Volume LXX, Number 11
www.towntopics.com
75¢ at newsstands
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Celebrating 70 Years on the Princeton Beat
PBS Continues Efforts to Block IAS Construction . . . . . . 12 Council Discusses Rezoning of Butler Tract . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Jerry Lewis Turns 90 Today . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Princeton Symphony Orchestra Dedicates Program to Creativity of Women . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Agatha Christie’s Mousetrap at McCarter’s Matthews Stage . . . . . 22 PU Women’s Hoops Becomes 1st Ivy Team to Earn At-Large Bid to NCAAs . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Seventy years ago, on Friday, March 15, 1946, the Princeton Post Office delivered approximately 3,400 copies of the first issue of Town Topics to homes and businesses in town. Printed on both sides of a piece of paper 10” by 3.2,” the small paper was folded together like an oversized train timetable. As Jeb (Donald C. III) Stuart (19412008), editor from 1981 until 2001, wrote in 1996 in a 50-year history of the paper, “Town Topics began in a couple of briefcases carried around Princeton early in 1946 by brothers-in-law Dan Coyle and Don Stuart [Jeb’s father]”. The plan was to cover the entire Borough and Township with a single free circulation newspaper, an idea which the editors felt would appeal to potential advertisers and set Town Topics apart from the competition, the Princeton Packet and the Princeton Herald. For the first issue and every week for the next 25 years, Mr. Coyle wrote the front page, which consisted of an article titled “We Nominate,” about a person or persons who deserved recognition. The 1,625 Princeton men and women who had been involved in World War II, 38 of whom had died, were the
Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 27 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Classified Ads . . . . . . . 40 Music/Theater . . . . . . 20 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 37 Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 39 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . . 6
nominees for the first issue. There was no Town Topics office. The editorial and advertising work were carried around in two briefcases and delivered once a week to the Princeton Herald on Chambers Street for printing. The paper grew in popularity with advertisers and readers, tripling its size between 1946 and 1949. Mary Coyle (Mr. Coyle’s wife) and Cissy Stuart (Mr. Stuart’s wife and Mary Coyle’s sister) came on board to help out with billing and publication day rush. By 1949 the paper had grown to the point where it was printed on actual newsprint and in a full tabloid size, and in 1950 the editors moved into much-needed office space in a three-story brick building at 4 Mercer Street, where it remained until 2007. The Coyles lived at 11 University Place, just behind the new Town Topics offices and Mary Coyle found she was increasingly on the job both in the office and at home, where they shared their phone number with Town Topics. Mrs. Coyle’s daughter Georgie Evans, who now lives in San Francisco, remembers, “It was a family enterprise. Our life was centered around Town Topics. Uncle Donnie was in the office. My mom worked as office manager and did the advertisements. Aunt Sissy was in charge of the mailing, so it was really a family enterprise with Uncle Donnie at the helm. My father wrote the ‘Man of the Week’ column, and every Monday night — of course he never wrote it ahead of time — we’d hear the typewriter clicking into the night.” Ms. Evans described running with her sister Mardie around the corner to the newspaper office, playing with her cousins Jeb and Charlie Stuart. “The office was our playground. Our cousins became our best friends. We had fun.” Ms. Evans fully expected Jeb to follow his father as editor. “I wasn’t at all surprised that Jeb took it on,” she said, “and then Sheila became so involved. I’m delighted that it’s still going.” As the paper grew in the early 1950s additional employees were hired. Kay Bretnall began writing a column titled “It’s New to Us” in 1953, became a full-time reporter in 1959, and continued in that post until 1984. The paper grew to its current six-column format by the early 1960s, with a circulation of 14,000. Preston Eckmeder arrived in 1959, and, as he describes
it, “did a little bit of everything” at Town Topics for the next 35 years. He covered sports events, the police beat, selling ads, layout, picking up and delivering papers, and, according to Jeb Stuart’s 1996 account, “a hundred and one other jobs, all with unfailing good humor.” Mr. Eckmeder, retired since 1994 and living in New Hope, Pa., described his Town Topics career as “the best years of my life. We were proud of what we were doing. We were a band of brothers. We enjoyed working with each other. It was
a great place to work, first it was me and Don, then me and Jeb. It was a pleasure to work for those guys. I’d get up every day and couldn’t wait to get to work.” Transitions
In the early 60s, Town Topics moved its printing operation to Merlo and Sons in Trenton, 20 miles closer to Princeton, a move which provided the opportunity to expand the paper and to print on Wednesday mornings, 24 hours earlier than before. Continued on Page 7
Advertisers Past and Present Have Shared Town Topics’ Commitment to the Community The news, of course, is the foundation of any newspaper. Right alongside, however, are the advertisers, who support and contribute to the success of the publication. As Town Topics marks its 70th anniversary, it has been fortunate to count upon many loyal advertisers over the years. They differ widely in merchandise and type of services; what they share is a commitment to quality products, customer consideration, and support of this newspaper over many years. Many are family businesses, which have been passed down through the generations. All have remained competitive in changing times and tastes, while retaining the individual qualities that make them unique. And, above all,
they have stood the test of time. A favorite place for generations of Princetonians, Rosedale Mills specializes in pet products, animal feed, equestrian-related items, including saddles and tack, and garden supplies. It has a long history dating to the 1800s, and it is a true family business, says owner John Hart, Jr. Family Ownership
The original Rosedale Mills was a saw mill and feed supply business. Mr. Hart’s great-grandfather Joseph Hunt owned the mill from 1902 to 1943, when it was sold. It reverted to family ownership in 1950, when John Hart, Sr. and a friend purchased it. The primary business then was feed for cattle. Continued on Page 9
IN THE BEGINNING: Town Topics’ founders Dan Coyle (left) and Don Stuart wrote all the copy and sold all the ads for their timetablesized publication
HOOTHOOTHOOT
85th Bryn Mawr — Wellesley
Book Sale
Begins March 25 Through March 30. Closed March 27
See page 27 for details.
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MASONRY WE FIX ALL MASONRY PROBLEMS, Atrium Wishes Town Topics a Happy 70th Anniversary!
IT’S OUR PASSION!
Repair | Rebuild | Restore DETAILS ON PAGE 32. Steps • Walls • Patios • Pillars