Features Einstein and His Interest in Magnetism . . 5
Sale of Jasna Polana Golf Club Expected to Close July 9 8
July at Morven Offers Array of Programs . . . 10
Celebrating Franz Kafka’s Birthday in This Week’s Book Review 12
Yardley Players Stage
The Sound of Music at Kelsey Theatre 13
PHS Lax’s Kenah, Hun Softball’s Kobryn, PDS Lax’s Caputo Get the Nod as Town Topics’ Leading Spring Performers 19-20
With its Roster Expanding To 50 Athletes, PDS Track Program Made Strides this Spring 21
Improvements Have Begun At Battlefield Park to Prepare for Anniversary
Subtle changes are underway at Princeton Battle eld State Park. Those familiar with the site along Mercer Road may have noticed that some trees have been removed, especially around the Thomas Clarke House.
This is just the beginning of a multiyear project to make the site of Gen. George Washington’s January 1777 “Ten Crucial Days” victory against the British more historically accurate. By the time celebrations of the nation’s 250th anniversary begin in 2026, the park should more closely resemble that wartime landscape.
It is all part of a plan called “Washington’s Legacy,” and it includes the installation of a walking path, replanting of an orchard near where the Clarke House once stood, the restoration of historic tree lines, and the recreation of the Sawmill Trace Road, which Washington and his troops traveled as they came to the battle eld. The project is a collaboration of the Princeton Battle eld Society (PBS), the American Battle eld Trust (ABT), and the State of New Jersey.
“The good thing about all of this is that it’s a real three-legged stool,” said Todd Quackenbush of the PBS. “We’re hoping it will be something of a model.”
Princeton Battle eld Park is the rst Revolutionary War battlefield that the ABT, formerly known as the Civil War Trust, has undertaken to upgrade since widening its focus beyond the Civil War.
“So we’re the lead echelon,” said Quackenbush. “It’s very exciting and a nice distinction.”
The project aims to relocate visitor services to outside core battle eld land, “which not only helps turn back the clock, but creates the potential for a new education center and expanded parking and bus access,” reads the website of the ABT. The ABT’s “phased approach to accomplishing this vision will transform Princeton Battle eld State Park into a model for cultural heritage landscapes ahead of 2026.”
Will Krakauer, resource interpretive specialist at the park, is quoted on the website, “Visitors will get to walk the same pathways that Washington and his men took 250 years ago. They’ll get to survey the grounds and see in their mind’s eye what it would have been like to witness
Vision, Dental Help Renewed for At-Risk Locals
Addressing the need for accessible and affordable vision and dental care in the low to moderate-income (LMI) local population, Princeton Council has approved resolutions to renew federal programs that are fully funded by a HUD Community Development Block Grant.
“I’m thrilled that we’re continuing this,” said Councilwoman Leticia Fraga, as the Council at their June 24 meeting unanimously supported the resolution for the third year of the programs. “These are truly life-changing services that we’re providing.”
“Offering free dental and vision care to our LMI residents is an essential and impactful measure to guarantee fair access to vital health services,” Fraga added in a July 1 email. “For many, this is their rst chance to receive such care, which is critical for their overall health.”
She continued, “Maintaining good dental health can prevent severe conditions like tooth decay, gum disease, and infections that affect nutrition and general well-being. Likewise, proper vision care enhances quality of life by enabling individuals to perform daily activities efciently and safely, thereby boosting their educational and employment prospects. By investing in these essential services, we are promoting a healthier, more
productive community and recognizing the dignity and value of every resident, irrespective of their nancial situation.”
The resolution authorized an agreement for dental care for an amount not to exceed $17,014 for the dental practice of Lekha Tull on North Harrison Street and for vision care for an amount not to exceed $11,343 for Alma Jacobsen Family Eye Care and Contact Lens with offices in North Brunswick and Hamilton.
About 138 patients have been served
by these programs since 2022, many of whom were visiting a dentist or ophthalmologist for the rst time.
Jacobsen, who brings her practice to the Princeton Municipal Building about once a month to support the program, provides patients with a full comprehensive eye examination, checking vision and ocular health, and providing glasses when necessary. Her uency in Spanish has helped her with the large number of Spanish-speaking program participants.
POOL TIME: A youngster recently enjoyed the water slide at Community
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Local Nonprofits Awarded Grants for Summer Programs
The Princeton Area Community Foundation awarded $500,000 in grants to more than two dozen nonprofits for summer programs that engage local young people, especially tweens and teens living in underserved communities. This is the second consecutive year that the grants have been awarded. The goals of the grants are to help bridge access to summer programming and increase the participation of youth in structured experiences and support families who may not otherwise have options available.
Recipients include the Arts Council of Princeton,
Artworks Trenton, Capital Harmony Works, Home Front, HomeWorks Trenton, Mercer Street Friends, Princeton Community Housing, Princeton Nursery School, The Watershed Institute, YWCA of Princeton, Trenton Circus Squad, and Princeton-Blairstown Center. A total of 29 nonprofits received funding.
The summer programs offer a wide range of activities including academic lessons, arts and crafts, swimming, sports, photography lessons, and field trips. Many also serve meals to the participants and some offer transportation. The programs are also designed to help prevent
academic summer slide and provide social emotional learning lessons and enrichment opportunities. “We are committed to our communities, and to working with nonprofit partners who work daily to support families and help make a difference for children,” said Nelida Valentin, Community Foundation vice president of grants and programs. “We know that for many of these working families, summertime presents childcare challenges, which is why we’re funding these outstanding programs. Having caring adults and good programming that reaches kids can make a difference in the lives of young people.”
Topics In Brief A Community Bulletin
conversations about issues impacting Princeton from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: On July 3 at Chopt, Princeton Shopping Center; July 10 at the Carnevale Kiosk on Nassau Street next to 7-Eleven; July 17 at Ficus, 235A Nassau Street; July 24 at Godfrey Fitzgerald Salon, 15 Witherspoon Street; and July 31 at Hilton’s Princeton, 221 Witherspoon Street. All are welcome.
Food Pantry : Arm in Arm’s mobile food pantry is at the Lawrence Headquarters Branch of Mercer County Library System, 2751 Brunswick Pike, on Monday afternoons in July from 2-4 p.m. Fresh produce, eggs, milk, frozen proteins, and quality baked goods as well as canned and boxed items and personal care items are available for those in need.
Photo Contest : Friends of Princeton Open Space holds the ninth annual Per
spectives on Preservation Photo Contest with a submission deadline of September
Photos taken at the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Open
area
be submitted by professionals and amateurs; they must have been taken during the past three years. Visit fopos.org for more information.
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8.
Space
can
POWER IN PINK: This past February, JM Group hosted its annual Pink Pearl Night at Blue Point Grill, raising $14,000 to support the YWCA Princeton’s Breast Cancer Resource Center (BCRC). At the recent check presentation are, from left, Dimitri Andreadis, chief financial officer, JM Group; Sam Martinez, general manager of Blue Point Grill Princeton; Melissa White-McMahon, director of YWCA BCRC Princeton; Karen Faiman, YWCA Princeton chief advancement officer; and Jess Morrison, vice president of JM Group.
EINSTEIN IN DOHM ALLEY: Town officials joined Princeton Einstein Museum creators for a ribboncutting event with magnets at the opening of “Einstein’s Attraction to Magnetism,” a pop-up exhibition in Dohm Alley at 102 Nassau Street through September 15. From left are Einstein Museum Board Treasurer Riten Patel, Princeton Plasma Physics Lab Staff Research Physicist Frances Kraus, Princeton Councilwoman Eve Niedergang, Princeton Municipal Administrator Bernie Hvozdovic Jr., Princeton Councilwoman Michelle Pirone Lambros, property owner Stanley Dohm, and exhibit designer Jonn McCollum. (Photo
Dohm Alley Exhibition Features Einstein And His Interest in Wonders of Magnetism
“Einstein’s Attraction to Magnetism,” a summer popup exhibition, opened with
a ribbon-cutting celebration on June 27 at Dohm Alley on Nassau Street, and it will remain open through September 15.
Created by the Princeton Einstein Museum, which is under development for a future opening, the exhibit includes four 9x4-foot banners with information about magnetism and how it is used, Princeton-area research using magnets, a life-sized Einstein selfie, and a hands-on ferrofluid playground.
TOPICS
Of the Town
The presentation starts with an image of a compass and the story of Einstein’s father giving him a compass when he was 5, which prompted his lifelong curiosity about invisible forces. The actual compass that Einstein owned is currently in the collection of the Historical Society of Princeton.
in Einstein as a scientist, but the more I learned, the more I realized it is important to talk about his life in Princeton and his work as a humanitarian,” said Romanaux. “I think it’s important that everyone understand his deep relationship with the Black community, for example. He’s a wonderful role model in many ways.”
Sheldon Sturges, cofounder and administrator of Princeton Future, which
The exhibition was created by Princeton Plasma Physics Lab Staff Research Physicist Frances Kraus, quantum physicist Deborah Berebichez, exhibit designer Jonn McCollum, and museum founder Elizabeth Romanaux. It has been funded by the Richard Lounsbery Foundation.
“As we continue developing the museum, we are offering pop-up exhibits so the public can get an idea about what we will be all about, and for supporters to understand why it’s worth getting behind this exciting project,” said Romanaux, who worked in Jersey City’s Liberty Science Center for 28 years, witnessing “how hands-on science exhibits help connect people with science.”
The Einstein Museum’s 2023 exhibit, “Albert Einstein: Champion of Racial Justice,” opened at the Princeton Public Library a year ago and has been touring the state during the past year. It is at the Mercer County Library on Route 1 in Lawrence Township through the end of July.
“When I started this project I was primarily interested
HANDHELDS
All sandwiches served with your choice of Kaiser or Brioche Bun
manages the Dohm Alley cultural space, applauded the collaboration with Romanaux and the Einstein Museum.
“Albert Einstein is a unifying part of the history of the town, and Princeton is very proud of that history,” said Sturges. “When Elizabeth came forward with the idea of having an exhibit in the alley, we were very pleased, and we hope the town will find the exhibit on magnetism interesting.”
He continued, noting that a great deal of foot traffic goes by Dohm Alley every day, “and another thing that’s very exciting is that the municipality and the government, the zoning officials, and the owner of the property have all come together supporting the project.”
Sturges added that the Arts Council of Princeton is considering a future display in Dohm Alley, and he is hopeful that other Princeton organizations will step up to sponsor exhibitions. “It may be an idea whose time has come,” he said.
As far as the Princeton Einstein Museum is concerned,Romanaux suggested an opening will take place “in a few years,” with the pop-up exhibitions to enjoy in the meantime.
“By tapping into people’s apparently unquenchable interest in Dr. Einstein, we can intrigue visitors with his contributions to science as well as lesser known aspects of his life,” she said.
—Donald
Gilpin
Applications Being Accepted For Artist Fellowship Programs
The Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University is accepting applications from artists in all artistic disciplines for two opportunities: the Princeton Arts Fellowship and the Hodder Fellowship. Details and link to the online applications are posted at arts.princeton. edu/fellowships. Both applications are due by September 10.
A forum for the expression of opinions about local and national issues.
Question of the Week: “How do you like to spend the Fourth of July?”
(Photos by Grace Roberts)
Princeton Arts Fellowships are awarded to artists whose achievements have been recognized as demonstrating extraordinary promise in any area of artistic practice and teaching. Applicants should be early career visual artists, filmmakers, composers, conductors, musicians, choreographers, poets, novelists, playwrights, designers, directors and performance artists, and others who would find it beneficial to spend time teaching and working in an artistically vibrant university community.
Fellows spend two consecutive academic years (September 1-July 1) at Princeton and formal teaching is expected. The normal work assignment will be to teach one course each semester subject to approval by the dean of the faculty, but fellows may be asked to take on an artistic assignment in lieu of a class, such as directing a play or creating a dance with students.
A $92,000 a year stipend is provided for each of the two years.
Princeton Arts Fellowships are funded in part by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, David E. Kelley Society of Fellows in the Arts, and the Maurice R. Greenberg Scholarship Fund.
“Eat barbeque, swim, watch fireworks, and hang out with family and friends.”
—Ben Palmet, Kansas City, Mo.
Julie: “Nothing, frankly — it’s too busy out here! Any major holiday is my ‘do things around the house’ time.” Kirsten: “Eat ice cream!”
Julie P., Yardley, Pa., and Kirsten Herdman, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Theo: “Going to a parade.”
Elsa: “Going to the beach and seeing a parade!”
—Elsa and Theo Speedie, Princeton
River: “Go to the pool, and surf!”
—Viola and River Bolton, Princeton
Battlefield Park
continued from page one hundreds of British troops on the hill opposite them. They’ll march over the same ground, stand on battle lines, charge through the recreated apple orchard — it’s going to be an amazing experience.”
The park’s beginnings date from 1946, when Princeton landowners gifted some 40 acres to the State of New Jersey. The site has grown to include some 80 acres, not including the adjacent Institute Woods owned by the Institute for Advanced Study. The battlefield was listed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s “America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places” in 2012.
New trails and signage are part of the plan. So is digital technology, including a new Princeton Battlefield app that “will be immersed in the battle’s action and the lives of its participants through a combination of augmented reality, audio, video, and imagery,” according to the ABT website.
Though its installation post-dates the historic battle, the colonnade is being restored as part of the project. “We’re very gratified that the good folks at the state have stepped up,” said Quackenbush. “Major maintenance is needed. When you get up close, you can see that these almost 200-year-old columns need work.”
By the end of next year, major changes will have taken place on the battlefield. The goal is to make it not only more historically accurate, but also more enjoyable for visitors.
“I say this all the time, but people who live in the Princeton area don’t always realize how enormously consequential the battle was,” said Quackenbush. “It was the capstone that turned the Revolution around.”
—Anne Levin
JUDITH BUDWIG
Sales Associate
Homeworks Trenton
continued from page one meeting with Tung. “She said, ‘Oh, we’d like to find a permanent home one day.’ I said to her, ‘Why don’t you find the place now? And I’ll help.’ We started touring Trenton, and looked at a bunch of buildings. This building really spoke to her. She really felt the connection to it. I talked to her about how I thought her vision could happen there.”
The future home of Homeworks Trenton is on Edgewood Avenue, at the edge of the city’s Cadwalader Park. The house was originally built in the 1740s. “It was a farmhouse before being turned into the Trenton branch of the Florence Crittenton Home for Fallen Women,” said Zinder. “In the 1990s to 2011, it became a residential women’s program home for the New Jersey Juvenile Justice System. So for over 100 years, this building has supported the women of Trenton. The fact that it has that legacy, and that Homeworks is really about scholarship and giving these young women a foundation to meet their dreams, makes this building a good fit.”
Tung was a sophomore at Princeton University when she started teaching at Trenton High School. Witnessing the destructive way young women often pitted themselves against each other, she started wondering about alternatives. Specifically, would the kind of supportive boarding school environment she experienced at the Lawrenceville School be possible in Trenton?
“Being able to live with teachers and have the 24/7 support that I had at Lawrenceville made me realize the power of women and the power of community,” said Tung. “I had been in spaces where girls were not lifting each other up. This [Lawrenceville] was the first time I was in a space where they were doing that rather than tearing each other down.
It was very powerful. It made me feel invincible. What if I brought my boarding school experience to Trenton?”
For a homework assign ment in a class on entre preneurship during her sophomore year at Princ eton, Tung created a non profit based on that idea. That summer, she launched a four-week residential pi lot program with five girls. The program now boasts 25 girls, currently housed on the campus of Rider University. They live in a dormitory during the week, and go home on weekends. Staff takes them to and from school. Students, staff mem bers, and their families live together.
Ground for the new home will be broken this summer. The goal for moving in is June 2025. Fundraising is ongoing, Tung said, with about $1.5 million in place from foundations, individuals, and the New Jersey State Legislature. The goal is $4.5 million.
Most recently, the Taco Bell Foundation awarded Homeworks $25,000.
“The most important thing about the new building is that we’ll be able to get our staff permanent housing,” she said. “That’s huge. What I’ve realized is that Homeworks is really about the people, the team that makes it what it is today. We need staff who are really dedicated, and to have housing for them and their families will really be a game changer, putting us to another level where we can flourish. Being actually rooted in Trenton is going to be great. One of our values is community, and it is so important to us to be where our community is. Being able to be back in the Trenton community, and be a pillar there, will be awesome. We definitely want to do more for the community.”
Being formally recognized is nothing new for Tung. Before last week’s Women of Achievement award, there have been honors for her and the program from McKinsey & Company, Barclays, Camelback Ventures, Comcast, Hollister, Princeton University, and more.
Tung is thankful to Zinder for his efforts in making the permanent home a reality.
“He is our biggest ally and advocate, and I am beyond grateful to him and his team,” she said. “They are extremely intentional. He has really put our scholars first. He had them come and pick out the roof and bathroom tiles. They had options. That’s why I trust him so much with this project. We also had a woman of color on an architects’ panel, speaking to the scholars about architecture and interior design.”
Zinder, in turn, has been impressed by Tung’s dedication and drive. “Getting historic and zoning approvals is what we do, day in and day out,” he said. “But the remarkable thing is that throughout it all, Natalie was guiding the vision. She has raised a significant amount of money, is getting grants, and managed to secure a loan from TD Bank. She had this vision. Yes, I encouraged her, but she has
brought it to this point. It looks like Homeworks will become a model for doing it in other cities. That vision is why I submitted her for the Women of Achievement award.”
—Anne Levin
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HOME AWAY FROM HOME: Scholars in the Homeworks Trenton program, which will soon have a permanent headquarters designed by JZA+D near the city’s Cadwalader Park. Homeworks houses girls who attend Trenton public schools during the week, providing support and structure to help them thrive.
Sale of Jasna Polana Golf Club
Expected to Close on July 9
The Jasna Polana Golf Club is under a purchase/ sale agreement with Concert Golf Partners to sell the club and its amenities. The transaction is expected to close on July 9. Concert Golf Partners is a property investment company in Heathrow, Fla., with more than 30 private clubs in its collection.
The 222-acre property and 18-hole golf course, bordered by Route 206 and Province Line Road, has been on the market since last September. It will remain in full use as a golf club and will not be developed, according to administration of the club.
“One hundred percent, they will keep it as is,” said Peter Angerame, Jasna Polana’s director of sales and marketing. “They didn’t buy this to develop it.”
A recent email to members from Jasna Polana General Manager Heather Haggan said, “After careful consideration, the club’s owner, Jasna Polana Golf Club LLC, recently decided that it has found the perfect successor to fill its shoes. The owners believe the sale of TPC [Tournament Players Club] Jasna Polana is in the best interest of all parties involved at this time. The owner has signed a purchase/ sale agreement with Concert Golf Partners to purchase the club and its amenities. Rest assured, our dedication to our members and associates remains steadfast. We are confident that Concert Golf Partners, with their
proven record of accomplishment with other clubs, will continue to uphold the high standards and values of TPC Jasna Polana.”
Built in 1975 as a private home by Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical heir J. Seward Johnson Sr. and his third wife, Barbara Piasecka Johnson, the 46,000-square-foot mansion, which had only two bedrooms, was designed by Wallace Harrison, architect of the United Nations headquarters and the Metropolitan Opera House. It was converted to an exclusive golf course in 1998, with the mansion serving as the clubhouse.
When Princeton’s Master Plan was being rewritten last year, there was some speculation that the property was being considered by the municipality as a potential site for redevelopment. In a public survey that was part of the process, residents had been asked to rank four different sites as possible redevelopment opportunities. Jasna Polana was among them.
Mayor Mark Freda and Princeton Council made it clear that the property was not being considered for such a use. “No amendments to the current zoning ordinance for this site are contemplated by Princeton Council at this time,” a September 12, 2023 memorandum read.
—Anne Levin
Tell them you saw their ad in
Historic Roebling Museum
Offers Summer Town Tours
The Roebling Museum, at 100 2nd Avenue in Roebling, is offering a “Company Town Walking Tour” every Saturday in the summer at 1 p.m. (weather dependent). Take a guided tour and learn about the workers who helped build some of America’s famous bridges. Discover the stories of workers who lived in the houses, from immigrant laborers to wealthy superintendents.
Roebling Museum tells the story of the origins and growth of Roebling, a company town built by John A. Roebling’s Sons Company. Some of the important technological achievements of the industrial age such as big bridges, telegraphs and telephones, electrification, deep mines, big ships, elevators, and airplanes as well as everyday objects were built in Roebling.
As a former gateway to a sprawling steel mill, the Roebling Museum building once served as the passage point for thousands of workers each day. Roebling Museum believes that the industrial development of the U.S. is best illustrated and understood through the experiences of the people who built our shared history, according to its website. The core of the museum’s story is the innovative engineering ideas developed by John A. Roebling, who is best known for designing the Brooklyn Bridge. His three sons, Washington, Ferdinand and Charles, built their father’s company into the world’s leading producer of wire rope with four factories and nearly 8,000 employees
at its peak. In 1904, when competition pushed them to start making their own steel, they bought farmland on the Delaware River and built the factory complex known as the Kinkora Works and the company town known as Roebling, for their workers.
Since opening its doors in 2010, Roebling Museum has offered programs, exhibits, and tours that emphasize and celebrate the experiences of those who lived in Roebling and worked for the John A. Roebling’s Sons Company.
Tickets for the walking tours can be purchased at the museum at $5 for the tour, and $3 when purchased with the museum admission. Free for members.
For further information about the tours and other upcoming events offered by Roebling Museum, go to roeblingmuseum.org
Reading of Douglass’ Speech At Trent House Museum
The Trent House Association will present an outdoor reading of one of Frederick Douglass’ most famous speeches, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” during Trenton’s Liberty Week, on Sunday, July 7 at 3 p.m. The location is 15 Market Street in Trenton. If it rains, the program moves inside the Trent House Museum.
In addition to listening to the reading, visitors can join in singing “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” a Union Army marching song during the Civil War, and “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” written during the post-Reconstruction period after the war. Admission is free.
After escaping from enslavement in Maryland, Douglass became a leading abolitionist renowned for his eloquent oratory and antislavery writings. He gave this speech on July 5, 1852, in Rochester, N.Y. In his speech, Douglass referred to the Declaration of Independence as establishing a nation committed to providing opportunity for “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” to all its citizens. In less than a decade, that nation was embroiled in a civil war about the legitimacy of the enslavement of people of African descent.
The words to the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” were written by Julia Ward Howe, an active white abolitionist, in 1861. It was sung as a marching song by Union troops. In 1900, Black civil rights activist and NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson and his brother John Rosamond Johnson wrote “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” This was in a period when Jim Crow laws in the southern states enforced racial segregation and de facto segregation and discrimination was practiced in the north. The lyrics subtly protest racism and recount both the struggles and triumphs of African Americans.
James Peeples Trent House Association trustee and vice president, will read the full text of Douglass’ speech, and Bernard McMullan, a member of Princeton Pro Musica and other choral groups, will lead in singing these two historic anthems. Among many other projects, Peeples recently recorded a portrayal of Paul Robeson in his last years, and most recently, Frederick Douglass.
Visit williamtrenthouse.org for more information.
Frenchtown Walking Tour
Benefits Historical Society
A walking tour of downtown Frenchtown on Saturday, July 13, at 10 a.m.
will benefit the Hunterdon County Historical Society (HCHS). Borough historian Rick Epstein, author of Frenchtown: Fires, Floods, Fads & Felonies and an HCHS trustee, leads the tour.
The tour will cover the Great Fire of 1878, Inky the Wonder Dog, Senator Martin’s alligators, secret societies, how Fred Sipes created buzz for his silentmovie theater, how the guillotine inspired Frenchtown’s founder to come here and do some founding, and why Aaron Burr wanted to visit Frenchtown (but didn’t).
The tour costs $20, but is free for teenagers. Dogs should be kept home. Register by emailing rickepstein@ yahoo.com, and Epstein will provide the meeting place. All proceeds will benefit HCHS’s work collecting, preserving, and sharing Hunterdon County’s history.
Accreditation Portal Available to University
As part of a voluntary process to maintain accreditation — a highly prized recognition of public safety excellence — a Compliance Services Manager (CSM) for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) will conduct an annual webbased assessment from July 5 –13 to examine all aspects of the Princeton University Department of Public Safety’s policy and procedures, management, operations, and support services, Assistant Vice President for Public Safety Kenneth E. Strother Jr. announced on July 1.
As part of the assessment, campus community members, employees, and members of the public are invited to offer comments by visiting the Accreditation Public Comment Portal, which can be found on the Princeton University Public Safety website, publicsafety. princeton.edu.
The purpose of this public portal is to provide an opportunity to offer comments, commendations, and other information regarding the agency’s quality of service or other information relevant to the accreditation process directly to CALEA.
Police
On June 23, at 12:08 p.m., a Linden Lane resident reported that two packages were stolen from the front steps of her residence. The packages contained several items which were valued at a $154.70 monetary loss. A suspect was captured on camera and was described as a female in her mid to late 30s with dark hair wearing a pink skirt, blue and pink leggings, black high socks, and gray sandals.
On June 21, at 3:15 p.m., patrols responded to a person in the lobby of police headquarters for a report of theft/forgery. The individual reported that an unknown person stole two business checks from her mailbox that were later forged and cashed. The individual reported an initial monetary loss of $5,675, however, that was later reimbursed by the bank.
On June 20, at 4:42 p.m., police responded to a business on North Harrison Street on the report of a shoplifting. Employees of the business reported that an unknown male entered the business and shoplifted a bottle Don Julio Anejo Tequila valued at $64.99, then left the establishment without paying for the item.
On June 20, at 4:22 p.m., police responded to a business on North Harrison Street on a report of a shoplifting. Employees of the business reported that an unknown male entered the business and shoplifted a bottle of Patsch Tequila Reposado valued at $94.99, then left the establishment without paying for the item.
HISTORY ON FOOT: Downtown Frenchtown is the focus of a walking tour by Rick Epstein on Saturday, July 13.
Vision, Dental
“I enjoy it,” she said. “I always believe in giving back, so this was a great opportunity to be able to do that. It’s very rewarding to be able to help people in that manner, especially for something as important as vision.”
She continued, “A lot of people take for granted that we have access to things like glasses or contact lenses when we need them, but when you’re talking about somebody who has no access, sometimes they have gone for years and years without anything to help their vision. They’ve been struggling for a while, and it’s nice to be able to help them. When they can see what the difference is in their vision with glasses, they’re often kind of amazed.”
Jacobsen noted that for problems like glaucoma or cataracts that need to be monitored in greater depth, the patients may come to her office for follow-up care.
Janak Tull, a general and cosmetic dentist who works with his mother Lekha at DenTull near the Princeton Shopping Center, is a strong advocate for the Community Development Block Grant Dental Care Program.
“It’s really an amazing program that I feel so fortunate to be able to be a part of,” he said. He noted that he speaks a bit of Spanish and he “knows the important dental words” in Spanish. “Most of my patients in the program are Hispanic,” he added, “and we have Spanish-speaking staff. In terms of really explaining the treatments and making sure the patients understand fully, we are really able to do it because of our staff members who are fluent in Spanish.”
Tull, who grew up in Princeton and attended schools here, emphasized the importance of supporting the community. “In this town community is strong,’ he said. “I wanted to be a part of the community and to give back to the community.
These patients deserve good health and to be taken care of. Some of us are more fortunate financially than others, and the money we pay back into the community is well spent to help parts of the community stay healthy.”
Tull highlighted the role of dentists in alleviating pain. “When somebody comes into the office in pain and they leave not in pain I feel that I’ve offered something really valuable, and they’ve received something really valuable, and there’s a genuine gratefulness on both sides,” he said.
He concluded, “We all pay a fair amount in taxes to live here, and it’s nice to see the tax money going to something that is making the community stronger.”
Jeff Grosser, municipal deputy administrator /director of health, that has managed the dental program, pointed out the effective collaboration among municipal departments and community partners in driving the success of these initiatives.
“This program has had a big impact on overall community health,” he said, citing in particular the leadership of Health Outreach Coordinator Gwen Krol.
“Oral health is crucial to overall health,” he added, “and vision and dental care have been forgotten health services in the past.”
He also applauded the work of Tull and Jacobsen, pointing to “high praise for their compassion and level of care.” Fraga echoed that high praise, describing the two health care providers as “enthusiastic in our shared interest in advancing health equity in Princeton.”
The Municipal Human Services Department and Affordable Housing in managing the vision program, along with the Health Department in managing the dental program, have worked together to conduct outreach and refer applicants to the appropriate provider.
—Donald Gilpin
Wells Tree & Landscape, Inc
609-430-1195
Wellstree.com
Taking care of Princeton’s trees
Local family owned business for over 40 years
Terhune Marks July 4
With Weekend of Events
The holiday weekend begins Thursday, July 4 at Terhune Orchards, where several events are planned through Sunday, July 7.
Terhune’s Vineyard and Winery is open through Sunday for tastings by the glass, and also offers slushes, light bites, and live music throughout the weekend. Hours on July 4 are 12 to 5 p.m.; Friday, July 5 from 12 to 8 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday, July 6 and 7 from 2 to 5 p.m. Entertainment is from 1 to 4 p.m. on July 4 by Christopher Swatt; from 5 to 8 p.m. July 5 by Catmoondaddy; from 2 to 5 p.m. July 6 by Bud Belviso; and from 2 to 5 p.m. July 7 by Joah Blume.
Families can visit the farm animals, bring kids to play in the barnyard, or pick flowers including zinnias and other varieties, seven days a week. Blueberries and blackberries can be picked on July 4 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; other days until 5 p.m. There is no picking on Mondays.
Terhune Orchards is at 330 Cold Soil Road. Visit terhuneorchards.com for more information.
Lambertville Mayor Honored At Delaware River Sojourn
The Delaware River Sojourn is an annual week-long paddling journey down the Delaware River, featuring camping, meals, and programming centered around a theme, which this year was “River of Inspiration.” The Sojourn officially started on June 15, paddling sections of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River. The trip also featured paddling through the Delaware Water Gap, on the Lower Delaware Wild and Scenic River, and in the river’s tidal waters.
Each year, individuals who have made outstanding contributions to protect the health of the Delaware River and its environs are honored along the journey as High Admirals of the Sojourn.
On June 21, at the Fireman’s Eddy boat launch, Lambertville Mayor Andrew Nowick was awarded the High Admiral Award for his leadership in climate resilience and improving stormwater management, both focal points of his administration since taking office shortly after Hurricane Ida. Delaware River Greenway Partnership’s Executive Director Alison Sommers-Sayre presented the award before approximately 60 kayakers set off down the river to their next stop at Washington Crossing Historic Park.
“The Delaware River Sojourn was proud to honor Mayor Nowick with our High Admiral Award,” said Kate Schmidt, Sojourn steering committee member and communications specialist with the Delaware River Basin Commission. “His commitment to making
Lambertville a more resilient community has set a standard for other Delaware River towns to follow.”
“Communities around the world are now grappling with an increasingly volatile climate, and every local government must step forward to make climate resilience a leading goal. Lambertville is no exception, and given our history of flooding, we must do everything we can to educate our residents and prepare our city,” said Nowick.
“Standing on the banks of the Delaware on a perfect summer morning, it was a great honor to receive the High Admiral Award, knowing that our shared work will keep the river clean, protect the environment, and prepare our communities. Thank you to the Delaware River Sojourn.”
The Sojourn’s mission is to introduce and connect people to the river, highlighting safe and responsible recreation and creating new stewards of this precious natural resource.
Eliminating Invasives To Protect the Forest Ten volunteers from SEWA International’s central New Jersey chapter joined staff and volunteers from the Sourland Conservancy and Lambertville Parks and Recreation to prepare the Lambertville Nature Trail for fall planting. The project was necessary for both the local wildlife that depends on the Sourland forest, and for Lambertville residents who have suffered from intense flooding, partly due to the recent loss of ash trees caused by the emerald ash borer.
The group focused their efforts on three invasive species: aralia, jetbead, and garlic mustard. Aralia and jetbead were introduced as ornamental lawn plants, and have since spread into the forest. Garlic mustard was introduced for its herbal and medical properties, but rapidly took over the local ecosystem. The group worked for hours with careful precision as to not disturb the native spicebush and ferns, leaving the site healthier and better looking. They will return in the fall to plant native trees and shrubs and protect them from deer browse. As the native plants mature, they will filter air and water, prevent erosion and flooding, and improve critical wildlife habitat. Visit sourland.org/actash-crisis-team for more information.
BERRIES AND MORE: Picking blackberries and blueberries are among the options this weekend at Terhune Orchards, where July 4 is being celebrated with a range of
July at Morven Offers Rich Array Of Programs, Celebration,
The theme is understanding the past and shaping the future, and Morven on Stockton Street in Princeton, embodying a rich history that dates from the American Revolution to the roaring ’20s to the societal upheavals of the 1960s, provides an ideal setting to explore that theme.
Morven Museum & Garden, supported by a variety of community partners, is taking on the challenge of connecting history and civic engagement with a July schedule of educational programs and entertaining events that includes a festive Fourth of July Jubilee; a community reading of Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”; a Summer Reading Soirée with two authors of historical fiction discussing their recent novels; summer cream tea service in Morven’s historic Garden Room; and an exploration of the “hidden histories” of women’s education in early America.
“All of these events share themes of learning from the past and the people who’ve made change throughout American history to both inspire and inform civic action, and how creating a space for conversation and the exchange of ideas is important to exploring different perspectives/experiences that make up our communities and our country,” wrote Morven Curator of Education and Public Programs Greer Luce in an email.
As part of the national Civic Season program, which emphasizes the historical
significance of Juneteenth and July 4th, Morven is hosting its Jubilee celebration on Thursday, July 4 from noon to 3 p.m., featuring familyfriendly interactive activities and crafts, including tours of Morven’s gardens, live music, food trucks, face painting, and a unique opportunity to “sign” the Declaration of Independence.
Morven marked Independence Day in 1783 as it hosted congressional delegates, explained Morven marketing communications consultant Ellen Malavsky, and now, 241 years later, it continues the tradition in its role as the home of a signer of the Declaration of Independence and New Jersey’s first governor’s mansion and residence of five New Jersey governors.
The Historical Society of Princeton, one of Morven’s community partners, will be hosting an open archives activity at the July 4 event featuring historical documents and photos about monuments in Princeton. Visitors will be able to engage with the history of monuments in Princeton and then create their own monument featuring a person or event they’d like to see remembered in the future.
YWCA Princeton, another community partner, will be hosting voter registration and resources among other activities at the Jubilee, as visitors explore Morven’s history and also learn about ways to participate in civic life today through voting, community service, supporting local causes and projects, and more.
and Tea
Other community partners include the Paul Robeson House of Princeton, People & Stories/Gente y Cuentos, Princeton Academy of Art, Princeton Public Library (PPL), Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum, and the Witherspoon-Jackson Historical and Cultural Society.
On Monday, July 8, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., Morven, along with several local partner organizations, will present an online Zoom event with community members reading an amended version of Frederick Douglass’ speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?.” which he delivered on July 5, 1852 in Rochester, N.Y., to the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society. Registration and Zoom link for the reading are available at princetonlibrary.org Greer described Douglass’ speech advocating for justice and equality as one of the “touchpoints for understanding today how one’s civic voice can make a difference.”
A Summer Reading Soirée with Morven in partnership with the PPL and Labyrinth Books will take place on Wednesday, July 10 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Ann Hood and Laura Spence-Ash will be discussing their recent novels, The Stolen Child and Beyond That, the Sea respectively.
Again, at Morven’s Summer Cream Tea Service on July 18 and 19, with seatings each day at 12 and 2:15 p.m., Morven invites attendees “to join in conversation with
summer film series
one another in a mansion where many political ideas and thoughts were discussed over a cup of tea,” Greer said. Included with each tea service is a tour of Morven’s first floor exhibition on the lives of the people who lived and worked at the house during its long history.
Later in the month, on July 25 at 6:30 p.m., Morven will be hosting a talk called “Women’s Educational Worlds: Hidden Histories.” Greer noted, “Long before colleges opened their doors to them, women in early America, like Morven resident Annis Boudinot Stockton, sought their own education, forging relationships and exchanging ideas with their contemporaries.”
At the July 25 event, historian Lucia McMahon, author of the recent The Celebrated Elizabeth Smith, will present her new research portraying a previously hidden world of women’s ideas, political thought, and civic influence, reflecting on the theme of engaging with the past as an inspiration for making change in the present.
In reflecting on the month ahead, Greer emphasized, “Attendees can expect to join Morven and some amazing community partners for events that encourage learning, creativity, and conversation, all aspects central to building a healthier civic life.”
Morven is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the gardens are open daily until dusk. Visit morven.org for more information.
—Donald Gilpin
Tell them you saw their ad in
Exhibits now Accepted For County 4-H Fair
Mercer County Executive
Dan Benson and Mercer County 4-H invite residents to showcase their creative talents and skills at this year’s Mercer County 4-H Fair, being held July 27 and 28 at Howell Living History Farm, 70 Woodens Lane in Hopewell Township.
There are many “Open Division” categories of public entries for both youth and adults. Entrants do not need to be 4-H members to exhibit. Any project created in the past year can be entered into the fair, including arts and crafts, photography, gardening, clothing, baking, woodworking, and more. Projects will be received from the general public for entry in the fair on Thursday, July 25 from 3 to 7 p.m. In addition to judging by experts, the fairgoers will vote on their favorite exhibits in each category on
Saturday, July 27. Those receiving the most votes will be recognized on Sunday, July 28.
The annual Mercer County 4-H Fair is a community event showcasing the talents of the general public as well as those of 4-H members. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on July 27, and till 4 p.m. on July 28. Admission and parking are free. Children’s activities, hayrides, animal shows, music, farm tours, magic shows, archery, and exhibits will take place throughout the fair. Food and drinks, including homemade ice cream, will also be available. The opening ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. on July 27 in the show tent. A country dance with a string band and a caller is scheduled for 6 p.m. that evening.
Visit mercer.njaes.rutgers. edu/4h/fair for full details about exhibiting, as well as a complete schedule of the fair.
Mailbox
The views of the letters do not necessarily reflect the views of Town Topics.
Sharing Concerns About Bike Safety on Witherspoon Street
To the Editor:
It was a beautiful sunny day. I used my new multi-geared bike to travel from Bank Street to the hardware store in the Princeton Shopping Center. I decided to take the new Witherspoon Street with the “sharrows.” Because Witherspoon Street slopes downward to Valley Road, I was traveling along in the highest gear at a good clip.
Three cars came up behind me honking their horns and passed me at high speed over the two don’t pass lines, seemingly trying to cut me off. A fourth car also passed illegally and the driver gave me the finger, yelling out the window, “get the f— off the road.” What about “share the road” do they not understand?
If this continues, sooner or later someone is going to get seriously injured or killed on Witherspoon Street. For public safety, perhaps better signing, slower speed limits, police surveillance, or restricting all bicycles should be considered.
TONY NELESSEN, PP, CNU, MArch UD Emeritus Professor Bank Street
Congratulations and Thanks to All Involved In Model Outcome on Prospect
To the Editor:
Three summers ago a notable controversy arose when the University proposed moving the former Court Clubhouse across Prospect Avenue and demolishing three old houses to accommodate it. The demolition would have meant the loss of some fine Queen Anne and Colonial Revival architecture, and the erasure of the tangible history of the houses as homes to two eating clubs and several important professors, including émigrés from Nazi Germany.
Last Tuesday the University presented exemplary plans to the Planning Board for the restoration of the three houses, including preserving historic exterior fabric, reconstructing missing historic components, and painting in historic colors. The University’s team of staff and consulting architects did a superb job studying existing features and researching historic sources. The preservation of the houses has also importantly saved seven apartments plus distinctive office space for the University.
What was a controversy three years ago has turned into a model project.
This very positive outcome came about through community and alumni engagement, the University’s openness for input from the community, alumni, and public officials, and the Planning Board’s and Historic Preservation Commission’s commitment to balancing the need for new development with the appropriate preservation of Princeton’s notable heritage.
Through the informal Save Prospect Coalition, many current and former residents proffered cogent comments and suggestions, and over 1,700 signed a petition to save the three houses. Leaders of the Princeton Prospect Foundation imparted their knowledge and expertise of the history of Prospect Avenue as well as their dedication to the long-term preservation of the eating clubs. Princeton planning and preservation staff and members of the Planning Board and Historic Preservation Commission painstakingly deliberated over the alternatives for a balanced solution.
The compromise reached in October 2021 included restoration of the three houses to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties; the designation of a new municipal Prospect Avenue Historic District from Washington Road and Murray Place; the expansion of the New Jersey and National Register Princeton Historic District to include the former Court Clubhouse, the three historic houses, and the 1911 Ferris
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Thompson Wall and Gate designed by McKim, Mead and White; landscaping design in front of the new Theorist Pavilion in keeping with the Prospect Avenue streetscape; and, if University Trustees approve, the installation of signage commemorating the important academic residents of the historic houses. As part of the University’s commitment to preservation on Prospect Avenue, it restored the magnificent ironwork on the Ferris Thompson Gate, and won the 2024 Gold Award for Restoration from the National Ornamental and Miscellaneous Medals Association. Congratulations and grateful thanks to everyone involved in formulating this overall model outcome on Prospect Avenue.
As more development proceeds in Princeton, lets continue to balance it openly and admirably with meaningful preservation of our shared heritage in our town’s notable historic buildings and streetscapes.
CLIFFORD ZINK Aiken Avenue
Books
Environmental Author Van Noy To Sign Book at Point Breeze
Rick Van Noy, a Radford University English professor, will host a book reading and signing event at the Discovery Center at Point Breeze, at 101 East Park Street in Bordentown, on July 6 at 2 p.m. on his latest book, Borne by the River: Canoeing the Delaware from Headwaters to Home.
The event is free but registration is suggested. To register, email info@drgreenway.org or call (609) 924-4646. A signed copy of the book will be available to purchase after the reading.
An experienced writer, Van Noy understands how views regarding natural environments change through American literature and stories. His publications include A Natural Sense of Wonder and Sudden Spring, which made him a finalist in the 2022 Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment Book Awards.
His latest publication, Borne by the River (Three Hills, $18.95 paperback), follows him and his dog Sully as they float 200 miles down the Delaware River to his childhood home in Titusville. He unravels the historical, cultural, and environmental importance of the Delaware River, telling his own solo adventure along with the many encounters he has with other paddlers including members
by D&R Greenway Land Trust, is the historic home of Joseph Bonaparte’s gardener. The estate acted as an American refuge for the former king of Spain and has now partly become a museum to Bonaparte and the thousands of years of history of the area. The museum is open from 12 to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and will be open on Monday afternoons during July and August. Those who wish to tour the museum before or after the reading event are encouraged to do so.
While admission to the event is free, a $10 donation is suggested, and can be made at drgreenway.org. A donation for this event provides the donor with a Point Breeze souvenir. All donations go towards events and exhibits showcased at the Discovery Center at Point Breeze.
Hood, Spence-Ash Offer Summer Reading Soirée
Authors Ann Hood and Laura Spence-Ash are the guests at a Summer Reading Soirée hosted by Princeton Public Library on Wednesday, July 10. The event will be held at Morven Museum & Garden, 55 Stockton Street, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The authors will discuss their recent novels during the annual gathering of book lovers, which will feature refreshments, door prizes, and more. Library staff will be on hand to interact with attendees and share suggested titles for summer reading.
of the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania.
“Borne by the River is an inspiring story of self-discovery and healing along the Delaware River, where our nation was born,” said Linda Mead, president and CEO of D&R Greenway Land Trust. “Experiences like this along our shared lands and waterways are important to helping us reconnect with the world around us.”
D&R Greenway Land Trust is an accredited nonprofit that has preserved more than 22,000 acres of land throughout central New Jersey since 1989.
In the book, Van Noy addresses the common thread that ties together his three books, “All three projects relate to the sense of place, the specific conditions of topography, and climate and culture that make places unique, worthy of attention,” he writes. “And, for the way they reach deep inside us.” He tells the story of how a medical emergency impacted his life and how he found healing on the river. “Places and rivers remain, and even if changed, or altered, are what is immortal,” he said.
Point Breeze sits at the confluence of the Delaware River and Crosswicks Creek and is just south of the Abbott Marshlands. The Discovery Center at Point Breeze, which is managed
dozen books of memoir and fiction, including the bestselling novels The Book That Matters Most and The Knitting Circle; and editor of the anthologies Knitting Yarns and Knitting Pearls. She lives in Providence, R. I., and New York, N.Y. Beyond That, the Sea ( Celadon, $28) by SpenceAsh takes place over several decades. As German bombs fall over London in 1940, working-class parents Millie and Reginald Thompson decide to send their 11-yearold daughter to America to live with another family for the duration of the war. When she returns to postwar London, the memory of her American family stays with her, never fully letting her go.
Spence-Ash’s fiction has appeared in One Story, New England Review , Crazyhorse, and elsewhere. Her critical essays and book reviews appear regularly in the Ploughshares blog. She received her MFA in fiction from Rutgers–Newark, and she lives in New Jersey.
The Summer Reading Soirée also offers a chance to stroll the grounds of Morven, which served as the New Jersey governor’s mansion for nearly four decades and is a National Historic Landmark.
Registration is requested through the events calendar at princeteonlibrary.org. Space is limited. This event is presented in partnership with Morven Museum & Garden and Labyrinth Books.
Hood’s book, The Stolen Child (W.W. Norton & Co., $27.99) , is the story of an elderly man who is haunted by a decision he made as a young soldier in World War I, involving a French artist and her baby. With only months left to live, he enlists a young woman to help him unravel the mystery, forcing them both to reckon with regret, betrayal, and the lives they’ve left behind.
Hood is the author of a
Laura Spence-Ash
Ann Hood
Yardley Players Stage “The Sound of Music” at Kelsey Theatre; Appealing Production Proves Why the Beloved Musical is a Classic
Yardley Players Theatre Company is presenting The Sound of Music at Kelsey Theatre. Kristy Davis directs and choreographs an appealing production that honors the 1965 film adaptation, while accentuating the benefits that a live production can offer the story.
The Sound of Music marks the final collaboration between composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. The book by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse is suggested by Maria Augusta Trapp’s memoir The Trapp Family Singers. The show follows Maria’s journey from novice at Nonnberg Abbey to governess for the seven children of the stern widower Captain Von Trapp; and the threat posed to the family by the Anschluss (the Nazi takeover of Austria) in 1938.
Since its 1959 Broadway premiere, the musical has inspired the (often-televised) film and two television specials. Surprisingly it has only been revived on Broadway once (in 1998), though there are periodic tours, and every year the show can be seen via numerous regional and stock productions.
Audiences who are only familiar with the film may be taken aback by the beginning of the show, which opens with a brief scene at Nonnberg Abbey. We hear the nuns chanting a “Preludium.” In this number, as well as the plot-driven “Maria” two scenes later, the nuns’ voices blend well.
Maria (portrayed by Lauren Wolensky) enters and ably sings the exuberant title song. In a visual nod to the film, Wolensky twirls in imitation of Julie Andrews. Later, she skips, underlining Maria’s youthful spirit. Immediately it is clear that both Kristy Davis and Wolensky know how to use movement to define character.
Back at the abbey we meet the nuns individually (as they sing “Maria” to discuss their troublesome postulant): the wise Mother Abbess (Marge Swider, who also is the production’s producer); Sister Margaretta (Jackie Sterlace); Sister Sophia (Shealyn Davis); and Sister Berthe (Annie Bryson), who wants Maria out of the abbey. (Disclosure: this writer often sings in a church choir with Bryson.)
Fans of the movie will notice that “My Favorite Things” is in a different scene. In the show the charming, brisk waltz is a duet between Maria and the Mother Abbess. It is a lovely scene that establishes a theme of the musical: mentorship. Wolensky and Swider excel at conveying the bond between the two women, executing some subtle but effective choreography by Kristy Davis.
As the widowed Captain, David Nikolas underlines the character’s fear of becoming emotionally attached again, paring it with body language that uses physical distance. Notably we see him instinctively move away from where his eventual fiancée, Baroness Elsa Shrader (Megan Gramlich) is standing, pointing toward that relationship’s eventual tensions.
All of the scenes with the children audibly charm the audience. Maria meets teenager Liesl (Laney Kenwood), Freidrich (Joseph Wilson), Louisa (Aurora Quinn), Kurt (Trevin Davis), Brigitta (Emma Poppell), Marta (Scarlet Hillman), and the youngest, Gretl (Gabi Oliano, whose singing voice enables her to deliver her solo in “So Long, Farewell” admirably).
Despite the musical’s popularity
(perhaps partly due to it), historically it has been greeted with condescension by a constituency of detractors. A critic reviewing the Broadway premiere quipped that the show became “not only too sweet for words, but almost too sweet for music.” Such criticism overlooks that the sentimental scenes are organic to the story; and the show’s blitheness sometimes is deceptive, masking resistance to oppressive authority.
An example is “Do Re Mi,” which in the show comes right after Maria meets the family, and hears the Captain forbid music in the house and insist that the children march. Taking a cue from the melody, Kristy Davis has the children march, establishing a concept that is important throughout the show: music as disobedience masked as compliance.
Kenwood delivers strong vocal performances in “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” and its second act reprise. As Rolf, Tristan Davis is suitably boyish, but infuses his line delivery with enough snap to drop hints of the character’s later behavior. Both Kenwood and Davis move well to the graceful, swirling choreography for their duet. In light of later events, it is appropriate that the sequence feels artificially idyllic.
During the quarrel between Maria and the Captain, Wolensky perhaps could deliver Maria’s lines with a bit more fierceness, but overall she conveys the character’s strength, particularly in the second
act (in which Maria visibly is an equal partner with the Captain.)
Gramlich infuses her delivery of the worldly Elsa’s lines with the right amount of haughty gloss — enough to contrast with Wolensky’s guilelessness as Maria, but avoiding turning Elsa into an antagonist.
Tom Chiola is charming as the harmlessly opportunistic Max, and lends some strong vocals to Max and Elsa’s two trios with the Captain, “How Can Love Survive?” and “No Way to Stop It.” The urbane, witty lyrics of the former mark a conspicuous contrast to other songs in the score, sounding more typical of Lorenz Hart — Rodgers’s first collaborator — than Hammerstein.
For the first reprise of the title song, when the children serenade Elsa, a scrim separates them from the Captain. When he finally joins in, the scrim is lifted; we see a physical barrier disappear at the same time that the emotional barrier that has separated the family is removed. It is a fine example of using a production detail to illustrate the situation; in retrospect it seems to be an obvious choice, but it is astute nonetheless, and it is a moving scene.
Liz Wurtz and Barry Leonard are suitably commanding as, respectively, Frau Schmidt and Franz, the no-nonsense members of the Captain’s household staff.
The high-ranking Nazis — Herr Zeller (Brian Davis) and Admiral von Schreiber (Jeffrey E. Milstein) — have comparatively
“THE SOUND OF MUSIC”: Performances are underway for “The Sound of Music.” Presented by Kelsey Theatre and The Yardley Players; and directed by Kristy Davis, the musical runs through July 7 at Kelsey Theatre. Above: Watched suspiciously by the (offstage) Nazis, the Von Trapp Family Singers give a performance on which their lives literally depend. From left are Aurora Quinn (Louisa), Emma Poppell (Brigitta), Gabi Oliano (Gretl), David Nikolas (Captain Von Trapp), Laney Kenwood (Liesl), Lauren Wolensky (Maria), Scarlet Hillman (Marta), Trevin Davis (Kurt), and Joseph Wilson (Friedrich). (Photo by John M. Maurer)
“The Sound of Music” will play at the Kelsey Theatre at Mercer County Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road in West Windsor, through July 7. Content advisory: The musical’s story takes place during the Nazi regime. As such, certain characters exchange the Nazi salute, and the Nazi flag is displayed in the second act. However, the production resolutely avoids using such imagery any more than is necessary to accurately depict the time period. For tickets, show times, and further information call (609) 570-3333 or visit kelsey.mccc. edu/shows_current.shtml.
little stage time, but they bring sufficient menace to give their scenes the requisite tension and suspense.
The cast is ably rounded out by Timothy Boyd and Suzanne Houston (Baron and Baroness Elberfeld); and the actors portraying the participants in the Salzburg Festival: William Augustin, Jon Stanley, Marc Suznavich, Susan Eley; and Leah Panuccio (soloist).
Audibly there are varied levels of singing experience throughout the cast members; but the blending of voices, particularly in the ensemble numbers, is consistently well-balanced and pleasing (in part a credit to Musical Director Lee Milhous and Sound Designer Tiernan Stover). It is worth hearing Rodgers’ lovely melodies (and Trude Rittman’s vocal arrangements) in a live venue.
Milhous conducts a fine orchestra that shines in the Entr’acte; despite the contemporary addition of a keyboard, the orchestrations are pleasantly evocative of the original arrangements by Robert Russell Bennett.
The family’s performance at the Salzburg Festival — particularly “Edelweiss,” in which Maria and the children poignantly join in when the Captain’s emotions cause him to falter — obviously is the epitome of the “music as disobedience disguised as compliance” theme. Costumer Anthony Wurtz may have incorporated this; the family’s (attractive) outfits for the concert contain red, black, and white.
Jeff Cantor’s economical but attractive scenery uses projections complemented by physical sets. M. Kitty Getlik’s lighting enhances events such as the thunderstorm that sends the children scurrying into Maria’s room.
Within the confines of fidelity to the story, the production sensitively keeps Nazi images and gestures to the barest possible minimum, but a large Nazi flag hangs onstage during the concert, a reminder of the danger faced by the family.
Davis uses the space effectively during the sequence in which the Nazis search for the family. She sends the cast into the aisles for this scene, as well as the stirring reprise of “Climb Every Mountain.”
Both stylistically and in terms of social consciousness, some of Hammerstein’s lyrics — particularly “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” and its reprise — necessitate making allowances for the time period.
Nonetheless, the reprise offers Maria and Liesl a touching moment that helps to bookend Maria’s journey; having been mentored by the Mother Abbess, she fills the same role for Liesl.
Beyond the performances and design elements, this production succeeds because the enthusiastic cast and creative team effectively convey the characters’ arcs. Some elements of the script and score are not timeless (particularly the pacing of some scenes in act two), but the characters’ journeys are, as are the themes of family, mentorship, and resisting oppression.
Beside the overall beauty of the score, it is the story and successful blending of these themes that make the show a classic. Whether or not one has (often) seen other iterations of the show, readers should take this opportunity to enjoy it live.
—Donald H. Sanborn III
Performing Arts
Class is in Session
For “School of Rock”
Can a wannabe rock star posing as a substitute teacher transform nerdy fifth graders at an elite prep school into contenders at the Battle of the Bands? The answer will be revealed when Thank You 5 Productions brings School of Rock to the stage of Mercer County Community College’s (MCCC) Kelsey Theatre, July 12-21.
ready for shows July 12-21 at the
Dewey Finn never quite made it as a rock star, but also never gave up on his rock and roll dreams. So when he manages to impersonate a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school — and becomes enamored with the musical talent of his students — Finn goes to work transforming a class of straight-A fifth graders into a guitar shredding, bass slapping, rock band to compete in the Battle of the Bands.
But can he and his students keep this special assignment secret from parents and the school’s headmistress as they learn to fully embrace the power of rock?
School of Rock is based on the 2003 Jack Black fi lm, which later opened on Broadway in 2015 with a score by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The production closed in 2019 after 1,309 performances, having received four
Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. Young members of the cast come from West Windsor, Pennington, Lawrence Township, Yardley, Pa., and other local areas.
Dates and showtimes are Friday, July 12 and Saturday, July 13 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, July 20 at 2 and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, July 14 and 21 at 2 p.m. at the Kelsey Theatre on MCCC’s West Windsor Campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road. Tickets are $26 for adults and $24 for seniors, children, and students. Visit kelseytheatre.org.
Summer at the Chapel
Music of Moody Blues Comes to State Theatre
State Theatre New Jersey presents The Moody Blues’ John Lodge on Saturday, July 13 at 8 p.m. Lodge, legendary bass player, songwriter, and vocalist of The Moody Blues, a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, will be live in concert performing the music of The Moody Blues and the album Days of Future Passed.
The show encompasses a first set of electric Moodies classics featuring ‘“Isn’t Life Strange,” “Legend of a Mind,” “I’m Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band),” “Ride my See-Saw,” and more. The second set will see Lodge and his band perform the album Days of Future Passed (“Nights in White Satin”) in its entirety, and in full symphonic sound. Jon Davison of YES also joins Lodge on stage to perform the classic songs “Nights in White Satin” and “Tuesday Afternoon.”
The show will also be in support of Lodge’s album Days of Future Passed — My Sojourn, available now on CD and all streaming services, with a limited edition 180g Red Gold vinyl album. Joining Lodge on stage is his 10,000 Light Years Band, long term collaborator Alan Hewitt (music director and keyboards), and Billy Ashbaugh (drums) from the Moody Blues touring band, together with Duffy King (guitars) and Jason Charboneau (cello), plus the magical voice of Graeme Edge.
Tickets range from $29$59. The State Theatre is at 15 Livingston Avenue in New Brunswick. Visit stnj. org.
Phaeton Piano Trio at Richardson Auditorium
On Monday, July 8 at 7:30 p.m., the Princeton University Summer Chamber Concerts presents the Phaeton Piano Trio in Richardson Auditorium on the Princeton University campus. This concert is free and will include Trio in C Major by Haydn; Trio No.1 in D Minor by Felix Mendelssohn, and Trio No. 4 in E Minor, the “Dumky” by Dvorák. Pianists Friedemann Eichhorn, Peter Hörr, and Florian Uhlig have performed in major cities in Europe and Asia. After their South American debut at the Fondacion Beethoven, Santiago de Chile, the trio celebrated another debut in the U.S. in 2020 with concerts at the Library of Congress, Washington and the Frick Collection, N.Y.. In 2023, the Phaeton Piano Trio performed again in the U.S., and made its debut in Canada as “Ensemble in Residence” at the “musicandbeyond” festival in Ottawa, Canada.
In the 2024/25 season, the trio has been invited back to Ottawa and will perform at festivals in Germany, again in the U.S., and for the first time in China. In addition, two CD recordings are planned for the hänssler classic label in co-production with SWR, including the complete recording of the works for piano trio by Camille Saint-Saens. For more information, visit princetonsummerchamberconcerts.org or call (609) 570-8404.
THREE PIANISTS: German pianists Friedemann Eichhorn, Peter Horr, and Florian Uhlig make up the Phaeton Piano Trio, performing a free concert at Richardson Auditorium on Monday, July 8.
LODGE IS LIVE: John Lodge, right, with Jon Davison and Duffy King, will perform classics from The Moody Blues in a concert on Saturday, July 13 at the State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick. (Photo by Dana Grubb)
ROCKING OUT: Members of the cast of “School of Rock” are
Kelsey Theatre in West Windsor.
“WHISPERS
“Whispers of Time” Exhibit at Princeton Public Library
“Whispers of Time: Exploring Select Iranian Architectural Gems,” an exhibit of photographs curated by architectural design specialist Farzaneh Tahmasbi, is on view in the library’s Reading Room through July 21. An art talk featuring Tahmasbi is scheduled for Thursday, July 18 at 7:30 p.m. on Zoom.
The photographs on display showcase the rich tapestry of Persian architecture and celebrate its timeless beauty, intricate detail and cultural significance. From the majestic domes of mosques adorned with vibrant tile work to the imposing bazaar steeped in centuries of history, each photograph offers a glimpse into the architectural marvels that have shaped Persian culture. The exhibition provides an exploration of various architectural styles, showcasing the diversity and ingenuity of Persian craftsmanship.
A Zoom link will be provided to those who register through the events calendar at princetonlibrary.org.
“Smoke & Mirrors” Coming
To Zimmerli Art Museum
“Monuments and Myths” At Michener Art Museum
The James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pa., now presents “Monuments and Myths: The America of Sculptors Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Daniel Chester French,” the first exhibition to explore the intersecting careers and significance of two of America’s most preeminent sculptors of the Gilded Age. The exhibition is on view through January 5.
Daniel Chester French (1850–1931) and Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907) were friends and sometimes rivals who transformed sculpture in the U.S. They produced dozens of the nation’s most recognizable public artworks, including French’s Seated Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., and Saint-Gaudens’s Diana, which graced the top of Madison Square Garden in New York.
For the non-disabled museumgoer, visiting an art institution is likely an experience with few obstructions.
For visitors with disabilities, however, wayfinding through a museum — not to mention, simply accessing the entrance — is challenging. And the barriers are often invisible.
Organized by guest curator Amanda Cachia, a prominent disability arts activist and scholar, this unprecedented exhibition showcases work by artists with disabilities, who are underrepresented in museums. It also encourages visitors with disabilities and their allies to become active participants in telling their own stories.
“This exhibition aims to show audiences more expansive encounters with the sensory,” said Cachia, an assistant professor at the University of Houston, who has driven initiatives in research and practice to raise awareness of the artistic genre “access aesthetics” over the past decade.
“The outstanding work in this show will give audiences more insight into the many innovative ways that disabled artists navigate a world that wasn’t built for them. Innovative sensory engagement is critical to how these artists experience the environment.”
This fall, viewers are invited to expand their understanding and perception of accessibility through “Smoke & Mirrors,” opening September 4 at the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University—New Brunswick. This major exhibition features the work of 14 artists with disabilities from across the globe who conceptualize access through humor, antagonism, transparency, and invisibility. The exhibition will run through December 22.
Included are videos, drawings, sculptures, textiles, and multi-media installations by Emanuel Almborg, Alt-Text as Poetry (Bojana Coklyat and Finnegan Shannon), Erik Benjamins, Pelenakeke Brown, Fayen d’Evie, JJJJJerome Ellis, Vanessa Dion Fletcher, Sugandha Gupta, Carmen Papalia, Finnegan Shannon, Liza Sylvestre, Aislinn Thomas, Corban Walker, and Syrus Marcus Ware.
These artists present an intersectional approach to disability that creates conversations about its relationships to race, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity, generating a more expansive and inclusive understanding of the disabled experience. They create immersive environments for visitors to experience access — or lack thereof — upending traditional ideas of spectatorship.
“This exhibition of contemporary artists with disabilities is central to the Zimmerli’s mission of focusing on diversity, equity, access, and inclusion (DEAI),” said Maura Reilly, the Zimmerli’s director. “We always strive to open the museum to new and underrepresented voices and to provide new means of access to reach all audiences. We are equally committed to rethinking the function of a museum to be a responsive and inclusive institution, and ‘Smoke & Mirrors’ demonstrates that commitment.”
Admission is free to the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers. The museum is located at 71 Hamilton Street (at George Street) on the College Avenue Campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick. It is open Wednesday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday, 12 to 5 p.m. The museum is closed Monday and Tuesday, as well as major holidays and the month of August.
For more informtion information, including parking and accessibility, visit zimmerli.rutgers.edu/visit.
Saint-Gaudens was born in Dublin, Ireland, and immigrated to New York as an infant. French was born in Exeter, N.H. After coming of age in Civil War America and training in Europe, both artists returned to the U.S. in a moment when sculpture had immense power to shape the visual and intellectual landscape of the nation during a period of rapid industrial growth and developing sociopolitical structures.
“Monuments and Myths” features approximately 70 sculptures, models, maquettes, and more drawn from the collections of the two artists’ historic homes, the Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park and French’s Chesterwood. The exhibition features six thematic sections, beginning with an overview of the artists’ studio practices in rural New England, both of which were dynamic spaces of creativity, education, and exchange.
With an aesthetic of formal elegance, Saint-Gaudens and French created a picture of national ambition rooted in conceptions of liberty, grandeur, and common cause. Filled with multiple meanings and contested histories, the artworks in this exhibition encourage visitors to question the stories that public art tells and to explore what histories remain hidden from view.
“It is an opportune time to examine the role of historic monuments, and the impact of these sculptures and how their legacy continues to influence our perception of America,” said Laura Turner Igoe, Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest Chief Curator.
Visitors can also enjoy a related exhibition from Bucks County, Pa., artist George Anthonisen, who served as sculptor-in-residence at the Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park in the 1970s. “George R. Anthonisen: Meditations on the Human Condition” celebrates Anthonisen’s 65year artistic career of creating visual dialogues with his figurative sculptures. The exhibition is open until October 13 and features more than 40 bronze sculptures, maquettes, and frescoes on view both in the galleries and the Museum’s Sculpture Garden.
“Monuments and Myths: The America of Sculptors Augustus Saint-Gaudens
and Daniel Chester French” is co-organized by the American Federation of Arts, Chesterwood, a site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Saint-Gaudens Memorial in partnership with SaintGaudens National Historic Park.
The Michener Art Museum is located at 138 South Pine Street in Doylestown, Pa. For more information, visit michenerartmuseum.org.
Area Exhibits
Art@Bainbridge, 158 Nassau Street, has “Denison Baniwa: Under the Skin of History” through September 1. Artmuseum.princeton.edu.
Artists’ Gallery, 18 Bridge Street, Lambertville, has “Captured Moments” July 4 through August 4. An opening reception is on Saturday, July 6 from 4 to 7 p.m. Gallery hours are Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Lambertvillearts. com.
Art on Hulfish, 11 Hulfish Street, has “Don’t we touch each other just to prove we are still here?: Photography and Touch” through August 4. Artmuseum.princeton.edu.
Arts Council of Princeton, 102 Witherspoon Street, has “WitherspoonJackson Gateway Exhibition” through September 1. Artscouncilofprinceton.org.
Ficus Bon Vivant, 235 Nassau Street, has “Capture the Rhythm” through January 12. Ficusbv.com.
Gourgaud Gallery, 23-A North Main Street, Cranbury, has an exhibit by the Creative Collective Art Group through August 29. A reception is on July 14 from 1 to 3 p.m. Cranburyartscouncil.org.
Grounds For Sculpture, 80 Sculptors Way, Hamilton, has “Slow Motion” through September 1 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 “Princeton Reflected: Stories from HSP’s Collection” and “Einstein Salon and Innovator’s Gallery.” Museum hours are Thursday through Sunday, 12 to 4 p.m. Princetonhistory.org.
Michener Art Museum, 138 South Pine Street, Doylestown, Pa., has “George R. Anthonisen: Meditations on the Human Condition” through October 13 and “Monuments and Myths: The American Sculptors Augustus SaintGaudens and Daniel Chester French” through January 5. Michenerartmuseum.org
Morven Museum & Garden, 55 Stockton Street, has “Morven Revealed: Untold Stories from New Jersey’s Most Historic Home,” through March 2. Morven. org.
New Hope Arts, 2 Stockton Avenue, New Hope, Pa., has “Structures and Constructions in Fiber” through August 18. Newhopearts.org.
Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street, has “Whispers of Time: Exploring Select Iranian Architectural Gems” in the Reading Room through July 21. Princetonlibrary.org.
Small World Coffee, 14 Witherspoon Street, has photography by Qasim Zia through August 6. Paintings by Sylvia Hemenetz are at the 254 Nassau Street location through August 6. Smallworldcoffee.com.
Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie, Cadwalader Park, Trenton, has “Ellarslie Open 41” July 14 through September 29. A public reception is on Sunday, July 14 from 1 to 4 p.m. Ellarslie.org. West Windsor Arts, 952 Alexander Road, West Windsor, has “2024 Faculty & Student Show” through July 13. Westwindsorarts.org.
Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers, 71 George Street, New Brunswick, has “George Segal: Themes and Variations” through July 31 and “Michelle V. Agins: Storyteller” through December 8. Zimmerli.rutgers.edu.
“CORNELIA FANNING GAY”: This marble bust by Daniel Chester French is featured in “Monuments and Myths: The America of Sculptors Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Daniel Chester French,” on view through January 5 at the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pa. (Photo by Bruce Schwartz)
OF TIME”: An exhibition of photographs curated by architectural design specialist Farzaneh Tahmasbi is on view in the Princeton Public Library Reading Room through July 21. An art talk featuring Tahmasbi is scheduled for Thursday, July 18 at 7:30 p.m. on Zoom.
TOWN TOPICS | Mark Your Calendar
Wednesday, July 3
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m .: “Leighton Listens.” Princeton Councilman Leighton Newlin is on hand to discuss current events with members of the public at Chopt, Princeton Shopping Center, 301 North Harrison Street.
Thursday, July 4
10 a.m.-1 p.m .: Princeton Farmers Market is at Hinds Plaza. More than 30 vendors with local organic produce, pasture-raised meat and eggs, cheeses, fresh flowers, knife-sharpening, jewelry, and more. Live music. SNAP/EBT cards and matches accepted up to $10 a day. Princetonfarmersmarket.com.
12-3 p.m .: Fourth of July Jubilee at Morven, 55 Stockton Street. Live music, family-friendly activities, crafts, tours of Morven’s gardens, food trucks, and more. Free. Morven.org.
Friday, July 5
5-8 p.m.: Sunset Sips & Sounds at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Winery and Barn Door Café are open. Music by Catmoondaddy. Terhuneorchards.com.
7 p.m .: Dancing Under the Stars, on Hinds Plaza, with members of Central
Jersey Dance demonstrating basic steps and leading others. Princetonlibrary.org.
Saturday, July 6
9 a.m.-1 p.m.: West Windsor Farmers Market at Vaughn lot, Princeton Junction train station. Fresh produce and much more. Wwcfm.org.
10 a.m .: Mid-Day Toastmasters meets at the Hickory Corner Library, 138 Hickory Corner Road, East Windsor. Also available via Zoom. 4139.toastmastersclubs.org.
2-5 p.m .: Winery Weekend Music Series at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Music by Bud Belviso. Light fare available; farm store is open. Terhuneorchards.com.
2 p.m .: Author Rick Van Noy holds a reading and signing of his latest book, Borne by the River, at the Discovery Center at Point Breeze, 101 East Park Street, Bordentown. Free. Register by emailing info@ drgreenway.org or calling (609) 924-4646.
Sunday, July 7
1 p.m.: Carillon concert by Jon Lehrer at the Princeton University Graduate Tower; listen from the lawn outside. Free, held rain or shine. Gradschool.princeton.edu.
2-5 p.m .: Winery Weekend Music Series at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Music by Joah Blume. Light fare available; farm store is open. Terhuneorchards.com.
3 p.m .: Reading of Frederick Douglass’ speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” at the Trent House, 15 Market Street, Trenton. Free. Williamtrenthouse.org.
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.
Monday, July 8
7:30 p.m .: The Phaeton Piano Trio performs as part of Princeton University Summer Chamber Concerts at Richardson Auditorium. Free. Tickets.princeton.edu.
7:30 p.m .: Community Reading: “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” via Zoom, presented by Princeton Public Library. Frederick Douglass’ influential speech given on July 5, 1852. Register at Princetonlibrary.org.
12 p.m .: Public reading of the Declaration of Independence at 23 South Warren Street, Trenton, where it was first read publicly 248 years ago. (609) 208-9991.
Tuesday, July 9
9:30 and 11 a.m .: Read & Pick: Blueberries. At Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Hands-on activity with stories; everyone gets a container of blueberries to take home. $12. Terhuneorchards.com.
6:30-8 p.m .: BYOB Handbuilt Mugs, at the Arts Council of Princeton, 102 Witherspoon Street. Beginner-friendly workshop to learn the basics of creating a mug by hand; bring favorite wine or beer. $65. Artscouncilofprinceton. org.
Wednesday, July 10
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m .: “Leighton Listens.” Princeton Councilman Leighton Newlin is on hand to discuss current events with members of the public at Carnevale Kiosk, Nassau Street across from Small World Coffee and next to 7-Eleven.
2 p.m.: The movie The Motorcycle Diaries is screened at Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street. Biopic about Che Guevara. Free. Princetonlibrary.org.
6:30 p.m .: Summer Reading Soirée with Ann Hood and Laura SpenceAsh at Morven Museum &Garden, 55 Stockton Street. Register through princetonlibrary.org.
Thursday, July 11
6-8 p.m.: Dueling Piano Nights on the green at Palmer Square. Palmersquare. com
6-8:30 p.m .: BYOB Charm Bracelets, at the Arts Council of Princeton, 102 Witherspoon Street. $45. Artscouncilofprinceton.org.
7:15 p.m .: Black Voices Book Group via Google Meet, presented by Princeton Public Library. Discussion of James McBride’s book The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store Princetonlibrary.org.
7:30 p.m .: Rowe performs folk and rock with a classical flair at Hopewell United Methodist Church, 20 Blackwell Avenue, Hopewell. $16 general admission, $7 for seniors and children. Rowemusicofficial. com.
Friday, July 12
5-8 p.m.: Sunset Sips & Sounds at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Winery and Barn Door Café are open. Music by ALBO. Terhuneorchards.com.
7 p.m .: Movie Night on the Green at Palmer Square, screening Honey I Shrunk the Kids . Princetonlibrary. org.
Saturday, July 13
JULY
blueberry items, children’s activities, and more. Terhuneorchards.com.
12-3 p.m .: Bastille Day Picnic at Princeton Country Club, 1 Wheeler Way. Hosted by the Alliance Francaise of Princeton. Games, music, conversation in French and English. Bring a picnic lunch. Beverages, dessert, and paper products provided. $20 members, $25 nonmembers, children under 12 free. Allianceprinceton.com.
1 p.m .: Carillon concert by David Hunsberger at the Princeton University Graduate Tower; listen from the lawn outside. Free, held rain or shine. Gradschool.princeton.edu.
4 p.m .: A concert by Loose Bricks at Hinds Plaza, with covers of classic rock songs from the’60s-’80s. Princetonlibrary.org.
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.
Monday, July 15 Recycling
7:30 p.m.: The Balourdet Quartet performs as part of Princeton University Summer Chamber Concerts at Richardson Auditorium. Free. Tickets.princeton.edu.
Wednesday, July 17
10 a.m.-3 p.m .: Princeton Farmers Market is at Hinds Plaza. More than 30 vendors with local organic produce, pasture-raised meat and eggs, cheeses, fresh flowers, knife-sharpening, jewelry, and more. Live music. SNAP/EBT cards and matches accepted up to $10 a day. Princetonfarmersmarket.com.
6 p.m .: Ranger Nouveau performs at the Summer Concert Series on the green at Princeton Shopping Center, North Harrison Street. Free. Princetonshoppingcenter.com.
9 a.m.-1 p.m.: West Windsor Farmers Market at Vaughn lot, Princeton Junction train station. Fresh produce and much more. Wwcfm.org.
10 a.m.-5 p.m .: Blueberry Bash at Terhune Orchards, Cold Soil Road. Pick-your-own blueberry patch, country music, puppet theater, homemade blueberry items, children’s activities, and more. Terhuneorchards.com.
10 a.m .: Walking tour of Frenchtown led by Rick Epstein. $20. Benefits Hunterdon County Historical Society. To register, email rickepstein@yahoo.com
3-8:30 p.m .: Sourland Mountain Festival at Unionville Vineyards, 9 Rocktown Road, Ringoes. Live music, food from local businesses, family-friendly activities, benefiting the Sourland Conservancy. Sourlandmountainfest.com/tickets.
5-7:30 p.m.: “Free Summer Music and More,” at Nassau Park Pavilion, 510 Nassau Park Boulevard. El Noordzo performs instrumental, psychedelic, Afro-Cuban surf-jazz interpretations of classic rock, punk, and alternative songs. Joined by cellist Dan Kassel; art activities for all ages. Rain date July 14. Westwindsorarts.org.
8 p.m .: The Moody Blues’ John Lodge performs at State Theatre New Jersey, 15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick. $29-$59. Stnj.org.
Sunday, July 14
10 a.m.-5 p.m .: Blueberry Bash at Terhune Orchards, Cold Soil Road. Pick-your-own blueberry patch, country music, puppet theater, homemade
11 a.m. and 2:15 p.m.: Summer Cream Tea service with The Secret Tea Room at Morven, 55 Stockton Street. Includes an optional tour of the museum with a docent. Morven.org.
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m .: “Leighton Listens.” Princeton Councilman Leighton Newlin is on hand to discuss current events with members of the public at Ficus restaurant, 235A Nassau Street.
2 p.m .: The movie Hunt for the Wilderpeople is screened at Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street. Free. New Zealand adventure comedy-drama. Princetonlibrary.org.
6 p.m.: Princeton Public Library’s Board of Trustees meets at the library, 65 Witherspoon Street. Princetonlibrary.org.
Thursday, July 18
10 a.m.-3 p.m .: Princeton Farmers Market is at Hinds Plaza. More than 30 vendors with local organic produce, pasture-raised meat and eggs, cheeses, fresh flowers, knife-sharpening, jewelry, and more. Live music. SNAP/EBT cards and matches accepted up to $10 a day. Princetonfarmersmarket.com.
11 a.m. and 2:15 p.m.: Summer Cream Tea service with The Secret Tea Room at Morven, 55 Stockton Street. Includes and optional tour of the museum with a docent. Morven.org. Get the scoop from
S ports
Heading Back to her 2nd Olympics for U.S. Rowing, PU Grad Collins Aiming to Help Women’s 8 Make Podium
F or Claire Collins, mak -
ing the U.S. rowing team for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 marked a career breakthrough.
“It was pretty eye-opening, it was also the first senior national team that I made,” said Collins, a 2019 Princeton University grad who helped the Tigers earn four Ivy League titles during her college career and won the Otto von Kienbusch award as Princeton’s top senior female athlete.
“I had done the junior national team, I had done the U23. The Olympic team in 2021 was my first senior national team. It was also a really valuable experience as my first race on that level so I was seeing what that level was like. All in all, I would say a lot learned and great experiences.”
The experience on the water wasn’t so great for Collins as her women’s 4 took seventh.
“It was a tough Olympics because we didn’t perform quite like we wanted to,” said Collins. “So 100 percent it made me very hungry to get back.”
Remaining in the U.S. program, Collins returned to Princeton and kept training and working her way up the ladder of the national team. She finished third in the pair and fourth in the 8 in the 2022 World Rowing
Championships and helped the 4 take fourth at the 2023 Worlds.
Collins has earned her way back to the Games, making the U.S. team for the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics.
“It feels very different this time around because I am older and more experienced,” said Collins, a 5’11, 175-pound native of McLean, Va. “I don’t take that for granted at all — it still feels very special and exciting. I feel very privileged to be a part of this team and to feel the hard work pay off. It doesn’t just take the people who made the team, it takes our whole group that has tried out over the last couple of years. For Tokyo, I was like one of the last people who made the team and made the boat. It was sort of like I really didn’t expect it as I was going through the whole process. I felt different this time. I was more in the mix now, I didn’t sort of punch through like I did last time.”
Once the top 12 women’s sweep rowers were selected for the squad, they did additional training and competing as the coaches figured out which rowers would go in the 4 and who would row in the 8 with Collins ending up in the latter boat.
“They took a couple of weeks, most of April to look at combinations for the 4 and 8 and they decided
which people would go into it,” said Collins. “We didn’t even really do any direct seat racing for it. Everyone can be strong and technical and everyone is very talented. It is just like you jell with a soccer team or whatever — combinations in these boats really matter. It really helps get that next element of speed. That is what they were looking for.”
Tuning up for the Paris games, the U.S. 8 took third in the World Cup held this spring in Lucerne, Switzerland.
“Lucerne was fine, we got a bronze medal,” said Collins. “We won a test race and then got bronze in the final. It wasn’t quite the finishing note we wanted. It puts a good chip on our shoulder to sharpen things up.”
Currently the rowers are training out of the Caspersen Rowing Center on Mercer Lake as they work on sharpening tunings up.
“I do feel like the 8 is coming together,” said Collins. “In Tokyo, we didn’t have a chance to race as a group before the Olympics. Lucerne was a very valuable experience. I think we are sharpening things up and there has been some really good focus, lessons learned, experiences had.”
That focus has been honed through some grueling daily sessions.
“We are doing a lot of volume right now, a lot of meters and miles,” said Collins. “We practice from basically 6:30 to 9:30 in the mornings and then we have another two to three hour practice in the afternoons plus two weight sessions a week. That is six days a week; we get Sundays off.”
Later this week, the U.S. rowers will head to Erba, Italy, to go through their final preparations before arriving in Paris. “There is a lake there, it is a nice, little quiet town near Lake Como,” said Collins. “It is very picturesque with beautiful mountains.”
Collins is looking to sample some Italian pasta as the rowers field up for the competition.
“For us, the name of the game is getting enough energy and calories,” said Collins. “There is a balance in terms of getting protein and everything like that. The biggest focus for us for nutrition is to make sure that we get enough carbohydrates. We fuel regularly. We have to make sure that we have snacks in the boat. It is getting those little bits of energy throughout the day instead of waiting for the meals.”
Looking ahead to the Games, Collins believes a key to success for the boat is harnessing its energy.
“We talk about executing a lot — it is basically executing who we are,” said Collins.
“There is a process in terms of building who we are and just planning on executing that and not adjusting too much as we go along. We learned at the World Cup that we probably adjusted a little too much. It is a hard balance in trying to improve upon your little weaknesses but you also to just really have to hold on and grind into your strengths. I think the biggest key to success for us is to make sure that our strengths become more and more. We just have to solidify them into who we are, execute that, and trust that that is going to get us across the line.”
With the rowing competition taking place in the first week of the Olympics from July 27 to August 3, Collins will be looking to take care of business while still enjoying the excitement surrounding the Games.
“The rowing aspect is basically the world championships which we have been through,” said Collins. “There are a lot more people cheering, it is louder. You don’t know what that is like until you are there. The Olympics are exciting, there is time to enjoy little pieces of it even when we are racing. But at the same time, one of the biggest challenges is to make sure that you are locked and loaded. There are so many distractions. You don’t normally stay in a village with all of these different sports and
countries. But the first week is very business-like. It is going to be hard because not only are there distractions in your plain view, but obviously social media is going crazy at the same time. It is fun but it can easily become distracting.”
Collins’ Princeton experience will help her stay locked in on the task at hand.
“Princeton prepared me very well for the national team and the preparation needed to make the Olympic team,” said Collins. “I am really grateful for that. Lori (Princeton women’s open head coach Lori Dauphiny) is my mentor and I keep up with her. She so special.”
While Collins is planning to keep rowing after Paris, she is going to take some time away from the sport to engage in some other pursuits.
“Next year I am going to get my MBA at Cambridge in the U.K., that is the next plan so we will see after that,” said Collins. “I would like to continue rowing at this point. I am 27 years old, I am still in my prime for this sport. I still have a few years, depending on how everything is happening. I have enjoyed every second of it but I have sacrificed a few life things I would say to do this. I would like to enjoy a few of those things a little bit before I return.”
—Bill Alden
PULLING IT TOGETHER: Claire Collins, second from right with visor, shows her form while rowing for the U.S. women’s 8. Former Princeton University women’s open crew standout Collins ’19 will be competing in the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics for the U.S. 8. It will mark the second appearance at the Olympics for Collins, who helped the U.S. 4 take seventh at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
(Photo by Row2K, provided courtesy of USA Rowing)
PU Sports Roundup
Mens’ Hockey Alum Krepelka
Earns Stanley Cup with Panthers
Former Princeton University men’s hockey player
Paul Krepelka ‘91 earned the Stanley Cup as part of an NHL champion when the Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1, in game seven of the Stanley Cup final on June 24 for the franchise’s first-ever league title.
In his fourth season with the Panthers — and first as senior vice president, hockey operations, Krepelka has been part of Florida’s front office as the Panthers have recently won the NHL President’s Trophy in 202122 and reached the 2023 Stanley Cup Final before ultimately claiming hockey’s biggest prize this season.
Krepelka is now the sixth former Princeton men’s hockey player to be part of a Stanley Cup championship as a player, coach, or executive — each coming since 2007. He is joined by George Parros ’03 (Anaheim, 2007 as a player), Kevin Westgarth ’07 (Los Angeles, 2012 as a player), Jeff Halpern ’99 (Tampa Bay, 2020 and 2021 as assistant coach), Brent Flahr ’96 (Anaheim, 2007 as an executive) and Chris Patrick ’98 (Washington, 2018 as an executive) as Tigers to lift the Cup.
After graduating from Princeton in 1991, Krepelka played for Hampton Roads in the ECHL during
the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons before earning his law degree from Suffolk University after retirement. He then went on to a 20year career as an agent — including a period where he co-founded Orr Hockey Group — before joining the Carolina Hurricanes where he served as vice president of hockey operations from 2018-20.
Tiger Women’s Track Has 2 Compete in Olympic Trials
A pair of Princeton University women’s track stars, Alexandra Kelly and Shea Greene, competed in the U.S. Olympic track and field trials last week in Eugene, Ore.
Rising junior Kelly competed in the first round of the women’s long jump last Thursday and placed 21st with a best leap of 20’0.25, missing out on making the finals as the top 12 advanced.
Greene, also a rising junior, took 10th in the first round of the women’s javelin last Friday with a top throw of 172’5 to book her spot in the final. On Sunday, Greene placed ninth in the final with a best mark of 175’9.
Princeton Athletics Gets IMPACT Award
Princeton Athletics has been named the recipient of the 2024 Team IMPACT Division I Fellowship Campus of the Year Award, the organization recently announced.
Princeton has a long history of supporting Team IMPACT, a nonprofit organization that matches children facing serious illness and disability with college sports teams.
Since 2011, the Team IMPACT program has matched more than 3,000 children with 750 colleges and universities in all 50 states. Princeton first teamed up with Team IMPACT in 2013 and has since welcomed a total of 14 children to team rosters for multi-year partnerships. The 202324 academic year saw children matched with six Tiger teams, including softball, men’s golf, men’s lacrosse, women’s swimming, men’s swimming, and men’s basketball.
“Princeton Athletics is incredibly honored to receive the 2024 Team IMPACT Campus Fellowship Award,” said Princeton Director of Athletics John Mack ’00. “Princeton’s partnership with Team IMPACT has been a transformative experience for our studentathletes and coaches, and we are humbled to know that our efforts have created such positive and impactful experiences for our Team IMPACT teammates.”
Tiger studentathletes Grace Jackson ’24 (softball) and Maddie Seltzer ’25( swimming and diving) represented Princeton Athletics as part of the Team IMPACT Fellowship program this past year. The program invites student-athletes to serve in a leadership role and collaborate with their athletic departments to bring awareness to the organization and increase participation among their teams.
In these roles, Jackson and Seltzer helped grow the number of Princeton teams matched with the program from just two sports to six,
WUNDER WOMAN: Princeton University women’s hockey player Issy Wunder brings the puck up the ice in action last winter. Rising junior Wunder, recently graduated Daniella Calabrese, recently graduated Annie Kuehl, and rising junior Emerson O’Leary have been recognized as American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) All-American Scholars, meeting the award’s GPA and competition standards for 2023-24. Calabrese, a student in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), and Kuehl, a sociology major, each earned a third AllAmerican Scholar honor. O’Leary, also a SPIA student, and Wunder, majoring in psychology, earned the honor for the first time. On the ice, Wunder was a second-team All-Ivy League honoree after leading the team with 27 assists on the way to 35 points. O’Leary finished third on the team with 32 points and second with 25 assists, while Kuehl had six goals and 10 assists and Calabrese tallied one goal.
with a seventh team slated to be matched this fall. They frequently met with case managers at local children’s hospitals and spoke with coaches to increase awareness of the program. The Fellows, in concert with the athletic department, hosted an ice cream party for all participating programs and their matches, organized multiple Team IMPACT awareness games on campus, and led a variety of team-sponsored activities with their Team IMPACT teammates.
“I have absolutely loved representing Team IMPACT at Princeton through the Fellowship program. Over this past year, Maddie and I have accomplished connecting many more teams and children while creating some special memories for both student athletes and the families,” said Jackson.
The Fellowship Awards were created to recognize the hard work of different
individuals and teams over the course of a year and to highlight the dedication, creative ideas, and growth of programming across these campuses. The other two campuses who were recognized this year were Regis University (Division II) and Tufts University (Division III).
“We are so proud to present Princeton Athletics with the 2024 Division I Fellowship Campus of the Year Award. Due in large part to the dedication of our Fellows, this school year alone Princeton has nearly doubled the number of children and families welcomed onto its campus through Team IMPACT,” said Team IMPACT CEO Joe Daniels. “We
look forward to watching these friendships thrive and continuing to make an even bigger impact in Princeton’s campus community.” Princeton Athletics will accept the award on July 18 during Team IMPACT’s annual Fellowship Summit in Boston, Mass. Happy Fourth of July from
(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
relationship outcomes, and saves time “quarterback”
PHS Lax’s Kenah, Hun Softball’s Kobryn, PDS Lax’s Caputo
Get the Nod as Town Topics’ Leading Spring Performers
As Patrick Kenah prepared for senior season with the Princeton High boys’ lacrosse team, he put his nose to the grindstone.
“This offseason was super crucial, I wanted to put in the work,” said Kenah. “I knew I needed to have a good season. I wanted to help the team and be a leader of this team. I think I have set myself up well to do that, and I have been put in a good position.”
Senior attackman and Lafayette College commit Kenah achieved that goal, triggering the PHS offense.
After tallying four points in a 15-4 opening day win over WW/P-North, Kenah exploded for nine points on five goals and four assists to help PHS defeat Hopewell Valley 17-11.
After a tough stretch in mid-April which saw PHS go 2-3, Kenah helped the Tigers get back on track with a 21-11 win over Notre Dame High under the lights at Mercer County Community College, piling up five goals and six assists.
“We wanted to work for each other, get each other open, and swing the ball around,” said Kenah, reflecting on the win over the Irish. “I thought we did a good job of that. They threw a couple of defenses at us so we had to adjust often. I thought we did a good job.”
Kenah’s connection with junior midfielder Brendan Beatty helped PHS get the ball moving all spring.
“It is awesome, me and Brendan are super close off the field too,” said Kenah. “We are always looking for each other.”
Building on the win over Notre Dame, PHS advanced
to the Mercer County Tournament final for the first time since 2017 as it topped Lawrenceville B 19-11 in the semis with Kenah tallying five goals. In the title game against Hopewell Valley, Kenah had four goals and one assist but it wasn’t enough as the Tigers fell 16-11.
Kenah ended his stellar career by scoring four goals with two assists as ninthseeded PHS fell 13-10 to eighth-seeded Northern Highlands in the first round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey Group 3 tournament.
That output gave Kenah 108 points this spring on 61 goals and 47 assists. He ended up with 372 points in his PHS career on 217 goals and 155 assists.
PHS head coach Chip Casto credited Kenah with having an influence on the Tiger program that extended far beyond his glittering stats.
“Patrick was an outstanding leader,” said Casto, whose team ended the spring at 11-8. “He learned under the tutelage of Will Doran (a 2022 PHS grad) and just kept that going. It is a sort of a Doran/Kenah era coming to a close. Patrick is a student of the game. He has really learned the offense, he sees all six guys. He is as much of a competitor as anybody I have coached. He plays through all sorts of injuries. He is always getting beat on but he keeps coming back. I am really excited to see him at Lafayette.”
Kenah’s main goal this spring was to lead the Tigers to a title. “We have to meet the standard,” said Kenah. “It is just make the most of what we have. Our ultimate goal is to put something on the banner in our gym.”
While Kenah didn’t accomplish that goal, his production and leadership make him the choice as the Town Topics’ leading high school boy performer this spring. Top Girl Performers
Lexi Kobryn made history this spring in her final campaign for the Hun School softball team.
On April 18 in a 5-0 win over Hightstown, senior righty fireballer Kobryn recorded her 500th career strikeout, the first Hun pitcher to reach that milestone.
Four days later, Kobryn pounded out her 100th hit of her career, making her just the second Raider player after Lauren McQuade to achieve the century mark.
Reflecting on her accomplishments, Kobryn was proud of the legacy she is leaving.
“It means a lot, I have been working for that my whole career,” said Kobryn, a Villanova University commit. “I knew I was getting close, it was just exciting to get that. I have been really working hard. I know a lot of Hun softball players haven’t done that so it is amazing. I am leaving my mark, which is pretty cool.”
Those accomplishments were the product of a lot of hard work on Kobryn’s part as she refined her talent. She would come to school at 6:30 a.m. for strength training and hone her hitting in home sessions after practice.
“It is hard to get my workout in. I can’t lose what I have done, so coming in the morning is what works best,” said Kobryn. “It is weights. I am always getting extra reps hitting. If I feel I don’t get enough here in
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practice, I will go home and hit off the tee.”
Kobryn kept up the good work through the spring as Hun went 18-3, advancing to the Prep A state final and the Mercer County Tournament semis. Kobryn piled up 205 strikeouts in 103 innings with a 0.27 ERA and batted .571 with seven homers and 44 RBIs.
Hun head coach Kathy Quirk created Kobryn with leaving a special legacy.
“Lexi has been doing a great job, she works hard,” said Quirk of Kobryn. “I am happy for her. She is leaving here with some nice records, she has done a great job. She knows that her teammates have her back.”
Kobryn, for her part, had a great time over the course of her Hun career.
“I know that the friends I have made in the four years, I am going to have them forever,” said Kobryn. “It is sad that I am moving on. The memories I have had, you can never take that away.”
Across town, senior standout Tessa Caputo was achieving milestones this spring for the Princeton Day School girls’ lacrosse team.
Star attacker and Fairfield University commit Caputo tallied 161 points this spring on 100 goals and 61 assists as PDS went 15-6, making the Prep B state semis and the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public B quarterfinals. During her
career, Caputo totaled 435 points on 275 goals and 160 assists, setting all-time program records in goals and points.
While Caputo was proud of those achievements, she doesn’t dwell on stats.
“It is definitely something fun to look at but at the end of the day — it is not something that I am focused on going into games,” said Caputo. “My mom is all over
it, she loves it.” Caputo loved competing with fellow senior stars Kelly Christie and Jesse Hollander.
“Me, Kelly, and Jesse are all super close off the field as well, I think that definitely helps,” said Caputo. “We have all been playing together since freshman year, so that really helps. We just have such a great bond. We see each other, we work
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ON POINT: Princeton High boys’ lacrosse player Patrick Kenah, left, races upfield in a game this spring during his senior campaign. Star attackman and Lafayette College commit Kenah tallied 108 points on 61 goals and 47 assists as he helped PHS go 11-8 and advance to the Mercer County Tournament final. Kenah ended up with 372 points in his Tiger career on 217 goals and 155 assists.
(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
DOUBLE DUTY: Hun School softball standout Lexi Kobryn smacks the ball during her stellar career with the Raiders. This spring, Kobryn starred with her arm and her bat in her senior season as Hun went 18-3, advancing to the Prep A state final and the Mercer County Tournament semis. Villanova University commit Kobryn piled up 205 strikeouts in 103 innings with a 0.27 ERA and batted .571 with seven homers and 44 RBIs.
(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
Spring Review
Continued from Preceding Page together in practice every day. We all trust each other so much.”
PDS first-year head coach Lucia Marcozzi marveled at Caputo’s achievements and unselfish play. “Tessa is great — that was so welldeserved,” said Marcozzi, referring to Caputo passing the 200-goal milestone. “But the thing is, besides the 200 goals, she passes to a freshman or a senior — she doesn’t care. She sees assists the same way she sees goals. I am lucky and this team is lucky that she has that mindset. “Tessa raised the bar for whoever is going to come in to try to break the scoring record.”
Next year, Caputo will be looking to make an impact on the college level as she joins former PDS teammate Paige Gardner at Fairfield.
“I am so excited, I can’t wait; I have talked to her once in a while, She loves it and I am so excited to get out there with her and be a part of such an awesome team,” said Caputo. “I am really excited to work hard this summer for a chance at playing time.”
For putting up such awesome stats and leading their teams on postseason runs, Kobryn and Caputo are the pick as the co-top girl standouts this season.
Top Newcomers
With the Princeton Day School baseball team having gone 1-22 in 2023, the program needed an infusion of talent.
Heading into this spring, PDS head coach Eric
Schnepf saw the addition of junior transfer Santino Cignarella as a big plus for his squad.
“Santino will most likely play shortstop and pitch for us,” said Schnepf. “We anticipate Santino hitting at the top of the order.”
Living up to those expectations, Cignarella emerged as a star for the Panthers, sparking the offense from his lead-off spot and playing a solid shortstop.
Cignarella batted a teambest .421 with team highs in hits (24) and runs (18). He helped PDS go on a late run that saw it win four of its last five games, including its first-ever victory in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) South Jersey Non-Public B tournament.
“Santino was a great addition for us, he helped physically on the field as our shortstop and leadoff hitter,” said Schnepf, whose team ended the spring at 6-17. “He played a really big role on the physical side but also culturally, just coming in putting his head down and grinding, overcoming obstacles and challenges. It was definitely great to have added him.”
Santino’s instant impact as PDS showed marked improvement makes him the choice as the top boy newcomer.
As Geoff Chrisman took the helm of the Hun School girls’ lacrosse team, he was a bit anxious about the team’s goalie situation.
The program had no returning goalies and sophomore Julia Wolfe, who only had a year of JV experience,
was the leading contender for the spot.
It didn’t take long for Chrisman to realize that he had something special in Wolfe as she worked hard through the winter and then starred on the team’s preseason trip to Florida.
“I was shocked when I found out she was a first year player last year,” said Chrisman. “She bought in after last season. She started playing club and started working with some goaliespecific trainers. She played lights out in Florida, she had 16 saves against Deerfield.”
Wolfe went on to make great strides in her first varsity campaign, recording 148 saves and yielding 11.47 goals a game. Her progress helped Hun go 9-8 as it advanced to the Mercer County Tournament semifinals.
“Julia had a tremendous season,” said Chrisman. “We put out a plan in the beginning, this is what we need to work on. She embraced it, and then down in Florida I was like, ‘She is going to be special.’ She is still learning to be a goalie and really the big thing is that she just continues to get better and get comfortable and get reps. She has already set out her goals for the offseason and is doing those things.”
Wolfe’s development into a star goalie in her debut season for Hun earns her the nod as the top girl newcomer.
Top Coaches
In 2022, the Hun School baseball team won the Mercer County Tournament for the first time in program history and took
first in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) standings but fell to Pingry on the Prep A state final.
A year later, the Raiders lost to Allentown in the MCT final but won another MAPL crown and took the Prep A title.
Coming into this spring, Hun was shooting to achieve the elusive championship triple.
“The team had a very, very distinct goal in mind before the season started which was to win all three titles which we have never done before,” said Hun head coach Tom Monfiletto.
Once the season started, Hun displayed some championship form, winning its first six games. Stumbling a bit in the midseason, the Raiders went through a 4-4 stretch.
But with the postseason on the horizon, Hun caught fire, winning its last eight games. Along the way, the Raiders clinched the MAPL title, defeated Lawrence High 10-2 in the MCT championship game, and edged Lawrenceville 8-7 in the Prep A final to achieve the triple crown as it ended the spring with a 20-5 record.
“This would be the coolest thing that we have ever experienced,” said Monfiletto, looking ahead to the final round of the Prep A tourney. “One of the cooler things that we have witnessed over the past week was that the guys who weren’t’ able to play in the county tournament were going crazy all three games in support of each other. When people see that selflessness and everybody pulling for each other and if you have talent, you will be tough to beat.”
Hun senior catcher E.J. Balewitz credited that selfless attitude with playing a key role in the squad’s success.
or Take Out
Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday from 11am to 8pm We
During her career, Caputo totaled a school-record 435 points on 275 goals and 160 assists. (Photo
pulled out a 9-8 overtime win against Montgomery in a first round contest as the 11th-seeded Tigers avenged a 15-9 regular season loss to the sixth-seeded Cougars. It marked the program’s first win in the state tourney since 2021.
some great milestones that have occurred. It has just been overall a very successful season. That is all I can ask for them.”
“The one thing is that we are just a family,” said Balewitz. “We have all been together for a while and we all have each other’s back. We have a great coaching staff too.”
For helping to create that family atmosphere that led to the historic championship triple, Monfiletto is the pick as the top coach of a boys’ team this spring.
Things fell apart for the Princeton High girls’ lacrosse team down the stretch in 2023 as it lost nine of its last 10 games to post a disappointing 7-12 record.
PHS head coach Katie Federico acknowledged that it was a rough spring for the Tigers.
“It was a hard year, it was a good growing year,” said Federico. “It helped the seniors become the leaders that they needed to be. They are doing a nice job, there is a great vibe within the team, a cohesiveness within the team.”
Displaying cohesive play this season, PHS got back on the winning track. The Tigers got off to a 7-2 start before going through a 1-3 stretch.
PHS ended the season with an 11-5 loss at thirdseeded Northern Highlands in the quarterfinal round of the state tournament. In a reversal of fortune, the Tigers finished 2024 with a record of 12-9 as they nearly doubled their win total from the previous season.
“It is really great, I am just so happy for the team,” said Federico, whose team posted big wins over crosstown rivals Hun and Princeton Day School along the way. “They have had a really great season. We have had fun. We have some really high highs and we have had
The squad’s senior group which included Riley Devlin, Sarah Henderson, Sylvie LeBouef, Phoebe Steiger, Ava Caruso, Joci Lee, Avery Gallagher, Julia Engelhart, Theona Hsu, and Allegra Brennan helped set the tone for that success.
“The seniors really took on that leadership role this year,” said Federico. “It was the confidence and trust in each other, they played so well as a unit. That year of rebuilding really did help, as hard as it was.”
Federico’s role in getting PHS back on the winning track makes her the selection as the top coach of a girls’ team.
— Bill Alden
After losing to Notre Dame in the Mercer County Tournament quarterfinals, PHS produced a breakthrough win in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey Group 3 tournament. The Tigers
FOR THE RECORD: Princeton Day School girls’ lacrosse star Tessa Caputo, left, heads to goal in action this spring. Senior attacker and Fairfield University commit Caputo tallied 161 points this spring on 100 goals and 61 assists as PDS went 156, making the Prep B state semis and the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public B quarterfinals.
by Frank Wojciechowski)
PASTIAMO at the Princeton Shopping Center Dine In
With its Roster Expanding to 50 Athletes, PDS Track Program Made Strides this Spring
From its humble start in 2021 as a club program with about 20 athletes that competed in some varsity meets, the Princeton Day School track and field squad has certainly picked up the pace.
This spring, the PDS varsity track team saw its roster swell to 50 with the Panthers finishing third in both the boys’ and girls’ team standings in the Prep B state championship meet. At the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) NonPublic Group B championships, the PDS boys and girls each finished 10th in the team standings. The Panthers also sent two girls’ relay quartets to the Penn Relays.
“It had gone from being a fledgling, modest program to being the most popular program in the school,” said PDS head coach Mark Adams, who helped start the program with John Woodside, before he retired after the 2021 season. “We had 51 kids this spring and close to 60 in the middle school. Everybody has recognized that the track program is undeniable and that it is really popular.”
In getting up to speed as the program started, Adams had to overcome the hurdle of not having a track on campus.
“Everybody wanted a track from day one — I said we are going to do it the other way around,” said Adams. “It is not build it and they will come like the Field of Dreams. It is we will build a program and then the track will come. That has been my stand all along. Right now we are exploring all of the necessary elements involved in building a track.”
In the meantime, the PDS athletes and coaches have gotten the most of the facilities they do have on campus.
“We first started at Krueger Field; we would get the wheel out and mark it and would practice there quite a bit,” said Adams. “Once the field house at the Athletic Center was finished, that became the home base to start every day. We do our warm up there and then everyone launches out to their different sites. We do most of our practice outside now at the Pagoda Field.”
In order to supplement that training, PDS has headed across town a few days a week.
“We arranged to practice three mornings a week before school at Hun,” said Adams. “We don’t get everybody there — we rotate the event groups through. I am there every one of the mornings, and then I have my different event coaches come and work there as well. It is really challenging for some of the kids but we made it work.”
In reflecting on the growth of the program, Adams credits a quartet of seniors with exerting a major influence.
“Harleen [Sandhu], Emily [McCann], Arun [Patel], and Tyler [Olmstead] were at the forefront,” said Adams. “They have pushed and have been very instrumental in making it happen. Those kids are all very dedicated to the team and to track.”
An infusion of young talent was instrumental to the team’s success this spring.
“Now the kids know that
the program is there, it has added to the numbers in middle school,” said Adams. “The big change this year was that we had 23 freshmen in the program. The influx of freshmen and the energy behind all of it has been really, really great.”
The energy paid off in the Prep B championship meet in late May at Newark Academy.
“The really big step this year has been with the boys,” asserted Adams. “The girls were fourth last year but the boys were barely scoring points in previous years. Across the board, the boys have really just taken huge steps.”
The Panther boys made a huge impact in the field events in the Prep B competition. Freshman Avery Hall took first in the high jump with junior Adam Stewart taking second. In the long jump, Abdoulaye Seydi placed fifth with Stewart coming in fifth. Stewart also took fifth in the triple jump with freshman Brady DeCore taking eighth. In the throws, junior Marc Nahas placed eighth in the shot put with Olmstead coming in sixth in the javelin and 11th in the discus. Freshman Onyx Oschwald placed fifth in the javelin and freshman Cy Cooper finished eighth in the javelin.
“For the boys, it is great that we have as many jumpers as we do,” said Adams.
“We had three kids who all jumped 5’8 this year in Adam, Avery, and Onyx, which is a good start. We had good long and triple jumping between Adam and Abdoulaye. Brady has been a really nice addition as well. Tyler has been with the program from the start. He was pretty much our lone contributor up until this year for points in the boys’ throws. Cy and Onyx started contributing in the javelin. Those kids did a great job.”
A pair of freshmen, Nathan Bennett and Edward Letko, set the pace on the track at the Prep B meet as Bennett took first in the 400 meters and third in the 100 while Letko placed third in the 1,600.
“Nathan was the ninthranked freshman in the state in the 400 coming into the Meet of Champions, he has been amazing,” said Adams. “Nathan won the Rookie of the Year for PDS. Eddie has been fantastic too.”
Senior Tom Poljevka showed his versatility at the Prep B meet, taking third the 400 hurdles and fifth in the 110 hurdles. At the Non-Public state meet, he took sixth in the 110 hurdles and helped the 4x800 relay place fourth.
“Another one who was really strong for the boys was Tom Poljevka,” said Adams. “Tom did cross country in the fall. He ran the hurdles at the state meet and the 4x800. He just wanted to support the guys so he agreed to run the 4x8, which was right between the prelim and the final in the hurdles. He is a such a great kid — he is one of our team leaders. He ended up coming in sixth in states, .14 of a second off his previous PR. The kid was amazing.”
As for the girls, distance running star McCann has been the pace setter. She took first in the 800 and
third in the 3,200 in the Prep B meet and finished second in the 1,600 in the Non-Public meet.
“Emily set a standard, which was really, really high,” said Adams of McCann, a Northeastern University track and cross country commit. “At some point, she had the school records in the 400, the 800, the 1,600, and 3,200. Emily has just been a standout for us. From 400 meters to the 3,200, she was our top runner. She is a fierce competitor. She ran at the Nike nationals out in Eugene, qualifying in the 1,600.”
Sandhu, for her part, showed her completive fire, taking second in the 3,200 in both the Prep B and NonPublic meets. She finished her PDS career by taking 12th in the 3,200 at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions in 11:03.63.
“Harleen has always been there. She really had a great senior year, I was really happy for her,” said Adams, who also got good work in the middle distance events from freshman Sophia Vriesendorp, the second-place finisher in the 400 at the Prep B competition. “She ran that 11 at the Meet of Champions, she did amazingly well. I am very proud of her.”
Junior Sophia Zhou did well this spring. “Sophia was obviously a standout for us,” said Adams.”Sophia ran in both the 4x100 and the 4x400 relays at the Penn Relays and is a hurdler. She has just been stepping into everything and is so dedicated and works hard.”
Junior Makena Graham and sophomore Zuri Graham led the Panther sprints crew. Makena took third in the 100 and fifth in the 200 at the Prep B meet while Zuri placed fifth in the 100 hurdles.
“Makena was our top sprinter and her sister Zuri was our next best,” said Adams. “Zuri ended up being on our relays at the end of the year and made it to finals in the 110 hurdles.”
Sophomore Kara Vandal displayed her amazing versatility in the jumps at the Prep B meet, taking third in the pole vault, fourth in the long jump, fifth in the triple jump, and ninth in the high jump.
“Kara went from the pole vault to high jump, back and forth,” said Adams. “Then she went from triple to long. She was totally gassed at Preps.”
The squad’s depth was reflected in the progress it made in relay events. On the girls’ side, the relay stalwarts included the Graham sisters, Vriesendorp, Zhou, sophomore Kendra Daley, freshman Emily Zhang, freshman Charlotte Wu, and sophomore Anna Burke. As for the boys, Cooper, Nahas, Oschwald, Hall, DeCore, Letko, Bennett, and Seydi excelled in the relay events.
“Our relay teams did well all season long; our 4x100 kept getting better and better as we went through the season,” said Adams. “The shuttle hurdles relay is a really fun race, it was neat for the girls to win both of those at the Prep and Mercer Relays.”
Competing in the Colonial Valley Conference this spring also helped PDS get better.
THE PACE: Princeton Day School star runner Emily McCann competes in a cross country University track and cross country commit, has been a driving force for the fledging PDS track program as it has grown by leaps and bounds over the last four seasons. handled those meets.”
“This year was our first year in the CVC and we are getting used what the CVC has to offer and giving our kids lots of opportunities for meets,” said Adams. “The kids did great. One of the things I was most proud of was how the kids
Looking ahead, Adams is expecting some great things as the program continues to grow.
“When you look at it, the boys are very deep, that is great,” said Adams, who plans to give his athletes more opportunities to compete at indoor meets this winter. “I would like to get the depth there for the girls. For the girls, we are going to try to get some more girls into the field events so it is not all Kara.”
—Bill Alden
SETTING
After
Producing an Encouraging 2-Win Week, Post 218 Baseball Primed for Stretch Drive
Even as the losses piled up this summer for the Princeton Post 218 American Legion baseball team, Pete Nielsen never lost faith in his players.
“We have the ability,” said Post 218 manager Nielsen. “That has been my message throughout the whole season.”
After starting the 2024 season with 12 straight losses in Mercer County American Legion League (MCALL) action, Post 218 displayed its ability, posting a 13-9 win over Broad Street Post 313 on June 23.
“They were ready and hungry for their first win,” said Nielsen. “We came out a little flat to start but then in our second inning we got five runs and were able to keep tacking on runs. Once you start to get the ball rolling, it is just keep it going from there. We didn’t score anything in that third inning and in the fourth, fifth, sixth, we put up two runs each inning. In that seventh inning, getting two runs was crucial for us.”
Princeton High rising senior Travis Petrone kept things rolling for Post 218 in the win, going 4 for 5 with one run and three RBIs.
“Travis was the catalyst for our lineup that day,” said Nielsen. “He was the guy that got the things going for us.”
Princeton had guys throughout the lineup get hits in the win over Broad Street. Nate Nydick went 3 for 4 with one run and one RBI while Nano Sarceno went 2 for 5 with a run and three RBIs.
James Schiavone, Ray Nault, and Anders Hedin each contributed two hits.
“It was good production, everyone was able to produce for us and got something going,” said Nielsen. “It was all one through nine.”
On the mound, starter Ray Nault went five innings with eight strikeouts with James Schiavone coming on in relief to pitch two innings, striking out five and giving up one hit.
“Ray is our guy — he threw a great game for us,” said Nielsen. “He threw that ball really well, he got guys out up and down the lineup. He was getting up to his pitch count; he wanted that last batter in the fifth so I let him go. We had a little shakiness on the defensive side. James was able to keep it there for us and got the last couple outs in the sixth and then
finished it off in the seventh for us. Both Ray and James were great for us on the mound that day.”
In the wake of the breakthrough win, the Post 218 players savored the victory.
“We have had a lot of games that could have went our way but sadly they didn’t,” said Nielsen. “It was definitely a mix of excitement and relief that we got that first one under our belts.”
After a 13-3 loss to first place and undefeated Allentown on June 25, Post 218 got another win as it topped Trenton Post 93/182 8-5 last Thursday to improve to 2-13.
“We got a seven-run inning in that third, that was crucial for us,” said Nielsen, whose team trailed 2-1 after two innings. “It put Trenton out and allowed us to be able to play our own game after that. Again, it was one through nine hitting and contributing for us.”
Once again, Princeton got contributions throughout the batting order. Catcher Hedin, a rising PHS junior, went 3 for 3 with one run and one RBI while Petrone was 2 for 3 with two runs and two RBIs and Mike Prete, Sarceno, Schiavone, and Nydick each chipping in one hit.
“Anders has found
something, he is another guy who has come up big for us, especially in that Trenton game,” said Nielsen. “He had a double in the gap that helped us in that inning to get the seven runs in. Travis ended the inning with a two-run double to get those last couple of runs for us. Mike Prete had a great game as well — he is finding his swing now. Everyone is doing their job right now.”
Post 218 got a good job from pitchers Gavin Lauer and Nydick against Trenton as starter Lauer went five innings with four strikeouts and Nydick pitched two nohit innings in relief with four strikeouts.
“Gavin and Nate did throw the ball really well for us on Thursday,” said Nielsen. “We were able to back them up with good fielding and then have offense on the side. It was the complete game, we are having those complete games now.”
With five games remaining in regular season play, Nielsen believes that Princeton can build on its two-win week.
“It is showing that we have the ability to go out and compete against anyone in this league,” said Nielsen. “They have all of the confidence in the world right now between everyone, between the coaching staff and all of the players. Everyone has that confidence boost right now to go and do something with those last five games of the season. It is just using what we have done the past couple of games and using that as momentum.”
The stretch drive for Post 218 will start when it plays at South Brunswick Post 401 (5-8) this Friday.
“We are going to use this July 4th break to give us a re-set right now,” said Nielsen. “We will be back at it on July 5 against South Brunswick. It is going to be a good matchup for us. If we are able to get a win against South Brunswick that will be a good catalyst going into the last four games of the season.”
—Bill Alden
Jackson Reuniting with PHS Buddies, Starring for SpeedPro in Summer Hoops
For Jay Jackson, playing for the SpeedPro team in the Princeton Princeton Recreation Department Men’s Summer Basketball League this year has been a reunion tour.
Jackson, who went to Princeton High for three years and starred in football, basketball, and lacrosse before transferring to the Pennington School, was excited to team up with SpeedPro, which is comprised of recent PHS alums like Judd Petrone, Jack Suozzi, Matt Rinaldi, Brendan Rougas, and Tim Evidente.
“It has been awhile — I grew up with them and we have been playing for a while,” said Jackson, who graduated from Pennington in 2021 and has gone to play college lacrosse at Frostburg State University where he will be a senior this fall. “It is just being able to hang out with the guys on the court. It is nice to be able to get back out on the court with these guys.”
Last Friday, Jackson played hard as SpeedPro faced PATH, looking for its first win of the summer.
The 6’6 Jackson dominated in the paint in the early going, scoring eight points as SpeedPro built an 18-14 halftime lead.
“I was trying to use my size and weight a little bit,”
said Jackson. “I am just trying to get back into it.”
In the second half, SpeedPro faded as PATH pulled way to a 45-35 win.
“We are all out of shape,” said Jackson, who ended up with nine points on the evening. “If we can play some defense and get some rebounds, I feel like we will be all right.”
Coming off a knee injury, Jackson has been using summer hoops to help him get in shape for his senior lacrosse campaign.
“I tore my ACL in December so I didn’t get to play this season,” said Jackson. “I was able to start running about a month ago. It feels good. It is a lot of PT still so I am getting after that. It is good to get back into shape and being able to run. I am still playing lacrosse outside of this.”
While Speed Pro fell 7650 to Jefferson Plumbing last Monday night to drop to 0-5, the win-loss record is not the main focus for Jackson this summer.
“I feel it is more towards the having fun side,” said Jackson, who scored 18 points in the defeat. “We don’t really care as much about the winning — it is just trying to get up and down the court and having fun.”
—Bill Alden
NO QUIT: Princeton Post 218 American Legion baseball player Nano Sarceno launches the ball in recent action. Last Thursday, Princeton High rising senior Sarceno went 1 for 3 with one run to help Post 218 defeat Trenton Post 93/182 8-5. Princeton, now 2-13, plays at South Brunswick Post 401 on July 5, hosts Hamilton Post 31 on July 7, and then plays at Bordentown Post 26 on July 8.
(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
Battling Hard at Eastern Regional Presidents Cup, Princeton FC United 15U Gained Valuable Experience
Coming off winning the New Jersey Youth Soccer (NJYS) Presidents Cup in May, the Princeton FC 2009 United 15U boys’ soccer team headed to the USYS Eastern Regional Presidents Cup 2024 in Barboursville, W. Va., in mid-June where they battled hard before getting knocked out in the group stage.
The draw for the regional put the United in the same group with two strong foes from Eastern Pennsylvania and Maryland.
PFC United opened the competition by facing the Southern Chester County Dragons, ranked fifth in the Eastern Pennsylvania region. United got off to a slow start, conceding three goals in the first half on the way to a 5-0 loss.
In their second outing, the PFC United offense clicked as the squad posted a 2-0 win over Takoma Park SC Takoma Sport For Life Blue, ranked No. 5 in Maryland.
PFC United got goals from Dani Da Costa and Oscar Klein in the victory.
In its final group stage game, PFC United took on Farmington SC Fire from Connecticut. Rayyaan Mohiuddin scored from the penalty spot to give United a 1-0 lead. Farmington equalized right before halftime from a free kick and then scored a second goal early in the second half to make it 2-1. PFC battled back as Mohiuddin scored on a free kick to make it a 2-2 final.
United then needed the Southern Chester County
Dragons to win or tie against Takoma Park in its final game of group play in order to progress to the semifinals. Takoma Park, though, ended up prevailing 4-2 leaving PFC in third place, two points away from making the semis.
PFC United head coach Milen Nikolov, for his part, believes that his squad will benefit down the road from taking on the highlevel teams it faced in West Virginia.
“ Despite failing to exit the group stage, the boys enjoyed and learned from that experience,” said Nikolov, whose squad won the Penn Fusion Winter Showcase and the USYS Regional Showcase this season in addition to the NJ Presidents Cup. “They’ll be ready for the next challenge.”
— Bill Alden
Michael Caceres, Rayyaan Mohiuddin, Riccardo Meloni, and Nicolas Savard. Not pictured are Simon Danos, Yash Thakur, David Gajewski, Vivaan Ravindran, and Raphael Borentain.
Local Sports
Joint Effort Safe Streets Program Holding Hoops Clinic, Games
The Joint Effort Princeton Safe Streets Summer Program is sponsoring a youth basketball clinic on August 10 from 10 a.m. -12 p.m. at the Community Park basketball courts.
In addition, on August 11, the Joint Effort Safe Streets will sponsor the Pete Young Sr. Memorial Games for Princeton-area youth. These annual games are held each year in the memory of Pete Young Sr. a Princeton businessman, community advocate, sports enthusiast, and supporter of youth and community programs who was beloved in the WitherspoonJackson Community. The games start at 10 a.m. and end at 6 p.m. The rain sites for both programs will be the Princeton Middle School.
Rider Furniture
For more information on the Joint Effort Safe Streets hoops clinic or games, contact John Bailey at (720) 629-0964 or via email: johnbailey062@ gmail.com.
Bailey Basketball Academy Offering Summer Camp
The Bailey Basketball Academy (BBA) is offering one more week-long basketball camp this summer along with other specialty hoops programs.
BBA is led by former Princeton Day School girls’ hoops coach and Philadelphia 76ers camp director and clinician Kamau Bailey.
The camp is slated for July 22-26 at the Princeton Middle School.
There is a full day camp for ages 9-14 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and a half day camp from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.
In addition, there will be “First Hoops” options for ages 5-8 (9 to 11:45 a.m.).
BBA will also offer “Shot King” shooting instruction and small group player development daily sessions from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and running through August 16 for players getting ready for middle school, high school, or club participation.
All players will be required to bring their own water, snacks, and/or lunch for the applicable programs. For more information, contact Kamau Bailey at (917) 626-5785 or at kamau.bailey@gmail.com. Stuart Sports Camps Still Have Openings
The Stuart Country Day School is holding three sports camps on its campus at 2100 Stuart Road in Princeton in July and there are still openings for the programs.
There will be a field hockey camp for players in grades 3-9 being held from July 15-19 with sessions running from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., a girls’ tennis camp for players in grades 5-9 being held from July 29-August 2 with sessions running from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., and a girls basketball camp for players in grades 3-9 being held from July 22-26 with sessions running from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. for more information about the camps, log onto stuartschool.org and go the Menu section in the upper right of the home page and hit the “Sports Camps for Girls” link under the Athletics section.
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and bubbly. The restaurant hasn’t changed much since then; even the tables are the same. It’s a simple, no-frills space, but if you visit during peak times, be prepared to wait well over an hour for a table.
UNITED WAY: Members of the Princeton FC 2009 United 15U pose for a team photo as they took a break from competing in the United States Youth soccer (USYS) Eastern Regional Presidents Cup in Barboursville, W. Va., last month. PFC ended up going 1-1-1 in group play at the competition as they narrowly missed advancing to the semifinals of the tourney. Pictured in the front row, from left, are Griffin Short, Cesar Carrera, Anthony Morales, Dani Da Costa, Dani Ludewig, Oscar Klein, and Gregoire Stefani. In the back row, from left, are Michael Habingreither, Jason Lee, Kingston Lipsey, Macintyre Jerdonek,
Artwork by Nicole Steacy
Lucy Patterson Cox of West Tisbury, Mass., died peacefully on June 20, surrounded by family after a courageous battle with cancer. She was 69.
Born in Princeton, N.J., Lucy was the third child of the late Henry S. Patterson II and the late Suzanne Virden Patterson of Princeton, N.J. and West Tisbury. She attended Stuart Country Day School, Mary C. Wheeler, and St. Mark’s School. She graduated from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn., with
bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communications. Her love for Martha’s Vineyard began at a young age, when her mother brought her to the Island at two weeks old to spend time together in a special place — a place that would come to hold a large part of her heart. As a young girl, she learned to sail at the Vineyard Haven Yacht Club, race in regattas with children from Lambert’s Cove, play in the woods with friends in West Tisbury, and visit family on Chappaquiddick. It was during this time she
met a young boy from West Chop named Peter. Years later, in her 20s, while working at Poole’s Fish Market in Menemsha, she would look down the dock and lock eyes with that same boy, now a rugged swordfisherman. Peter would go on to become her beloved husband of 38 years, and the father of their two beautiful daughters, Madeline and Kelsey.
After working in banking, she found a career advising young students at Sacred Heart University, starting in the career development office. For 12 years, she was senior associate director of athletics for Student-Athlete Support Services. She dedicated endless hours to advising student athletes, attending countless sporting events, and helping young students from across the world navigate the trials of adulthood.
In retirement, she moved to the Vineyard full time where she continued to influence the lives of many as a drug and alcohol counselor and recovery coach. She was an active board member for Vineyard House, the only sober living community on the Island. Her work with the sober community was one of her greatest passions. She helped so many and found so much joy in helping others find peace in their sobriety.
Her love of nature was evident in her long beach walks, often exploring with her grandchildren. She looked forward to the arrival of the Baltimore Orioles each year, and chased glimpses of the elusive snowy owl. Recently, she ventured further afield,
to a new adventure, mudlarking along the Thames River in London.
Her endless talents and interests included founding MadKel designs, needle point, upholstery, ancestral research, card games, climbing Mayan ruins, decorating for Christmas, gardening, watching hockey, sewing, jewelry making, antiquing, and traveling and fishing with her husband, especially during the Derby, where one of her greatest accomplishments was winning biggest shore bass in 2019.
She was predeceased by her dear sister Abby Ann Patterson.
Lucy leaves an enormous legacy and is survived by her husband, Peter Cox; her two daughters, Madeline Giosa (née Cox) and Kelsey Crimmins Cox, and their spouses, Eric Giosa and Margaret Blair Cox; her two beloved grandchildren, Rocco and Lulu (Lucy) Giosa; her brothers, Henry S. Patterson III, his partner Jeanne Herb, her brother Michael V. Patterson Sr., his wife Meg Patterson, their children, Michael V. Patterson Jr. and Nina Henze (née Patterson) and their spouses Rachel Patterson and Christian Henze; her nephews Nicholas Cammann, his partner Anna Corrado, their children Henry and Luca Cammann, Cortlandt Cammann, his partner Tara Gayle; her darling niece Katharine Cammann and husband Michael Cadman. She is also survived by her cherished furry children, Raven and Leroy.
A celebration of life ceremony is planned for the fall.
Rabbi Gluck Retires From Temple Beth-El
After more than three decades serving Temple BethEl in Hillsborough, Rabbi Arnold Gluck retired as of June 30. He is now the congregation’s first rabbi emeritus. During his tenure, Gluck pioneered Jewish education programs for adults and youth, and worked with interfaith leaders across New Jersey as an advocate for social justice.
Gluck’s dedication to social action, interfaith dialogue, and Zionism extended beyond the congregation. Locally, he helped found HOME of Somerset County, formerly the Interfaith Hospitality Network. Now in its 32nd year, HOME provides at-risk families with support services and emergency shelter at participating houses of worship. He served as president of the Somerville Area Ministerial Association, which fosters collaboration and connection among religious leaders from local faith communities. Gluck also served on
the Executive Committee of the Association of Reform Zionists of America’s Rabbinic Cabinet.
Temple Beth-El celebrated Gluck’s final year with a celebratory gala and a “This is Your Life” speaker series featuring mentors, colleagues, and friends from the U.S. and Israel. Among the speakers was Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, who heralded Gluck as a “rabbi’s rabbi” and Rabbi Gilad Kariv, a member of the Israeli Knesset.
During Temple Beth-El’s search for its next settled rabbi, Rabbi David Katz is serving on an interim basis. Katz specializes in working with communities in transition and in that capacity has led congregations in New York, Maryland, Georgia, and California.
For more information about Temple Beth-El, visit ourbethel.org.
well loved and well read since 1946
S unday S 8:00 am: Holy Communion Rite I 10:00 am: Holy Communion Rite II 5:00 pm: Choral Compline or Evensong
The Rev. Paul Jeanes III, Rector The Rev. Canon Dr. Kara Slade, Assoc. Rector Wesley Rowell, Lay Pastoral Associate 33 Mercer St. Princeton 609-924-2277 www.trinityprinceton.org
Wherever you are in your journey of faith, come worship with us
First Church of Christ, Scientist, Princeton 16 Bayard Lane, Princeton, NJ You are welcome to join us for our in-person services, Sunday Church Service and Sunday School at 10:30 am, Wednesday Testimony meetings at 7:30 pm. Audio streaming available, details at csprinceton.org. Visit the Christian Science Reading Room Monday through Saturday, 10 am - 4 pm 178 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ For free local delivery call
Lucy Patterson Cox
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Crown Castle USA, Inc. is proposing to modify six existing wireless telecommunications facilities consisting of the replacement/addition of antennas and equipment on utility structures in Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey near the following locations: Node 015601-PR, 43-ft pole, 1120 Stuart Road (40 22 9.7N / 74 40 55.5W); Node 015603-PR, 40-ft pole, 644 Cherry Hill Road (40 22 38.0N / 74 40 36.6W); Node 015608-PR, 31-ft pole, 103 Drakes Corner Road (40 22 25.3N / 74 41 59.3W); Node 015612-PR, 35-ft pole, 280 Ridgeview Road (40 22 39.0N / 74 41 21.5W); Node 015613-PR, 42-ft pole at the SW corner of Great Road and Cherry Valley Road intersection (40 22 50.3N / 74 41 52.9W); Node 015619-PR, 35-ft pole, 316 Cherry Valley Road (40 22 56.3N / 74 41 22.2W). The facilities are not expected to be FAA lighted. Crown Castle invites comments from any interested party on the impact of the proposed action on any districts, sites, buildings, structures or objects significant in American history, archaeology, engineering or culture that are listed or determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and/or specific reason the proposed action may have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment. Specific information regarding the project is available by contacting EBI Consulting, Project #'s015601PR, 015603-PR, 015608-PR, 015612-PR, 015613-PR, and 015619-PR 21 B Street, Burlington, MA 01803, or at 617.909.9035.
Stop by this Sunday, July 7th between 1:00 and 4:00 and experience the comfort and serenity of 339 Hamilton Avenue in Princeton, a bright and welcoming five bedroom home on a spacious lot with beautiful views all around, a brand new kitchen, a sensational sun room and so much more! Offered at $1,350,000 SHEILA TARA, REALTOR® ASSOCIATE C 609 721 7313 | O 609 924 1600 sheila tara@foxroach com sheilatara foxroach com Open House Sunday, July 7th from 1:00 to 4:00 pm!
