Town Topics Newspaper, February 28, 2024

Environmental Impact, Resiliency, Sustainability Underpin Town Projects

Pages 17-20

Theatre

“Sustainability,” “resiliency,” “stormwater control,” and “ ood mitigation” are words appearing with great frequency in current media and engineering studies, and a look at descriptions of infrastructure projects underway in Princeton reveals the predominance of these environmental concerns.

The February 26 Municipality of Princeton newsletter reports on plans to replace six old and out-of-date storm drains (culverts) in town. The project is in the early design stages and may take a year or two before it is completed.

“These culvert replacements are part of our commitment to sustainability, stormwater control, and flood mitigation,” the newsletter states. “The holistic approach of managing runoff where the rain falls, maintaining a robust storm sewer system, developing storm water mitigation measures, and protecting our oodplain provides for a safer, cleaner environment for our residents (and everyone who lives downstream!).”

This culvert replacement enterprise is only one of numerous projects currently in progress under the supervision of the Princeton Municipal Engineering Department.

“Everything being done now is being done with an eye toward resiliency and sustainability,” said Assistant Municipal Engineer James Purcell. “For each one of the projects that we have going we look at the environmental impact and what we can do to be less impactful and reduce our carbon footprint.”

He elaborated, “New regulations from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, that are long overdue, require that things be designed with the idea that climate change is here, so our stream modeling to determine the ows in the streams is going to be based on projected rainfalls 75 years from now. In the past, design was based on historical data, but now we’re going to be designing our stormwater management and ood plain management based on projected future data.”

Before digging into details on several more of the municipality’s current infrastructure tasks, Purcell raised a

Council Hosts Eisgruber for Annual Talk

At a meeting on Monday, February 26, Princeton Council held its annual discussion with Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber on the relationship and collaborations between the University and the municipality. The gathering allows members of the governing body to ask Eisgruber about speci c areas of collaboration with the University, while giving him an opportunity to speak about the state of the University, its priorities, and higher education in general.

On January 30, the University announced its plan to contribute more than $50 million over ve years to the municipality, community organizations, and lower- and middle-income residents to support mutual community interests including college access, sustainability, diversity and equality, mass transit, municipal infrastructure, safety, and emergency services. The plan provides for contributions of $39.5 million to the municipality.

The past year has been “tumultuous and demanding” for higher education, Eisgruber said, and especially challenging because of attacks on the University’s commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion. “I take so much pride in the barriers that Princeton University has taken down,” he said, adding that the

University’s commitment to excellence is tied into its commitment to diversity and inclusion, attracting students and teaching talent from diverse segments of society.

Councilman David Cohen brought up the question of missing middle housing, which he raised last year. While affordable housing regulations don’t allow the setting aside of units speci cally for those who work in Princeton, the University does have the ability to build missing

middle housing speci cally for members of its staff. “I think in the spirit of inclusivity, it would be a great thing if the University could create housing for them,” Cohen said. “We’d love to see the University take this on.”

Eisgruber said the University is continuing the conversation on the issue, but it has to be considered in terms of the overall compensation framework. “There are trade-offs within that framework,” he said, adding that while some could be

Eateries with Diverse Culinary Traditions Participating in Restaurant Week 2024

For retailers and restaurateurs, postValentine’s Day is a traditionally quiet time of year. What better time, the creators of Princeton Restaurant Week thought four years ago, to jump-start the local culinary scene with seven days of special menus and reduced prices?

The rst Princeton Restaurant Week debuted in 2019 with a few participating eateries. Then the pandemic hit, putting the concept on a two-year hiatus. The event returned last year under the aegis of Experience Princeton, the nonpro t formed in 2022 as the Princeton

Business Partnership, a Special Improvement District (SID) dedicated to promoting and marketing the town. Some 40 restaurants signed on.

As of early this week, 44 eateries are on board for Princeton Restaurant Week 2024, March 2-8. Isaac Kremer, director of Experience Princeton, is not surprised at the growth.

“I think the most innovative towns are de ned by a vibrant culinary scene, and we have that in Princeton today,” he said.” Last year’s Restaurant Week was one of the big initial projects for

FINAL TAKEOFF: Princeton High girls’ swimmer Kyleigh Tangen takes off to do the anchor leg in the 400-yard freestyle relay last Sunday as PHS battled Chatham in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group B state fi nal at the straight state title as they lost 89-81 to the Cougars to end the winter at 14-1. For more details on the meet, see page 28.

2022,2023,2024

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Voices Chorale NJ Brings

Irish Music to Land Trust

In celebration of D&R Greenway Land Trust’s work to preserve the green in local communities, Voices Chorale NJ returns by popular demand on Friday, March 15 with Irish music and dancing. The event, which benefits both organizations, is held from 6-9 p.m. at D&R Greenway’s Johnson Education Center, One Preservation Place.

The Parnell Irish Band will entertain with guitar, drums and fiddle, providing Irish music with vocals to engage the crowd in group singing. Irish jokes and stories and a chance to learn the art of Irish Country Dancing are also part of the program. Guests are encouraged to wear green and experience a pub-style setting where beer, wine and a light pub

supper will be served. The festivities will include a silent auction of unique items to support Voices Chorale NJ. Weather permitting, guests will be invited to gather outside on the patio for an Irish singalong by the firepit.

Tickets are $65, and space is limited. To reserve a seat, visit drgreenway.org, voiceschoralenj.org, or call (609) 924-4646. A Princeton tradition!

Apply for the Princeton Advisory Committee on Affordable Housing, Human Services, and Racial, Social, and Economic Equity: The municipality is accepting applications for the newly formed committee. The deadline is March 14. Visit princetonnj.gov.

Recreation Department Summer Jobs : Apply for work at Community Park Pool in customer service, day camp, or on lifeguard staff. Visit Princetonnj.gov/982/ Seasonal-Employment.

Leighton Listens : Councilman Leighton Newlin holds one-on-one conversations about issues impacting Princeton from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. February 28: Chapin Guatemalan and Mexican Restaurant, 146 Witherspoon Street. All are welcome.

Free Tax Assistance : The Mercer County AARP Tax-Aide program offers free federal and state tax preparation at Princeton Public Library, the Suzanne Patterson Building, and Nassau Presbyterian Church. Call (888) 227-7669 for specifics. Scholarship Opportunity : College-bound Jewish female students who live in the Princeton/Mercer/Bucks community can apply for funding from the Dr. Esther Wollin Memorial Scholarship Fund. JFCSonline.org.

Youth Leadership Programs : Students from Princeton High School, Princeton Day School, the Hun School, and Stuart Country Day School can apply for the municipality’s 2024-25 Youth Leadership programs, open to all sophomores. Applications are due March 19. Visit princetonnj.gov.

CELEBRATING THE GREEN: At D&R Greenway’s Johnson Education Center last year, patrons gathered around the fire pit for an Irish singalong. The popular event is back on March 15. (Photo by Philip S. Getty)

and the Beast at PHS the following weekend, March 14 to 16.

Beauty

The Asian Festival, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the PHS New Gym, is a collaboration of the Mandarin and Japanese language classes, the Asian American Club, Chinese Club, Korean Club, Japanese Club, Bollywood Dance Club, and Chai Club.

TOPICS Of the Town

“PHS Asian Fest showcases the diversity of the many Asian cultures within Princeton,” wrote PHS Mandarin Teacher and Festival Organizer Shwu-Fen Lin in an email. “It reflects the coming together of different groups to celebrate what we can offer the community.”

Welcoming participants of all ages, the festival activities include Chinese calligraphy, cultural games, origami, henna, paper plate rangoli, and more. There will be student performances of Chinese lion and dragon dances, Japanese dance, K-pop dance, Bollywood dance, Chinese yo-yo and musical instruments, and a fashion show featuring clothes from many different Asian countries. Asian food prepared by the students will be available for purchase.

“It is an opportunity for students to put on powerful performances and moments to demonstrate what they have learned from their classes, clubs, and each other,” said Lin. “With an evergrowing population of Asian Americans at PHS and in the U.S., it is important to share more Asian culture with the community to help facilitate understanding.”

She continued, “We want the students to feel they can express themselves, to be proud of their culture, and simply have fun with their friends.”

The PHS production of Beauty and the Beast, opening on March 14, features more than 150 students — about 50 actors, double-cast, with two sets of actors for each role; about 25 in the running crew and backstage, with about 25 more who worked on set building, painting, and other preparations; and a pit orchestra of about 50 more students.

“It’s a gigantic and challenging show,” said Julianna Krawiecki, the show’s director and PHS drama teacher. “It’s incredible, and we’re excited to share it with the audiences.”

She went on, as quoted in a PPS press release, “When we came to this choice, we wanted to do a show that had a timeless tale and featured theatrical magic. It gives our students something different to experience. I try to pick things that contrast, to stretch our experience.”

Krawiecki noted that the students — artists, tech crews, makeup, props, and costumes, as well as musicians, singers, and actors — “have risen to the challenge to put on this iconic

“Magic”

Continued from Preceding Page show.” She added, “They’re all working hard and doing an amazing job. It’s difficult material, very demanding.”

The PHS drama program usually stages between four and six shows each year, two on the main stage and the rest in the high school’s Black Box Theater, offering students a range of opportunities and theatrical experiences.

Student ensembles have also entered into competitive events outside the school district. They have won New Jersey Governor’s Awards and have performed at events sponsored by the Paper Mill Playhouse.

Meanwhile at the PMS, Mary Poppins JR. will open on Thursday, March 7 for a run of four performances. PPS Supervisor for Visual and Performing Arts Patrick Lenihan described the show as “a true community event,” with “students, teachers, parents — everyone involved.”

He added that PMS has put on a full musical every spring since 2010. “It’s a great way to prepare students for what they will experience in high school,” he said, “And we find shows that work for the middle school voice.”

PMS Principal Jason Burr added, “It does not matter how many years we have been doing this; watching our students pull together as a cast to deliver a captivating performance is always a joy and a celebration.” He went on to express appreciation to Chaundra Cameron, drama teacher and director of the show; Art Teacher Angela Carbone; “and the rest of the staff who help guide our students through this process, from audition through final performance.”

Burr also noted that fifth grade students from all of the elementary schools will see a special performance of the show at PMS as part of their transition to middle school. “Our cast is worthy of admiration and support as they put their best foot forward to deliver multiple performances.” he said.

For more information about performance times and tickets, visit princetondrama.ludus.com for Beauty and the Beast or princetonmiddleschooltheatre.ludus.com for Mary Poppins JR.

—Donald Gilpin

TOWN TALK©

A forum for the expression of opinions about local and national issues.

Question of the Week: “What did you learn here today?”

(Asked Saturday at the George Washington Birthday Celebration and Open House at Rockingham Historic Site in Kingston)

(Photos by Sarah Teo)

“I didn’t realize this [headquarters] has moved three times, or that Washington wandered around quite so much, between here and Annapolis and Philadelphia to New York, etc.”

—Steve Snyder, Princeton

Dan: “Washington was here from August to November in 1783.”

Brody: “He had a fake jaw made out of hippopotamus teeth.”

Kara: “He liked to dance! He would move the furniture after dinner because he liked to dance.”

—Dan, Brody, and Kara Doyle, Rocky Hill

Claire: “I didn’t know how tall [Washington] was! They have a life-size model of him inside.”

Lucas: “This place was forced to move because of the quarry over there.”

Martin: “I’ve driven past this place dozens of times, but just learned that this is not its original location.”

—Claire, Lucas and Martin, Skillman

Jesse: “They were very self-sufficient in terms of the food they had, such as turkey and apples.”

Jackson: “They had a summer kitchen instead of just the indoor kitchen so it wouldn’t get so hot in the house.”

—Christine, Jesse, and Jackson Kessler, Highland Park

Princeton Polestar to Donate Fire Blanket

To Help PFD Combat Dangerous EV Fires

This Friday, March 1, the Princeton Fire Department (PFD) will be adding a valuable piece of equipment to its toolkit of resources used in fighting fires. In a 10:30 a.m. presentation at the Princeton Firehouse on Witherspoon Street across from the Municipal Building, Polestar of Princeton, a Swedish electric vehicle manufacturer, will be donating an electric vehicle fire blanket to the PFD and demonstrating how to use it. “This looks like an excellent tool to safely extinguish an EV vehicle fire,” said Princeton Department of Emergency and Safety Services Director Michael Yeh.

“When an EV vehicle is on fire, firefighters would cover the vehicle with the blanket, effectively covering the vehicle and depriving it of air while smothering the fire.”

“Entering this electric age of EV cars, I’ve been talking to a lot of fire chiefs in the area,” said Polestar General Manager Nick Long, who initiated fire blanket donations to area fire departments more than a year ago. “They told me they are not fully prepared for the era that we’re about to enter, so I did some research and found these fire blankets, and we started donating them.” Polestar, which is owned by Volvo, has donated 14 so far to fire departments in the Philadelphia area. The Robbinsville Fire Department was a recent recipient, and Lawrence Township and Hopewell Township are slated for future donations after Princeton.

Long, who is part of a regional EV task force, pointed out that the blankets are designed to give first responders the tools and the time they need to control the fire and not waste water in putting out the fires.

“When an EV battery catches on fire, when lithium catches fire, it’s very hard to put out,” he said. “These blankets can control the fire so that first responders can remove the car from the situation.” He added that gasoline-powered vehicles are more prone to vehicle fires than EVs, but EV fires last longer, are harder to put out, and often reignite. The priority for Long and Polestar is to provide firefighters with all the necessary tools and training.

There were 1,530 fires per 100,000 sales for gasoline

vehicles and just 25 fires per 100,000 sales for electric vehicles, according to Bureau of Transportation Statistics and the National Transportation Safety Board fire and crash data.

Christopher Santone, battalion chief of C Platoon of the Mount Laurel Fire Department, which received a fire blanket donated from Polestar two weeks ago, noted that his department has been trying out the fire blanket in some basic training exercises. He noted that the blanket is big enough to cover a pick-up truck but since the blanket is for one-time use, they haven’t yet tried it out on a burning vehicle.

Morven Trustees Appoint New Executive Director

Santone explained, “The blanket contains the fire. I wouldn’t say it suffocates it. Once you have contained it, you choose to either leave it or haul it — put it on a flatbed and tow it. EV fires are different. The batteries can burn for hours, and we have to be prepared for these high risk, low frequency events.”

He continued, “Like any other first responder we like to have a large toolbox with a variety of equipment that can help us in any incident. We’re fortunate and thankful to Nick and Polestar for donating that blanket to us.”

The blanket that the PFD will receive on Friday is a Bridgehill Car Fire Blanket, Yeh noted. It is described on the Bridgehill website as “the original car fire blanket — the most efficient way to isolate and extinguish car fires, even in electric vehicles.”

The description continues, “Any car fire is dangerous and toxic. A car fire in a gas station, road tunnel, car park, or passenger ferry can be a disaster. The Bridgehill Car Fire Blanket enables you to contain the flames, smoke, and toxic fumes in a car fire in seconds. It’s the only solution that can effectively handle fires in electric vehicles.”

Made of pyroxene with polymer silicone coating, the blanket measures about 20 by 26 feet with a weight of about 62 pounds. The cost for each one-time-use EV blanket is about $1,300, Long said.

—Donald Gilpin

The Morven Museum & Garden Board of Trustees has named veteran museum and gardens leader Rhonda DiMascio to serve as the new executive director of Morven Museum & Garden, the home of Richard Stockton, one of New Jersey’s five signers of the Declaration of Independence.

DiMascio, a New Jersey native, has spent more than a quarter century as an executive at museums and gardens and brings leadership experience in program and fund development, a passion for history and preservation, and a commitment to educational programming and community outreach.

“We are delighted to have Rhonda take the lead at Morven as we build on Morven’s record of historical scholarship, exhibitions, and world-class garden,” said Morven Chairwoman Liza Morehouse. “We have exciting times ahead, and an excellent team in place with Morven about to celebrate its 20th anniversary and with the nation about to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence.”

“Morven has had such an important role in the history of our state and of Princeton, from the days when Richard Stockton lived here, to its tenure as the Governor’s Mansion, to today where it features best-in-class gardens and a rich record of preserving history,” said DiMascio. “It is an honor and privilege to be entrusted by the Morven board with this role.”

DiMascio has served as executive director of Friends of Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia for the past four years. She was responsible for program development, fundraising to support capital projects and special educational programs, and strategic planning for the nonprofit affiliate of two nationally recognized historic cemeteries. She also served as the first development director of Grounds for Sculpture, the 42-acre sculpture park in Hamilton, where she created a sustainable fundraising program that contributed to a 47 percent increase in revenue due in large part to individual donations, corporate sponsorships, special events, and grants from private and government agencies.

planned giving program, and expanded the staff and board.

DiMascio holds a Master of Science from Drexel University in arts administration and a Bachelor of Arts from Rosemont College. She will assume her responsibilities as executive director of Morven on March 25.

Bunbury Fund Awards

Grants to Local Nonprofits

The Bunbury Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation awarded over $1 million in grants to more than two dozen local nonprofits to support work that will strengthen the organizations’ internal capacity, so they can better serve the community. The grants, totaling $1,035,205, were

awarded to 26 nonprofit organizations in 2023. It marks the fifth year in a row that the Bunbury Fund issued more than $1 million in funding.

“Through our experience as Bunbury Fund advisors, our team continues to learn about the key issues in our region and what it takes for a nonprofit organization to effectively address them, often as a result of undercapitalization,” said Jamie Kyte Sapoch, lead fund advisor and former Community Foundation trustee. “We believe that the capacity building resources approved by the Bunbury Fund in 2023 will result in meaningful, enhanced delivery of missions for the 26 nonprofit organizations.”

Among the organizations receiving grants were Anchor House Inc., LALDEF, Dress for Success Central New Jersey, HomeFront Inc., Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space, the Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Mercer County, the Princeton-Blairstown Center, Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, I am Trenton, and People & Stories/Gente y Cuentos.

Earlier in her career, she served as the executive director of the Alice Paul Institute (API) in Mount Laurel, a National Historic Landmark and family home and birthplace of suffragist and women’s rights activist Alice Stokes Paul. At API, she managed a multimillion-dollar historic restoration and rehabilitation project, raised funds for programming and operations, established a major gifts initiative and a

Rhoda DiMascio

Fellow, AAML

Fellow,RisingAAML Star

FLOWERS, FLOWERS, EVERYWHERE: The theme of this year’s Philadelphia Flower Show, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center March 2-10, is “United by Flowers.” Exhibits, events, spaces for kids, a Burpee pop-up shop, botanical-inspired artwork and jewelry, artisan row, and advice at The Plant People Place are among the offerings. Visit phsonline.org/the-flower-show for ticket information.

This Year’s Pi Day Observances Focus on Signature Events

A few weeks ago, Mimi Omiecinski was dropping off some posters for Pi Day Princeton at the front desk of Princeton Public Library when two teenaged boys who were walking by stopped to comment. “Oh, Pi Day,” one of them said to the other. “We have to do the Pie Eating Contest.”

Omiecinski, whose Princeton Tour Company started the annual Pi Day celebrations in 2009, was pleasantly surprised. “I said to them, ‘You know Pi Day?’

And they said, ‘Of course! We’ve done this since we were kids.’ It hit me then,” Omiecinski said. “This is a thing.”

Pi Day is a town-wide celebration of Princeton’s most famous former resident, Albert Einstein. This year’s events are on Saturday, March 9 and Thursday, March 14, which is Einstein’s actual birthday. Born in 1879 in Germany, the famed theoretical physicist emigrated to America and settled in Princeton in 1933 to escape religious persecution. He was among the first

Concierge Service!

faculty members of the Institute for Advanced Study, serving until his death in Princeton in 1955.

Pi Day events were first held at the library. But the idea caught on and grew quickly, creating the need for additional sites. “Over the years, the crowd got so huge, and we had so many events that we had to include other locations,” Omiecinski said. “I wanted to say yes to everybody who wanted to host something. But COVID gave us a chance to reevaluate. What we realized is that the people who have been the most impacted by Pi Day are these little kids growing up in Princeton. So I’ve lowered the Pi Recitation age from 13 to 10, and the same with the Einstein Look-Alike Contest. I really want this to be something that if Einstein looks down on us, he says, ‘That’s sweet.’”

Most of this year’s activities are free and located at the library and other downtown spots, as well as Princeton Shopping Center. Included are the familiar Pie Eating contest, the

Einstein Lookalike Contest, the Pi Recitation Contest, Dinky train rides with Einstein (played by Bill Agress), and the LiLLiPIES Pie Flight Contest.

Also scheduled are the Princeton School Gardens Cooperative fundraiser, Einstein Story Time with the Historical Society of Princeton, screenings of the films Balls of Fire and IQ, “That Physics Show” with Dave Maiullo of Rutgers University, an Einstein Birthday Picnic Party, a walking tour of Einstein’s famous homes and hangouts, the Albert Einstein Memorial Lecture, and what is billed as “The Do Not Miss 2024 Pi Day Princeton Worldwide Event by authors Gary Berger and Michael DiRuggiero,” which uses 150 images — some rarely seen — to tell the story of Einstein’s life and work.

The young winners of the Pi Recitation and Einstein Look-Alike contests receive $314.15, the number that is defined as the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. For a complete list of events, times, and locations, visit Princetontourcompany.com.

“We’ve tightened it up a bit this year,” Omiecinski said. “The signature events seem to be what people lock in on. And the Historical Society, the library, and LiLLiPIES make it unique and different each year. I want to serve up the staples that people can count on.”

—Anne Levin

Applications Available for Satterfield Scholarship Fund

Princeton Parents for Black Children (PPBC) has announced that applications are now being accepted for the Shirley Satterfield Scholarship Fund. The scholarship program aims to support Black students in the Princeton district’s middle and high schools who demonstrate a desire and commitment to participate in curricular and extracurricular activities that require supplemental financial support.

was made possible with the support of lead gifts from the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, Lance and LaTonya Liverman, and Michele TuckPonder and Rhinold Ponder.

Contributions may be made to the fund by check made payable to the Princeton Parents for Black Children mailed to 208 Laurel Circle, Princeton, New Jersey, 08540. Contributions may also be made via Venmo to PPBC (@ppbc2021).

Checks Being Mailed for Property Tax Assistance

The scholarship program is named in honor of Shirley Satterfield, founder of the Witherspoon-Jackson Historical and Cultural Society, who served as an influential and popular guidance and college counselor for 13 years in the Princeton Public Schools district.

Students can utilize financial assistance for programs such as sports, educational trips, and other enrichment experiences that enhance their educational journey.

The application process is designed to be accessible and convenient for all eligible students. Students can visit princetonparentsforblackchildren.org or access the application through the PPBC newsletter. Applications will be accepted yearround, and awarded on a rolling basis as long as funds are available.

“This scholarship addresses some of the problems I dedicated my life to when I worked at the district. I am so grateful that PPBC is furthering that legacy and doing much-needed work for our children,” said Satterfield. “I hope others, including the district, join them in this effort.”

Princeton Parents for Black Children is a 501(C) (3) whose mission is to advocate for Black children in support of equity, fairness, and inclusion. The fund

Checks are being mailed this week to approximately 900 Princeton homeowners by the Community Foundation of New Jersey (CFNJ) following a voluntary gift by Princeton University — announced by the University earlier this year — to support socioeconomic diversity and equity in the Municipality of Princeton.

The payments will be $1,500 per eligible residence. Homeowners will have 90 days to deposit their checks and may use the funds for any purpose.

To be eligible to receive a payment homeowners had to qualify for the New Jersey ANCHOR program for a Princeton property owned and occupied as a primary residence in 2019, had 2019 New Jersey gross income of no more than $150,000, and still owned the same residence as of December 1, 2023. The ANCHOR program eligibility for calendar year 2019 is being used as this was the most recent eligibility year available on December 1, 2023.

Questions should be directed to CFNJ at (973) 267-5533.

Welcoming Breakfast, Concert March 1 at Bayard Rustin Center

The Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice (BRCSJ) is inviting the public to two events on Friday, March 1: a “Welcomin’ the Community Breakfast” from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and a fundraising folk music concert celebrating Women’s History Month and featuring David Brahinsky and friends Noemi Bolton and Guy DeRosa at 7 p.m.

The breakfast gathering at the BRCSJ Princeton headquarters at 12 Stockton Street, a queer safe space, community activist center, and educational center for LGBTQIA youth, seniors,

and others, will encourage participants to help prepare for the Center’s annual Pride Parade and After-Party, scheduled for June 22.

The BRCSJ monthly welcoming breakfast was inspired by the Black Panther Party People’s Free Food Program and has become a tradition in Princeton since the Center started it more than six years ago.

At the March 1 evening benefit concert, Brahinsky and friends will feature the songs of Peggy Seeger, Linda Thompson, and Kate Wolf. It is a pay-what-youcan event with all donations going to support the nonprofit BRCSJ.

For more information on the March 1 events and the BRCSJ, visit rustincenter.org.

Get the scoop from

Shirley Satterfield

CELEBRATING GEORGE WASHINGTON: Members of the Washington Crossing Historic Park Fife and Drum Corps performed Saturday afternoon at Rockingham Historic Site in Kingston during an open house event commemorating George Washington’s 292nd birthday. (Photo by Sarah Teo)

Environmental Impact

continued from page one gas main replacement project on Nassau Street and a Mercer County culvert repair project on Cherry Hill Road.

Starting next Monday, March 4, PSE&G will be working at night on Nassau Street replacing gas mains. Purcell said that the municipality would be providing information later this week alerting local residents to expect noisy nights on Nassau Street for the next few weeks.

Also starting on Monday, March 4, Cherry Hill Road will be closed as the county works on culvert repairs, possibly for a full month.

Purcell noted that the Witherspoon Street Improvement Project is entering its third and final phase, from just north of Leigh Avenue to just south of Valley Road, with construction scheduled to begin on March 4 and completion by Thanksgiving.

“We’re trying to make it a more pleasant street for pedestrians and bicyclists, so that people get out of their cars,” said Purcell. In addition to roadway and sidewalk improvements, he noted that a demonstration roadside garden that will be fed by stormwater runoff from the street is being constructed between the Municipal Building parking lot and the street.

Princeton’s Witherspoon Phase 1 project recently won the Project of the Year Award from the Professional Engineers’ Society of Mercer County.

Meanwhile, the Nassau Streetscape project is still in the design stages but will soon be gearing up to make sure all is ready by 2026 to welcome visitors for 250th semiquincentennial celebrations. Key goals of the work are to revitalize the streetscape and improve the pedestrian experience on the north side of Nassau Street.

Other municipal engineering projects underway

include rehabilitation of a sanitary sewer system that serves neighborhoods around Cherry Hill Road, State Road, and Mt. Lucas Road between Valley Road and Ewing Street; improvement of Mt. Lucas Road from Stuart Road East to Poor Farm Road, expected to be constructed this summer; the Rosedale Road Safe Routes to School Project, funded by a federal grant to improve pedestrian and bicycle facilities to Johnson Park Elementary School, moving into preliminary design stage this spring; and the sanitary sewer pump station upgrade design study.

Also on the agenda in the coming months are projects to improve Terhune Road, funded by grants from the New Jersey Department of Transportation; Dickinson Street, Alexander Street, and University Place improvements; and the extension of the Cherry Hill Road shared-use path.

Purcell pointed out that the Municipal Engineering Department had inventoried all the roads in town for surface distresses, and, with the help of a consultant, had made recommendations about which roads should be approached first. In addition to that they will be piloting a treatment called “pavement preservation.”

In resurfacing a roadway, usually two inches of existing asphalt are taken up and two new inches of asphalt are laid down. With pavement preservation no asphalt is removed, but instead a thin overlay is applied on the appropriate roadway.

“It saves a lot of money,” said Purcell. “And it’s more environmentally sensitive,

Because we’re not pulling up the old asphalt that would go into a stockpile somewhere and sit there forever, and putting down new asphalt. Instead, on two streets, we’ll be putting down a thin overlay. Hopefully everybody will appreciate that and hopefully we’ll be doing more of that.”

—Donald Gilpin

Restaurant Week continued from page one Experience Princeton. We were really pleased with the response from customers. We sold 6,196 meals that generated $174,381 of sales. And that’s something we shouldn’t take for granted. We know that over 83 percent of our customers come from out of town. In addition to being an arts and cultural destination, we are a culinary destination now, too.”

Kremer is particularly pleased that the town has become home to restaurants offering cuisines from all over the world. He loves Aspendos, at 182 Nassau Street. “It’s like they dropped it down from L.A. into Princeton,” he said. “It is high concept design on the inside, but with traditional Turkish food. We’re not talking shopping mall Mediterranean. It’s what Turkish people eat. They opened last year, and they have been an incredible addition.”

Also on Kremer’s list is Ficus, at 235 Nassau Street. “It has a really interesting story,” he said of the fouryear-old restaurant. “The owner is a Columbia-trained arts educator. There is art all over the walls. It is a café and a gallery. And they have a unique take on bubble tea. It really is a treat.”

Princeton Shopping Center is home to the recently opened Pastiamo Pasta Bar and Café, and Princeton Pizza Star, formerly known as Nino’s Pizza Star. “I’m seeing the needle moving to really innovative entrepreneurs bringing new concepts to Princeton,” Kremer said. “The owner here had a tech company that he sold. He’s now taking his idea [for the restaurant] to multiple locations. It brings a new take to things.”

Arlee’s Raw Blends at 14 ½ Witherspoon Street has “a real passion for what they do, and it comes across in their food,” Kremer said. He has similar praise for Tipple & Rose, at 210 Nassau Street. “They came up from Atlanta and set up during the pandemic. The story people don’t know is how they’ve been scoring record sales with their customers, and that their business is booming. I’m excited about what they’re offering.”

Each participating restaurant has its own special menus and deals. Bonus cards are also available. Check experienceprinceton. org for details.

“The reason you do a Restaurant Week is to attract new customers who will come back again and again after having a good experience,” said Kremer. “That

is what we are hoping for. We hope more meals will be sold and more cash registers will ring. The diverse culinary experiences we have made a big difference last year, and my expectation is that we’ll see more of the same.”

—Anne Levin

Fernbrook Farms Marks

125th Anniversary

The year 2024 marks a significant milestone for the Kuser family as they celebrate 125 years of ownership and active stewardship of their land at Fernbrook Farms in Chesterfield.

The property was purchased in 1899 by John L. Kuser, and the journey to excellence in farming and diversity began. While leasing part of the property to a dairy farmer, John and his wife Mary began developing their vision for the rest of their gentlemen’s farm. This included the building of a country estate, formal English gardens, a wildlife refuge, a golf course, and an art gallery. The Kusers were also conservationists, donating land for preservation, and were instrumental in founding the Audubon Society of New Jersey.

Following the death of John L. Kuser in 1937, the estate passed to his son Walter who continued in the traditions of his parents. After Walter’s death in 1967, son Lawrence Q. Kuser began a new phase of active farming in the 1970s. This endeavor has grown to a successful wholesale nursery business that blossomed to over 350 acres and the yearly production of quality plants that are shipped from Maine to Virginia.

By 1996, Lawrence’s wife Susie converted the Georgian style estate home to The Inn at Fernbrook Farms. Today, The Inn at Fernbrook Farms functions as an exclusive wedding and event destination venue.

In 2008, fourth generation Brian Kuser returned to Fernbrook to develop an Environmental Education Center. The mission was and is to provide hands-on educational experiences for all young people by exploring the complex interconnectedness of the natural world. Today, the year-round education program and summer camps reach more than 5,000 families annually.

For the past 16 years, the Fernbrook CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) has provided quality sustainably grown produce for its membership.

“When I consider the transformation of Fernbrook over the last 125 years, it’s truly remarkable,” said owner Lawrence Q. Kuser. “Through ups and downs, we’ve been able to stay true to our mission of excellence and diversity.”

Police Blotter

On February 24, at 8:55

a.m., subsequent to a call of a male threatening an individual with a knife on Moore Street, a 37-year-old Princeton male was placed under arrest for unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and terroristic threats. He was transported to police headquarters where he was processed, charged accordingly, and later turned over to officers from the Mercer County Correctional Center.

On February 22, at 10:14 a.m., an individual reported that an unknown person stole his electric bicycle, valued at $1,250. It had been secured to a bicycle rack on Nassau Street.

On February 16, at 9:24 a.m., an individual reported to police that he received a letter from a debt collection company informing him that he had an outstanding balance of $1,665.98, which was owed to a bank at which he does not have an account. The individual reported that the money owed was the result of a fraudulent transaction which he did not authorize. The individual did not sustain any monetary loss as a result of this incident.

On February 9, at 12:02 a.m., a 51-year-old male from Princeton was placed under arrest after he was found peering into a window of a house on Leigh Avenue. He was transported to police

headquarters and charged with Criminal TrespassPeering and Stalking. Following processing, he was transported to the Mercer County Correctional Center.

On February 10, at 1:32 p.m., a 61-year-old female from Glenside, Pa., was placed under arrest at police headquarters for shoplifting from a retail store on Hulfish Street. She was processed, charged accordingly, and released pending a future court date.

On February 8, at 12:59 pm., an unknown individual approached a female while she was withdrawing money from an ATM on Nassau Street, and pretended to assist her with the transaction. The individual subsequently stole the debit card from the person making the withdrawal and later used it to make several fraudulent withdrawals from her account, totaling $6,508. The suspect is described as a tall, middle-aged male wearing a brown jacket.

On February 7, at 1:42 p.m., an unknown male entered a store on Nassau Street and removed several items from the front display, including several sport jackets, shirts, and blazers. He then exited the store without paying for the items, which totaled $5,857. He then fled the area in a white sedan. He is described as approximately 40-50 years old with a salt and pepper beard, wearing a black baseball cap and black hooded sweatshirt.

Unless noted, individuals arrested were later released.

Eisgruber continued from page one accommodated, others could not. “But it’s a useful suggestion and I will take it back to our team,” he said.

Councilwoman Eve Niedergang called the current relationship between the University and town “a paradigm shift.” She followed up by asking Eisgruber how he sees that relationship going forward. “I’m thrilled about the foundation that you and your colleagues have helped to establish that enables the University and the town to move forward together,” he responded, referring to improvements in stormwater regulation, transit, housing, and diversity. “I see continuing opportunities there,” he said. “That will depend on continuing these conversations both this way, and, more importantly, as needs arise.”

Council President Mia Sacks brought up her worries about the public education system in Princeton as the population expands. “I’m very concerned about maintaining the tradition of excellence for all in Princeton Public Schools,” she said. “I wanted to give you the opportunity to talk about the role of public education at large, and once again renew my request to make sure public education in Princeton is prioritized.”

Eisgruber thanked Sacks for her advocacy on the issue, and confirmed his support. “I think it’s really important that we work together with you and the school district to figure out how to continue to provide the support we’re doing

now, and help cope with significant challenges.”

As she has in the past, Councilwoman Leticia Fraga brought up the need for a community center in town, specifically to provide services addressing isolation and mental health. She asked that the University consider partnering in the effort. Eisgruber pointed out that the University already provides assistance on some community initiatives. But he plans to keep the idea in mind, he said, and determinie if such a collaboration is possible.

Last to speak was Councilman Leighton Newlin, who thanked Eisgruber “for setting the tone for collaboration and positive change. That means everything to the town, that we have come full circle and we have a great relationship.” Newlin specifically asked about the University working with the town and the Princeton Housing Authority on his vision to redevelop Clay Street and build mixed-income housing. “I would ask you to take a leap of faith with us and make it happen,” he said.

Eisgruber said while he doesn’t know enough about the proposal to comment, he hopes to continue to engage on this and other ideas. “One of the advantages of these open channels of communication is that wherever we come out of these kinds of questions, we have a way of talking about them and figuring out what the best way is to proceed. If there are ways larger or smaller, we can end of being in partnership with one another.”

—Anne Levin

Get Ready for the Oscars With Roadshow Reboot

A discussion of this year’s Academy Award contenders takes place Wednesday, March 6, at Princeton Public Library where “Oscars and Popcorn: ‘The Roadshow’ Reboot” will be presented in the Newsroom at 6:30 p.m.

Held in advance of the broadcast of the 96th Annual Academy Awards on March 10, the interactive discussion features the cast of “Fistful of Popcorn” which ran for many years on Princeton Community Television. The cast includes Bob Brown, Marilyn Campbell, Janet Stern, and Carol Ann Welch, who are bringing “The Oscars Roadshow” back to the library for the first time since the pandemic.

In addition to the discussion of the movies, actors, directors, and music nominated for awards this year, the event also features Oscars trivia and door prizes. Visit princetonlibrary.org for more information.

Kurtzer to Speak at CFPA Annual Gathering

Daniel Kurtzer, former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Egypt, will be the keynote speaker at the Coalition for Peace Action’s Annual Membership Renewal Gathering on Sunday afternoon, April 7. The event will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, 50 Cherry Hill Road.

Kurtzer was instrumental in bringing about the historic 1991 Madrid Peace Conference, billed as a breakthrough in Arab-Israeli diplomacy. “I am thrilled that we have such an outstanding presenter at this very troubling and deeply challenging time in seeking peace in the Middle East,” said the Rev. Robert Moore, executive director of the Coalition for Peace Action. The event starts with a free light lunch from 2-3 p.m. for those who have contributed a 2024 annual membership. Visit peacecoalition.org for more information.

Rider Program Helps Completion of Degrees

Rider University is participating in the State of New Jersey’s Some College, No Degree program, which aims to help adult New Jersey residents complete their bachelor’s degrees.

Through the program, the University received a grant which will help qualified students with expenses that may stand in the way of them completing their degrees, such as childcare, transportation, technology, and textbooks. The National Student Clearinghouse estimates that more than 790,000 New Jersey residents have earned some college credit, but left school before earning a degree.

“Rider’s Continuing Education Program has always been dedicated to assisting adult students in the pursuit of their undergraduate degrees,” said Sean Levin, director of graduate, continuing education admission, and university partnerships. “We’re proud that this new grant will allow us to support adult students in removing barriers and assist in their dream of completing their bachelor’s degree.”

the nation. Lectures are held at 6 p.m., followed by a Q&A and book signing. Admission is free.

The series begins March 28 with Kidder, author of The Revolutionary World of a Free Black Man. He will discuss Jacob Francis’ experiences as an indentured servant including his time as a soldier during the American Revolution, and later as a free man raising a family.

On April 4, Kelly, author of God Save Benedict Arnold , gives a new perspective on the career of the man who was only ever known for committing treason. Kelly explores Arnold’s time as a soldier and his feats during the Revolutionary War which led to his momentous change of heart.

Last in the series is Duklerly, who wrote Unhappy Catastrophes . He will follow the course of the American Revolution through the many campsites, battles, and raids that took place in Central New Jersey, as well as share several of these historic places and sites throughout the region that can still be visited today.

Light refreshments will be available at each event. Copies of the books are available for purchase in-store or at barracks.org. All proceeds go towards supporting the Old Barracks Museum and its mission.

The Old Barracks is located at 101 Barrack Street. Visit barracks.org for more information.

Maplewood Senior Living Honored with Awards

Maplewood Senior Living, a provider of luxury senior living across the Northeast and Midwest including a community in

Princeton, has announced that all 16 of its communities have received the 2024 Best of Senior Living Awards from A Place for Mom, North America’s premier platform for senior living provider reviews and advice.

This marks the seventh consecutive year of acknowledgment for many of the Maplewood communities. Out of thousands of senior living providers reviewed, Maplewood was also awarded the Top Provider Award, being one of just four organizations to have 100 percent of communities recognized as a top 1-2 percent performer nationally.

In addition to the Best of Senior Living and Top Provider Awards, five Maplewood communities, along with Inspir Carnegie Hill, their ultra-luxury property in New York City, earned the Reputation 800 Award for Best-In-Class Brand Reputation, one of the highest achievements a business can earn.

“Since our inception, we’ve strived to elevate the standards for senior living by providing exceptional service, care, and amenities for our residents,” said Shane Herlet, Maplewood Senior Living’s chief operating officer. “We are deeply honored that all 16 of our communities have received the Best of Senior Living Awards. This recognition serves as a profound validation of our efforts, acknowledged directly by our residents and their familiesthe most meaningful compliment we could receive.”

Session 1 ages 13-18

June 24 - July 18 (no classes 7/4, 7/5)

Session 2 — ages 10-12

22 -

Master

Master

Rider offers more than 70 undergraduate programs at a low, per-credit rate for continuing education students. Through online, evening and accelerated courses and part-time options, students can complete their degrees with flexibility. Visit rider.edu/cep-grant to learn more.

Spring Lecture Series

At Old Barracks Museum

The Old Barracks Museum in Trenton has announced its Spring Lecture Series, featuring local historians and authors Larry Kidder, Jack Kelly, and Robert Dunklerly revealing aspects of the Revolutionary War and the events that shaped

Daniel Kurtzer

OSCAR FEVER RETURNS: Princeton Public Library hosts the return of “The Oscars Roadshow” in the Newsroom on Wednesday, March 6. From left are Janet Stern, Carol Ann Welsch, Bob Brown, and Marilyn Campbell.

Mailbox

The views of the letters do not necessarily reflect the views of Town Topics.

Sharing Narrow Escape From Scam, Thanks to Persistent Bank Manager

To the Editor:

This past week we just barely escaped a very expensive scam — it is so common that there is a name for it: the grandchild scam. The callers were very clever and I am now ashamed to have been taken in. They required $18,000 in cash.

We were saved by Samantha, the PNC bank manager, who patiently persisted until we discovered the ruse. Thank you, Samantha!

CAROL HAAG Ridgeview Circle

Letters to the Editor Policy

Town Topics welcomes letters to the Editor, preferably on subjects related to Princeton. Letters must have a valid street address (only the street name will be printed with the writer’s name). Priority will be given to letters that are received for publication no later than Monday noon for publication in that week’s Wednesday edition.

Letters must be no longer than 500 words and have no more than four signatures.

All letters are subject to editing and to available space.

At least a month’s time must pass before another letter from the same writer can be considered for publication.

Letters are welcome with views about actions, policies, ordinances, events, performances, buildings, etc. However, we will not publish letters that include content that is, or may be perceived as, negative towards local figures, politicians, or political candidates as individuals.

When necessary, letters with negative content may be shared with the person/group in question in order to allow them the courtesy of a response, with the understanding that the communications end there.

Letters to the Editor may be submitted, preferably by email, to editor@towntopics.com, or by post to Town Topics, PO Box 125, Kingston, N.J. 08528. Letters submitted via mail must have a valid signature.

Middle of the Night

Can’t Find Your Town Topics!

Take a stroll down to our previous office at 4 Mercer Street or come to our new location, 4428C Route 27 in Kingston, where you can purchase a copy for 75 cents (3 quarters required) from our coin-operated newspaper boxes, 24 hours a day/7 days a week.

Books

Authors Offer a Virtual View Of Einstein in Honor of Pi Day

In honor of Pi Day, Authors Gary Berger and Michael DiRuggiero will discuss Einstein: The Man and His Mind (Damiani, $70), their visual biography of Albert Einstein. The virtual event will be held on Thursday, March 14 from 7 to 8 p.m., which is Einstein’s birthday and the date’s numerical equivalent of the mathematical pi.

manuscripts, journals, and equations written in his hand.

The book’s Foreword is by physicist Hanoch Gutfreund, the Einstein Archives academic director at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Local Author Susannah Fox To Speak at Chamber Event

The Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber will host author Susannah Fox at its March 7 luncheon, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Princeton Marriott at Forrestal.

in-residence at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and she directed the health portfolio at the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project.

The event is presented by Princeton Public Library and co-presented by The Historical Society of Princeton. To register for the Zoom link, go to princetonlibrary.libnet.info/ event/10127060#branch.

Life is taxing

“Don’t take it personally.”

“I

According to the publisher, “ with no technical jargon, and in a way both scientists and general readers can appreciate, this one-of-akind visual biography tells the story of Albert Einstein’s life and work.” The book features 50 high-resolution images, some rarely seen, along with Einstein’s private letters, groundbreaking

Berger, a retired physician, was introduced to relativity theory in 1962 during a college course on the history of science. Several decades later, after reading a book about Einstein, he developed a deeper desire to understand Einstein’s theory. Over time he began to collect original writings and photographs of Einstein.

Princeton native Fox, a health and technology strategist and author of Rebel Health: A Field Guide to the Patient-Led Revolution in Medical Care (MIT Press, $29.95) , draws on 20 years of experience tracking the expert networks of patients, survivors, and caregivers who have come of age between the cracks of the health care system, and offers a way forward.

Through her talk, Fox will provide a roadmap for those who have felt alone or lost, offering skills and strategies to navigate new diagnoses or life with chronic conditions.

Harvard Public Health Magazine said that her “central thesis is this: Leaders in health care must invest in patient-led research and advocacy. Patient perspectives, Fox argues, are critical to the health field’s ability to innovate. Fox’s book is concise — it could be read on a cross-country flight — but offers a comprehensive guide to creating, supporting, and learning from patient communities that have sprung up online and in person (think long COVID groups). Rebel Health seeks to empower patient leaders and calls on health care workers to join the growing movement supporting patient-led health care.”

What the IRS doesn’t tell you!

DiRuggiero, owner of Manhattan Rare Book Company, helped him with this endeavor and helped to organize his expanding collections.

To learn more about Pi Day Princeton and for a complete schedule of events, visit princetontourcompany. com.

Fox is a former chief technology officer for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she led an open data and innovation lab. She has served as the entrepreneur-

The March Monthly Membership Luncheon is open to both Chamber members and non-members. Tickets can be purchased at princetonmercerchamber.org.

Life is taxing

IRS doesn’t tell you!

You might be surprised. The IRS wants you to take as many deductions as possible.

When it comes to deductible business expenses, you cannot claim your personal expenses

“Don’t take it personally.”

What?

If

“Don’t take it personally.”

When it comes to deductible business expenses, you cannot claim your personal expenses as being deductible. Sorry!

Make it business—it is that simple.

IRS wants you to take as many deductions as possible.

These

Our government is sneaky! Long ago, they realized they could use taxes to incentivize our behaviors. For example, Clean Energy and Vehicle credits and R&D credits. Don’t you just see your new EV written all over your return?

When it comes to deductible business expenses, you cannot claim your personal expenses as being deductible. Sorry!

Make it business—it is that simple.

Key Point: Don’t “take

business expenses, you cannot claim your personal expenses as being deductible. Sorry!

If you want to deduct the cost of a meal (and yes, we all do), you must discuss business to make it a legitimate business meal expense. If you want to travel to Los Angeles and deduct it as an expense, make a business appointment, commit to a speaking engagement or participate in some legitimate business activity beforehand to deduct the business portion of costs.

travel to Los Angeles and deduct it as an expense, make a business appointment,

sneaky! Long ago, they realized they could use behaviors. For example, Clean Energy R&D credits. Don’t you just see your new return?

The tax system works hard to create tax benefits for businesses and real estate investors. Why? Because the first creates jobs, and the second provides housing. Since both businesses and real estate investments boost the economy, the deductions are a win-win.

business expenses, you cannot claim your personal expenses as being deductible. Sorry!

These are just a few of common examples of how to structure legitimate business expenses. There are more. It depends on your profession and expertise, as well.

If you want to deduct the cost of a meal (and yes, we all do), you must discuss business to make it a legitimate business meal expense. If you want to travel to Los Angeles and deduct it as an expense, make a business appointment, commit to a speaking engagement or participate in some legitimate business activity beforehand to deduct the business portion of costs.

Key Point: Don’t “take it personally” if you want to deduct business expenses. You must make a point to mention what you do and what could be of benefit to the person you meet.

the personal portion of it. You can mix business with personal pleasure when you put business at the front and center.

hard to create tax benefits for businesses

Think finding deductions is hard? Think of it as a treasure hunt that starts with a map called the Internal Revenue Codes. If you think of it as a map to the treasure, odds are you are going to be very lost. Why do you think the profession of Certified Public Accountants was created?

Why? Because the first creates jobs, housing. Since both businesses and real the economy, the deductions are a win-win.

of a meal (and yes, we all do), you must discuss business to make it a legitimate want to travel to Los Angeles and deduct it as an expense, make a business appointment, engagement or participate in some legitimate business activity beforehand to deduct the common examples of how to structure legitimate business expenses. There are more. It personally” if you want to deduct business expenses. You must make a point to mention architectural firm. He likes traveling. What can he plan to deduct for travel-related

These are just a few of common examples of how to structure legitimate business expenses. There are more. It depends on your profession and expertise, as well.

cost of a meal (and yes, we all do), you must discuss business to make it a legitimate you want to travel to Los Angeles and deduct it as an expense, make a business appointment, engagement or participate in some legitimate business activity beforehand to deduct the common examples of how to structure legitimate business expenses. There are more. It

Scenario: Josh owns an architectural firm. He likes traveling. What can he plan to deduct for travel-related expenses? What can he do to “audit proof” his business deductions?

Key Point: Don’t “take it personally” if you want to deduct business expenses. You must make a point to mention what you do and what could be of benefit to the person you meet.

Disclosure: The information provided here is for your information only. Personal tax and the financial situation vary and require a one-on-one consultation and planning to make it yours.

Strategically, Josh could set up business meetings where he wishes to travel. Email correspondence would be excellent support documentation should he be audited.

The bottom line is job creation and boosting the economy! So call us, and by all means, enjoy your new-found deductions!

www.linkedin.com/in/anniehungcpa | email: annie@atlantiscpa.com

Scenario: Josh owns an architectural firm. He likes traveling. What can he plan to deduct for travel-related expenses? What can he do to “audit proof” his business deductions?

In summary, to deduct business expenses, you need to have a business function in mind. You can “supplement” the personal portion of it. You can mix business with personal pleasure when you put business at the front and center.

Strategically, Josh could set up business meetings where he wishes to travel. Email correspondence would be excellent support documentation should he be audited.

Disclosure: The information provided here is for your information only. Personal tax and the financial situation vary and require a one-on-one consultation and planning to make it yours.

In summary, to deduct business expenses, you need to have a business function in mind. You can “supplement” the

personally” if you want to deduct business expenses. You must make a point to mention

deductions is hard? Think of it as a treasure hunt that the Internal Revenue Codes. If you think of it odds

you

Beauty Is Truth — Pulling Through with Billie Holiday

And what curious flower or fruit Will grow from that conspiring root?

—Elizabeth Bishop

Those lines are from the poet Elizabeth Bishop’s reimagining of Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit.” Bishop has admitted that she was hoping someone would compose tunes for her suite “Songs for a Colored Singer” (an acceptable title in the 1940s). “I think I had Billie Holiday in mind,” she said in a 1966 interview. “I put in a couple of words just because she sang big words so well — ‘conspiring root,’ for instance.”

The Bishop-Holiday connection was pointed out by Paul Alexander in Bitter Crop: The Heartache and Triumph of Billie Holiday’s Last Year, the subject of last week’s column. In fact, a misprint in that article (“Back” for “Black”) is the reason I’m returning to Holiday and rereading Bishop with particular attention to “The Man-Moth,” a great New York poem inspired by a newspaper misprint for “mammoth.”

A Chaos of Misinformation

Another reason for going back to Holiday was to learn more about two very special songs, “I’m Pulling Through” and “God Bless the Child.” The music to “I’m Pulling Through” was composed by pianist Teddy Wilson’s ex-wife Irene, who “became close” with Billie when Wilson left her for a show girl, according to John Szwed in Billie Holiday: The Musician and The Myth. Billie then introduced Irene to songwriter Arthur Herzog and together they wrote the song. Although Szwed makes it clear that Irene Wilson was later known as Irene Kitchings, Wilson’s affair with the nameless showgirl created a chaos of misinformation, as in the composer credits on various online lyric sites that list Irene Kitchings and Irene Wilson as if they were two different people. While Irene appears as Irene Kitchens in Bitter Crop , she’s Irene Kitchings in Julia Blackburn’s With Billie . It gets worse when another Irene enters the narrative. As Szwed points out, the original Irene is “not to be confused — as she always is — with Irene Higginbottom,” who also composed several songs for Holiday, leading to a whole new world of misprints and misinformation.

Who to Thank?

“I’m Pulling Through” has kept me company for years. It’s one of those pieces of music you turn to in hard times and relate to as if it were composed for you. So whenever Billie sang the line “Thanks for the lift in time and thanks for this song,”

I was thanking whoever she was thanking without knowing the backstory of the July 7, 1940 recording session with Irene’s exhusband on piano as Billie sang Irene Wilson’s story of loss and healing. But when Holiday is singing, it becomes her story, the thanks for “the lift in time” is for her, for the depth of feeling she puts into the performance. A year before the session Holiday told an interviewer, “What comes out is what I feel. I hate straight singing. I have to change a tune to my own way of doing it. That’s all I know.”

lines like “Empty pockets don’t ever make the grade” and “Money, you’ve got lots of friends,” and the reference to “rich relations” giving “crusts of bread and such / You can help yourself, but don’t take too much.” Billie’s contribution to the lyric can be felt in the words “mama may have, papa may have,” and the title line, “God bless the child that’s got his own,” which was her answer at the outset when Herzog asked for “an old-fashioned Southern expression.”

delivers on a British television show on her last trip to London in February 1959 (you can see it on YouTube). When she sings “Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck ... for the wind to suck ... for the sun to rut, for the trees to drop,” she’s singing the words in her lowest, darkest, raspiest register; it’s a devastating, merciless, performance, and the last line, “Here is a strange and bitter crop” is, as Alexander writes in Bitter Crop, like “a wail of mourning.”

Honing In on Herzog

Although the person listed as Irene’s cowriter on “I’m Pulling Through” is Arthur Herzog Jr., I find it hard to credit a man with this hymn of thanks, compassion, and companionship that includes lines like “You made me see how lovely life could be ... When I thought that hope was really gone, you showed me I was wrong ... you taught me how to carry on ... When I was stranded came your helping hand ... Lonely hurt I had not known which way to turn ... I’m pulling through and it’s because of you ... I’d do the same for you if your turn came, hope it never will for I’ve been through the mill ... I won’t forget this debt....”

The presence of a white male New Yorker is easier to associate with the word “debt” in the penultimate line, not to mention the second verse, where “lifted up my heart” is followed by “made me count the cost to find I’d gained not lost.” The way Billie lives the lyric makes all the difference. Her harsh delicacy takes the edge off “debt” and “cost,” and brings out the “pain” in “gained.”

“God Bless the Child” Herzog’s fixation with debt and credit is also present in the lyric of “God Bless the Child,” for which he and Holiday share the credit, however reluctantly. Consider

Herzog says the song took 20 minutes to compose and that “he wrote both the words and music,” except for the titular line. According to Lady Sings the Blues , Holiday’s memoir, written with William Duffy, she and Herzog sat at the piano while she sang it and he picked it out (“We changed the lyrics in a couple of spots but not much”). However, Szwed points to another source that has Herzog contradicting himself by claiming, incredibly, “She has never written a line of words or music.” That classic piece of inglorious misinformation is worth mentioning because it reveals the glorious truth, which is that Holiday writes what she sings, as she sings. The voice and style and art and humanity are the reality, on the record, where the words and music, beauty and truth, are hers.

All you need to do is watch Holiday’s August 1950 performance of “God Bless the Child” with the Count Basie septet. There in black and white and color (YouTube gives you both), you can see her creating, encompassing, and embodying the song, which, in effect, is her child. As always, it’s Billie Holiday’s inspirational performance that “pulls us through.”

“Strange Fruit”

The most powerful rendition of “Strange Fruit” I’ve ever witnessed is the one Holiday

If you’re curious to know more about Elizabeth Bishop’s relationship with Billie Holiday, you can find it in Bitter Crop, which recounts the time the poet returned to her New York apartment only to find her lover in bed with — Billie Holiday.

Traveling Backwards

Rereading the four poems Bishop hoped that someone, preferably Holiday, would sing, it’s too bad that some sufficiently powerful or notable personage (perhaps Billie’s eventual lover Orson Welles) couldn’t have arranged a “Holiday Sings Bishop” recording session. That said, it’s hard to imagine even Billie Holiday performing a variation on “Strange Fruit” where the blood shining on the leaves is “dew or tears.”

In the spirit of Back-for-Black, I’d rather go back to the New York poem midwi fed by a misprint, where the Man-Moth “returns to the pale subways of cement he calls home” and “seats himself facing the wrong way” as “the train starts at once at its full, terrible speed, without a shift in gears or a gradation of any sort. He cannot tell the rate at which he travels backwards.”

June 7, 1940

The Friday June 7, 1940 recording session that gave us “I’m Pulling Through” also produced memorable performances of “Laughing at Life” (“Live for tomorrow, be happy today”) and “Time On My Hands” (“moments to spare with someone you care for”). The session can be found on various albums, including the Definitive CD: Billie Holiday & Lester Young: A Fine Romance 2 : The Complete Joint Recordings.

The player Billie called the President died in March 1959, four years before the death of the singer he called Lady Day. Tap dancer James “Stump” Cross offers a line for the ages, quoted in Julia Blackburn’s With Billie : “Lester Young loved Lady like he loved spring, summer, winter and fall and every day that broke at dawn.”

—Stuart Mitchner

Richardson Chamber Players Presents Winter Concert of French Chamber Music

The fall performance of the Richardson Chamber Players, postponed from its original November date at Richardson Auditorium, took place last Thursday night at Taplin Auditorium in Fine Hall on the University campus. The concert was devoted to the music of “Les Six,” a group of composers working in Paris during the early 20th century and credited with developing a purely French repertory of music. The nine musicians who performed Thursday night as the Chamber Players presented a program of works for a variety of instrumental and vocal combinations, allowing the audience to experience collective artistry close up.

Clarinetist Jo-Ann Sternberg, violinist Brennan Sweet, and pianist Allison Brewster Franzetti opened the concert with the 1936 Suite for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano of Darius Milhaud, immediately showing a bright ensemble sound. Sternberg’s clarinet lines richly resonated through the intimate space of Taplin Auditorium and Brennan’s lyrical violin passages brought out well Milhaud’s graceful melodies. The three players highlighted the saucy feel of the closing movement, bringing the work to a graceful close.

This concert explored the members of the esteemed French group, each with a unique compositional personality. Georges Auric, a lesser known of the “Six,” wrote chamber pieces for particularly unusual orchestral combinations. The 1938 Trio for Oboe, Clarinet and Bassoon brought together three instruments often hidden within the full symphonic texture. Auric’s three-movement work displayed communicative and spirited music which no doubt was also fun to play.

Oboist Alexandra Knoll, clarinetist Sternberg, and bassoonist Robert Wagner played the teasing music of the first movement crisply, with uniform crescendo between clarinet and oboe. The second movement “Romance” featured an elegant melody traveling among the three instruments, with Knoll’s playing particularly expressive. Sternberg’s quick clarinet runs kept the closing “Final” moving along, while all musicians seemed to be telling a humorous story through their independent melodies.

Mezzo-soprano Barbara Rearick conveyed two extended stories through descriptive works. Arthur Honegger’s Three Poems of Paul Fort reflected the French impressionistic school prevalent at the time and depicted three scenes: one deep in the woods, another captur -

ing a peaceful evening, and a third set in a fanciful world of fairies and sorcerers. Accompanied by pianist Francine Kay and always communicating well with the audience, Rearick sang with rich vocal tone and drama. Kay provided a dreamy accompaniment to “Cloche du soir,” which Rearick expressed vividly. The continual arpeggio s of the final “Chanson de fol” created a “madman” effect in the piano accompaniment while Rearick well depicted the whimsical text.

Rearick’s most complex presentation was a set of excerpts from Louis Durey’s Le bestiare , a collection of vignettes for piano and voice setting the poetry of Guillaume Apollinaire, in turn inspired by a series of paintings. Each of the 12 miniatures Rearick sang depicted characteristics of a different animal, with much of the creature’s personality written into the piano accompaniment. Rearick’s reading of translations between each song broke up the flow a bit, but the audience at Taplin was well able to appreciate Durey’s musical commentary on life through the voices of animals. Accompanied by Francine Kay, Rearick communicated the sensitivity of “Le chat” (cat) and the quirkiness of “Le puce” (flea) especially cleanly.

Flutist Bart Feller and hornist Chris Komer joined Sternberg, Knoll, Wagner, and pianist Franzetti for a Sextet by the most well-known of “Les Six” — Francis Poulenc. Beginning with a jazzy and cohesive first movement “Allegro vivace,” the players built the very busy orchestral texture well, with effective solos from Wagner, Knoll, Feller, and Komer. The ensemble sound became quite intense at times, with each instrument maintaining an independent line within a collective palette. The second movement featured an elegant oboe solo by Knoll, subtly accompanied by bassoon, showing Poulenc’s rich impressionistic writing. Feller seemed to lead the way through the majestic closing movement, aided by clean bassoon passages from Wagner.

For close to 30 years, the Richardson Chamber Players have brought to the stage music which might have other wise remained neglected, presented under the guidance of University faculty musi cians and often featuring some of the mu sic department’s most talented students. Last week’s concert provided a glimpse into a luxuriant period of French music history and the individuals who were composing imaginative music as Europe recovered from the First World War.

—Nancy Plum

The next concert of the Richardson Chamber Players will be Sunday, March 24 at 3 p.m. at Richardson Auditorium. “A French Afternoon” will feature music of Saint-Saëns, Fauré, Ravel, and Stravinsky, re-creating a historic 1914 French concert. Ticket information can be obtained by visiting tickets.princeton.edu

A Princeton Playhouse Ensembles Concert

FEBRUARY

Saturday,

This musical celebration will unite music theater storytelling, performance, composition, arranging, direction, and choreography while featuring the work and leadership of current Princeton students and alumni. The Playhouse Ensembles will be joined by several Broadway performers and musicians, including the viral, genre-bending Broadway ensemble Third Reprise.

Photo by Shervin Lainez

A Teacher’s Son Faces Expulsion from a Private School in “Pipeline”; Theatre Intime’s Actors Deliver Strong Performances From Poignant Script

Prior to her career as an actor and award-winning playwright, as well as a story editor and co-producer of the Showtime series Shameless , Dominique Morisseau taught drama at the Henry Ford Academy, a high school near Detroit, where her mother also taught.

So Morisseau’s moving and poetic drama Pipeline (2017), in which the central protagonist is a teacher, is informed by firsthand experience. The play won the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award, and premiered at Lincoln Center Theater.

Princeton University’s Theatre Intime is continuing its season with Pipeline . The production is thoughtfully directed by Alex Conboy, who also designed the set and portrays the role of Nya.

The play’s title refers to the “school to prison pipeline,” which the American Civil Liberties Union describes as a “disturbing national trend wherein children are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems.”

Pipeline centers around Nya, a public school teacher who is dedicated to her students. However, as a divorced mother, she is determined to give her son, Omari, a better education than she knows her school can offer. She sends him to a private institution.

So it is particularly devastating when, as a result of a crucial incident, Omari faces expulsion. Knowing too well the downward path Omari’s life could take, Nya is desperate to save his future at the school.

Behind Nya, Videographer Yasmin Sokunle projects a collage of images that include footage of young people being arrested. Although the projections are sometimes visually distracting (partially because they have to compete with the stage lighting), they succinctly and explic itly illustrate Nya’s fears.

To Conboy the characters “felt so real — their emotions were potent and over whelmingly authentic,” the director writes in a program note. Conboy finds the play’s social relevance heightened by “the recent overturning of affirmative action by the U.S. Supreme Court.”

The director observes, “The over polic ing of colored neighborhoods and schools creates environments in which young peo ple of color, particularly males, are more likely to be incarcerated in. This school to prison pipeline is very real and only one of many issues stemming from systemic racism in the United States.” What makes this production successful is that the passion that fuels these remarks also characterizes the staging and performances.

Lana Gaige and Wasif Sami. The capable sound design is by Olivia Bell.) After oppressively warning the students, “We have the city government behind us,” the voice announces a pep rally and wishes the students “a glorious day!”

In more than one play Morisseau heightens suspense by denying the audience crucial information until she is ready for us to receive it. In the historical drama Detroit ’67 (which Princeton Summer Theater presented in 2022), the playwright denies us the benefit of hindsight by forcing us to depend on the characters’ observations for information about what is happening outside of their apartment.

A similar technique is used in Pipeline; details about Omari’s infraction are revealed in careful stages. Gradually we learn that he initiated a fight with a crucial adult who made him feel “singled out,” the incident has been captured on video, and that starting the fight results in Omari’s “third strike,” hence the threat of expulsion. What unfolds is a series of scenes in which we see different characters’ reactions to these events.

Besides Nya, those closest to Omari include his feisty girlfriend, Jasmine (confidently portrayed by Tryphena Awuah), Both Nya and Jasmine are determined to protect Omari in their own way, so a clash is inevitable. Conboy’s staging and Awuah’s body language lets Jasmine deny

Nya too much personal space, making clear that Jasmine is not going to back down on her position or give willingly give Nya any quarter, even if the latter is an authority figure.

By contrast, Conboy’s body language evinces defense — keeping things at bay. This is notable during a conversation between Nya and her embittered, tough-asnails colleague Laurie (Grace Wang), a teacher who wishes that faculty could use corporal punishment on students (she suggests that Omari needs a “swift kick”). In an almost involuntary response to one of Laurie’s particularly aggressive gestures, Nya puts an arm out to block it, just as she wants to block anything that would endanger Omari.

Another of Nya’s colleagues is a security officer, Dun (Joshua Nanyaro). When we first see Dun he is debonair with an inviting (read: almost suggestive) smile; but he is quick to defend himself vociferously when Laurie blames an incident in her classroom on too-minimal security.

As Xavier, Omari’s estranged father, Justus Wilhoit is effective at using facial expressions; Xavier’s gaze is frequently cool and calculating. Wilhoit lets Xavier’s entire demeanor be polished but more than slightly unapproachable — even, or especially, around Omari. We feel a lack of warmth that has characterized the relationship between father and son (and, in

scenes between Xavier and Nya, husband and wife) for some time.

Matthew Oke is effective in conveying the anger inside of Omari, letting it simmer until crucial moments when it is provoked into erupting. Aided by Conboy’s staging, he also portrays the disparate relationships Omari has with each of his parents; both are complicated, but one shows more promise of rapprochement. Physical space and body language are potent tools in illustrating this.

Conboy’s set provides clear spaces for each of the play’s disparate worlds. On one end is Jasmine’s dormitory at the private school; on the other is the teachers’ lounge at the public school, where the harried faculty discuss the frustrations of their jobs. In between is the classroom occupied by Nya, who is awkwardly but indelibly connected to both worlds.

A centerpiece of the play is a quotation of, and meditation on, the Gwendolyn Brooks poem “We Real Cool.” One of Conboy’s most striking bits of staging is for a sequence in which Nya teaches the poem to her class. As Nya imparts facts about the poem, Omari — who is not in the classroom but stands in front of Nya, at the foot of the stage — recites Brooks’ words.

Physically placing Omari directly in front of Nya allows us to see that she is keenly aware that he and his generation are the future — he is literally what lies ahead; he and his classmates will have to deal with the world that she and the other teachers have been a part of leaving behind. That is what motivates Nya — she will do anything in her power to protect her son from the fate suffered by the narrator of Brooks’ poem.

The sequence is enhanced by Le’Naya Wilkerson’s lighting. Omari stands in silhouette, made visible by a spotlight whose rays are caught by part of the white shirt with which Costume Designer Antea Garo outfits him. It is a striking tableau.

A key reason that Pipeline is so poignant is that we come to realize that the reason for Omari’s behavior (the fight) is, on one level, rather universal. This in turn forces us to contemplate the tragic fact that, for many in underprivileged communities, actions that stem from universal causes are not met with universal grace.

PThe atmosphere at the public school is succinctly established by an announcement made by an unidentified staff member via a loudspeaker. (Voiceovers are by

ipeline, a drama that centers on education, has valuable lessons to offer. Princeton audiences are fortunate that the play finds dedicated interpreters in Theatre Intime. Morisseau is an actor as well as a playwright, and the script gives performers ample scope for some pithy deliveries. This palpably inspires the cast and creative team.

— Donald H. Sanborn III

“Pipeline” will play at the Hamilton Murray Theater in Murray Dodge Hall, Princeton University, through March 3. For tickets, show times, and further information visit theatreintime.org.

“PIPELINE”: Performances are underway for “Pipeline.” Directed by Alex Conboy, the play runs through March 3 at the Hamilton Murray Theater. Above, from left: Omari (Matthew Oke), a student who faces expulsion from a private school, and his mother, Nya (Alex Conboy), a public school teacher who desperately wants her son to have opportunities that her students may never have. (Photo by Lucy Shea)

Performing Arts

Hagen String Quartet

Returns to Richardson

include a work by Bulgarian composer Marin Goleminov. Soundtracks is free and open to the public; refreshments will be served.

Mariana Karpatova

RARE U.S. APPEARANCE: Princeton University Concerts hosts the Hagen String Quartet, which is based in Austria, at Richardson Auditorium on March 7 at 7:30 p.m. London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Tokyo. Recent highlights in the U.S. include a complete Beethoven cycle at the 92nd Street Y in New York; a Brahms program together with the pianist Kirill Gerstein at Duke University; and concerts in Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Montreal, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington D.C.

The Hagen String Quartet will return to Princeton University Concerts (PUC) on Thursday, March 7, at 7:30 p.m. at Richardson Auditorium. This Salzburgbased quartet, which is celebrating its 43rd anniversary this year, rarely tours to the United States, and will return to PUC for the first time since 2017.

Their program includes infrequently performed works: Joseph Haydn’s Quartet in D Minor, Op. 76, No. 2 “Fifths,” Claude Debussy’s Quartet in G Minor, Op. 10, and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 131.

For over four decades, the Hagen has performed throughout the world and amassed a discography of nearly 50 recordings. The ensemble celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2021. Previous seasons featured performances in the world’s major music capitals, including

“The Hagen String Quartet is one of the most venerated quartets of our time,” said PUC Director Marna Seltzer. “Founded by four sibling musicians — three of whom remain with the ensemble — they embody the intimacy of chamber music. That tight-knit sensibility combined with the extraordinarily high standard that they have consistently set throughout their storied career harkens to another era of ensemble playing, and it is a joy to be able to indulge in that once more.”

Visit puc.princeton.edu for information.

ensemble132

chamber music collective

Saturday March 9 at 3pm

PSO’s “Soundtracks” Talk

Explores Culture of Bulgaria Princeton Symphony Orchestra music director Rossen Milanov joins mezzo-soprano Mariana Karpatova in an exploration of the songs, dances, and culture of their native Bulgaria at a PSO Soundtracks talk: “A Celebration of Bulgaria,” on Thursday, March 7 at 7 p.m. in the Princeton Public Library’s Community Room. Immediately following, there will be time for a brief Q&A. The talk serves as a prelude to the orchestra’s March 9-10 concerts which

Karpatova specializes in training singers for contemporary and classical music, in both the youth and advanced professional categories. She has maintained a private practice teaching singing since 2002, and is currently on the vocal teaching staff at the Jewish Community Center’s School of Drama in Tenafly. She is a frequent adjudicator on the panel of the Violetta DuPont Vocal Competition held by Opera at Florham. Karpatova has appeared with major U.S. opera companies such as the Metropolitan Opera, New Jersey State Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Sarasota Opera, Baltimore Opera, Opera Theater of Saint Louis, Sofia National Opera, and Palm Beach Opera, and performed as Florence Pike in Albert Herring at the 2022 Princeton Festival.

Visit princetonsymphony. org for more information.

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Chamber Meditations

Wednesday Feb 28, 7-9pm

His performance is sold out. March 30 brings Shubh Mangal Savdhan-Mandar Bhide, who wrote an entire show about his family during lockdown. This is a “clean” show geared to all age groups. Tickets are $37$47.

Vipul Goyal, Indian standup comedian and actor, is the performer on June 16. His show depicts a semi-autobiographical account of his life, interspersed with standup clips. Goyal is known for his web series “Humorously Yours.” Next, on July 21, is Guarav Kapoor, whose vlogs have a large fan base. His show is described as raw, unfi ltered, and funny. Tickets are $30-$65.

Finally on August 24 is Mike Ross, known locally for hosting “A Comedy Room” at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and the first-ever comedy show at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center. His show is “Mike on the Mic,” and tickets are $25. His show is at 8 p.m.

Visit nbpac.org for more information.

Multi-Media Performance

Comes to Kelsey Theatre

Performing Arts

Continued from Preceding Page

Milk & Cookies for Spring

At State Theatre New Jersey State Theatre New Jersey has announced the spring performances for the storytelling and music series, Milk & Cookies. Included in the lineup are Suzi Shelton on Saturday, March 9 and Amelia Robinson of Mil’s Trills on Saturday, May 18.

Each show includes a 10 a.m. and a 12 p.m. performance. The program is a way to introduce young children ages 3-8 to the magic of live performance. The 12 p.m. shows are sensory-friendly performances specially designed to provide a safe, welcoming environment for kids on the autism spectrum or with sensory sensitivities. Tickets are $5 and include a cookie and carton of milk after the show for every child.

For more than a decade, Shelton has been recognized as a voice in independent family music, and a leading figure in the New York City children’s music scene. She is known for her four solo albums and the livestream show Sing with Suzi, which is watched in over 70 countries. Shelton will be joined by New York City guitarist Jeff Litman.

Mil’s Trills is a Brooklynbased children’s music project dedicated to creating positive inclusive experiences that strive to engage and embrace young audiences and families through music. Through live shows, albums, and a collaborative songwriting web series, they work to find new creative ways of bringing people together towards an equitable and peaceful global community.

Mil’s Trills producer Amelia Robinson writes and performs original tunes on her electric ukulele with the help of a rotating cast of musical guests. Together, they have released three awardwinning albums; Everyone Together Now! celebrating community, Now That We’re Friends... fostering friendship through open minds and compassionate hearts, and Ridiculous Nonsense Robinson is the recipient of the 2018/2019 Jubilation Foundation Fellowship for individuals who have exceptional talent for helping young people feel fully alive through rhythm, and a Brooklyn Arts Council Grant (since ’20) to create a kids open mic night series for the Brooklyn community.

The State Theatre is at 15 Livingston Avenue in New Brunswick. Visit s tnj.org.

Comedy Shows on Stage

At New Brunswick Theater

Five international comedians are in a recently announced lineup of performances from March through the end of August at New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, 11 Livingston Avenue. Performances are at 7 p.m. unless otherwise indicated.

First, on March 2, Karthik Kumar does his stand-up show “Mansplaining,” which takes on masculinity and gender stereotypes. Kumar is an actor, comic, and director who has performed more than 500 shows across the globe. Tickets are $35$55.

On March 16, Sindhu Vee is on stage. Since swapping a career in investment banking for comedy, he has become a sought-after talent on the U.K. circuit.

of Hamilton High School West and graduated from MCCC in May 2013 with a degree in fine arts and a minor in psychology. After Mercer, Pickett-Stokes transferred to Montclair State University, majoring in theatre studies, with a minor in sociology, graduating in 2015. Since then, she has traveled and worked with at-risk youth, the homeless, and formerly incarcerated individuals. She will be completing dual master’s degrees at Rutgers University in social work and public affairs and politics in May.

Pickett-Stokes credits her time at Mercer as an inspiration to take on new challenges and expand her horizons, and embrace her love of the arts.

BACK ON HOME TURF: Taylor Pickett-Stokes, center, returns to her alma mater, Mercer County Community College, with the Underground Performing Arts Collective’s performance of “Black Girl Magic” March 1-3.

It will be something of a homecoming for Trenton native Taylor Pickett-Stokes when she takes the stage at Mercer County Community College’s (MCCC) Kelsey Theatre with the Virginiabased Underground Performing Arts Collective (UPAC) and their presentation of Black Girl Magic March 1-3.

The show combines poetry, monologues, and conventional drama with film. Sister, a young Black woman, is struggling to find a place of acceptance in the world. Guided by the Ancestors, African Warrior Queens, Sister comes to a place of self-reconciliation and acceptance as she is given a glimpse into the lives and legacy of Black women, past and present. Taylor-Stokes plays multiple roles, including Harriet, Stacy Abrams, Mahalia Jackson, Celie, and a church medley singer.

Pickett-Stokes is a graduate

“If not for the wonderful people and teachers that I had at Mercer, I don’t know how my life would have played out otherwise,” she said. “Being a student at Mercer allowed me to take advantage of opportunities that have changed the scope of my approach in life, such as study abroad, theater, relationship building and giving back. My pursuits after graduation were built upon those very core things that I obtained while at Mercer. I learned to build meaningful relationships inside and outside of the arts. I feel that the arts are a universal language, so it is foundational to a lot of the connections I have made and maintained over the years.”

Performances of Black Girl Magic are on Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 3 at 2 p.m. Performances will be at the Kelsey Theatre on MCCC’s West Windsor Campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road. Tickets are $20-22. Visit kelseytheatre.org.

well loved and well read since 1946

FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES: Suzi Shelton helps introduce children to live performance at the State Theatre New Jersey on March 9.

(Photo by Meredith Zimmer)

Restaurant Week at Eno Terra

$25 Three-Course Lunch Menu

$20 Wine Pairing

ANTIPASTI

Choice of:

½ Butternut Squash Soup macerated golden raisin, olive oil

½ Beet Salad baby kale, apple, spiced almonds, beet agrodolce, feta

Broadbent Vihno Verde, Portugal

SECONDI

Choice of: Amatriciana lumache, prosciutto, salumi, capicola, onion, red wine jus, tomato sauce, pecorino

French Style Chicken red quinoa, green beans, black olives, mixed mushrooms, chicken jus Terre Di Eva, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Italia

Domaine Fabrice Gasnier 'Les Graves' Cabernet Franc, Loire valley France

DOLCI

Choice of: Crumble pear, blueberry, vanilla ice cream

Tiramisu espresso liqueur, lady fingers, cream, vanilla Vietti Moscato D'Asti, Italia

3-Course Pranzo $29

3-Course Pranzo $29

3-Course Pranzo $29

Restaurant Week at Eno Terra

Restaurant Week at Eno Terra

3-Course

3-Course Pranzo $29

Pranzo $29

Available Tuesday thru Friday 12pm -4pm

Available Tuesday thru Friday 12pm - 4pm

$45 Three-Course Dinner Menu

$45 Three-Course Dinner Menu

Available Tuesday thru Friday 12pm - 4pm

$25 Wine Pairing

$25 Wine Pairing

ANTIPASTI

ANTIPASTI

½ Parsnip & Leek Purée Soup crab meat or

Available Tuesday thru Friday 12pm - 4pm ½ Arugula Salad prosciutto, watermelon radish, lemon vinaigrette or ½ Roasted Mushroom Soup olive oil, crispy mushrooms ~

½ Arugula Salad prosciutto, watermelon radish, lemon vinaigrette or ½ Roasted Mushroom Soup olive oil, crispy mushrooms ~

½ Lentil & Sweet Potato Soup 8/12 citrus sour cream or ½ Beet Salad golden & red beets, apple, arugula, feta cheese, candied walnuts ~

½ Beet Salad candied walnuts, arugula, beet agrodolce ~

beet agrodolce ~

Choice of: ½ Butternut Squash Soup macerated golden raisin, olive oil ½ Beet Salad baby kale, apple, spiced almonds, beet agrodolce, feta Burrata apple mostarda, arugula, balsamic reduction, sea salt, sourdough crostini Broadbent Vihno Verde, Portugal

Choice of: ½ Butternut Squash Soup macerated golden raisin, olive oil ½ Beet Salad baby kale, apple, spiced almonds, beet agrodolce, feta Burrata apple mostarda, arugula, balsamic reduction, sea salt, sourdough crostini Broadbent Vihno Verde, Portugal

Braised Lamb Ragu rigatoni, roasted tomato, spinach, grana padano, red wine or

SECONDI

SECONDI

Available Tuesday thru Friday 12pm - 4pm ½ Lentil & Sweet Potato Soup 8/12 citrus sour cream or ½ Beet Salad golden & red beets, apple, arugula, feta cheese, candied walnuts ~ Fettuccini pulled short ribs, roasted tomato, swiss chard, rosemary pecorino, marsala wine or Pan Seared Sable trumpet mushroom, greens, roasted cherry tomato, celery root purée ~

Braised Lamb Ragu rigatoni, roasted tomato, spinach, grana padano, red wine or

Fettuccini pulled short ribs, roasted tomato, swiss chard, rosemary pecorino, marsala wine or Pan Seared Sable trumpet mushroom, greens, roasted cherry tomato, celery root purée ~

Choice of: Amatriciana lumache, prosciutto, salumi, capicola, onion, red wine jus, tomato, pecorino Ricotta Gnocchi Ragu mushroom cream, shallot, garlic, spinach, white wine, rosemary, pecorino

Pan Seared Dayboat Scallops roasted purple sweet potato, pancetta, roasted shallot, brussels sprout, sweet potato puree, citrus gremolata ~

Agnolotti stuffed with ricotta, sundried tomato, spinach garlic, shallot, marsala sage sauce or Pan Seared Striped Bass snow pea, yellow pepper, asparagus, parsley purée ~

Agnolotti stuffed with ricotta, sundried tomato, spinach garlic, shallot, marsala sage sauce or Pan Seared Striped Bass snow pea, yellow pepper, asparagus, parsley purée ~

Choice of: Amatriciana lumache, prosciutto, salumi, capicola, onion, red wine jus, tomato, pecorino

Ricotta Gnocchi Ragu mushroom cream, shallot, garlic, spinach, white wine, rosemary, pecorino

Pan Seared Polenta Breaded Fluke confit cherry tomato, cipollini onion, sautéed greens, roasted butternut squash, gremolata

Chocolate Caramel Mousse Cake whipped cream, blueberry compote or Tiramisu espresso liqueur, lady fingers, cream, vanilla

Chocolate Caramel Mousse Cake whipped cream, blueberry compote or Tiramisu espresso liqueur, lady fingers, cream, vanilla

Pan Seared Polenta Breaded Fluke confit cherry tomato, cipollini onion, sautéed greens, roasted butternut squash, gremolata

Chocolate & Banana Bread Pudding bourbon caramel sauce, bruléed banana, vanilla ice cream or Biscotti classic almond, chocolate

Terre Di Eva, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Italia

Pan Seared Dayboat Scallops roasted purple sweet potato, pancetta, roasted shallot, brussels sprout, sweet potato puree, citrus gremolata ~ Cannoli vanilla, kahlua, chocolate chip or Biscotti classic almond, chocolate

French Style Chicken red quinoa, green beans, black olives, mixed mushrooms, chicken jus

Terre Di Eva, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Italia Sierra Cantabria, Tempranillo Crianza, Rioja

Sierra Cantabria, Tempranillo Crianza, Rioja

Chocolate & Banana Bread Pudding bourbon caramel sauce, bruléed banana, vanilla ice cream or Biscotti classic almond, chocolate

Cannoli vanilla, kahlua, chocolate chip or Biscotti classic almond, chocolate

French Style Chicken red quinoa, green beans, black olives, mixed mushrooms, chicken jus

DOLCI

DOLCI

Choice of: Crumble pear, blueberry, vanilla ice cream Tiramisu espresso liqueur, lady fingers, cream, vanilla

Choice of: Crumble pear, blueberry, vanilla ice cream Tiramisu espresso liqueur, lady fingers, cream, vanilla

Passion Fruit Curd bruléed merengue, candied orange, mixed berries Vietti Moscato Italia

Passion Fruit Curd bruléed merengue, candied orange, mixed berries

Vietti Moscato D'Asti, Italia

INAUGURAL EXHIBITION: The lobby of the Montgomery Municipal Center now houses Clem Fiori’s exhibition, and will host future showcases organized by Montgomery Arts Council. feature selections from Fiori’s book The Vanishing New Jersey Landscap e, published in 1994, as well as images of Hobler Park in Blawenburg.

natural landscape, in the inaugural exhibition organized by the Montgomery Arts Council.

“Clem is a force of nature, literally, who generously shares his immense artistic talent while he advocates for the land, tirelessly leading Montgomery’s open space preservation charge for the last 35 years,” said Montgomery Township Mayor Neena Singh. Presented photographs

“Clem is a Montgomery original, and so he is the perfect person to kick start this new display by Montgomerybased artists for Montgomery residents to enjoy,” said Montgomery Arts Council Chair Karen Tuveson.

The Montgomery Municipal Center is located at 100 Community Drive in Skillman.

Cranbury School Honors

National Youth Art Month

National Youth Art Month is celebrated each March.

Cranbury School will be celebrating youth art at the Gourgaud Gallery in Cranbury with an exhibition on

view March 2 through March 21. An opening reception is on Saturday, March 2 from 1 to 3 p.m.

Stacey Crannage, art teacher at the Cranbury School, has chosen art pieces from students in kindergarten through eighth grade to be showcased. Criteria for the displayed pieces to be included were technique, originality, and the student’s personality shining through. Student artwork will include paintings, drawings, and clay sculptures, among others.

Gourgaud Gallery is located in Town Hall, 23-A North Main Street, Cranbury. It is free and open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information, visit cranburyartscouncil.org.

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Featured member artists: Alina Marin-Bliach, West Windsor, NJ; John Clarke, Pennington, NJ; Charles Miller, Ringoes, NJ; Philip “Dutch” Bagley, Elkins Park, PA; Martin Schwartz, East Windsor, NJ; Joel Blum, East Windsor, NJ; John Stritzinger, Elkins Park, PA; Mary Leck, Kendall Park, NJ; Barbara Warren, Yardley, PA; David Ackerman, Hopewell, NJ; Scott Hoerl, Yardley, PA; Bennett Povlov, Elkins Park, PA; Rebeca DePorte, Hopewell NJ, and returning member, Samuel Vovsi, Princeton, NJ.

14 Mercer Street in Hopewell, NJ Open Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Request appointments: by email: galleryfourteen@yahoo.com

Rebecca

Martin Schwartz

YOUTH ART AT GOURGAUD GALLERY: This painting by fourth grader Wyatt Lively is featured in a “Youth Art Exhibition” on view March 2 to March 21 at Gourgaud Gallery in Cranbury. An opening reception is on March 2 from 1 to 3 p.m.

“MARSH”: This work by Chelsey Luster is featured in “CFEVA at 40: Four Decades of Supporting Contemporary Art,” on view through May 26 at the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pa.

Michener Art Museum

Presents “CFEVA at 40”

The James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pa., presents “CFEVA at 40: Four Decades of Supporting Contemporary Art” through May 26. With this exhibition, the museum celebrates the Center for Emerging Visual Artists’ (CFEVA’s) milestone year with a show that symbolically includes the work of 40 contemporary artists affiliated with the center who represent the region’s artistic excellence.

According to the museum, CFEVA felt that a partnership with the Michener Museum was particularly significant as the goal of celebrating regional artists remains at the heart of both organizations’ missions. CFEVA Board Chair and Co-Curator Maida R. Milone said, “The Center

for Emerging Visual Artists’ 40th anniversary is a significant milestone for our organization. It’s no mean feat to sustain a regional arts organization dedicated to supporting the careers of visual artists, especially those in the early stages of their careers. When we took stock of the artists who have been affiliated with CFEVA over these four decades, we were so heartened to see that many of them are now in the collection of this important arts institution.”

Ranging from established members of the avant-garde to rising stars, the exhibition features over 70 works that will be new to regular Michener Art Museum visitors.

Gerry and Maguerite Lenfest Chief Curator Laura Turner Igoe said, “I think what is most exciting about the “CFEVA at 40” exhibition is that several of these important contemporary artists have never shown their

work at the museum before.”

Those selected to represent the over 300 fellows whom CFEVA has mentored over four decades include Vincent Desiderio, Katie Baldwin, Rita Bernstein, Ziui Chen, Ada Trillo, and Tim Portlock. Also represented are established artists who have given their time and talent as advisers, including the late Ray K. Metzker, Will Barnet, Sidney Goodman, and current adviser Donald Camp.

The exhibition is curated by Maida R. Milone and Genevieve Coutroubis.

CFEVA was founded in 1983 as a support system for the visual artists of the greater Philadelphia region. Since its inception, the organization has dedicated itself to making art careers viable for those who choose them.

To this end, CFEVA strives to help visual artists reach their audiences and grow

Princeton’s First Tradition Worship Service

Sundays at 11am

Princeton University Chapel

Open to all.

Preaching Sunday, March 3 is Rev. Dr. Courtney Bryant, Asst. Professor at Manhattan College

Music performed by the Princeton University Chapel Choir with Nicole Aldrich, Director of Chapel Music and Chapel Choir, and with Eric Plutz, University Organist.

the interest and understanding of visual art among community members.

The Michener Art Museum will host a number of events connected to the exhibition. Details can be found at michenerartmuseum.org.

Roebling Museum Receives $25,000 Humanities Grant

In the early 20th century, immigrants from Europe poured into New Jersey, making a new life for themselves by building their new country into a world power. Their labor helped create the American industrial age, including the building of its iconic suspension bridges.

To help tell that story, Roebling Museum has been chosen to receive a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) aimed at enabling small museums to fully explore their community history. The grant will kick off a multi-year project to open an immigrant worker’s house museum in the company town of Roebling.

The museum, which documents the history of the bridge-building John A. Roebling’s Sons Company and its workers, is one of only 28 institutions nationwide selected for the NEH’s new Public Impact Projects at Smaller Organizations grant program.

“This funding will help preserve and expand access to community histories, strengthen the ability of small museums and archives to serve the public, and provide resources and educational opportunities for students to engage with history, literature, languages, and cultures,” said NEH Chair Shelley C. Lowe.

Pollie Joins Development

Team at PU Art Museum

Shara Pollie has been named senior associate director for museum development at the Princeton University Art Museum. With more than 20 years of nonprofit leadership, Pollie joins the museum from the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation, where she served first as senior director of development and then as executive vice president. She began her new position at Princeton on February 12.

As the museum prepares for the 2025 opening of its new building — which will roughly double space for the exhibition, conservation, study, and interpretation of the museum’s globe-spanning collections — Pollie will work closely with museum director James Steward and the University’s development team to lead the museum’s fundraising strategies, including donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship, during a time of institutional change and growth. Pollie will also lead efforts to secure new endowed funding and to grow all forms of annual support and planned giving.

She also has long-standing ties to Princeton, as the parent of an alumnus of the Class of 2007.

“I’m honored to join this team of professionals dedicated to expanding the museum’s teaching, collecting, and community initiatives. With so much momentum leading up to the reopening,” said Pollie. “I’m eager to get started — engaging with the Princeton community and beyond — and look forward to working alongside our team to support the next chapter of this incredible institution.”

Area Exhibits

Art@Bainbridge, 158 Nassau Street, has “Reciting Women: Alia Bensliman and Khailiah Sabree” through March 31. artmuseum.princeton.edu.

Artists’ Gallery, 18 Bridge Street, Lambertville, has “Gallery-Wide Group Show” through March 31. Gallery hours are Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. lambertvillearts.com.

The NEH grant, announced in January, will allow Roebling Museum to create a comprehensive plan to reimagine the 1905 worker’s row house, acquired by the museum in 2020, as part of its interpretation of the company town as an addition to the museum’s existing exhibits in the former gatehouse of the Roebling steel and wire mill.

“Receiving this grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities underscores the national significance of Roebling’s history and the importance of our work,” said Dr. Lynne Calamia, Roebling Museum executive director. “The history of Roebling, New Jersey, is deeply intertwined with the industrial achievements of its majority-immigrant workforce. Workers living in the former company town played a pivotal role in making the wire and wire rope used in iconic suspension bridges including the Golden Gate Bridge and George Washington Bridge. Roebling’s legacy continues to resonate far beyond New Jersey, even long after the closing of the Roebling mill in 1974.”

Roebling Museum will work with experienced consultants, local historians, residents, and volunteers to create a comprehensive plan that ties together the museum exhibit space, the worker’s house, its outdoor collection of industrial artifacts, and the company town itself into a cohesive and immersive visitor experience.

For more information, visit roeblingmuseum.org.

“Shara brings a proven track record of creativity and successful leadership across a number of renowned museums and cultural institutions,” said Steward, Nancy A. Nasher–David J. Haemisegger, Class of 1976, director. “We’re thrilled to have her join our team during a time of exciting institutional change, and I look forward to working with her to realize our mission of making great art a powerful part of the lived experience of all the communities we serve.”

During her six-year tenure at the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation, Pollie oversaw the successful completion of a capital campaign to expand the Parkway Central Library and launched new membership programs and major gifts strategies, among other achievements. During the COVID-19 pandemic and amid leadership changes, her team maintained annual non-capital revenue in excess of $10 million. Previously she served as senior director of development at the Barnes Foundation, where she led the planning and execution of an ambitious development strategy that included a significant increase of staff, the growth of membership programs, and expansion in all areas of restricted giving. Prior to her eight-year tenure at the Barnes Foundation, Pollie led the institutional giving team at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Pollie received her JD from Rutgers Law School and a BS in education from Rutgers University.

Art on Hulfish, 11 Hulfish Street, has “Christina Fernandez: Multiple Exposures” through April 28. artmuseum.princeton.edu.

Arts Council of Princeton, 102 Witherspoon Street, has “Transversing Nostalgia” through March 9 in the Taplin Gallery. artscouncilofprinceton.org.

Considine Gallery, Stuart Country Day School, 12 Stuart Road, has “The Stuart 60th Anniversary Community Art Exhibit” through March 8. stuartschool.org.

Ficus Art Gallery, 235 Nassau Street, has “Embrace the Everyday” through May 6. ficusbv.com.

Gourgaud Gallery, 23-A North Main Street, Cranbury, has “Members Exhibition” through February 29. cranburyartscouncil.org.

Grounds For Sculpture, 80 Sculptors Way, Hamilton, has “Cloud Swing” through April 1, “Night Forms” through April 7, and “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 “Einstein Salon and Innovator’s Gallery,” “Princeton’s Portrait,” and other exhibits. Museum hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 12 to 4 p.m., Thursday to 7 p.m. princetonhistory.org

Morven Museum & Garden, 55 Stockton Street, has the online exhibits “Slavery at Morven,” “Portrait of Place: Paintings, Drawings, and Prints of New Jersey, 1761–1898,” and others. morven. org.

Present Day Club, 72 Stockton Street, has “Embraced by Nature” through March 3. The exhibit is open on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. catherinejmartzloff.com.

Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street, has “Anthropomorphic: Photos and Stories” through March 15. princetonlibrary.org.

West Windsor Arts, 952 Alexander Road, West Windsor, has “Manifesting Beloved Community” through March 2. westwindsorarts.org.

Shara Pollie

(Photo by Joseph Hu)

Mark Your Calendar TOWN TOPICS

Wednesday, February 28

10:30 a.m . Discussion of Oliver Sacks’ Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain , facilitated by Dr. Concetta Tomaino, at Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street. Repeated at 7 p.m. on Zoom. Princetonlibrary.org.

11:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m .: “Real Life, Reel Representation: The Art and (Personal) Politics of Nonfiction Film,” presented by the Department of Media Arts at Rider University, Lawrence Township. Visit Rider.edu for full schedule.

4 p.m .: Friends of Princeton University Library hosts Small Talk with Molly Guptill Manning, author of When Books Went to War. Hybrid event, visit libcal.princeton.edu.

Thursday, February 29

11:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m .: “Real Life, Reel Representation: The Art and (Personal) Politics of Nonfiction Film,” presented by the Department of Media Arts at Rider University, Lawrence Township. Visit Rider.edu for full schedule.

4 p.m.: Screening of PBS documentary Freedom Riders at Friend Center, William Street, Room 113. Followed by a private viewing of the exhibit “Nobody Turn Us Around: The Freedom Rides and Selma to Montgomery Marches, Selections from the John Doar Papers. Libcal.princeton.edu.

Friday, March 1

8-10 a.m.: “Welcoming the Community Breakfast” at Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice. Free bagels, babka, fruit, and a vegan treat at the local queer safe space and community center, 12 Stockton Street. Rustincenter.org.

7 p.m.: A Cappella Night at Princeton Public Library, teens-only event featuring groups from Princeton high schools. Princetonlibrary.org.

7 p.m .: David Brahinsky and friends Guy DeRosa and Noemi Bolton in a benefit concert at the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice, 12 Stockton Street. Pay what you can. Rustincenter.org.

7 p.m .: Roxey Ballet presents Mark Roxey’s Carmen at Mill Ballet, 46 North Sugan Road, New Hope, Pa. Roxeyballet.org/carmen.

7:15-9:30 p.m .: Family Fun night at West Windsor Arts, 952 Alexander Road. Arts and crafts stations, board and card games, building stations with Legos and blocks, and a space room. Light snacks and refreshments. $5-$30. Westwindsorarts.org.

8 p.m .: Black Girl Magic by the Underground Performing Arts Collective, at Kelsey Theatre, Mercer County Community College, West Windsor. Theater piece combining poetry, monologues, and conventional drama and film. $20-$22. Kelseytheatre.org.

Saturday, March 2

9:30-11 a.m.: Princeton Plasma Physics Lab’s Science on Saturday series, at 100 Stellarator Road. “The Remarkable Story of Fusion Ignition at the National Ignition Facility.” Arrive by 8:30 a.m. for coffee and doughnuts. Pppl.gov/events/ science-Saturday.

10 a.m.: Read and Explore: Animal Tracks, at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Read books and make bird feeders, visit farm animals. Terhuneorchards.com.

12-5 p.m.: Winery Weekend Music Series at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Live music from 1-4 by Michael Montemurro. Terhuneorchards.com.

1 p.m .: En-ROADS Youth Climate Action Workshop, role-playing event for high school students as members of teams of global stakeholders determine an action and policy path to address climate change. At Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street. Register at princetonlibrary.org.

7 p.m .: The Grand Kyiv Ballet of Ukraine performs Giselle at Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, Trenton. $34-$79.

4 and 7 p.m .: Roxey Ballet presents Mark Roxey’s Carmen at Mill Ballet, 46 North Sugan Road, New Hope, Pa. Roxeyballet.org/carmen.

8 p.m .: Black Girl Magic by the Underground Performing Arts Collective, at Kelsey Theatre, Mercer County Community College, West Windsor. Theater piece combining poetry, monologues, and conventional drama and film. $20-$22. Kelseytheatre.org.

Sunday, March 3

11 a.m.-1 p.m.: Hunterdon Land Trust’s Winter Farmers’ Market is at Dvoor Farm, 111 Mine Street, Flemington. Hunterdonlandtrust.org.

12-5 p.m.: Winery Weekend Music Series at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Live music from 1-4 by Bill Flemer. Terhuneorchards.com.

1-2 p.m. Princeton University Carillon concert, listen on the Graduate School lawn. Gradschool.princeton.edu.

1 and 4 p.m .: Roxey Ballet presents Mark Roxey’s Carmen at Mill Ballet, 46 North Sugan Road, New Hope, Pa. Roxeyballet.org/carmen.

2 p.m .: “George Washington’s Crossing the Delaware River on the way to the Battle,” presentation by Robert Sands Jr. and Patricia Millen at the 1867 Sanctuary, 101 Scotch Road, Ewing. Free.

2 p.m .: Black Girl Magic by the Underground Performing Arts Collective, at Kelsey Theatre, Mercer County Community College, West Windsor. Theater piece combining poetry, monologues, and conventional drama and film. $20-$22. Kelseytheatre.org.

3 p.m .: “Healing with Music: Dance for PD, Exploring the Intersection of Music, Dance, and Parkinson’s.” Experiential panel presented by Princeton University Concerts, with live cello performance by Joshua Roman, at Richardson Auditorium. $10-$15. Puc.princeton.edu.

3 p.m .: Westminster Community Orchestra presents “Miniatures” at the Cullen Center, Westminster Choir College, 101 Walnut Street. Suggested donation $10. Rider.edu/events.

3 p.m.: “Entity,” a musical performance featuring Indian percussion and cello, with Daniel Johnson and Dan

Kassel, at Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street. Princetonlibrary.org.

4 p.m .: Russian pianist Boris Petrushansky performs at Princeton United Methodist Church, Nassau Street at Vandeventer Avenue. Visit legacyartsinternational.org for tickets.

4 p.m.: Gathering in solidarity with the October 7 hostages, and a call for their release. Organized by a grassroots group of Israelis in Princeton. At Hinds Plaza.

5-7 p.m .: Dorothea’s House presents “Humanity and Progress: Olivetti S.p.A.” Andrea Capra, postdoctoral fellow at Princeton University, is speaker. Free. 120 John Street. Participants are encouraged to bring refreshments to share.

7 p.m .: Lenten service of meditation and Taizé chant, featuring George Rambow on guitar, parish choir, and Ken Ulanessey on saxophone and pan flute, at All Saints’ Church, 16 All Saints’ Road. Allsaintsprinceton.org.

7 p.m .: Princeton Community Democratic Organization candidate forum and endorsement meeting for federal and county offices. At the Suzanne Patterson Center, 45 Stockton Street. Open to the public; PCDO members vote. Princetondems.org.

Monday, March 4

5:30-8 p.m.: The public can watch pianist Boris Petrushansky work with Princeton University pianists at a master class in Taplin Hall on the campus. Free. Legacyartsinternational.org.

7 p.m .: Screening of documentary Capturing Grace , followed by post-screening talkback with film director and Dance for PD participant Dave Iverson, at Princeton Garden Theatre, 160 Nassau Street. Presented by Princeton University Concerts. Princetongardentheatre.org.

7 p.m .: “Unsung Heroes: Jewish Women,” virtual program presented by Lawrence Headquarters Branch of Mercer County Library System, with historian and educator Howard Rosenberg. Mcl.org.

7 p.m .: Continuing Conversations on Race, with Nathalie Edmond presenting “Black Liberation Perspectives: Moving Away from Anti-Blackness,” via Zoom. Register at Princetonlibrary.org.

7:30 p.m .: “Not Quite White in Fiction and Film: Laura Z. Hobson’s Gentleman’s Agreement and Nella Larsen’s Passing,” panel discussion with excerpts from the films, exploring how antiBlack racism and antisemitism have shaped integration of Blacks and Jews into white

FEBRUARYMARCH

Christian American society. At the Douglass Center, 100 George Street, New Brunswick. Free. Register at Bildnercenter.rutgers.edu.

Tuesday, March 5

6 p.m .: Author Katherine Yeske Taylor is joined by fellow journalist Tom Beaujour to discuss her book She’s a Badass: Women in Rock Shaping Feminism , at Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street. Princetonlibrary.org.

7 p.m .: Community Block Grant Annual Plan Hearing, in the Newsroom at Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street. Princetonlibrary.org.

Wednesday, March 6

6:30 p.m.: “Oscars and Popcorn: The Roadshow Reboot,” in the Newsroom at Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street. Held in advance of the 96th Oscars show. Discussion, trivia, and door prizes. Princetonlibrary.org.

7 p.m .: Author Rachel Lyon is in conversation with Lynn Steger Strong to discuss her novel Fruit of the Dead at Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street. Princeton library.org.

S ports

Fillier Saving Her Best for Last for PU Women’s Hockey, Starring as Tigers Top Dartmouth in ECACH Playoff Opener

Playing in her last game at Hobey Baker Rink for the Princeton University women’s hockey team last Saturday afternoon, Sarah Fillier didn’t waste any time showing that her home finale was going to be one to remember.

With seventh-seeded Princeton hosting 10thseeded Dartmouth in a single-elimination contest in the opening round of the ECAC Hockey tournament, senior star and team captain Fillier tallied a goal and and an assist to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.

“When you are relied on to contribute and you get on the board early, you can take a deep breath but not let your foot off the gas,” said Fillier. “It feels good and feels nice for things to click early. We knew that we had to keep it going for the full 60.”

Fillier kept going, tallying a goal in the second and adding another tally with 2:25 left in the game to give her a hat trick as Princeton cruised to a 5-1 win. The Tigers, now 14-10-6 overall, will play at second-seeded Clarkson (29-3-2) in a bestof-three ECACH quarterfinal series starting on March 1.

“I just wanted to leave everything out here; I spent six years here, it has been my home,” said Fillier, a 5’5 native of Georgetown, Ontario, who spent two years away from Princeton playing for Canada women’s national team where she helped it win an Olympic gold medal in 2022 and a pair of Inter-

national Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships. “This rink has seen me grow so much as a player and as a person.”

Fillier’s last goal at Baker Rink, a thrilling solo breakaway, brought the fans to their feet.

“There were not many times this year that I have gone end to end, it was kind of like freshman Sarah coming back for a second,” said a grinning Fillier. “I just saw some space and thought, ‘Why not go for it?’ and I somehow it got through the goalie.”

Fillier and her classmates brought a sense of urgency to the game, knowing that the end of their time in a Princeton uniform is fast approaching.

“It didn’t really hit me until we were doing the starting lineup before the game and realizing that this was the last time that we would be going out there from our locker room,” said Fillier. “There was a lot of emotion from the start — we have a big senior class. Our seniors lead this team. Dartmouth is a hungry team too. We had a tough time with them up in New Hampshire (a 1-1 tie on January 12), we knew they were going to come out fighting.”

Coming into the contest, Fillier sensed that the Tigers were primed to rise to the occasion.

“We had a great week of practice, maybe one of our best weeks all year,” said Fillier.“I think we are just jelling as a team. We are

leaving the individual stuff outside of our locker room and really just buying in as the Tigers. That is a really good sign. It is all coming together at the perfect time.”

Looking ahead to the matchup with Clarkson, Fillier believes that Princeton can raise its game in the postseason as it has done in the past.

“Even last year was a good testament to that,” said Fillier, referring to a ECACH quarterfinal series last year against No. 3 Colgate which saw the underdog Tigers nearly topple the Raiders.

“We had a tough end to the season but we upset Colgate in the opener and came really close in that third game.”

Over the last few weeks of the season, Fillier has been coming on strong, tallying nine goals in her last four games.

“I feel like there were so many times this year, I was fighting the puck, it happens to everyone,” said Fillier, who now has 41 points this season on 28 goals and 13 assists. “I want to be able to contribute for our team and help us win games. For things to go in, it is just nice. It is just hard work.”

Fillier has made a great contribution to the Tigers in her career as she now has 192 points (91 goals, 101 assists), fourth all-time in program history behind Katherine Issel (218 points), Mollie Marcoux (216 points), and Kelly O’Dell (207 points).

“It means a lot, if you look around the history of this

GOING OUT WITH A BANG: Princeton University women’s hockey player Sarah Fillier, right, races up the ice in a game earlier this season. Last Saturday, senior star forward and team captain Fillier tallied three goals and an assist to help seventh-seeded Princeton top 10thseeded Dartmouth 5-1 in a single-elimination contest in the opening round of the ECAC Hockey tournament. The Tigers, now 14-10-6 overall, will play at second-seeded Clarkson (29-3-2) in a best-of-three ECACH quarterfinal series starting on March 1. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

rink,” said Fillier. “Our program started in 1975 way before the NCAA tournament happened. To see the names that came through there — the Mollie Marcouxes, the Katherine Issels — put up insane points, just to be in that kind of group and that conversation is special. Even to be up here in the window at the rink with these other international and NHL players is cool to see.”

Princeton head coach Cara Morey loved seeing Fillier starring in her Baker Rink finale.

“She popped off, that was one of her best games,” said Morey. “It was all over — she was playing both sides of the puck instead of just offensively. She was great. She realizes it is coming to an end, six years is a long time. I am assuming she just wants to make the most of it.”

Morey credits Fillier with making a great impact in her time at Princeton.

“She was a program changer for us,” said Morey. “She was probably the biggest recruit in the world at the time so her picking Princeton was a huge statement because we weren’t a program that was perennially in the top 10. She elevated us when she came, we won the Ivy championship and then the ECAC championship. She helped us big time.”

The Tigers collectively came up with a big effort in skating past Dartmouth.

“They were really excited to play, there was nerves,” said Morey. “This is brandnew, we had never done the play-in. There was definitely nerves on our side because we tied them last time. You could tell that we were ready and they were excited. Going into the third period historically we have let up so we talked about this is your last 20 minutes here at Baker. Our seniors really stepped up.”

One of those seniors, forward Emma Kee, stepped up with a highlight goal as she got loose on a breakaway midway through the second period and roofed the puck into the back of the net.

“Emma does that all of the time in practice so when she had it, I was like please do it, please do it,” said Morey. “I might have jumped higher than anybody when she put that in.”

At the defensive end, the Tigers gave the Big Green a tough time, stifling them for most of the game.

“We did a good job keeping them to a few chances,” said Morey. “It is hard because I was a defender, so I want us to play perfectly. I have to remember that we can’t be perfect. I only see the chances that we give up instead of realizing that we only gave up 18 shots. That is not a ton so we did a great job.”

Looking ahead to the series at Clarkson, Morey likes her team’s chances as it battled the Golden Knights hard

in regular season meetings, falling by one goal in each game.

“That is the best matchup for us because it was 1-0 and 1-0 and one was overtime,” said Morey. “If you are going to have to play a top four team in our league, which is probably a top five team in the country, I think we are ready. We have a whole week to get prepared. We are going to have to scour the film and figure out how we can create a little more offense against them. It is going to be very hard to score on Clarkson. It is going to be a low scoring series if I were to predict.”

Fillier, for her part, is prepared to leave it all on the ice as she tries to extend her Princeton career as long as possible.

“I was put in a leadership role really early, I learned from some really phenomenal people like Stephanie Sucharda, Claire Thompson, Mackenzie Ebel, Carly Bullock, and the list goes on and on,” said Fillier, who became a team captain in her sophomore season.

“Just getting pushed into that position early, it was learning to grow up really early. Spending two years with the national team absorbing everything could and coming back here, it feels very full circle for it to happen this way. It is a nice way to end it off.”

—Bill Alden

Bringing a Special Perspective after Cancer Ordeal, Palumbo Emerges as Star Midfielder for PU Men’s Lax

Chad Palumbo has a special motivation to make the most out of every moment he is on the field for the Princeton University men’s lacrosse team.

Heading into his senior year in high school in 2021, Palumbo was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare type of cancer that starts as a growth of cells in soft tissue, and he underwent six months of chemotherapy in order to beat it.

“It was a blessing in disguise because you realize life is a lot bigger than lacrosse, there is so much more out there,” said Palumbo, reflecting on his cancer ordeal. “It really helps you put things into perspective because nothing is permanent. Something as precious as life can be taken from you at any moment. It is something that has changed me for the better, it has made me a more grateful man. I am blessed having gone through it. I am blessed to have my family and my friends to help me through it.”

Palumbo has gone through some ups and downs as he has looked to make an impact for the Tigers. After scoring two goals in the first game last year, Palumbo rode the bench the rest of the spring. Breaking into the starting lineup this year, midfielder Palumbo tallied three goals in a 15-5 win over Monmouth on February 18.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Palumbo, a 6’2, 205-pound native of Newton, Mass., reflecting on the opener. “I am blessed to have such good teammates — they are so easy to play with. It was a good first test. It is good to put our systems up against another team. I am glad we came out on top. We played some good lacrosse.”

Two days later, Palumbo played some more good lacrosse, chipping in two goals and an assist in a 15-6 victory over Manhattan on February 20.

“It is all confidence, we have a lot of guys who really believe in the mental side of things,” said Palumbo.

“We all believe that it is big as the physical side of the game. Coach always says you have to flip the switch come game time, you have got to get the mind right. We came out with a lot of juice today and started hot.”

It has taken a while for Palumbo to develop his confidence at the college level.

“I showed up in the first game last year but not after that,” said Palumbo. “Then it was all about working and getting better, learning from those older guys. We had a lot of All-Americans there.”

Applying those lessons, Palumbo put his nose to the grindstone to prepare for the 2024 campaign.

“A big thing is the mental side, you have got to get your routine down,” said Palumbo. “In the offseason, it is all about putting your head down, loving the grind. I pride myself on my stickwork most of all because you can’t get on the field if you don’t have a good stick. I love games and I love practicing. I enjoy wall ball, I love shooting. But for me a lot of it was footwork and getting quicker because I am a big kid. I have to move a little better.”

Princeton head coach Matt Madalon credits Palumbo with being a spark for the Tigers.

“He is a really tough cover for either a pole or a shortstick,” said Madalon of Palumbo. “He does a really good job of attacking his matchup, he is a skilled player. He is very unselfish but when it comes down to it, he has no problem finishing plays. We are really happy with his production. He is doing a nice job for us.”

While Madalon was happy to see his team get off to a 2-0 start, he acknowledged that the Tigers were definitely a work in progress.

“It is still sloppy with some clearing, substitution, and not great shot selection,” said Madalon, whose squad fell 13-7 at No. 4 Maryland last Saturday. “We had some sloppy defense, we gave up a couple of really ugly goals. Nothing to take away from Manhattan, they

earned those. Those first two goals were just mental breakdowns from our guys.”

Princeton’s highly touted freshmen attackers Nate Kabiri and Colin Burns have made a great impact already for the Tigers as they have clicked with junior attacker Coulter Mackesy. Kabiri leads the Tigers in scoring with 13 points on 10 goals and three assists, while Burns is second with 12 points in seven goals and five assists.

“I would say the most impressive thing is how they are playing within themselves and within the framework of the offense,” said Madalon of the two freshman standouts who played together in high school at Georgetown Prep. “Their chemistry helps get them out of some binds more often than not. They are just really smart lacrosse players, taking good chances right now. There is going to be a lot of focus and a lot of heads turned when Coulter gets the ball. We have to make sure that we are working off ball properly.”

With No. 15 Princeton playing at No. 18 North Carolina on March 1 and at No. 1 Duke on March 3, the Tigers will need to work hard to come away with a pair of wins.

“I am happy that our team won two games in three days, it is always challenging,” said Madalon. “We hope to do that a couple of times throughout the year, the Ivy League tournament feels like that. As we are fatigued, we will have to play smarter.”

In Palumbo’s view, Princeton has what it takes to deal with the challenges ahead.

“We have got a ton of new faces, there is a lot to work through but we have done a good job,” said Palumbo. “We have a long way to go to get where we want to be. It is just all about unselfishness, chemistry, and loving each other.”

In getting back on the field after his bout with cancer, Palumbo knows how important those qualities can be.

—Bill Alden

DEVELOPING

lacrosse player Chad Palumbo heads to goal in recent action. Sophomore Palumbo has emerged as a bright spot for the Tigers, providing scoring punch from the midfield. He totaled five goals and one assist as the Tigers started the season by defeating Monmouth 15-5 on February 18 and then topped Manhattan 15-6 two days later. Last Saturday, Palumbo chipped in two assists as the Tigers fell 13-7 at No. 4 Maryland. No. 15 Princeton plays at No. 18 North Carolina on March 1 and at No. 1 Duke on March 3.

SITUATION: Princeton University men’s

(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Nweke Helps Spark Late Rally for PU Women’s Hoops, But Tigers Fall Just Short in 67-65 Defeat at Columbia

Chet Nweke had the rebound in her hands for a split second under the basket with just a couple seconds left in regulation, and then it was gone along with a long winning streak.

The ball was dislodged from the senior forward for the Princeton University women’s basketball team and the Tigers suffered a 67-65 loss at Columbia before a sold-out crowd of 2,698 at Levien Gymnasium on Saturday, their first Ivy League loss of the year, and first in 25 straight Ivy games overall spanning back two seasons. Their 24-game conference winning streak was fourth best in the country.

“That last possession was definitely very, very hard for us to finish the game like that,” said Nweke. “I got stripped and Ellie [Mitchell] got the ball then that they called a jump ball and then didn’t call a jump ball. It was a sequence of unfortunate events. When that buzzer sounds, that one hurt the most.”

Princeton and Columbia are now tied for first place in the Ivy League standings at 10-1 overall. Princeton, which came into the game ranked in the AP Top 25, fell to 20-4 overall as it saw a 15-game winning streak snapped. There are three games remaining in the Ivy regular season. Both Princeton and Columbia have secured spots in the Ivy March Madness postseason tournament that determines the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament with both teams winning

at home. Columbia is 14-1 at home after responding to their big crowd.

“I think we’re kind of used to it, playing at such a high level we get a good amount of people at our games and also in the past years, going to the tournament, being in that environment, it’s definitely not something we’re not used to,” said Nweke. “It was really cool to see, but obviously it worked out for them. They got the win. It was a pretty tough environment to be in.”

If both teams win out and remain tied, the tiebreaker to determine the Ivy tournament top seed would be their NCAA NET rankings. The Tigers would be the front-runner for the No. 1 seed. Princeton currently sits at 29 in the NET — one spot ahead of former Princeton coach Courtney Banghart’s North Carolina team — while Columbia is at 60.

“It’s really hard to beat a team more than once,” said Nweke. “If we had to split, we have to work hard in the Ivy League tournament and hope that goes well.”

Princeton had defeated Columbia, 80-65, on January 20 at Jadwin Gym in their first meeting of the conference season. The ups and downs of the second meeting kept the sold-out crowd in a frenzy. The Lions jumped out to a first quarter lead that Nweke closed to 19-13 just before the period ended with a 3-point play. Perhaps galvanized by the momentum, Princeton took a 30-29 lead into halftime.

Then came a tough third quarter that put Princeton behind 53-45 entering the final stanza. Columbia led by 11 with 5:00 left before the Tigers chipped away. Nweke’s layup with 52 seconds left brought Princeton within 6665 before a free throw by Fliss Henderson of Columbia gave the Lions the 67-65 edge. On the final play after a timeout, Princeton gave the ball to Kaitlyn Chen who drove, spun and left her pull-up jumper short of the rim with three seconds left before a scramble to control it ended with officials ruling the clock ran out without anyone possessing the ball.

“We’ve seen Kaitlyn make that shot so many times I can’t even tell you — that’s a money shot for Kaitlyn — and when it didn’t hit the rim, I was positioning myself to rebound, maybe a long rebound, but when it didn’t hit the rim, I got the ball,” said Nweke. “I don’t know if the ref didn’t see a foul, or she might have gotten a clean strip of the ball.”

Nweke led the Tigers with 17 points, one off her careerhigh. Chen tallied 14 points and Madison St. Rose scored 10 points. Princeton, though, finished shooting just 37.1 percent from the floor, including 3-for-13 from 3-point range. The Lions shot 47.2 percent overall and 42.9 percent from 3 which was the most disappointing aspect of the loss for Princeton.

“Definitely and most obviously our defense,” said Nweke, a 6’0 native of Woodbine, Md., who is now

March 1 and Dartmouth on March 2.

averaging 5.8 points and 4.5 rebounds a game. “That’s something we always hang our hats on. It just wasn’t up to par this game. Columbia played a great 40 minutes of basketball and we just had these defensive slip-ups and mishaps all throughout the game. I think when a mishap would happen, they could counter back and get something out of it on the offensive end. And we just weren’t able to make shots.”

Princeton has three games left before the Ivy tournament to iron out the mistakes it made. Nweke is confident that the Tigers can use the loss the right way. She is looking at the loss as an important lesson.

“I definitely think that this needed to happen in order for us to grow as a team and be dialed in on the growth we need to have come from this loss,” said Nweke. “We scout their sets a lot and we spend a lot of time on that, but at the end of the day the mishaps came down to our principles on defense that we know how to do and do all the time in practice. For some reason, they just weren’t there in the game.”

Princeton has now faced some significant challenges in two of their last three Ivy contests. A week before, they trailed Brown by seven midway through the third quarter before rallying to win, 74-62, in Providence, R.I. Nweke missed the next night’s game due to sickness, but the Tigers responded to any idea that they might be vulnerable with a 70-25 rout of Yale.

“After that Brown game, it really put things in perspective for us,” said Nweke. “Obviously we’re Princeton. We get everybody’s actual best game every time because everybody wants to beat us so badly. After we trailed a little bit in the Brown third quarter, we came together and were like, ‘OK, now it’s time to play some Princeton basketball and we need to do that and excel at that for a whole game.’ We can’t just be playing really hard for half of the

game because that’s not going to result in a W. That’s what showed — I obviously didn’t play in the Yale game — that was a full team effort there.”

Princeton is trying to learn from each game — wins or losses — to put themselves in the best position to win the Ivy tournament. Nweke has been a big help after moving into the starting lineup for the first time in her career in the first meeting with Columbia. She has continued to solidify her spot with solid contributions. After scoring in double figures once in the first 16 games, she has reached double digits in each of the last five games, something she credits to watching film after each game with Princeton assistant coach Lauren Battista.

“After that last Columbia game she showed me I can sprint in transition and get the ball, I can go back straight up, and she showed me there are so many opportunities for me to score that I had been missing out on,” said Nweke. “And then she put those ideas in my head so I felt like, maybe I can do this, I don’t have to pass it up when I get an offensive rebound, I can just go back up and put it up. Film has been really helpful for me. I’m just really eager to learn and grow as a player.”

Each game that Nweke performs well in only helps her play better the next game. Princeton is looking for her to continue her strong second half of the season.

“Obviously the first half of the season, I didn’t really show what I was capable of to the highest potential,” said Nweke. “Now that I’m doing that, it helps me with my confidence each game when I see the little things that I do I can actually be rewarded for them.”

Nweke has three games remaining at Jadwin Gym in her Princeton career. The Tigers host Harvard on Friday, Dartmouth on Saturday, and then finish the regular season on Senior Night against Penn on March 9. Princeton is 8-0 at home this year.

“These next three games, they’re going to be tough games but I think being at home will work to our advantage,” said Nweke. “People say everyone shoots better at home, and sometimes we don’t but I just think being at home gives us that extra edge. It’s an advantage for us. I’m really excited for these next three games and hoping to finish out Ivy League play strong so we can stay on top. I’m excited.”

Nweke is motivated to end her Princeton career on a high note. She still has one year of NCAA eligibility left and entered the transfer portal before the season started because the Ivies do not allow graduate students. Nweke is balancing preparing for the Princeton games with eyeing her future options.

“I’m looking to get my Masters of Public Health,” said Nweke. “So I’m pretty much primarily focused on schools that have an MPH program. Some of the schools don’t. That is what I want to do, but I’m trying to decide if I could go another direction and do something else and then go back to school and get my MPH. It would be nice to get that over with and get that paid for by a school.”

Nweke would love to add another Ivy championship to her resume before she graduates. Doing so will require another trip to Columbia, which hosts this year’s March Madness on March 15-16. Any potential grudge match between the two will mean even more with an Ivy title on the line.

“That would be another good test for us, see how we respond to the adversity that we faced (Saturday) and how we’ve changed things up and being able to see the difference through another game,” said Nweke. “I would love to play them again and put together a full 40-minute effort.

So if that’s what happens, that happens. We’re just more focused on finishing up league play the way we want it to end. Whatever happens after that will happen.”

—Justin Feil

TIGHT BATTLE: Princeton University women’s basketball player Chet Nweke guards a foe in a game earlier this season. Last Saturday, senior forward Nweke scored 17 points in a losing cause as Princeton fell 67-65 at Columbia. The Tigers, now 20-4 overall and 10-1 Ivy League, host Harvard on

(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

PU Sports Roundup

Tiger Men’s Track

Wins Ivy Indoor Heps

Producing a dominant performance, the Princeton University men’s track team placed first in the Ivy League Heptagonal Indoor Track and Field Championships last weekend in Cambridge, Mass.

The Tigers piled up 168 points in winning the meet with Cornell taking second with 115. It marked the 25th Indoor Heps crown for the Princeton program.

Individual victors for the Tigers at the meet included Philip Kastner in the heptathlon, Sam Rodman in the 800-meter run, Nicholas Bendtsen in the 3,000 and 5,000, Greg Foster in the long jump, Collin Boler in the 1,000, and Jackson Clarke in the 200.

PU Women’s Track

2nd at Ivy Indoor Heps

Showing its strength in the field events, the Princeton University women’s track team took second in the Ivy League Heptagonal Indoor Track and Field Championships last weekend in Cambridge, Mass.

Penn took first, producing a winning score of 140 points to edge the Tigers, who came in at 134.

Individual winners for Princeton at the meet included Tessa Mudd in pole vault, Georgina Scoot in the long jump and triple jump, and Mena Scatchard in the

PU Women’s Swimming Wins Ivy Championships

Dakota Tucker starred as the Princeton University women’s swimming team placed first in the Ivy League Championships last weekend in Providence, R.I.

Freshman Tucker finished first in the 200-yard breaststroke, the 200 individual medley, and 400 IM and was named the meet’s Most Outstanding Swimmer.

Other individual winners for the Tigers included Sabrina Johnston in the 50 free and 100, Margaux McDonald in the 100 breaststroke, and Heidi Smithwick in the 200 butterfly.

Ellie Marquardt, who took second in the 200 free and fifth in the 500 free, was named the Career High Point Swimmer.

Princeton posted a winning score of 1,403 points with Harvard coming in second at 1,317.5 and Yale taking third at 1,069. It was the second straight Ivy title for the Tigers and the 25th overall for the program.

Princeton Women’s Lax

Rallies to Top Penn State

Going on a 9-0 run to close the game, the Princeton University women’s lacrosse team defeated Penn State 18-13 last Saturday in University Park, Pa.

Junior McKenzie Blake scored five goals while sophomore Jami MacDonald chipped in three goals and three assists to spark the attack for the Tigers as they improved to 1-1.

Princeton hosts Rutgers on February 28 and then starts Ivy League play by hosting Yale on March 2.

JUMPING UP THE STANDINGS: Princeton University men’s basketball player Matt Allocco puts up a jump shot in recent action. Last Saturday, senior guard Allocco scored 14 points with four rebounds and four assists to help Princeton defeat Dartmouth. A night earlier, the Tigers defeated Harvard 66-53 to clinch a spot in the upcoming Ivy Madness postseason tournament where the top four teams in the standings will vie for the league’s automatic berth in the NCAA tourney. Princeton, now 21-3 overall and 9-2 Ivy League, has climbed into a three-way tie atop the Ivy standings with Yale and Cornell. The Tigers host Columbia on March 1 and Cornell on March 2 in their final home weekend of the regular season. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Tiger Men’s Hockey

Defeats Brown

Completing a weekend sweep, the Princeton University men’s hockey team defeated Brown 5-1 last Saturday.

Displaying a balanced attack in the won over the Bears, Tyler Rubin, Nick Seitz, Brendan Gorman, Adam Robbins, and David Jacobs each scored a goal for Princeton as it improved to 10-14-3 overall and 8-10-2 ECAC Hockey. A day earlier, the Tigers started the weekend by topping Yale 4-1 as Ian Murphy led the way with three goals and an assist.

Princeton wraps up regular season action by hosting St. Lawrence on March 1 and Clarkson on March 2.

Princeton Baseball

Opens at UNC Wilmington

Getting its 2024 campaign underway, the Princeton University baseball team went 1-2 in a three-game series at UNC Wilmington last weekend.

Princeton started the season by losing 14-1 to the Seahawks. on Friday. The Tigers rebounded with a 2-1 win on Saturday as Justin Kim got the victory on the mound, going six innings and allowing one run on three hits. On Sunday, Nick DiPietrantonio hit a solo homer and Jake Koonin had a two-run double as Princeton fell 5-3.

The Tigers will return to North Carolina next week to face the University of North Carolina in a three-game series from March 1-3.

Princeton Softball Goes

4-0 at Charleston Event

Opening its season with a bang, Princeton University softball went 4-0 at the Charleston Cougar Classic last weekend in Charleston, S.C., in its first action of the 2024 campaign.

In action on Saturday, Princeton topped South Carolina State 10-1 in five innings and then edged College of Charleston 9-7. A day later, the Tigers posted two shutouts, blanking South Carolina State 8-0 in six innings and then topping Oakland 2-0.

weekend, the No. 14 Princeton University men’s volleyball team went 1-1 against the Crimson.

On Friday, Princeton prevailed 3-0 (29-27, 25-16, 25-23) as Ben Harrington led the way for the Tigers with 18 kills. A night later, the Crimson won 3-1 (25-17, 25-23, 16-25, 26-24) as Nyheromo Omene starred in a losing cause for Princeton with 19 kills and four blocks.

The Tigers, now 7-8 overall and 1-3 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA), host George Mason on March 1.

PU Women’s Water Polo Edges LIU 8-6

Kayla Yelensky starred as the No. 9 Princeton University women’s water polo team defeated No. 21 LIU 8-6 last Friday. Yelensky scored three goals to help the Tigers improve to 8-2.

In upcoming action, Princeton hosts Bucknell and Michigan on March 2 and St. Francis on March 3.

PU Wrestling Program Adds Humphrey to Staff

The Princeton University wrestling program added Reece Humphrey to its staff earlier this month as a new assistant coach.

Humphrey’s career spans a trajectory of excellence and mentorship in wrestling. From 2010 to 2016, he was an Olympic hopeful at the Ohio Olympic Regional Training Center. Transitioning to coaching, he led the Titan Mercury Wrestling Club from 2016 to 2018. Along with his coaching responsibilities with the Tigers, Humphrey, 37, also serves as the head coach of the esteemed New Jersey

The Tigers are 4-0 for the first time since 2005, and the 29 runs the team scored over the season’s first four games match the most that any Princeton team has scored over the first four, with the 1993 Tigers also scoring 29.

Princeton will be heading south again next weekend to compete in the UCF Knights Classic in Orlando, Fla., from March 1-3.

Princeton Wrestling

Defeats Bucknell

Ending regular season action on a high note, the Princeton University wrestling team defeated Bucknell 18-15 last Friday in its final dual.

Individual victors for

Regional Training Center (NJRTC).

Humphrey has coached numerous athletes to the pinnacle of success, with four individuals mentored by him earning spots on the USA World Team. Humphrey’s coaching prowess was recognized on a national scale when he was named the 2019 USA Wrestling Coach of the Year.

Before assuming his role as a coach, Humphrey was a formidable competitor on the mat. As a three-time member of the USA World Team, Humphrey excelled on the international stage. His dominance extended to the US Open, where he won the championship title three times, twice at 60kg and once at 61kg. Humphrey’s collegiate career at The Ohio State University

stellar as well, highlighted by All-American honors at 133 and 141 pounds.

Humphrey’s multifaceted contributions to wrestling, both as a competitor and a coach, make him a key addition to the Princeton wrestling program.

“I’m really excited for Reece to join the staff,” said Princeton head coach Joe Dubuque. “He brings a world of knowledge, literally competing and coaching on the world level. Our guys are very comfortable working with him. He also brings a Big Ten experience, having a very successful career at Ohio State as a student-athlete. Being a national finalist and two-time all American, he can bring that Big Ten style to the room and it will be very beneficial for our Princeton student athletes.”

PU Men’s Volleyball Splits with Harvard

Heading up to Harvard for a two-match series last

PHS Girls’ Swimming

Edged by Chatham in

State Final

As Tangen’s Sprinting Prowess Thrills to the Last Stroke

As the roar of the crowd packing the Rutgers Aquatics Center hit ear-splitting levels last Sunday afternoon with the state title rematch between Princeton High girls’ swimming team and Chatham coming down to the final event, Kyleigh Tangen kept her mind on the task at hand.

With PHS trailing Chatham 79-77 as the foes hit the water for the 400-yard freestyle relay, Tiger senior Tangen stood in the blocks ready to swim the anchor leg, surveying the situation.

Tangen knew that PHS had to rally to get a 1-3 finish to pull out the win and

earn a second straight New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group B state crown.

“The 100 is long enough for me to be able to catch up to her,” said Tangen. “I have a shot, that is what I was thinking. I was watching our team in lane three and I was hoping that they would get us into that third spot.

As the relay progressed, we just inched closer and closer to Chatham and the hope just kept building and building.”

Flying off the block, Tangen churned through the water, gaining on Chatham’s Kiera Harkins, pulling nearly

even as they headed to the wall. But Tangen came up inches short as Chatham ended up placing 1-3 in the relay to pull out a thrilling 89-81 win.

While the defeat stung, Tangen was proud of what the Tigers accomplished as they went 14-1, won a third straight county crown, and advanced to the state final for a second straight year.

“With every meet that we won, we got more and more encouraged and ready to take on the next,” said Tangen. “That is what we went into this meet feeling. Everybody was really nervous, but nervousness pushes you.

I saw amazing swims all across the board. This being my last meet competing as a team, it is so nice to conclude the season at this final meet.”

Tangen produced two great swims, placing first in both the 50 and 100 free races.

“Both of the times that I swam today were the fastest I have ever swum,” said Tangen, who is looking forward to competing in the NJSIAA Meet of Champions this weekend at the Gloucester County Institute of Technology pool. “Historically I have always swam the fastest I have ever swum at this meet.”

Competing with her PHS teammates has also helped Tangen increase her speed.

“I think we all can surprise ourselves and we

are all really, really good at racing,” said Tangen. “Being so equally matched up is a really huge advantage to everybody on the team. We all swim so much faster when we have somebody right next to us.”

Looking back on her PHS career, Tangen views the 9179 win over Chatham in last year’s state final as a huge highlight.

“That one was so special, we kept building on everything,” said Tangen. “At counties sophomore year, we won and it was the first time in a long time that we had won counties. Then junior year, we win states. It is like what more can we do.”

Although the Tigers didn’t make it two straight state titles, PHS head coach Carly (Misiewicz) Fackler credited her swimmers with doing everything they could in the final.

“Across the board, there were so many lifetime bests and I think that is what happens when you are in the moment and you are swimming for your team,” said Fackler. “I always stress to them, ‘It is not about your time today. Your times are irrelevant, they don’t matter. It is about beating the person next to you.’ I really, truly could not be more proud of them.”

Fackler knew the Tigers faced a tall order in beating Chatham as the undefeated powerhouses were on a collision course all winter.

“We were converging to the point that we knew were probably going to meet again at this point,” said Fackler. “Every race, every set, every warm up, warm down in practice is geared towards moments like this.”

Tangen provided the Tigers with some great moments in the final.

“Kyleigh swam her heart out, she had the relay swim of a lifetime,” said Fackler. “She never ceases to amaze me — 23.7 in the 50 free in winning that and winning the 100 free. They were lifetime bests for her. At this point that is all you

could ever ask for. I think if she had another four or five yards in the relay, she would have had her.”

Fackler got several other great swims in the final as senior Courtney Weber placed first in the 200 individual medley and sophomore Nia Zagar won the 100 breaststroke.

“Courtney had a great IM, Nia had a great IM and great breaststroke,” said Fackler. “Jesse [Wang] in the IM, going 1-3-4 in that was huge. Sabine [Ristad] had a great backstroke, a great 50 free. It was the same thing with Lauren [Girouard] in the backstroke, getting in there for fifth place.”

The squad’s crew of seniors has made a great impact on the program.

“They are the greatest group of girls you could ever ask for, they are such a great group just personality-wise,” said Fackler, whose senior group included Tangen, Weber, Girouard, Wang, Suri Skomra, and Nora Chen. “Once you throw in their abilities and their dedication, they have really helped build the foundation in what is Princeton High School swimming and what is the excellence that we hope to continue.”

The Tigers displayed that excellence as they battled to the end in a second straight run to a state final.

“We kept our season going as long as possible, we swam our hearts out today,” said Fackler. “I don’t think that there was any race that I would look back on and say coulda, shoulda, woulda.”

For Tangen, the deep bonds she developed with her classmates made racing for PHS a pleasure.

“I would like to say thank you to all of the senior girls especially,” said Tangen. “It has been such a fun ride and I am going to miss them all so much. I am happy that we had the maximum amount of meets this year so I could keep swimming with all of them.”

—Bill Alden

SPRINTING STAR: Princeton High girls’ swimmer Kyleigh Tangen heads to victory in the 100-yard freestyle at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group B state final last Sunday at the Rutgers Aquatics Center. Tangen also placed first in the

free as the Tigers fell just short of winning their second straight state title, losing 89-81 to Chatham in a meet that came down to the final event. PHS finished the season with a 14-1 record.

(Photo by Steven Wojtowicz)

Senior Guard Devlin Plays Hard to the End As PHS Girls’ Hoops Loses in State Opener

For Riley Devlin, getting to play at home in her final game for the Princeton High girls’ basketball team as it hosted Middletown South in the first round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey Group 4 sectional was something she won’t soon forget.

“It was our first state game here in a really long time, we were really hyped,” said PHS senior guard Devlin, reflecting on the matchup last Wednesday between the seventh-seeded Tigers and the 10th-seeded Eagles. “We had a lot of energy. We were excited to be home in front of our parents and fans.”

The Tigers got off to an exciting start against Middletown South, jumping out to a 14-3 lead and going into halftime ahead 39-33.

“We were communicating, we were working as a team,” said Devlin in assessing the squad’s first half performance. “We were hitting our shots, the bench was really hyped. We were running our plays correctly. We had a really good half.”

Things didn’t go as well for PHS in the second half as it got outscored 13-6 in the third quarter and went on to fall 62-57 to the Eagles to end the season at 15-9.

“They are a really good

who tallied 10 points in the defeat. “It was a really good experience for our younger players for next year.”

Devlin and fellow senior Gabby Bannett battled hard to extend their career, helping the Tigers draw within 54-53 with 2:03 left in regulation, but they could get no closer than that.

“We had a slow third quarter so we wanted to hype each other up, saying it is not over yet,” said Devlin. “It was a close game; it was me and Gabby’s last game here at PHS so there was a lot of emotion. Everyone played with their heart out on the court today.”

As a team captain, Devlin has looked to hype up her teammates over the years.

“I think about freshman year and I think about watching the older girls, they were really good leaders,” said Devlin, citing such mentors as Nora Devine and Brynne Hennessy. “I wanted to do that for the younger players. I wanted to stay positive. I know we had some games that we should have won but we were keeping our heads up. We had a really, really good season. We had had a good record.”

Devlin’s bond with classmate and co-captain Bannett, who also scored 10 points against Middletown,

“Our freshman year we had eight people in our class playing basketball, it is down to just us two,” said Devlin. “We definitely have a connection. We played together forever, more than four years. Working together to build up our team is really what we wanted for this year.”

Devlin has worked hard to improve her game, scoring 175 points this season with 75 rebounds and a teamhigh 82 assists.

“I know that those older girls really brought my confidence up, that is what you need in basketball,” said Devlin, who also stars in lacrosse at PHS and is looking to do a post-graduate year to help prepare her for college lax. “If you don’t shoot it, you don’t know how good of a player you are. I think my dribbling skills got better. I like making plays and setting my teammates up. I worked on that pretty well.”

PHS head coach Dave Kosa was excited to have a state game at home.

“We were really fired up, that was one of best halves ever for us to score 39 points,” said Kosa. “It was great to have a home game. We have got a lot of young girls coming back, so that is setting the table for the next couple of years.”

After falling behind the Eagles in the fourth quarter, PHS fought hard to come

back in the waning moments of the contest.

“It was right there, it was 51-50, they make a 3-point play and we come back and hit a three,” said Kosa. “We just needed to get the big stops. That is a really good program. They got the looks and they converted and executed. We still made it interesting but when it counted they capitalized.”

While the Tigers didn’t get over the hump against the Eagles, Kosa credited his players with producing a very good season.

“I am very proud of the effort,” said Kosa, whose squad reeled off a 10-game winning streak from early January into February.

“Even towards the end of that winning streak, we had a lot of girls who were hurt

and other girls stepped up. That is going to help us in the future.”

Kosa was proud of the way his two seniors, Devlin and Bannett, have stepped up for the program.

“It was awesome watching them play today and throughout the four years,” said Kosa. “For the last 10 games or so, Gabby is playing with a bum shoulder. It pops out, it goes back in. Riley is a gamer too; in big time games she steps up. It is just tremendous, the commitment and sacrifice that both of them have made to the program.”

In Kosa’s view, the program is in a good place going forward.

“We want to continue to improve the program, these last couple of years I think we have improved it each

year,” said Kosa, who got 16 points from sophomore Anna Winters against the Eagles with sophomore Katie Sharkey chipping in 13. “This year was a home game in the states, we had a tough matchup. If the matchup went another way, maybe it is different but we can’t control that. We just have to play who we play and this was a great game. Next year we are going to keep looking to take the next step.”

Devlin, for her part, believes that the effort the players put in this winter will yield dividends in the future.

“We worked really hard this year, every practice we came here hustling,” said Devlin. “Good luck to the girls next year, I am so proud of everyone.”

—Bill Alden

PASSING

Princeton High girls’ basketball player Riley Devlin passes the ball in a game earlier this season. Last Wednesday, senior guard Devlin scored 10 points as seventh-seeded PHS fell 62-57 to 10th-seeded Middletown South in the first round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey Group 4 sectional. The defeat left the Tigers with a final record of 15-9.

(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Senior Defenseman Shin Comes Up Big in Home Finale, Helping PDS Boys’ Hockey Make Non-Public Quarters

It was Han Shin’s last game at McGraw Rink and it turned out to be one of the best performances of his career.

Senior defenseman Shin scored a goal and had two assists to help sixth-seeded PDS defeat 11th-seeded Morristown-Beard 4-0 in the first round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public

tournament last Thursday.

“I had a great four years here, I am going to miss it,” said Shin. “Being out here, it was playing like it is my last time. It is definitely crazy because time flies.”

Shin helped the Panthers get off to a great start against the Crimson, scoring a goal with 2:39 left in the first period and then assisting on goals by Filip Kacmarsky and

Wyatt Ewanchyna in the last 30 seconds of the period.

“I just tried to float a puck on net and luckily the puck had eyes and it went in,” said Shin, reflecting on his goal. “We were just playing with confidence, we knew what we had to do. We were just excited and scored when we needed to. It helped us a lot, it gave us a comfortable lead throughout the game.”

HOMING IN: Princeton Day School boys’ hockey player Han Shin, right, battles a foe in recent action. Last Thursday, senior defenseman Shin tallied a goal and two assists to help sixthseeded PDS defeat 11th-seeded Morristown-Beard 4-0 in the first round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public tournament. On Monday, Shin contributed an assist as PDS fell 3-2 in overtime to sixth-seeded St. Augustine in the Non-Public quarterfinals to end the season with a 10-8-1 record.

With PDS having edged Mo-Beard 5-4 in a regular season meeting on January 22, the Panther defense tightened up in the state tourney rematch.

“We just stayed committed to our neutral zone and forced them to dump more pucks, not off the rush,” said Shin. “We just played smarter in the zone, I think overall we just committed more.”

Last Monday, PDS produced another strong defensive effort as the Panthers gave third-seeded and defending state champion St. Augustine a battle in the Non-Public quarterfinals, losing 3-2 in overtime to end their winter at 10-8-1

Shin, who contributed an assist in the defeat, worked hard over the years to make an impact for the program.

“I think it is being more poised with the puck and being more confident in my game,” said Shin, who is headed to Wesleyan University to compete for its Division III men’s hockey program. “Every year there is a bunch of great guys, it is a bond with them. I am a better person and our coaches are great every year and help us throughout.”

PDS head coach Scott Bertoli credited Shin with bringing his A-game in the win over Mo-Beard.

“You would love to see that all of the time, he is capable of doing that whenever he plays,” said Bertoli. “There was a simplicity to

his game today, he has such a dominant skill level. Han was awesome, he made a big difference.”

The Panther defense looked dominant at times against Mo-Beard.

“It has been an area of emphasis all year long to be good defensively, minimize chances, and minimize rush chances,” said Bertoli. “They probably only had two or three odd-man rushes the whole game. Part of that is our ability to skate and close gaps, whether it is Han or Strats (Connor Stratton) or [Max] Guche. They have the ability to do that.”

The two-goal outburst helped at the end of the first period and was a big boost for PDS.

“It allowed us to come in feeling really good about ourselves, it allowed us to stretch out the score a little bit which puts them in a situation where they have to start taking chances,” said Bertoli. “We had a ton of 2-on-1s in the second period because they are forced to extend themselves and try and get back into the game.”

Although PDS got knocked out by St. Augustine in the quarters, getting a win in the Non-Public tourney felt good for the Panthers.

“The state tournament has been something that we have looked forward to as a program and then we got the opportunity three years ago,” said Bertoli. “I just feel like we have underachieved

in some of these games. Today we played great, I thought we played as well as we possibly could. Outside of a little stretch in the third where we took a bunch of penalties, I thought we carried and controlled play and generated a ton of chances.”

Bertoli credited his senior group with showing heart over their time with the program.

“They have been through a lot; it has been some trying years in terms of wins and losses, COVID, and being in the Gordon Conference which really forces you to be at your very best game in, game out,” said Bertoli, whose crew of seniors included Liam Jackson, Stratton, and Shin. “We have played a lot of these teams but before we weren’t playing them twice. When you look at Delbarton, the Christian Brothers Academy, and Don Bosco, those are always junior and senior-heavy teams. These kids were forced to play as freshmen and sophomores against high level kids that are all two or three years older than them.”

Shin, for his part, has enjoyed the ride over the last four years.

“It just those bonds in the locker room and on the bus rides,” said Shin. “It is just having fun with the boys, just the little things that you take for granted but you know you will miss.”

—Bill Alden

(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Hun

Boys’ Hockey : Coming up short in its season finale, Hun fell 5-2 to Holy Ghost Prep (Pa.) on February 20. The defeat left the Raiders with a final record of 3-12.

Pennington

Girls’ Basketball : Morgan Mathews had a huge game to help third-seeded Pennington defeat fifthseeded Lawrenceville 5949 in the final of the Mercer County Invitational last Wednesday. Senior star and George Washington University commit Mathews poured in 36 points as the Red Hawks ended the winter with a 13-11 record.

second-seeded PDS topped seventh-seeded Kent Place 3-1 last Monday in the quarterfinals of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Girls’ Ice Hockey State Tournament. The Panthers, now 12-5, will face third-seeded Immaculate Heart in the state semis on February 28 at the Mennen Sports Arena in Morristown with the victor to advance to the final on March 4 at the Prudential Center in Newark.

Stuart

Basketball : Taylor States led the way as Stuart defeated STEMCivics 69-26 in its season finale last Wednesday. Sophomore standout States scored 29 points and grabbed 20 rebounds as the Tartans finished the season with a 6-7 record.

PHS PDS

Girls’ Basketball : Sophia Rae Barber and Nandini Kolli each scored six points as 14th-seeded PDS lost 85-23 to third-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas last Friday in the first round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) South Jersey Non-Public A tournament. The defeat left the Panthers with a final record of 3-16. Girls’ Hockey : Posting its fourth straight win,

Boys’ Basketball: Unable to get its offense going, 13th-seeded PHS fell 59-35 at fourth-seeded Marlboro last Wednesday in the first round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA)

Central Jersey Group 4 sectional. The Tigers ended the winter with a final record of 11-13.

Wrestling : Blase Mele provided a highlight as PHS competed in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic

Association (NJSIAA)

Region 5 tournament last weekend at Franklin High. Junior standout Mele took third at 138 pounds to qualify for the upcoming NJSIAA Individual State Championships from February 29 to March 2 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Senior Kwabena Afrifah also excelled at the tourney, taking fifth at 285 as he just missed qualifying for states.

Local Sports

Princeton 5K Race

Slated for March 16

The Princeton 5K is returning on March 16 for its 15th year.

The event annually brings together athletes — young and old, big and small, fast and not so fast — to run or walk while supporting the Princeton High cross country and track programs.

The in-person race starts in front of the Princeton Middle School at 217 Walnut Lane at 8:30 a.m. In addition to the 5K, there is a 300-meter kids dash for children under 10.

To register and get more information on the event,

log onto runsignup.com/ Race/NJ/Princeton/PrincetonNJ5K. Registration is also available in-person on race day.

The Princeton 5K is the largest annual fundraiser for the Princeton High School Cross Country Track and Field Booster (PHSCCTF) a 501(c)(3). All donations directly support the PHS boys’ and girls’ cross country and track teams.

Hopewell Valley 5K

Scheduled for March 16

The 2nd Annual Hopewell Valley 5K is taking place on March 16 at 9:30 a.m.

The theme for this year’s event is the “Lucky Bulldog Dash.” The race will kick off at the Hopewell Valley High and head down Dublin Road and back for an adventure to find a Pot O ’ Gold. Runners and walkers are encouraged to put on their greenest gear to try and catch the leprechaun.

Winners in age group categories will come away with a chocolate prize. Prizes will also be awarded for the best team and individual St. Patrick ’s theme costumes. There will also be a special prize for anyone who can catch the leprechaun.

To register, log onto raceroster.com/events/2024/ 83118/hopewell-valley-5k.

Newsstand Town Topics

Can be purchased Wednesday mor nings at the following locations:

Princeton

McCaffrey s

Kiosk Palmer Square

Speedy Mar t (State Road)

Wawa (Universit y Place)

Hopewell Village Express

Rocky Hill Wawa (Rt 518)

Pennington Pennington Market

ARTFUL MOVE: Princeton Day School boys’ basketball player Adam Stewart unloads the ball in a game this season. Last Thursday, Stewart tallied 15 points as 10th-seeded PDS fell 7160 at seventh-seeded St. Joseph (Hammonton) in the first round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) South Jersey Non-Public B tournament. The Panthers ended the season with a 7-16 record. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Obituaries

Glenn Michael Ams

Glenn Michael Ams, 66, of Princeton, passed away peacefully at his nursing home on Saturday, Feburary 24, 2024 surrounded by family. He was a kind, humorous, and loving man.

Glenn is survived by his siblings, Robert Ams, Rosemary (Ams) Raynor, Detlef Ams, and his many nieces and nephews. Glenn lived the majority of his adult life in Princeton with Robert, Susanne, Alexandria, and Matthew Ams. He is predeceased by his mother and father, Eleanore and Emmerich Ams.

Born with Down syndrome, Glenn grew up in Trenton, NJ, attending their school system. He enjoyed hanging out with his siblings, dribbling a basketball, swimming at the community pool, or going to the nearby Italian People’s Bakery. In Princeton, he was most recognized as the guy on the tricycle, and would many times be seen riding to his favorite spots, Thomas Sweet Ice Cream and McCaffrey’s Market where he made a number of friends over the last couple decades.

Glenn will also be fondly remembered as Philadelphia’s biggest sports fan, wearing Eagles and Phillies gear with pride every single day. Not a day would pass where he wouldn’t be sporting red or green for his teams.

Beyond his love for sports, Glenn found the most joy in life’s simple things. Whether he was enjoying an ice cold can of Coca-Cola, a ride in the car, sitting co-pilot in Robert or Matthew’s boat, peeling back a juicy clementine, or flipping through an old phone book, Glenn lived every experience in the present moment. Glenn’s vibrant spirit was also complemented by his passion for music. There was nothing better to Glenn than riding along in the car with the windows down and volume all the way up. His favorites were artists such as ABBA, the Village People, Glenn Fry, and Donna Summer.

Janice Edwards. John is also survived by his grandson, John M. Edwards Jr. and a great-randdaughter, Kayleigh Edwards, and a niece, Kathleen A. McCarthy. Burial will be private in the Rocky Hill Cemetery. Arrangements under the direction of M. J. Murphy Funeral Home, Monmouth Junction.

Doris K. Mapes

Doris (Dodie) Kleiber Mapes, 87, of Princeton and Stone Harbor, NJ, passed away at home on February 23, 2024.

Dorothy H. Fiero

Dorothy H. Fiero, a resident of Princeton, NJ, and Nantucket, MA, passed away just shy of her 96th birthday on January 22, 2024 at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center.

Glenn touched the hearts of endless people as well as countless animals. His compassion for all of the dogs and cats he had over the years never went unnoticed. Finn, Glenn’s last cat, was particularly fond of him. They would often take naps side by side in the middle of the afternoon. Glenn truly never failed to put a smile on anybody’s face just by being himself. His pure and beautiful soul will be greatly missed.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, March 1 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, 40 Vandeventer Avenue, Princeton.

John H. Edwards

John passed away peacefully, 96, at the Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton, NJ, on February 23, 2024. Born in Princeton, he was a lifelong resident of Kingston, NJ.

John graduated from Princeton High School in 1944. He was a United States Army World War II veteran. John was employed by Krajack Tank Lines for 48 years as an owner-operator.

John enjoyed camping and hiking with his family and beloved dogs. He was also a Nascar racing fan and loved country music.

Son of the late Hilda and James Edwards, John was predeceased by his wife, Dorothy (Sincak) Edwards of 54 years and sisters Virginia and Winifred and a brother, Ross Edwards. He is survived by his daughter, Linda Edwards, and son, John M. Edwards and daughter-in-law,

Born in Princeton, Dodie has been a lifelong member of the Princeton community. In 1956 Dodie married Charles F. Mapes Jr., a recent graduate of Princeton University (Class of 1955). Dodie and Charlie were essential to the class reunions and other activities. Her involvement was such that not only was she made an honorary class member but was also honored with Princeton University’s Society of the Claw. Dodie is Past President of the Present Day Club and the Dogwood Garden Club where she made lifelong friendships. Dodie managed the Princeton Indoor Tennis Center in the 1970s and as an avid crafter of needlepoint she later opened The Needle Craft Shop.

Dodie was a voracious reader and enjoyed spending time outdoors whether tending to her garden, playing tennis, or spending time on the beaches of Stone Harbor with family. Dodie and Charlie traveled the world, including many trips with the Class of ’55. Dodie and Charlie have been members of Bedens Brook Club for over 50 years.

Daughter of the late John Paul and Helen Higgins Kleiber, sister of the late Donald Kleiber (Betty) and Vernon Kleiber, she is survived by her husband, Charles F. Mapes Jr.; her children, Charles F. Mapes III and his wife Maureen, Linda Mapes, and Elizabeth “Libby” Yarnall and her husband Stephen; sister-in-law, Nancy Kleiber; nine grandchildren, Jeremy, Nicholas (Ashley), Ryan (Alan), Charles IV (Sara), Sidney, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Douglas (Patti), and Donald (Christy); 10 great-grandchildren, Austin, Adalynn, Nicholas, George, Jordan, Dylan, Alli, Sarah, Kayleigh and Raelynne; her niece Karen Aveyard and nephew Eric Kleiber. Dodie is also survived by her devoted canine companion, Abby, and many dear friends.

Dodie had a wonderful sense of humor, a great laugh, and gave the best hugs.

A Memorial Service to celebrate Dodie’s life will be announced in the spring.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, Princeton.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to your local animal shelter.

Dolly, as she was known to family and friends, was born on February 17, 1928 in Mount Vernon, New York. She was the second of two children. She graduated valedictorian from A.B. Davis High School and received a full scholarship to Northwestern University’s School of Journalism.

Dolly met her beloved husband, Charles E. Fiero Jr (Chuck), at her brother Walter’s engagement party in Bronxville, NY, in 1947. Chuck and Dolly were married on August 28, 1948 and honeymooned on Nantucket Island. They then lived in Middletown, CT, as Chuck finished his degree at Wesleyan University. The couple moved back to Bronxville, NY, when Chuck joined the Chase Manhattan Bank training program. Dolly gave birth to two daughters before moving abroad to Geneva, Switzerland, and London, England. While in London, she gave birth to a son.

During this period of her life, she traveled extensively throughout Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The family returned to the States and settled in Scarsdale, NY, until 1976 when a move brought Dolly and her family to Princeton, NJ, where she happily lived for the rest of her life.

Dolly was a longtime member of the Present Day Club, a supporter of the ASPCA, and an active volunteer at the Medical Center of Princeton, where she accumulated more than 2,000 hours of service. She was an avid reader, a needlepointer, and a die-hard New York Yankees fan. She loved the theater and travel, especially to the beaches of Anguilla and Hawaii. Her happiest times were always on the beach with a book in hand and family around — especially her six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Predeceased by Chuck, her husband of 66 years, Dolly is survived by her daughter Diane F. Claffey (husband Don) of Martinsville, Indiana, her daughter Wendy F. Morgan (husband Hugh) of Barrington, RI, and her son David E. Fiero (wife Kathleen) of Princeton, NJ; six grandchildren: Nick Brown (wife Kelly), Christopher Brown (husband Stephen), Heather Gugenheim (husband Zack), Brian Morgan, Sara Gullison (husband Ed), Jeffrey Morgan; and six greatgrandchildren.

A memorial service will be held this summer on Nantucket.

Herman Stanley Parish III, a 30-year resident of Princeton, died unexpectedly on February 10. He was the third child born to Virginia Ballentine and Dr. Herman Stanley Parish Jr., a flight surgeon in the U.S. Airforce in Waco, Texas, in 1953. Following Dr. Parish’s retirement from the USAF, the family settled in Cheyenne, WY, which Herman considered his home.

He graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with degrees in Finance, Accounting, and Management and was a member of the ZBT fraternity. His nearly 50-year relationship with his wife Rosemary began while they were students at Penn. Following his graduation, he served as a midshipman in the U.S. Navy and in the reserves supporting Navy Seal teams in Europe. Herman separated honorably as a Lieutenant Commander in 1985.

After four years as a midshipman in the Western Pacific, he began a 13-year career in advertising as an account executive, copy writer, and creative director. He created multiple award-winning campaigns during his time at Ogilvy and Mather, Young and Rubicam, and other agencies.

Friends and acquaintances saw him as a thoughtful and thoroughly lovely man with a biting sense of humor. Yet few of his Princeton friends knew him as the beloved author of the children’s classic Amelia Bedelia . His modesty forbade it.

His aunt, Peggy Parish, introduced the literal-minded maid in 1963, writing 12 books in the series. His close relationship with his aunt ended with her death in 1988. Responding to requests to continue the series, Herman decided to do so himself, adding 59 titles to the series. They included picture books, I Can Read, and chapter books, several rising to the New York Times bestseller list. His owlish wisdom was revealed through the pages of his books featuring the rollicking adventures of the grown-up, and young Amelia, who he described as “littler, but just as literal as ever.”

Herman saw himself as the Pied-Piper for early reading, lecturing at schools and libraries in more than

22 states. He emphasized the importance of writing and editing throughout his career; he understood that a series of books encouraged young readers to build on familiar literary territory. His humor, as well as his clear writing, engaged the funny bone of children and adults alike. Recently the books found new communities of interest in the autism spectrum and ESL readers.

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the series, Herman observed that he and his aunt agreed that “there was a narrow window where children could read or be interested in reading. If you miss that opportunity, it is very difficult to engage them later.”

In 2014, Herman suffered a life-threatening stroke.

After 17 days in the ICU, thanks to the heroic efforts of Doctors Gaurav Gupta and Sudipta Roychowdhury, and the ICU staff at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, he made a full recovery and resumed his writing.

Herman enjoyed fly fishing, which he learned as an adolescent in his beloved Wyoming, flower gardening, cooking, classical piano, and walking in his muchloved Mountain Lake Park. He was a longtime member of Trinity Episcopal Church. He is survived by his loving wife Rosemary; his sisters Mary Parish and Fredericka Lake; his adoring children Stan, Philip, and Margaret Parish; his daughters-in-law Anna Sanchez-Bendahan and Emmalee Carr-Parish; and his granddaughters Lola Rose Parish and Dorothy Owen Parish.

A memorial service and celebration of his life will be held at Trinity Church Princeton in May. Following his unanticipated death, his friends and family bid Herman — “Now cracks a noble heart. Goodnight sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

www.towntopics.com

Herman Stanley Parish III

Donald Craig Sheasley

Donald Craig Sheasley of Princeton, NJ, passed away peacefully at age 89 on the crisp winter afternoon of January 17, 2024, a bookend to his arrival on the sunny autumn afternoon of October 7, 1934, in Lock Haven, PA.

The son of Ernest Doyle and Clara Eleanor (Kieser Hare) Sheasley, his parents and younger brother, George Bartrum Sheasley, later settled in South Pottstown, PA, along the Schuylkill River. He attended North Coventry High School, was active in the school choir, and graduated in 1952 as co-valedictorian.

While at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA, Don joined the college choir and the drama club Mask and Dagger and served as senior class president. Don graduated with a degree in education in 1956 and taught sixth grade for a year at Greenwich Elementary School in Stewartsville, NJ. He hit a detour in July 1957 when drafted by Uncle Sam and served two years in the Army completing boot camp on the day Sputnik was launched. Don was sent to Baumholder Army Base in Germany, served as company clerk and fire direction control, and led musical events at bases in Germany.

After Army discharge in 1959 he returned to New Jersey, taught English classes at Piscataway High School, and was an advisor to the drama club. He took a sabbatical from teaching in 1965 and received a master’s degree in literature from Seton Hall University in 1967. Returning to teaching at PHS he also coached the golf team until retirement in 1992.

Don spent many years acting in community theater from 1960s-1981 at Foothill Playhouse in Middlesex, NJ, and directed plays including Ten Little Indians, A Doll’s House, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Arms and the Man.

In 1973 he returned to his love of vocal performance and pursued an interest in opera, studying with Ron Naldi, a tenor who had joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Don auditioned at the Princeton University Opera in 1977 and was offered the role of Sarastro in The Magic Flute. He landed several opera roles during that period with the Suburban Opera and Opera at Florham; by the late 1970s Don had become a Verdi baritone.

Don’s Lincoln Center debut with the Princeton University Opera in 1982 was in the role of Don Pizarro in Beethoven’s Fidelio. At the height of his career Don sang Rigoletto, Scarpia, Tonio and other roles with the Trenton Civic Opera and the Boheme Opera; he joined the Piccolo Opera performing Count DeLuna. Following other roles with the Opera Festival in Lawrenceville, he joined the Berks Grand Opera in Reading, PA, as Sharpless in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.

As a member of Opera International in the 1990s Don appeared at Merkin Hall and Alice Tully Hall in

New York and concert and oratorio settings for Hollywood composer Phil Springer. During that period he sang with Jersey Lyric Opera, the Baroque Orchestra of NJ, Concert Opera of NJ, as well as the Little Opera of NJ, the Verismo Opera, and the Regina Opera.

Don released a CD of arias and art songs, Warm As Autumn Light, in 1999.

Even into his late seventies Don performed in concerts with the Baroque Orchestra of NJ, The Opera Project in Hunterdon County, and the Eastern Opera Company in Morris County.

In addition to singing, Don contributed his formidable vocal talents locally as a reader for Learning Ally, a nonprofit organization supporting those with learning difficulties, as a reader and proofreader at the recording studio for the Blind and Dyslexic, and as a reviewer for 55PLUS programs. He collaborated with Dick Swain and Martin Rome on several musical events in Princeton.

When he wasn’t singing or volunteering, Don enjoyed golfing, bicycle trips, and gardening at the Walnut Lane home he shared with his life partner Julie. He was fascinated with genealogy and spent countless hours researching his family background, discovering tangential family connections along the way. He learned that relatives on both sides of his family had fought in the Revolutionary War as well as the Battle of Trenton and in the Union Army during the Civil War.

Don is survived by his partner of 42 years, Julie R. Wald of Princeton, NJ; his sons, Dirk Sheasley of Bridgewater, NJ, Ross Sheasley of Lawrenceville, NJ, and Kent Sheasley of Mashpee, MA; the mother of his sons and former wife,

Nancy Ann Sheasley of Piscataway, NJ; his childrenin-law Rebecca, York, and Sonja; Julie’s children Jon Wald, Lise Karas, Alison Wald, and Su Stanfa; his sister-in-law, Ann Sheasley of Lansdale, PA, and her children Alan, Gwen Jonik of Pottstown, PA, and Dane; Nancy’s caretaker Antonio; and Don and Julie’s grandchildren Meghan, Kelland, Noah, Kathryn, Bridgit, Rose, August, Abby, Madison, Noah, Lauren, Lindsay, and great-grandsons Samuel and Brayden.

Christine P. Tamasi

Christine P. Tamasi, 88, of Princeton died on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center, Plainsboro, New Jersey, surrounded by her loving family. Born in Pettoranello del Molise, Italy, she immigrated to the United States in 1946 and has been a lifelong Princeton resident. She was a graduate of Princeton High School Class of 1954, member of St. Paul’s Church, member and served as secretary of the Altar Rosary Society, and member of the Princeton Italian American Sportsman Club Ladies Auxiliary. Christine was a diehard Yankee Fan. She was a terrific cook and baker and enjoyed cooking for her family and friends.

Daughter of the late Umberto and Filomena (Nini) Pirone, sister of the late Felix Pirone, sister-in-law of the late Elizabeth Pirone, she is survived by her husband of 64 years Teodoro Tamasi; sons Mario (and Debra), Mark, Matthew (and Jessica); daughter Melinda (and Anthony) Godonis; a brother Anthony Pirone; brothers-in-law and sistersin-law Sam and Mary Ann Tamasi, Maria and Sandy Procaccini, Camillo and Vincenza Paolino; five grandchildren: Tyler Tamasi (Lucia), Caroline Tamasi, Tony, Will, and Michael Godonis; and several loving aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins.

The funeral was held on Saturday, February 24, 2024, at the Mather-Hodge Funeral Home 40 Vandeventer Avenue, Princeton. Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at St. Paul’s Church, 216 Nassau Street, Princeton. Burial followed in Princeton Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to St. Paul’s Church, 216 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ 08540.

Janet Kirk, 80, died peacefully in her Princeton home on Saturday, February 24, 2024.

Born in Milaca, Minnesota, to Merle and Louise (Pearson) Kirk, she grew up on a small farm

near Onamia, Minnesota. Janet attended elementary school in Onamia, where her mother was her teacher. She graduated from Onamia High School with Honors in 1961, and immediately left home for the “big city” (Minneapolis). She worked for Prudential Insurance, Honeywell, Inc., and several law firms, as a legal secretary. While working, she attended the University of Minnesota, graduating with a degree in Political Science.

She loved reading, meeting people, writing short stories, playing the piano, cats, going to concerts, movies, shows, museums, art and history lectures, and traveling to “unknown places.” On one such travel, she met one Michael Diesso, and they were married a year later.

They lived in Maryland for a year, and then moved to Princeton in 1980, where they first rented, then bought and renovated, the house they lived in ever since.

Upon moving to Princeton, Jan joined the staff of Town Topics and retired from there after 22 years of working in the front office, as well as being the Town Topics movie critic.

Together, Jan and Michael traveled around the world, through the Panama and Suez Canals, around both Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope, as far north as the North Cape, Norway, as far south as Antarctica.

Janet is survived by her husband, Michael, her sister Anita Zaske and brother-inlaw, Dennis Zaske, many relatives, and friends around the world.

In lieu of flowers or donations, go out and have a dinner and drinks in memory of Janet Kirk.

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Call (609) 924-2200, ext 10 circulation@towntopics.com tf

MOVING? TOO MUCH STUFF IN YOUR BASEMENT?

Sell with a TOWN TOPICS classified ad!

Call (609) 924-2200 ext. 10; classifieds@towntopics.com

DEADLINE: Tues before 12 noon

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.

01-17-25

THE MAID

STORAGE UNIT FOR RENT

(609) 333-6932. 03-13

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. 02-28

SEEKING NICE APARTMENT WALKING DISTANCE TO

TOWN. Ideal tenant: mature, great finances, no pets. Using Zillow & RE agents but no luck, so trying word of mouth. Please phone (240) 3307343.

02-28

I CLEAN HOUSES, OFFICES, APARTMENTS, BASEMENTS AND CLOSETS. Experienced and reliable. NJ driver’s license. Free estimates. English and Spanish-speaking. Please call Angelica anytime at (609) 462-4592. 02-28

EXPERIENCED M-F, LIVE-IN

CAREGIVER, SOME WEEKENDS. Excellent references. Princeton preferred. (609) 203-5206. 03-06

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

HANDYMAN–CARPENTER: Painting, hang cabinets & paintings, kitchen & bath rehab. Tile work, masonry. Porch & deck, replace rot, from floors to doors to ceilings. Shelving & hook-ups. ELEGANT REMODELING. You name it, indoor, outdoor tasks. Repair holes left by plumbers & electricians for sheetrock repair. RE agents welcome. Sale of home ‘checklist’ specialist. Mercer, Hunterdon,