portion of the ‘Slow Motion” exhibition is located.
Noodle Mountain contemplates deeply personal memories, as well as the intergenerational histories of place, labor, and diaspora that food can conjure. Future activation dates include March 22 at, at 1 p.m. and May 17 at 12 p.m.
Born in Princeton in 1969, Fu is a Philadelphia-based artist who received her MFA in Fine Art Photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2003, and soon after began devising complex compositions that incorporate photography and pop-up paper engineering. Her pop-up books are included in the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Library of Congress, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Getty Research Institute, and many private and rare archive collections.
Fu’s numerous awards and grants include a Forman Arts Initiative Art Works
grant, Philadelphia Cultural Treasures grant, Joan Mitchell Painter’s & Sculptors Fellowship, the Meggendorfer Prize, Leeway Transformation Award, and a Fulbright Research Fellowship to China. She exhibits widely and teaches pop-up courses and community workshops internationally.
Grounds For Sculpture is at 80 Sculptor’s Way in Hamilton. For tickets and more information, visit groundsforsculpture.org.
“Eco-Art Revolution” Panel Discussion at Public Library
On January 14 at 6 p.m., the Princeton Public Library will host “Eco-Art Revolution: Creativity Meets Sustainability,” a panel discussion featuring three distinguished artists from the Princeton area: Susan Hoenig, Mary Waltham, and Karen Tuveson The event will be moderated by Mic Diño Boekelmann, a multidisciplinary artist and ecoadvocate.
An engaging discussion will explore how these artists ensure their creative processes are eco-friendly and aligned with sustainable practices. From the thoughtful selection of materials to innovative techniques, the panelists are united by their commitment to reducing the
environmental footprint of their work while fostering meaningful connections between art and sustainability. Through personal stories and professional insights, the panelists will share their journeys of adopting green practices, overcoming challenges, and influencing both the art world and environmental advocacy. Attendees will have the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of how sustainable art can inspire change and contribute to a greener future without compromising creativity.
Hoenig creates natureinspired artwork that highlights the interconnectedness of ecosystems and the relationships between habitats, plants, and animals. Reimagining constructivist art, her work addresses ecological issues while celebrating the land’s beauty and fostering environmental awareness. A Puffin Foundation Grant recipient and Indigenuity Contest winner, she has also contributed to ecological research and presented her “Biodiversity Paintings” lecture at the Washington Crossing Audubon Society in 2022.
Waltham is an environmental artist whose work explores the fragility of our natural world through the dual lenses of science
and art. She works across various media, including drawing, painting, video, and installation, often incorporating locally sourced natural materials such as soil, bark, moss, and wood. Through her art, Waltham seeks to spark meaningful conversations by bringing landscapes to life in the context of pressing environmental challenges.
Tuveson, a multifaceted artist and community arts advocate, sees her studio as a creative laboratory where she merges artistic experimentation with ecoconscious values. Her work delves into nature’s intricate layers of light, texture, and color, capturing its dynamic balance while inspiring reflection on humanity’s environmental stewardship. Committed to sustainability, she carefully sources local, eco-friendly materials, aligning her creative process with the natural cycles she depicts and honoring the harmony of the natural world.
Boekelmann is a Filipino American artist, educator, and facilitator born in Quezon, Philippines. As a multidisciplinary artist, her work seamlessly bridges the realms of art and activism, with a focus on climate change, sustainability, and social justice. In addition to her creative pursuits, she is the founder of The Orange Door, a contemporary art space in Princeton, where she champions the arts and their role in fostering community engagement and awareness.
This event is free and open to the public. It will take place in the first floor Community Room of the Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street. For more information, visit princetonlibrary.org.
Tell them you saw their ad in
On Saturday, December 21 at 4:30 p.m., painter Kyoko Bartley will be the featured speaker for the “Inside the Artist’s Studio” series at Princeton Makes in the Princeton Shopping Center. Bartley, a Japanese-born artist based near Princeton, specializes in a diverse range of art forms in various mediums, including traditional Japanese motifs, animal art, and hyper-realistic drawings.
Bartley is particularly known for her vibrant “Red Fuji” paintings, symbolizing good fortune and success, as well as her detailed depictions of animals, such as pet portraits and her “Princeton Black Squirrels” series, beloved in her local community. Her art has found homes with collectors worldwide.
She will discuss her artistic journey and how New Jersey inspires her work. “New Jersey was where I realized how my Japanese background became a unique strength,” said Bartley. “Living in America has given me a new, objective perspective on Japan, allowing me to see my heritage through fresh eyes.”
Bartley was a creative at a young age, winning multiple awards and accepting commissions during high school. Her artistic journey was profoundly influenced by American pop culture during her childhood, particularly animation and Hollywood films. While honing her skills in painting and drawing, she also pursued academic studies in media technology, focusing on the U.S. film industry and its cultural impact. This passion eventually led her to study abroad in the U.S., where she later settled permanently after marriage. After living in Ohio for several years, she moved to Princeton, where she continues to create and inspire through her art.
“My works often intertwine traditional Japanese aesthetics with contemporary techniques, creating pieces that resonate with both personal meaning and universal appeal,” said Bartley. “I also create digital art and character designs for comics, other artists, and corporate clients.”
Over the years, Bartley has earned several awards for her paintings, character art, and photography internationally, including in Japan and the U.S.
This month Bartley is the featured artist at Princeton Makes. Her work is highlighted in the front window. Her work will be available for purchase. The “Inside the Artist’s Studio” talk series, part of the cooperative’s programming initiatives, offers the public a monthly opportunity to learn about and from its creatives.
The event will begin with a reception and light refreshments, at 4:30 p.m. Artwork by all cooperative artists will be available for purchase.
Princeton Makes is a cooperative of over 40 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 visiting their in-store studios and shopping for a wide variety of art, including large paintings, prints, custom-made greeting cards, stained glass lamps and window hangings, jewelry in various designs and patterns, and more.
Additional information is available at princetonmakes.com.
www.princetonmagazinestore.com
“DOUBLE TROUBLE”: This work by Mike Benevenia is featured in ‘When the Land Calls,” on view at D&R Greenway Land Trust’s Marie L. Matthews Gallery, 1 Preservation Place, through February 28. For more information, visit drgreenway.org.
Art@Bainbridge, 158 Nassau Street, has “Heléne Aylon: Undercurrent” through February 2. Artmuseum. princeton.edu.
Artists’ Gallery, 18 Bridge Street, Lambertville, has “Mostly Small Works” through January 5. 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 “Annual Member Show 2024” December 19 through January 18. 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.
D&R Greenway Johnson Education Center, 1 Preservation Place, has “When the Land Calls” through February 28 in the Marie L. Matthews Gallery. drgreenway.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 “Flora, Fauna, and Water” through December 27. Cranburyartscouncil.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. Groundsforsculpture.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 Saint-Gaudens and Daniel Chester French” through January 5 and “Charlotte Schatz: Industrial Strength” through March 9. Michenerartmuseum.org
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.
Small World Coffee, 14 Witherspoon Street, has “Worldling Art Show,” featuring art from past and present employees, through January 7. The exhibition is also at the 254 Nassau Street location through January 7. Smallworldcoffee.com.
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 “Smoke & Mirrors” through December 22. Zimmerli. rutgers.edu.
Wednesday, December 18
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Leighton Listens. Councilman Leighton Newlin is available to discuss current events with members of the public at Jammin’ Crepes, 20 Nassau Street.
4:30 p.m .: Annual Menorah Lighting on Palmer Square, on the patio of the Nassau Inn. With musical entertainment. Sponsored by The Jewish Center of Princeton. Palmersquare.com.
5-7:30 p.m.: Mercer County Black Business Alliance for Opportunity and Equity presents “The New Jersey Disparity Studies Impact on Black Business and the Black Community” at Mill One, 1 North Johnston Avenue, Hamilton. Participants include Douglas H. Palmer, John Harmon, Robert Johnson, and several others. RSVP to John Bailey at johnbailey062@gmail.com.
5:30 p.m.: Princeton Public Library’s Board of Trustees meets at the library, 65 Witherspoon Street. Princetonlibrary.org.
Thursday, December 19
10 a.m.: Meeting of the 55-Plus Club of Princeton at The Jewish Center, 435 Nassau Street or online at princetonol.com/ groups/55plus. Arvind Narayanan, Princeton University professor, speaks on “AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference.” Free, with $5 donation suggested.
6 p.m.: Panel discussion, “State of Protection: Strengthening New Jersey’s Rights in Immigration, Healthcare, Environment, and Law,”
moderated by Sen. Andrew Zwicker. New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, Princeton University Professor Heather Howard, and ACLUNJ Executive Director Amol Sinha are the panelists. At Nassau Presbyterian Church, 61 Nassau Street. Free and livestreamed. Registration required at andrewzwicker.com.
6:30 p.m.: The Southside Wanderers rock ‘n roll band appears at the Lawrence Headquarters Branch of Mercer County Library System, 2751 Brunswick Avenue. Mcl.org.
Friday, December 20
7:30 p.m.: The Princeton Symphonic Brass , led by Lawrence Kursar, holds its annual Classics and Carols Holiday Concert at Community Middle School Auditorium, 95 Grovers Mill Road, Plainsboro. Carols, Christmas classics, Hanukkah music, and more. $5-$20. Psbrass.com.
Saturday, December 21
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
11 a.m.-5 p.m. : Christmas tree and wreath sale : Boy Scout Troop 43 is selling them at the YMCA lot, Paul Robeson Place, through December 24. They can also deliver. Visit princetontroop43.org for link.
12-5 p.m.: Winery Weekend Music Series at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Wine, light bites, hot cocoa kits, and music from 1-4 p.m. by Jerry Steele. Terhuneorchards.com.
12-2 p.m.: Strolling Santa at Palmer Square. With entertainment. Palmersquare.com.
12:30-5:30 p.m .: Off the Wall Holiday Market , at West Windsor Arts, 952 Alexander Road. One-of-akind artisan products and original artwork on view and for sale. Free. Westwindsorarts.org.
Sunday, December 22
12-3 p.m. : Christmas tree and wreath sale : Boy Scout Troop 43 is selling them at the YMCA lot, Paul Robeson Place, through December 24. They can also deliver. Visit princetontroop43.org for link.
12-2 p.m.: Strolling Santa at Palmer Square. With entertainment. Palmersquare.com.
12-5 p.m.: Winery Weekend Music Series at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Wine, light bites, hot cocoa kits, and music from 1-4 p.m. by Mike Tusay. Terhuneorchards.com.
12-4 p.m.: “The Midnight Hour Holiday Popup” at the Kalmia Club, 39 York Street, Lambertville. Jewelry, clothing, books, ceramics, and more. Snacks and shopping. Kalmiaclub. org.
3 p.m.: Del Forzza Chamber Music Society presents “A Christmas Carol” fundraising concert for victims of Hurricane Helene and the Lahaina Fire. Free. At Lawrenceville Presbyterian Church, 2688 Lawrenceville Road (Route 206). DelForzza.org.
4 p.m. The Princeton Society of Musical Amateurs presents a choral reading of Handel’s Mes -
Ochs, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 50 Cherry Hill Road. Vocal scores provided; walkin singers and listen-only guests welcome. Musical. amateurs@gmail.com
Tuesday, December 24
5-6 p.m.: Christmas Eve Sing A-Long on Palmer Square with the Palmer Square Christmas Eve Brass Band. Palmer Square.com.
Wednesday, December 25
12-3 p.m.: Annual Christmas Day Crossing of the Delaware Reenactment, at Washington Crossing Historic Park, 1112 River Road, Washington Crossing, Pa. Washingtoncrossinghistoricpark.org.
Thursday, December 26
10 a.m.-12 p.m.: Trenton Battlefield walking tour with Ralph Siegel is the first of several events that are part of Patriots Week in Trenton. For details and a complete list of events, visit patriotsweek.com.
Saturday, December 28
12-5 p.m.: Winery Weekend Music Series at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Wine, light bites, hot cocoa kits, and music from 1-4 p.m. by Chris P. Terhuneorchards.com.
Sunday, December 29
12-5 p.m.: Winery Weekend Music Series at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Wine, light bites, hot cocoa kits, and music from 1-4 p.m. by Bud Belviso. Terhuneorchards.com.
Monday, December 30 Recycling
Tuesday, December 31
5 p.m.: Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert at State Theatre New Jersey, 15 Livingston Street, New Brunswick. Featuring the Strauss Symphony of America, international champion ballroom dancers, and dancers from Budapest Ballet. Stnj.org.
8 p.m.: Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey’s annual New Year’s Eve Concert , at Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, Trenton. Works by Bernstein, Gershwin, Strauss, and others, followed by a champagne toast and dessert. Capitalphilharmonic.org.
Saturday, January 4
9:30 a.m.: Trenton Walks program, starts at the Battle Monument and continues to Mill Hill Park and back. Visit gmtma.org/ trail-happenings for details.
12-5 p.m.: Winery Weekend Music Series at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Wine, light bites, hot cocoa kits, and music from 1-4 p.m. by Greg McGarvey. Terhuneorchards. com.
Sunday, January 5
12-5 p.m.: Winery Weekend Music Series at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Wine, light bites, hot cocoa kits, and music from 1-4 p.m. by Allan Willcockson. Terhuneorchards. com.
5-7 p.m.: Pianist David Leifer plays Italian Music from the 18 th -20 th Centuries , at Dorothea’s House, 120 John Street. Bring refreshments to share at a post-program reception. Dorotheashouse.org.
Tuesday, January 7
7 p.m.: Princeton Symphony Orchestra presents a “Soundtracks” talk at Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street, featuring Music Director Rossen Milanov and former
executive director Melanie Clarke looking back at favorite moments and celebrating Milanov’s 60th birthday. Princetonlibrary.org.
Wednesday, January 8 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Leighton Listens. Councilman Leighton Newlin is available to discuss current events with members of the public at Tiger Noodles, 255 Nassau Street.
Friday, January 10 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Hunterdon County Rug Artisans Guild holds its monthly meeting at the administration building of the Hunterdon County Complex, 314 State Highway 12, Flemington. Hcrag.org.
5-8 p.m.: Trivia in the Winery , at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. With DJ Mike. Terhuneorchards.com.
Saturday, January 11
12-5 p.m.: Winery Weekend Music Series at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Wine, light bites, hot cocoa kits, and music from 1-4 p.m. by Sarah Teti. Terhuneorchards.com.
8 p.m.: “Croce Plays Croce: The Jim Croce Birthday Bash” at State Theatre New Jersey, 15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick. $29-$99. Stnj.org.
Sunday, January 12
12-5 p.m.: Winery Weekend Music Series at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Wine, light bites, hot cocoa kits, and music from 1-4 p.m. by Michael Montemurro. Terhuneorchards.com.
4 p.m.: The Princeton Society of Musical Amateurs presents a choral reading of Gilbert & Sullivan’s Iolanthe at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 50 Cherry Hill Road. Mini rehearsal at 3 p.m. Vocal scores provided; walk-in singers and listen-only participants welcome. Musical. amateurs@gmail.com .
Tuesday, January 14
10 a.m.: Read and Explore: Gingerbread Man, at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Kids read “The Gingerbread Man” and decorate a cookie to take home. Register online. Terhuneorchards.com.
Saturday, January 18
10 a.m.-1 p.m.: Native Seed Sowing Extravaganza at Hopewell Valley Central High School. Get a done-for-you jug with soil and native plant seeds, leave outside over the winter, and transplant seedlings in the spring. $5. RSVP for event and educational pre-event at tinyurl.com/HopewellExtravaganza.
10 a.m.-12 p.m.: Free Rabies Clinic at Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad, 1 Valley Road. Open to all New Jersey residents. Princetonnj.gov.
Do not wait!
Hurry over to the Morven Museum Shop for some last minute holiday shopping. This is truly a Princeton hidden treasure, filled with an array of gifts for everyone, regardless of age, taste, or pocketbook.
What’s more, this special shop challenges the ubiquitous online shopping of today. Yes, it is convenient to sit at the computer or with a hand-held device, click, and just add to the cart without leaving the house.
But at the Morven Museum Shop, you can hold something in your hand, feel the fabric, test the weight of the item, or notice as the light shines through a crystal bowl, creating a rainbow of colors.
Treasure Trove
And moreover, you can enjoy the welcoming ambiance of this charming shop, with its festive decor and displays and knowledgeable friendly service.
The selection is indeed a treasure trove of surprises for friends and family, and all in a variety of styles and signature specialties.
The shop itself, located at 55 Stockton Street, next to the Morven Museum & Garden, is a fascinating piece of history. Dating to 1844, the building was formerly Morven’s Wash House.
“The concept of the shop is to carry on Morven’s mission and to promote New Jersey culture and history and the Morven Garden,” explains Kathy O’Hara, Morven Museum & Garden hospitality manager and buyer and manager of the shop, who has been with Morven since 2005.
Many items in the shop have a relationship to Morven, the historic former home of Richard Stockton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and later home to five New Jersey governors from 1946 to 1981. The house is now a museum, and features permanent and rotating exhibits exploring the history and culture of New Jersey.
“Some of our gifts are historically oriented, and others can serve as a guide to the museum’s changing exhibitions,” continues O’Hara.
Amazing Miscellany
And there is so much to see!
Customers will find an array of items suitable for many occasions. Picture frames, pottery, trays, vases, clocks, candles, and candlesticks, are displayed, as are notecards and greeting cards, bird houses, and books, even special soap for gardeners.
Among the shop’s amazing miscellany of intriguing items are bookends and doorstops. The latter surely belongs in one’s den or library, since it features a “literary” book design.
And don’t forget to get a jar of the local honey! “This is very healthy and really
good for you,” points out O’Hara.
It can also serve as a welcome stocking stuffer, as does a mini red tin filled with refreshing mini mints!
Old World Christmas ornaments are all available to trim your tree with their unique old fashioned flair, many featuring birds, including New Jersey’s eastern goldfinch state bird. Signature Morven Christmas ornaments are another favorite, and other ornaments are made from genuine oyster shells.
A variety of decorative items are standouts. Oldschool bottle brush Christmas trees are on display in assorted designs, including sleek, imaginative styles with silvery branches reminiscent of trees glistening in light after an ice storm.
Santa and Reindeer
Accent pillows of all sizes are always favorites, and special this year is a sureto-please red oblong pillow featuring two cheerful reindeer faces.
A selection of holiday lanterns offers several designs. These are big sellers, and appeal to everyone with their battery-operated lighted rotating interior designs, including Santa and reindeer, poinsettias, and others.
A set of 20 red and green plaid cocktail napkins with accompanying spreader knife from Germany can be a fun stocking stuffer or a welcome hostess gift, as are coasters in many designs in sets of six. Colorful wine glass charms are a plus in helping to identify each guest’s glass.
Moving on to the kitchen, a selection of super absorbent flour sack dish towels in many designs, including holiday, are favorites, and the shop’s salad tongs are a welcome and functional gift.
Princeton University alums will enjoy the many tiger choices. Figurines and tiger motif pillows are just two samples.
In addition, popular men’s gifts include the assortment of clocks. In various sizes and styles, there is surely one to please someone on your list. A clock can be a “time-honored” and engaging surprise!
“A Must See”
One of the most popular sections in the shop, the jewelry selection is always a “must see.” As a gift or as a special something for yourself, the earrings, pins, necklaces, and bracelets offer styles for everyone. Bold and dramatic or delicate and graceful, the choices are often unique.
“Handmade beaded pins from India, with flower and feather designs, are very popular,” reports O’Hara. “In addition, we have
lovely six-strand mother of pearl necklaces in assorted colors.”
Necklaces, generally are very popular, she adds, and pins seem to be making a comeback.
Items with a blue and white color theme are always big sellers. “Everyone likes blue and white,” says O’Hara. “We have a big variety, from trinket dishes to rabbit figurines in the Royal Doulton style to trays, and small purses and coasters. There is a blue and white item for everyone!”
It is true, as the French say, a woman cannot have too many scarves. They can change the entire tone and look of an outfit — a true fashion standout!
Scarves are also yearround favorites, and there is an especially nice display this year in different fabrics and sizes. Silk, acrylic, blends, even some from recycled items, are all available. In many patterns and styles, a number include large shawl choices.
Seasonal Changes
As the buyer, O’Hara, points out that while holiday time is always festive, the shop functions smoothly year-round with seasonal changes in merchandise and displays. Items are both domestic and imported, and there is a big effort to include American-made choices.
“With each season, we try to have different looks in the shop, with different items,” she points out. “This is a pleasure for me. I enjoy buying for the store — who doesn’t like to shop? — and I have gotten to know what the clients like.”
The appealing arrangement and array of gifts is one of the pleasures of visiting the shop. Items are conveniently displayed, with intriguing nooks, crannies, and cubbies revealing still more hard-to-resist items.
For example, in a corner cupboard, set on a shelf, an irresistible pink pottery piggy bank can be found. In two sizes, it is hand painted from a company in Tennessee. And not only that, it “lives” in its own charmingly decorated cardboard barn. Obviously children will be delighted, but no doubt, many an adult will want to take this piggy home!
Nearby is a big box filled with fun items for kids. Harmonicas, wooden yo-yos, peg games, outdoor bingo sets, paddle balls, stickers to make model airplanes, even Quoits. This really is a treasure chest for kids.
The shop also has a selection of books, most relating to history, including the American Revolution, the history of Morven and that of New Jersey, even one about the New Jersey seashore.
The shop offers a very ac cessible price range, with items from $5 to $100 and everything in-between. A Morven membership in cludes a 10 percent discount for items at the shop.
As The Morven Museum Shop celebrates its 20th anniversary, O’Hara is very proud of its success and longevity. “There really is no other shop likes ours. There really are not many gift shops here anymore. We feel we are a special place, and for our customers, it’s like going to someone’s home. We want everyone to feel at home.
“We have such a great staff, including our assistant manager Melissa Rittmann, who all contribute to making this such a memorable visit for customers.
“We are a destination stop, but our location right next to Morven is important. We have many loyal and reg ular customers, and we look forward to even more people finding us, and enjoying our unique selection.”
The shop is open Wednesday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Online shopping is also available. For further information, call (609) 9248144, ext. 103. Visit the website at morven.org.
—Jean Stratton
well loved and well read since 1946
HOLIDAY DISPLAY: “We have something for everyone to enjoy, and something for everyone’s pocketbook. There is the historical aspect of the connection with Morven and related items, but we also have a wide array of gifts of all styles and types. And we are a nonprofit. All the proceeds from the shop go to support Morven’s programs and events.”
Tabitha Amanze joined the Princeton University women’s basketball program in the fall of 2022 as a highly-touted recruit, having been ranked No. 43 in the ESPNW national rankings during her senior year at the Blair Academy.
But getting derailed by a knee injury before she could make her college debut, Amanze was sidelined for the entire 2022-23 campaign.
Last winter, Amanze returned to the court but saw limited action, averaging 2.7 points and 1.5 rebounds in 15 appearances.
Amanze, a 6’4 native of Ogun, Nigeria, kept the faith while working to get up to speed.
“Coming in, having to redshirt that first year, there is a lot of anticipation, trying to keep my hopes up and my spirits alive,” said Amanze. “I knew it was going to happen, just coming into practice everyday and working hard and hoping for the best.”
As Amanze worked through her recovery, she got plenty of encouragement from the squad.
“My teammates make all the difference,” said Amanze. “When I come in, everyone is in such a good mood, everyone is so positive. It is just easier when you have the best people around you
to work with everyday.”
Last Wednesday as Princeton hosted Rhode Island at Jadwin Gym, junior forward Amanze made a big difference, scoring a career-high 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting in 15 minutes off the bench to help the Tigers prevail 6654 as they improved to 6-4.
In reflecting on her performance, Amanze credited her teammates with setting her up for success.
“They kept looking for me so it’s just my teammates, they know when I am in the right position,” said Amanze. “They know how to feed me. I have the best teammates so praise to them.”
Amanze has been doing her best to diversify her game. “I would say low post more, finding my position and holding it and knowing when to release and when to stay in the paint, when to move, and when to flash to people,” said Amanze, in reflecting on her biggest areas of progress. “I think that comes with a little bit of sitting and watching my freshman year, not being able to be on the court but being able to learn from the seniors. I would say my inside game a little more and also facing up from the line has been coming along a little bit better.”
Having come off the bench in all 10 games this season, Amanze has looked to make the most of her reserve role.
“Coming in, I am trying to maximize the opportunities that I get to my best ability,” said Amanze, who is averaging 8.2 points and 4.6 rebounds a game this season.
With Princeton getting back on the winning track after losses at Portland and Utah, Amanze believed the Tigers are heading in the right direction.
“I would say our chemistry has gotten a lot better, we know how to find each other,” said Amanze. “We know the players’ strong suits and we know does Mari [Bickley] like to catch it there, does Tabby like to catch it here. I think we are playing a lot more together and more cohesively.”
Princeton head coach Carla Berube was not surprised by the strong performance she got from Amanze.
“This is the Tabby we have known all along, she is finally healthy and feeling good,” said Berube. “She is ready to contribute and she did it in a great way tonight. We kept feeding her and she executed really well.”
In Berube’s view, Amanze has been building toward that kind of effort.
“I think she has just been chomping and just getting herself prepared physically and mentally to be a huge contributor on the court this year,” said Amanze. “It is so fun watching her play. She is
a dominant force inside on both ends. She hit a couple of great mid-range shots. She has the green light from there. She has a really nice shot, I am glad she was able to hit a couple of those. She can turn over either shoulder really well, she is really versatile inside.”
Coming back to Jadwin after six straight road games, the Tigers had a fun night against the Rams.
“It is nice just to be home, that was a long trip to the west coast and all of those others at Temple, Seton Hall, and Rutgers,” said Berube. “It was a long road. It is really good to be back here with our fans, our hoops, our gym. It was really nice.”
Berube got some nice performance across the board as sophomore Ashley Chea scored a game-high 18 points and was later named the Ivy League Player of the Week while sophomore Fadima Tall chipped in 13 points, seven rebounds, and five assists and sophomore Mari Bickley contributed seven points off the bench.
“We have got some young players playing some bigger roles this year, we have just stayed poised and composed,” said Berube. I am happy with that. It is great to see Fadima stepping up into bigger shoes and being an offensive threat out there. She is a great passer too. The younger players are finding their niche. It was great to see Mari come off the bench tonight and give us some really big minutes. That is something we have been looking for as well. I am just proud of our team for battling back from a couple of losses in a row and putting together a good win here against a tough URI team.”
With Tiger junior star guard Madison St. Rose having suffered a season-ending knee injury on November 16, Berube has needed her younger players to step up.
“There are a lot of challenges, we certainly miss her a lot with the leadership on the court, the way she can just settle us down, make big shots, and ply smart defensively talking a lot,” said Berube. “Our team has learned a lot from her. She is giving a lot of great input on the bench right now. It is a work in progress certainly.”
In the win over Rhode Island, the Tigers displayed some progress on defense.
“I am a little happier with our defensive effort, only allowing 54 points,” said Berube. “We had to adjust things when they started hitting some threes and [Sophia] Vital hit some big shots. We did a good job of making those adjustments in game.”
After an exam hiatus, Princeton will be happy to be at home for five straight games, starting by hosting Vermont on December 21.
“We have some tough ones, no game is easy,” said Berube. “Vermont is a perennial powerhouse. in America East so that is going to be tough one. We have some time for finals, they are on edge a little bit. We are going to have some practices but really efficient ones to get in and get out so they can make sure that they do really well on their
exams. I am looking forward to several more games here in Jadwin.”
In the wake of the victory over the Rams, Amanze and her teammates are looking forward to the rest of the homestand.
“It has been a lot so this win is something we definitely needed,” said Amanze. “With finals coming up, it is just good to be home. Everyone is happy, everyone is in a good mood.”
—Bill Alden
Blake Peters acknowledged that the Princeton University men’s basketball team didn’t play its best as it edged visiting Monmouth 71-67 last week.
“I think most players would like to blow teams out, to do that you have to play extremely well; I don’t think we did tonight,” said senior guard Peters, who scored 14 points in 31 minutes off the bench in the December 10 contest as the Tigers improved to 8-4.
“It is very stressful playing in those type of games but at the same time it is fun. It is needed to a certain extent because when we go into the league, there is going to be six or seven games like that. So we view that as practice. Their record (now 1-10) is what it is, tonight they certainly played a lot better than what their record would suggest.”
Peters came through under stress, hitting a pair of 3-pointers in the last five minutes in the contest, including one with 1:03 left in regulation that put Princeton up 65-63 and the Tigers never trailed after that.
“Honestly, I think guarding Bashir (Monmouth star Abdi Bashir Jr.) really helps keeping me locked in,” said Peters, who hit 5-of-9 shots from the floor against the Hawks, including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. “I appreciated
the coaches for letting me do that. It gives me a lot of confidence that they believe in me to guard someone like that. I think when the team is locked in defensively that translates into offense.”
Junior guard Xaivian Lee conceded that Princeton was not locked in on offense through much of the game.
“I also thought we need to do a lot better on offense,” said Lee. “On a lot of possessions we got good looks and we just missed a lot of shots that we usually make in certain key moments. We finally get a good one and it back rims. I feel like that is happening all of the time. I thought, as a team, we did a good job of staying composed.”
Lee displayed his composure, ending up with 23 points, six rebounds, and six assists.
“In a game like that last year maybe I would back rim three and I would shut down a little bit,” said Lee. “I was happy to see myself still be able to take control and stay confident at the end of the game. My teammates and the coaching staff trusts me to make those plays. There was a lot we could have done better but I thought we executed down the stretch for sure.”
While Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson agreed that the Tigers could have played
a lot better, he liked the way they pulled out the victory.
“We would have liked that game to have gone a little more in our favor, but that doesn’t mean that it is still not a good win,” said Henderson. “We executed down the stretch and we were fortunate. They are 1-10 but they have played no home games, not one.”
The Tigers, though, need to execute on a more consistent basis.
“I didn’t recognize us tonight in a lot of ways, that starts with me,” said Henderson. “We are going to have to trickle it down so I can help them more and it is more clear. Offensively I can help them. It starts with the offense and connectedness in the way we play. I would like to see the ball pop more. We are playing together more, we have been really successful with that.”
Henderson credited Lee and Peters with making big plays in the win over the Hawks.
“Xaivian’s kick-outs and Blake’s threes saved us,” said Henderson. “That won the game for us, those were gigantic threes.”
With Princeton facing a talented Rutgers (7-4) squad on December 21 at the Prudential Center in Newark, Henderson knows that his team will need a gigantic effort to
top the Scarlet Knights as the Tigers return to action after an exam hiatus.
“We are in exams so they are going to be studying a lot, we will see them hopefully soon,” said Henderson. “We have got a lot of important exams coming up. It was Dean’s Day, guys are turning in their papers on Friday. This is it and we have Rutgers in 10 days. We know that they
are really good and a really talented team. We are glad to get a win today. We will be ready in 11 days; these guys will be ready to go.”
Peters, for his part, believes the Tigers will be ready for a battle as they take on a Rutgers squad that features NBA prospects Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey along with former Princeton standout Zach Martini.
“The New Jersey games, people get up for, especially when people play us,” said Peters “They give us their best shot. Against Rutgers, we have to play three or four guys like Bashir or much better. We are ready for that challenge.”
—Bill Alden Get the scoop from
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PU Distance Star Scatchard Sets School Record in 3,000
Beginning the indoor season on a high note, Princeton University women’s track and cross country star Mena Scatchard set a new program record in the 3,000 meters at the BU Sharon ColyearDanvile Season Opener meet earlier this month.
Representing Princeton individually, Scatchard ran a time of 9:00.86 for a new personal best and a 15th place finish at the December 7 meet.
Her time now ranks first in program history, breaking the previous record of 9:11.96 set by Abby Loveys ’23 in 2023. Her time is also the fourth-fastest indoor 3,000-meter performance in the history of the Ivy League.
Scatchard, a native of North Yorkshire, U.K., currently ranks 10th nationally in the 3,000 on the 20242025 Performance List. In March, the top-16 performers will advance to the NCAA Indoor Track Championships.
Scatchard’s strong weekend sets the tone for the indoor season after the senior’s dominant cross country season.
In November, Scatchard represented Princeton at the NCAA Cross Country Championships after qualifying individually with her time at the Mid-Atlantic Regionals,
where she came in 9th place while running the 6,000-meter course in 19:58.2. At the NCAAs in Madison, Wis., Scatchard took 123rd with a time of 20:41.2, during what was her first trip to the cross country national championships.
In addition, Scatchard earned five top-finishes for the Tigers during the cross country season, including a second place finish at the Ivy Heptagonal Championships which helped the Princeton women’s team to its first Ivy title since 2015.
Scatchard is no stranger to the record books for both Princeton and the Ivy League.
Last indoor season, Scatchard won the 1,000 meters at Heps and set a new school record in the event with a time of 2:43.23, also taking the Ivy League record.
She also holds the program record in the outdoor 1,500 meters (4:11.10; 2024), which was the third-fastest time in league history.
Scatchard and the Tigers will be looking to make an impact on the record books again later this season, next taking the track at the Navy Dual on January 11 in Annapolis, Md. Princeton Athletics Sets Fundraising Record
The Princeton University Athletics community recently rallied together to produce a record-setting Tiger Athletics Give Day (TAGD), celebrating the 11th year of the initiative by raising a record $5,769,817 to benefit the 38 varsity programs and over 1,000 student-athletes
who represent Princeton. Thanks to the generosity of 6,382 donors on the December 3 TAGD, Princeton Athletics exceeded the previous 24-hour giving high of $5.2 million set last year. Through 11 years of TAGD, Princeton Athletics has raised over $35 million across 80,000+ total gifts, directly benefiting Princeton student-athletes and varsity teams and allowing for a transformative undergraduate experience.
“Each and every year, the passion and support shown on Tiger Athletics Give Day is astounding,” said Princeton Director of Athletics John Mack ’00, a former Tiger track star. “I firmly believe that there is no better student-athlete experience in all of college athletics than the one at Princeton. Tiger Athletics Give Day continues to serve as a prime example of the shared experience that connects our current student-athletes to a world-wide network of alumni and friends.”
All 18 Athletics Friends Groups earned TAGD Bonus Funds provided by the Princeton Varsity Club (PVC) Board of Directors, increasing the overall reach of each and every gift made on TAGD.
In addition, the Princeton Varsity Club secured 25 new PVC Lifetime Members which helps to fund programming that benefits Tiger student-athletes and alumni across all 38 varsity programs while also helping to address key strategic priorities of the department.
For legendary UCLA men’s basketball coach John Wooden, a key tenet underlying the program’s success as he guided it to 10 NCAA titles in 12 years was the belief that failing to prepare is preparing to fail.
As Joe Smiegocki takes the helm of the Princeton High girls’ basketball team this winter, he is emphasizing that principle.
“Our definition of success is we go into every game the best prepared possible to give us the best chance of being successful,” said Smiegocki, the successor to Dave Kosa who guided PHS to a 15-9 record last winter.
“Everybody puts it on wins and losses. There are going to be some games no matter how good we play that the other team might be better than us. We will be prepared, that gives us the best chance. That is our goal.”
Smiegocki, a 1976 graduate of McCorristin High, boasts an extensive coaching resume on the local hoops scene. He has coached at McCorristin, Notre Dame, Nottingham, and The College of New Jersey. He is a member of the Mercer County Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) Basketball Hall of Fame. In addition, he worked as the marketing director at Babe Ruth International for 27 years.
He learned the value of preparation from his stints assisting Mika Ryan at TCNJ and John Simone at Notre Dame.
“Mika was always prepared
and just making sure that we always reached our full potential as a player and an individual,” said Smiegocki.
“John always showed me how to be well-prepared for games and practices. He was so detail-oriented at practice, there was a special reason why he did everything.”
Following in the footsteps of Ryan and Simone, Smiegocki is looking to influence his PHS players on a daily basis.
“My approach is to do what is going to make them happy,” said Smiegocki, whose squad is getting its 2024-25 season underway this week by playing at Hightstown on December 17 before hosting WW/P-South on December 19. “My goal is that when you leave practice at the end of the day, you got better as an individual and we got better as a team and you can’t wait to come back to practice tomorrow. That has been my goal with them. The other thing I have always told them is that I don’t live and die by five players, we will use eight or nine.”
Smiegocki likes the progress he has seen from his players in the preseason.
“With our two scrimmages, I was extremely happy with how we played defense; we are farther advanced than I expected,” said Smiegocki. “Offensively we are still learning. I try to allow the players to react for themselves and think for themselves. I don’t want to
sit there and diagram every play. I always say it is a jigsaw puzzle, you want to put yourself where there is not a piece or someone there. That is what we are trying to teach them — to react to the situation and adjust to the situation.”
PHS features some good players at guard with a trio of juniors, Sephora Romain, Anna Winters, the team’s leading scorer last season with 332 points, and Leah Bornstein.
“They will her the three people that play predominantly in the backcourt,” said Smiegocki, noting that junior Gracie DePrince and freshman Angela Cao will also see time in the backcourt.
“Anna has been working extremely hard like everyone else, I can see the improvement on a daily basis. I am hoping that she has a great year for us. She does have a nice shot but she is more effective driving to the basket. Sephora is very aggressive. She has a wide wingspan, her speed and agility are very good. She can go to the basket, her shot is improving also. I would be surprised if Sephora doesn’t have the biggest jump this season. Leah is working hard offensively. In the scrimmages she played phenomenal defense.”
Senior Luna Bar-Cohen and junior Quinn Gallagher have been working hard in the paint.
“Luna and Quinn Gallagher will be my centers, they
will be my two big people,” said Smiegocki. “They have both done a phenomenal job helping out, allowing the guards and forwards to be a little more aggressive. They are doing a great job with help defense.”
At forward, junior Katie Sharkey, sophomore Chloe Hunt, senior Giana Grippo and junior Zoie Reynolds will all be in the mix. Smiegocki is looking for sharp-shooting Sharkey to lead that unit.
“Katie has a very good shot,” said Smiegocki. “In our scrimmages, she played good defense, she passed the ball well, and rebounded.”
In Smiegocki’s view, the team’s good offensive balance should be an asset.
“I think the biggest thing that is going to help us is that we are not going to rely on one person,” said Smiegocki. “I think between Sephora, Anna, and Katie, they will probably do the brunt of our scoring. However if one of them is sick or having an off game or in foul trouble, I really feel comfortable and confident that the other players can pick up from where they are missing.”
If the PHS players develop a comfort level as they pick up Smiegocki’s
approach, they should be able to build on last season’s success.
“Our biggest goal will be to jell as a team and let everybody understand their roles,” said Smiegocki. “If they can do that, we will run up and down the floor, take advantage of our speed and then take advantage of our depth. A lot of teams are going to live or die on five or six players. We are going to live or die by nine or 10 players. One of other goals for all of us is that we are not looking for a one and done, we are looking to build a program.”
— Bill Alden
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With the Princeton High boys’ basketball team featuring a drastically revamped roster this winter, Pat Noone’s focus is getting everyone on the same page.
“It is a totally new ball club, we only have three guys back who had significant minutes last season,” said PHS head coach Noone, who guided the Tigers to a 11-13 record last season. “Overall, it has been a lot of teaching, a lot of learning.”
The PHS players have been soaking up those lessons. “The vibe has been good, the kids have high energy,” said Noone, whose team was slated to get its 2024-25 campaign underway this week by hosting Hightstown on December 17 and then playing at WW/PSouth on December 19. “It is a really good group, it has been fun.”
Noone is looking for a really good season from one of his battle-tested veterans, senior guard Travis Petrone.
“Travis provides leadership and athleticism, you can’t underestimate that,” said Noone of Petrone, who also stars at football and baseball for PHS. “His
competitiveness coming in everyday is great. Last year, he had a different role; he is a good athlete but we had some guys who just focused on basketball. He took a lesser role bit still banged in some shots.”
The trio of junior Zion Madden, junior Ray Han, and sophomore Michael Frenia will be looking to carve out roles in the backcourt for the Tigers.
“Zion is a very good basketball player and a really good kid, he is learning each day,” said Noone. “Ray is ridiculously fast. Michael is a very good lacrosse player who is super athletic and has been super impressive so far. He is really picking things up.”
Versatile junior Michael Bess Jr. has been picking up his game.
“Michael will be a guard/ forward, his progress has been great,” said Noone. “You want to talk about a real gym rat, it seems like he is in there 24 hours a day. He is really well-rounded, good kid all around. He has really stepped up as a great leader, helping the younger guys through practice. At
the varsity level, there are different feeling practices. There is not much messing around, he does a great job of letting them know from experience.”
In the frontcourt, junior Matt Ghaim and senior Will Ponder are poised to step up.
“Matt got hurt last season, he has really, really improved over the summer,” said Noone. “He has matured, he has taken big, big steps. He is really good at driving and getting into the paint. He also has the ability to step outside and shoot. Will is another guy in the frontcourt. He is a great rebounder, a great defender, and he is active.”
As Noone looks ahead to the season, he believes that being active on defense and on the boards will be keys to success for the Tigers.
“As usual, our staple is defense,” said Noone. “We will definitely try to turn some people over, we will get some traps in there. We need to rebound. It is about getting better each day.”
— Bill Alden
Eugene Burroughs is hoping that the work his players on the Princeton Day School boys’ basketball team put in this offseason will yield dividends this winter.
“I am really impressed with the kids’ energy and effort; their improved skill over the summer has been great,” said PDS head coach Burroughs, who guided the Panthers to a 7-16 record last season.
“When you look at our team as a whole, I think it comes down to how well we play together. It is, ‘Can we mesh the individual skill and development that players have accomplished individually and can we put that together as a team and function within a structure.’”
Burroughs believes that sophomore guard Gary Jennings can develop into a star.
“We are hoping that Gary has a really solid year for us,” said Burroughs, whose squad tips off its 2024-25 campaign this week by hosting Allentown on December 17 and Nottingham on December 19 before playing at the Episcopal Academy (Pa.) on December 21. “As a freshman, he was thrown into the fire a little bit. His ability to run the team has been something that has been really noticeable. He improved offensively, shooting the ball and making plays at the rim. Physically he has gotten a little stronger which I think has helped him as basketball player.”
Senior Adam Stewart has been playing well as he looks to produce a memorable final campaign.
“Adam has been starter the last couple of years, defensively he has been tremendous,” said Burroughs, who will also be using freshmen Vincent Filis and Obakunle Egbeleye at guard.
“I think he has even taken it to another level so far this year, playing hard, being on the basketball and being a menace for the other teams. He sets the tone for us defensively. Offensively I think he is going to have a solid year. He is going to make some threes and have some drives in transition. We are looking for him to be a more consistent performer.”
Another senior, Abdoulaye Seydi, gives the Panthers versatility as he can fit in at either guard or forward.
which is something he didn’t do a lot last year. It is great for us to see that he has grown from that perspective offensively. He is actually shooting threes now which is something he really worked hard on this summer. His overall game has just improved.”
The pair of junior Danny Rozenblat and sophomore Matthew Silverman are showing progress from the perimeter to go with their inside game.
“Danny had some great moments last year, I think his game has jumped to another level,” said Burroughs, who noted that Pennington transfer sophomore Zalin Pack and junior Collin Myat are also in the mix at forward. “He is shooting the 3-point shot on the move. He is putting the ball on the floor and getting to the basket which is something he initially struggled with
as a younger player. Matthew really came on in the middle of the year last season for us. He is a scrappy player, he finds a way to get to the basket. He has really improved this year, he is playing a little more confidently at the offensive end. I am looking forward to seeing progress from an outside shooting perspective.”
Looking ahead, Burroughs is confident that the Panthers can grow into something special this winter.
“If we are playing the way we are supposed to be play, I think people will be highly impressed on how athletic we are and our ability make plays defensively and offensively,” said Burroughs. “Since I have been here, I think this is the most skilled team that I have had. This group has the ability to really be a good defensive team and also rebound which will lead to some easy possessions for us and eliminate the opposing teams’ offensive put back ratio.”
— Bill Alden
“Abdoulaye has been doing some great things on the floor, he is making plays around the rim off of drives with penetration,” said Burroughs. “Defensively, he has been tremendous, just being active. Defensively with him and Stewart on the floor together, it is almost like having two and a half players with their ability to defend, play hard, and compete. I think you will see more from him offensively. From the scrimmages we have had, he has been getting to the basket more. We need him to make plays like that and put pressure on the defense.”
In the frontcourt, sophomore Onyx Oschwald, is primed to make a lot of plays this winter.
“Onyx was a solid player as a freshman, he has really improved from freshman year to this year,” said Burroughs. “He is a totally different player. He is making plays around the rim and is finishing lay-ups. He is driving the ball from the perimeter to the
For Patrick Reddington, serving as an assistant coach for a powerhouse Ewing High girls’ basketball team proved to be a transformative experience.
“It was amazing, it really was; I told the girls all of the time that I learned more from them than they learned from me,” said Reddington, who coached at Ewing for two seasons and helped the Blue Devils win the 2023 New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group 3 state title.
“Seeing highly motivated young kids like not only on the court but in the classroom is really impressive to be around. It makes you want to step up your game because of how serious they take their lives and their futures.”
Reddington, 32, is bringing that serious approach as he has taken the helm of the Princeton Day School girls’ basketball team this winter.
“I had a little bit of experience playing against them last year; one of the reasons I took the job was how hard
they played for each other and how much they supported each other,” said Reddington, who is succeeding Seraphine Hamilton, now coaching the William Smith College women’s hoops program. “My message as a coach and our process is just getting better every day. When we are on the court, we need to make sure that we are preparing and getting one percent better every day.”
The Panther players have responded well to Reddington’s message.
“It has been amazing, I am very lucky with the group that I have,” said Reddington, who is taking over a team that went 3-16 in 2023-24. “They all did more work in the offseason than they have ever done on the past. We played in a summer league and a fall league this year. We had nine girls through the summer and through the fall, in and out of workouts with us.”
PDS is expecting some good work from a pair of junior guards, Sophia Rae Barber and Nica Martin.
RUF RIDER: Princeton Day School girls’ basketball player Shelby Ruf soars to the hoop in a game last season. Senior Ruf, who also stars in soccer and lacrosse at PDS, will bring athleticism and competitiveness to the Panthers this winter. PDS, is being guided by new head coach Patrick Reddington, will be starting its 2024-25 season this week by playing at Allentown on December 17 and at Nottingham on December 19 before hosting Florence on December 21. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
“Sophia is a great shooter, she shoots the ball at a very high clip,” said Reddington, who works as the sports director at Iron Peaks and Events in Hillsborough. “She worked really hard in the offseason, she is one of our only girls who is competing on the AAU right now. For Nica, it is her grittiness. She adds a level of toughness to our team at the guard position that we might not have had in the past. She is our table-setter, she sets the floor for us. She is passing the ball, she is getting everybody involved. She can knock it down and get to the basket herself a little bit.”
Sophomore Briana Camp adds depth to the PDS backcourt. “Briana is another one that will be an interesting piece, she is a great athlete,” said Reddington, whose guard unit will also include sophomore Sophia Vriesendorp, junior Mackenzie Brodel, sophomore Ava Fairbanks, freshman Ellie Lesaca, and freshman Mae Braswell. “She gets up and down, she can shoot it as well. She can get to the rim. She has a big, strong body where she doesn’t get pushed around by girls so that is nice.”
At forward, senior cocaptains Nandini Kolli and Shelby Ruf, who also stars in soccer and lacrosse at PDS, will be leading the way.
“Nandini is great around the basket, she plays so hard, rebounding and finishing,” said Reddington. “She works her butt off on defense. Now she is expanding her game a little bit outside as well which is nice to see. She is shooting the three, driving to the basket and doing some other things. Shelby is probably our best defender; like she defends the goal in soccer, she brings that mentality to basketball. Defensively she sets the tone. Offensively she will do some great things for us with her athleticism as well. She has a decent mid-range shot, she can shoot the three if she is open.”
Juniors Anya Gruteser and Ella McLaren also bring some game to the paint.
“Anya is a great piece for us off the bench because she brings a good head space and she never gets down,” said Reddington. “She will be in the middle of an intense game with a smile on her face from ear to ear. She brings great energy for us off the bench. Ella is a kid who I am going to have tough time keeping off the court. She is just such an instinctual athlete. She is strong, fast, understands the game and sees the floor well. She is very coachable. She adds a great element to us.”
In order to have a strong season, the Panthers will need to get in sync at both ends of the floor.
“We just have to buy in and all get on the same page, whatever it is that we are running or doing,” said Reddington. “If we are all in as one unit and one team, we are going to be in a good place to be successful. Defense is my thing. I am very particular on the defense, that is our biggest focus and then sharing the ball. As much as we have practiced on these things, that is great but we have to apply it to the games.”
—Bill Alden
Tony Bowman sees strength in numbers with his Stuart Country Day School basketball team as it heads into this winter.
“I have 13 kids, I have never had that many since I have been here,” said Stuart head coach Bowman who guided the Tartans to a 6-6 record last season. “It is great for the team. I am hoping for a better quality of play this year because I have a different mix. They have shown to be resilient and they work hard.”
Bowman believes he will be getting quality play from a backcourt that includes senior Anna Rose Bourgoin, junior Abby Chirik, freshman Lia States, junior Leila Hernandez-Lewis, and sophomore Celia StruveAuletta.
“Lia brings outside shooting and ball control,” said Bowman, whose team will be tipping off its 2024-25 season by playing at the Wilberforce School on December 18. “With Lia there, the division of the floor should be better. It gives Anna Rose the chance to take the two (shooting guard) which will help her shooting. Now she
is just not bringing the ball up because Lia can take the one (point guard), that is a process though. I am not going to put her there until I know she is ready. Abby is a good all-around athlete. She is a workhorse, she has a good outside jumper and is good on defense. Leila missed last year, she would have helped us out a lot. She is probably one of the quickest players on the team. Celia is doing well, she has flashes.”
At forward, junior Taylor States, the team’s leading returning scorer, is primed for another big season.
“Taylor looks good, she has been playing well,” said Bowman of States, who piled up 262 points and 138 rebounds last season. “We are looking for big things from her this year. We are looking to see what she can do; she should put up big numbers scoring and rebounding.”
Along with States, sophomore Myah Chennault, freshman Thalia Hernandez-Lewis, sophomore Betsy Murphy, senior Rachel Enimil-Ashun, and sophomore Hadassah Broughton will provide production in the paint.
“Myah is the most athletic person on the team,” said Bowman. “She makes a difference; if she does well, we will do better. Thalia is probably going to play the three (small forward), four (power forward), and five (center). She is a good outside shooter and has good ball control. She is versatile. Betsy is a workhouse. Rebounding and defense are the things I need her to do and she does them well. She listens well. Rachel is a good leader, she will play the four or five. Hadassah is my defensive dog, she plays the two or three. She is a beast on defense. I want everybody on my team to be like her.”
In Bowman’s view, deploying his deeper roster to play tighter defense should lead to a solid season.
“The best thing for us and our big onus this year is defense, you will see the difference on defense for sure,” said Bowman. “With the 13 kids I have, I can do a lot of different things. I have different talent levels so that helps as well. I am optimistic. I am excited and I am looking forward to this year for sure, especially because I have 21 games.”
—Bill Alden
Boys’ Basketball : Luke Wafle scored 13 points but it wasn’t enough as Hun fell 64-57 to the Frederick Gunn School (Conn.) last Sunday in the 2024 Scholar Roundball Classic at the College of Holy Cross. The Raiders, now 4-4, play at the Germantown Academy (Pa.) on December 18 and at Friends Select (Pa.) on December 21 before facing the Patrick School on December 22 in the Brick City Showcase at Weequahic High (Pa.).
Girls’ Basketball : Gabby D’Agostino had a big game in a losing cause as Hun lost 53-47 to Flint Hill (Va.) last Sunday in the She Got Game
Classic at the St. James in Springfield, Va. Junior guard D’Agostino scored 24 points for the Raiders, now 9-2. Hun faces Shore Regional High School at the Shore Games on December 20 at The Fort Athletic Club in Oceanport, N.J. Boys’ Hockey : Jake Beck tallied two goals and an assist as Hun fell 6-3 to Gloucester Catholic last Monday. The Raiders, who moved to 1-5-1 with the defeat, play at the Hill School (Pa.) on December 18.
Girls’ Hockey: Della Gilligan sparked the offense as PDS defeated Oak Knoll 3-1
last Thursday. Sophomore forward Gilligan scored two goals to help the Panthers move to 1-0-1. PDS faces Pingry on December 19 at the Bridgewater Sports Arena.
Boys’ Basketball : Joshua Benka-Coker played well in a losing cause as Pennington fell 83-51 to Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.) last Sunday in the 2024 Scholar Roundball Classic at the College of Holy Cross. Benka-Coker tallied 8 points and 16 rebounds for the Red Hawks, who moved to 3-3. Pennington plays at Malvern Prep (Pa.) on December 18.
ON A ROLL: Princeton Day School boys’ hockey player Jake Harrison controls the puck in a game last season. Last Thursday, junior forward Harrison scored the lone goal for PDS as it skated to a 1-1 tie with Delbarton. On Monday, Harrison contributed one goal and two assists as the Panthers defeated Christian Brothers Academy 7-6. PDS, now 2-0-1, hosts Don Bosco on December 18.
Girls’ Basketball: Sparked by Izzy Augustine, Pennington defeated Academy of New Church (Pa.) 63-51 last Wednesday. Augustine scored 19 points as the Red Hawks improved to 3-2. Pennington hosts Middletown South on December 19.
Girls’ Basketball: Aryana Iyer scored 14 points for Lawrenceville as it fell 4841 to Holy Cross Prep last Monday. The Big Red, who dropped to 0-6 with the defeat, will head to Deerfield Academy (Mass.) this weekend where it will face Buckingham Browne & Nichols School (Mass.) on December 19, St. Paul’s (N.H.) on December 20, and host Deerfield in December 20.
Boys’ Hockey : Falling to 0-3 on the season, Lawrenceville lost 5-2 to the Berkshire School (Mass.) last Saturday. In upcoming action, the Big Red host the Nichols School (N.Y.) on December 19 and will then hold its 76th annual Lawrenceville Invitational Tournament from December 2022 with games to be played at its rink in the Tsai Field House and at the Hobey Baker Rink on the campus of Princeton University.
Boys’ Hockey : Anders Hedin and Babtiste Demurge scored the goals for PHS as it fell 12-2 to Hillsborough last Monday. The Tigers, now 1-4, face North Hunterdon on December 19 at the Mercer County Skating Center.
Boys’ Swimming: Jaden Jung posted a pair of wins to help PHS defeat Hightstown 123-44 last Friday. Jung placed first in both
the 200-meter individual medley and 100 butterfly races as the Tigers improved to 4-0. PHS has a meet at WW/P-South on December 19.
Girls’ Swimming : Rachel McInerney had a big meet for PHS as it defeated Hightstown 96-69 last Friday. McInerney finished first in both the 200-meter individual medley and 100 butterfly races for the Tigers, now 4-0. PHS is next in action when it swims at WW/PSouth on December 19.
Wrestling : Blase Mele provided a highlight as PHS placed eighth of 10 teams at the Wendy Pandy-Leh Invitational hosted by Delaware Valley High last Friday. Senior star and Princeton University commit Mele placed first at 150 pounds, pinning Parker Quinn of Wall in the final. Cole Rose advanced to the final at 138 but could not compete due to an injury default.
The Bailey Basketball Academy (BBA) has announced the schedule for its upcoming winter hoops programs.
The winter lineup will include opportunit ies for competitive travel play, individualized instruction, skills development, and fundamentals as well as league play. BBA is led by former Princeton Day School girls’ hoops coach and Philadelphia 76ers camp director and clinician, Kamau Bailey.
The BBA winter program will include two competitive boys travel teams (3rd-8th grade), weekly practices, and Shot King Shooting Program and Player Development
Skill Sessions for elementary through high school players (boys and girls) and a BBA two-day shooting and skills camp during the Christmas holiday. BBA programs stress fundamentals and team play with emphasis on ball handling, shooting, passing, footwork, speed, agility, movement with and without the ball, one-on-one moves, defense, and other skills.
The BBA Player Development Skill Sessions take place every Monday and Wednesday, with grades 3-6 from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m. and grades 7-8 from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m.
The practices for the BBA boys’ travel teams started on December 10 for grades 3-6 from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m. and grades 7-8 from 7:15 to 8:30 p.m. BBA teams will play games on weekends in the Monroe Sports Center leagues.
The BBA Christmas holiday skills and shooting camp will be held on December 26 and 27. The program is open to elementary and middle school boys and girls. The camp includes a full day option from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. or half day options from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. In addition, there will be a First Hoops option for players 5-8 year old from 9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
The BBA travel team and player development sessions will be held at the Princeton Middle School and/or Community Park Elementary School in Princeton. The Christmas holiday sessions will take place at the South Brunswick Community Center gym at Woodlot Park, 124 New Road, Monmouth Junction.
For more information and to register, contact Kamau Bailey at (917) 626-5785 or kamau.bailey@gmail. com.
5 5 5
Charles Donald (“Don”) Coppinger
Charles Donald (“Don”) Coppinger, of Princeton, N.J., passed away peacefully on December 15, 2024, at Fox Trail Memory Care in Princeton. He was 79.
Don was born in Newark, N.J., and spent his early years in Montclair, N.J., before his family moved to Princeton. He was predeceased by his parents, Charles A. and Eleanor (Quinby) Coppinger, and his older brother, William Q. Coppinger. Known for his warm personality and love of conversation, Don
touched the lives of many in his community.
Don’s deep connection to the Mooney family began when his family moved to Princeton, two doors away from the Mooneys on Dodds Lane. Over the years, he became an honorary member
of their family, serving as a cherished “grandfather” figure to Rob and Cheryl Mooney’s four children.
A graduate of Princeton High School, Class of 1962, Don was a standout Varsity tennis player and a devoted sports fan. His passion extended beyond his own athletic pursuits to coaching and supporting the Mooney children in their various sports endeavors. Whether shooting hoops, tossing a baseball, or cheering from the sidelines, Don found immense joy in the camaraderie of sports. He was well known by many on the sidelines of local Little League and high school games. A dedicated Mets and Giants fan, his greatest pride was spectating games featuring the Mooney kids, whose accomplishments he celebrated with heartfelt enthusiasm.
Professionally, Don worked for a time as Director of Sales for Overseas Charter-a-Flight, a wholesaler for low fare aviation pioneer Freddie Laker’s Laker Airways. Don traveled on business to London, developing a lifelong appreciation for the city. Later, he served as a school bus driver for Princeton-area schools and
worked for several car hire companies, always engaging with those around him.
A talented musician, Don was a gifted pianist known for his lively renditions of Gershwin’s “Maple Leaf Rag” and other classics. He also served as an organist for Nassau Presbyterian Church, sharing his love of music with the congregation.
In his later years, Don was a beloved regular at Starbucks, where he met with friends most every morning to catch up and share stories. He was an avid newspaper reader, and nearly always with copies of the New York Times , the Newark Star Ledger, the Trenton Times, the Trentonian, and the Town Topics, and always up to date on the local sports pages. His affable
nature and keen interest in the world around him made him a constant source of joy to those who knew him.
Don’s final years were marked by the unwavering care and companionship of Cheryl Mooney, who supervised his care with love and dedication. His good-natured spirit and genuine kindness will be deeply missed by his many friends, neighbors, and especially the Mooney family, who considered him one of their own.
Don will be interred with his beloved parents at Oakwood Cemetery, Mount Kisco, N.Y., in the spring next year.
Rest in peace, Don. Your light will forever shine in the hearts of those who loved you.
Sunday, December 22
8:00 am: Holy Eucharist Rite I
10:30 am: Holy Eucharist Rite II with Christmas Pageant
Tuesday, December 24
12:00 pm: Holy Eucharist Rite I
3:00 & 5:00 pm: Family Eucharist for All Ages 8:00 pm & 11:00 pm: Choral Eucharist- preludes at 7:30 & 10:30
Wednesday, December 25
10:00 am: Holy Eucharist with Choir & Carols
Sunday, December 29
8:00 am: Holy Eucharist Rite I
11:00 am: Service of Christmas Lessons & Carols at Princeton University Chapel
The Rev. Paul Jeanes III, Rector
The Rev. Canon Dr. Kara Slade, Assoc. Rector 33 Mercer St. Princeton • 609-924-2277 www.trinityprinceton.org
Mother of God Joy of All Who Sorrow Orthodox Church
Dec 24th 2024 Christmas Eve Liturgy 5 pm
904 Cherry Hill Rd • Princeton, NJ 08525 (609) 466-3058
Saturday Vespers 5pm • Sunday Divine Liturgy 930am • www.mogoca.org
To advertise your services in our Directory of Religious Services, contact Jennifer Covill jennifer.covill@witherspoonmediagroup.com (609) 924-2200 ext. 31
Princeton Area Baha’is Welcome You
“When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by A more powerful thought of love.” `Abdu’l-Baha Principles of the Baha’i Faith: One God- the Mover of the Universe Oneness of Religion
All People are members of One Human Family Equality of Men and Women Elimination of all forms of prejudice
For more information go to: https://princetonbahais.org www.bahai. org/beliefs
David Eyre Steward
1534 Pennington Road, Ewing, NJ
David Eyre Steward died on October 15, 2024, shortly after he was diagnosed with abdominal carcinoma. Until the day he was hospitalized he worked on his last poetry series that will be published in early 2025.
David was born on April 29, 1936 in Doylestown, PA, son of Frederic Evans Steward and Anne née Aucoin who lived on Sandy Ridge Rd in Stockton, NJ. David’s brother Peter was born May 17,1939. Frederic died in the spring of 1944, a big shock for the family, especially Anne, who was hospitalized for over a year following her husband’s death. David and Peter were sent to live with their aunt Florence, who was an Episcopalian missionary at St. Stephen Mission in Elkton, VA, in the Shenandoah Valley. The school friends, the local people, many of whom had a hardscrabble life, but also the surrounding nature were lasting memories for David, and he comes back to these memories again and again in his work. He also stayed in contact with some of the friends he made during that
Dec.22nd 11am Worship Words for the Beginning Advent 4 ~ Do the Good That is Yours to Do ~ Luke 3:7-16 ® Town Topics est. 1946 a Princeton tradition!
year. In 1945, Anne bought a small house on Mount Airy Rd. off Sandy Ridge in Stockton, NJ, where she lived until her death in 1998. Once back in NJ, Anne and her sons joined the Quaker community and received fellowships to attend Buckingham Friend’s School and George School. There, David met his two lifelong friends Charles Wells and David Dillard.
At 17 David started at Williams College. After his second year, he volunteered to serve in the Army. He spent some of his time in Korea after the armistice, another lasting impression, and became particularly interested in the development of Korea after the war. After his deployment he continued to his studies at Williams and graduated with a BA in history in 1960. During his studies he decided that he wanted to be a writer and he kept true to this decision throughout his life.
With a small inheritance he traveled and lived for several years in different places in Western Europe and spent almost two years in South Africa, Swaziland, and Tanzania. His intention was to learn about the Apartheid and its consequences. Again he made lifelong friends.
Upon his return from Africa he needed to support himself and worked for three seasons in the Forest Service as a crewman, on a fire tower, and as a ranger in the Angeles National Forrest north of Los Angeles. During that time he met his wife Ruth Silberschmidt. David and Ruth got married in 1971 in Basel, Switzerland. Ruth went back to school and David had part-time jobs to support his writing. After time in Charlottesville, VA, and Tübingen, Germany, they settled in Princeton in 1982.
In 1986, David started working on his life’s work. Every month he wrote one long poem, which he titled by the name of the month in different languages. David’s months embrace topics from nature, arts, music, events,
and include his observations about the world and life in general. The inspiration for these month poems came from his daily life, his reading, his travels. For instance, the experience of sailing with one of his best friends from Hawaii to Tahiti, or from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Nome, Alaska, through the Northern Pacific is captured in Chroma in different months.
David was mainly a small press prose and poetry writer and published most of his work in literary journals. Thirty years of his months are collected and published under the title Chroma Volumes 1-6: Archae Editions in 2018. The last eight years of months written after Chroma will be published as Chronica at the beginning of 2025. David was passionate about his work. He was working on his last month , August 2024 , the day he was hospitalized.
Books were David’s constant companions throughout his life, fueling his insatiable curiosity and love for learning. He read widely, constantly exploring new aspects of the subjects that fascinated him. When he wasn’t writing, he was reading — to inform his work, to educate himself, and simply for the joy of it. David shared his enthusiasm with family, friends, and neighbors, radiating openness and positivity. He embraced life fully, and his energy, engagement, kindness, and affection remain his most memorable qualities.
On his hospital bed, when asked whether he wanted his biography to be included as preface to Chronica , maybe Chroma as well, David said, “The whole damn thing is a biography.”
David was a treasured husband; his marriage to Ruth spanned cultures and intellectual interests and combined two powerful, generous and inexhaustible people. David was a brother and a son; a cousin and uncle in the Steward, Aucoin, and Silberschmidt families; and a great and singular
Princeton’s First Tradition Worship Service Sundays at 11am
friend to many, all of whom miss him.
KPC’s Traditional Christmas Eve Candlelight Service Tuesday, December 24th at 7PM
Pastor Sharyl Dixon leads Lessons & Carols with the KPC HandBell Choir
KPC Praise Band, “Calling on Him”
KPC Choir
Dec. 29th 11am Worship (in-person & online)
~ Words for the Beginning ~ God with Us ~ Luke 2:10 and Isaiah 9:2-3
Jan. 5th 11am Worship (in-person & online)
Epiphany with Star Words and Communion ~ Words for the Beginning ~ The Road Isn’t Straight ~ Matthew 2:1-12
4565 Route 27, Kingston, NJ kingstonpresnj@gmail.com | 609-921-8895 https://kingstonpresbyterian.org
Michael J. Suber
Michael J. Suber, 93, of Princeton passed away, Thursday, November 28, 2024 at the UPenn Medical Center of Princeton, in Plainsboro.
Born in Newark, New Jersey, Michael was raised in Nutley where he met his future wife, Phyllis Eldridge. He and Phyllis married in 1955. They settled in Princeton in the early 1960s where they raised their family and became rooted in the community.
Michael attended Bucknell University where he earned his bachelor’s degree. He was a chemical engineer with various companies over the span of his career. After retiring from chemical engineering, he enjoyed working in finance.
A man of many interests, Michael enjoyed bicycling and hiking with his wife, and was a member of the Princeton Free Wheelers for many years. He was an advocate for bicycle and pedestrian safety in the Princeton community, and a member of the Princeton Ski and Sail Club as well as a cosmology discussion group. He loved sailing and enjoyed spending summers in Rhode Island on Narraganset Bay. Michael also loved classical music, enjoyed travel, and stayed current on financial news.
Predeceased by his parents, William and Alice, he is survived by his wife of 69 years, Phyllis; his children and their spouses, Ellen and Karl Fury, Jeffrey and Diane Suber, Kenneth and Margot Suber, and Eric and Lynne Suber; his grandchildren, Ray, William, Georgia, Erin, and Emily; his two great-grandchildren; and his sister, Judith Hannold. Private cremation services were held under the direction of the Saul Colonial Home, 3795 Nottingham Way, Hamilton Square, NJ. Family and friends are invited to remember and celebrate the life of Michael J. Suber on Sunday, January 5 at 2 p.m. at Stonebridge at Montgomery, 100 Hollinshead Spring Road, Skillman, NJ, 08558. Please come and share your memories as we say goodbye and cherish the time we had together.
In memory of David please donate to Words Without Borders (https://secure. givelively.org/donate/ words-without-borders) or your favorite charity. Arrangements are under the direction of MatherHodge Funeral Home, Princeton. is printed entirely on recycled paper.
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TOWN TOPICS CLASSIFIED = GREAT WEEKEND!
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. tf
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. tf
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 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.
Personal Home Care of Hillsborough (609) 216-5000 or (908) 306-0985 tf FOX CLEANING (609) 547-9570
eqfoxcarpetcleaning@gmail.com
Licensed and insured Residential and commercial Carpet cleaning and upholestry Pressure and soft washing • Area rugs Strip and wax floors • Sanitizing Water damage • Grout cleaning
01-17-25
THE MAID PROFESSIONALS:
Leslie & Nora, cleaning experts. Residential & commercial. Free estimates. References upon request. (609) 218-2279, (609) 323-7404. 01-29
PART-TIME HOUSECLEANING AND LAUNDRY. Help with the holidays! Experienced, with excellent references. Please call Ruth at (609) 924-9654. 12-25
HOME HEALTH AIDE/COMPAN-
ION AVAILABLE: NJ certified and experienced. Live-in or live-out. Driver’s license. References available. Please call Cindy, (609) 227-9873. 12-18
Knotty pine bookcases a specialty!
SKILLMAN FURNITURE CO.
609-924-1881
Elevated gardens • Slat tables
Writing desks • Small furniture repair skillmanfurniture.com
skillmanfurnitureco@gmail.com tf APARTMENT FOR RENT
Nassau Street, 1 bedroom, 1 bath, recently renovated. Available January
OPEN STUDIO PAINTINGS BY APPOINTMENT
For sale: beautiful Florals, Landscapes & Abstracts. Gift for Holidays & special occasions. Please call/voice message Robert Raphael at (609) 921-6744. 12/18
BUYING: Antiques, paintings, Oriental rugs, coins, clocks, furniture, old toys, military, books, cameras, silver, costume & fine jewelry. Guitars & musical instruments. I buy single items to entire estates. Free appraisals. (609) 306-0613. tf
TOWN TOPICS CLASSIFIEDS GET TOP RESULTS!
Whether it’s selling furniture, finding a lost pet, or having a garage sale, TOWN TOPICS is the way to go! We deliver to ALL of Princeton as well as surrounding areas. (609) 924-2200 ext. 10; classifieds@towntopics.com
ESTATE LIQUIDATION SERVICE:
I will clean out attics, basements, garages & houses. Single items to entire estates. No job too big or small. In business over 35 years, serving all of Mercer County. Call (609) 306-0613. tf
WE BUY CARS
Belle Mead Garage (908) 359-8131
Ask for Chris
RELIABLE WEEKEND HELP
Shopping, driving, bill paying, house/ pet sitting, personal assistant. Local references available. (609) 481-7059. 12-25
WHAT’S A GREAT GIFT FOR A FORMER PRINCETONIAN?
A Gift Subscription!
Call (609) 924-2200, ext 10 circulation@towntopics.com tf
YARD SALE + TOWN TOPICS CLASSIFIED = GREAT WEEKEND!
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. tf
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. tf
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 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.
Personal Home Care of Hillsborough (609) 216-5000 or (908) 306-0985
FOX CLEANING (609) 547-9570
eqfoxcarpetcleaning@gmail.com
Licensed and insured
Residential and commercial
Carpet cleaning and upholestry
Pressure and soft washing • Area rugs
Strip and wax floors • Sanitizing Water damage • Grout cleaning
01-17-25
THE MAID PROFESSIONALS:
Leslie & Nora, cleaning experts. Residential & commercial. Free estimates. References upon request. (609) 218-2279, (609) 323-7404. 01-29
PART-TIME HOUSECLEANING AND LAUNDRY. Help with the holidays! Experienced, with excellent references. Please call Ruth at (609) 924-9654. 12-25
HOME HEALTH AIDE/COMPANION AVAILABLE: NJ certified and experienced. Live-in or live-out. Driver’s license. References available. Please call Cindy, (609) 227-9873. 12-18
Knotty pine bookcases a specialty!
SKILLMAN FURNITURE CO. 609-924-1881
Elevated gardens • Slat tables
Writing desks • Small furniture repair skillmanfurniture.com skillmanfurnitureco@gmail.com
APARTMENT FOR RENT
Nassau Street, 1 bedroom, 1 bath, recently renovated. Available January 1, $2,500 monthly plus utilities. Inquiries: sts15@verizon.net. 12/25
OPEN STUDIO PAINTINGS BY APPOINTMENT
For sale: beautiful Florals, Landscapes & Abstracts.
Gift for Holidays & special occasions. Please call/voice message Robert Raphael at (609) 921-6744. 12/18
BUYING: Antiques, paintings, Oriental rugs, coins, clocks, furniture, old toys, military, books, cameras, silver, costume & fine jewelry. Guitars & musical instruments. I buy single items to entire estates. Free appraisals. (609) 306-0613.
tf
TOWN TOPICS CLASSIFIEDS GET TOP RESULTS!
Whether it’s selling furniture, finding a lost pet, or having a garage sale, TOWN TOPICS is the way to go!
We deliver to ALL of Princeton as well as surrounding areas. (609) 924-2200 ext. 10; classifieds@towntopics.com
ESTATE LIQUIDATION SERVICE:
I will clean out attics, basements, garages & houses. Single items to entire estates. No job too big or small. In business over 35 years, serving all of Mercer County. Call (609) 306-0613. tf
WE BUY CARS
Belle Mead Garage (908) 359-8131
Ask for Chris
RELIABLE WEEKEND HELP
Shopping, driving, bill paying, house/ pet sitting, personal assistant. Local references available. (609) 481-7059. 12-25
tf
When purchasing a home, it's crucial to investigate any township violations associated with the property. Township violations refer to instances where a property fails to comply with local codes, ordinances, or regulations set by the township or municipality. These violations can range from unpermitted construction and zoning infractions to overdue inspections or neglected property maintenance.
Buying a home with unresolved violations can result in unexpected costs and headaches. For instance, you might need to pay for permits, fines, or bring the property up to code before making desired renovations. Moreover, unresolved issues could delay the closing process or affect financing, as lenders often require clear titles.
To protect yourself, request a municipal inspection or a violation search before purchasing. Consulting a real estate attorney or agent familiar with the area can also help ensure you ’re fully informed and prepared to address potential issues.
Beautiful 3 bedroom, 2 full bath ranch home in great neighborhood. 1 acre land. Basement has been professionally finished with 2 private offices with sound proofing, large entertainment area. Full bathroom is not legal – toilet would need to be removed – otherwise all permits have been obtained. Possible in-law suite/ office use private walk-out basement entrance. Home was completely redone in 2021 with new septic system also installed.
