SERVING THE VALLEY’S COMMUNITIES AND SCHOOLS SINCE 1956
TIMEOFF
NEWS
Something for everyone
College stars
Opera, theater, jazz and more at The Princeton Festival. PLUS: Bob Brown reviews “The Merchant of Venice.”
Some of the region’s college students featured in this week’s Campus Corner. Page 5A
VOL. 62, NO. 21
Published every Friday
Friday, May 26, 2017
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Students help civil rights activist get dream honeymoon By Lea Kahn Staff Writer
It has taken 60 years, but the Rev. Gilbert Caldwell and his wife, Grace, will finally get the honeymoon trip they had set out to take at a hotel in the Pocono Mountains. Thanks to the efforts of some Bear Tavern Elementary School fifth-graders, the owners of the Mount Airy Casino and Resort have arranged for Rev. and Mrs. Caldwell to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary at the hotel. The Bear Tavern Elementary School students first became acquainted with the retired minister two years ago, when Rev. Caldwell came to speak to them about community service and civil rights on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. When the students learned that Rev. Caldwell, who marched alongside Rev. King in the 1960s during the civil rights movement, had been turned away from the hotel because he and his wife are African-American, they lobbied the current hotel owners to correct the mistake. The story actually began in November 1957, when Rev. and Mrs. Caldwell set off on the eighthour drive from North Carolina to the Mount Airy Lodge - the forerunner of the present hotel - in the Pocono Mountains. They had made a reservation to stay at the hotel and that’s where they expected to spend their honeymoon. That is, until the couple arrived at the Mount Airy Lodge and the hotel staff learned that the Caldwells were African-Americans. Rev. Caldwell was turned away from the hotel, despite the room reservation. The newlyweds spent their honeymoon at a hunting
cabin near by. Rev. Caldwell casually mentioned the story to the Bear Tavern Elementary School students during a recent visit. The students were incensed. “That got us thinking,” said language arts teacher Christina
to rectify the matter until last week, when the couple visited the school. The students surprised them with the news at a special school-wide assembly. The couple arrived at the school, accompanied by their son, Dale Caldwell. They entered the
for what Rev. Caldwell and his wife have done every day. With that said, Virtucio pinned a boutonniere on Rev. Caldwell’s jacket lapel and gave his wife a wristlet corsage. Surprised and touched by the gesture, the couple smiled.
Photo by Lea Kahn
Rev. Gilbert Caldwell and his wife, Grace Caldwell, were the guests of honor during an assembly at Bear Tavern Elementary School last Friday. They were given a special, all expenses paid trip to the Poconos. Virtucio. “What can we do for the Caldwells? So we got to work and wrote some letters. We sent them off to the hotel, and we kept our fingers crossed.” The letter-writing campaign worked. Rev. and Mrs. Caldwell did not know about the letter-writing campaign and the students’ efforts
gym and sat down on chairs provided for them. As the students filed in, some of them approached Rev. Caldwell to shake his hand. The couple waved to the children. Once the students were seated, Principal Christopher Turnbull introduced the couple and said the school community wanted to show them how grateful they are
Following a short video and a montage of photographs that showed Rev. Caldwell standing should to shoulder with Rev. King, several students read from their letters to the current Mount Airy Casino and Resort. The Caldwells listened intently. One student wrote that the couple chose the Mount Airy
Lodge as a honeymoon destination because “it was the go-to place for any special occasion.” “When they arrived and were signing in to get a room to stay, something terribly horrible happened. They were rejected a stay because of the color of their skin,” the student wrote. “People should not have to face something like this. In other words, people should be accepted equally, no matter what race they are,” the student wrote. Then Turnbull, the school principal, read a letter from Matthew Magda, the vice president of operations at the Mount Airy Casino and Resort. He extended an invitation to the Caldwells to stay at the hotel, free of charge. Surprised, the couple hugged each other. An overwhelmed Rev. Caldwell thanked the students and told them that “What you do for me how wonderful, how magnificent.” Turnbull, the school principal, thanked Virtucio and her students “for teaching all of us how much we can accomplish when we set a goal, create a vision and work tirelessly until we achieve it.” “We may fail 9 out of 10 times, but even if just once, we get a result like this, we must persist and we must push the limits of what is possible,” Turnbull said. “Today is a perfect day to remember what (anthropologist) Margaret Mead once said - ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has,’” Turnbull said.
Officials gear up for the annual Memorial Day parade By Lea Kahn Staff Writer
Hopewell Borough’s annual Memorial Day parade, which may be one of the oldest in New Jersey, is set to step off Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. Led by the Hopewell Fire Department’s Color Guard, the parade participants will march east on Broad Street and then turn onto Princeton Avenue. The parade will end at the Hopewell Elementary School. A reviewing stand will be set up at the parade’s termination point. David Bregenzer II will serve as the master of ceremonies.
He is a third-generation member of the Hopewell Fire Department, which is sponsoring the parade. Bregenzer will be joined on the reviewing stand by Hopewell Borough residents and business owners, who will judge the parade floats and participants. Awards will be given in several categories. The ceremony at the Hopewell Elementary School will include the Pledge of Allegiance, led by Montgomery Township Cub Scout Pack 850. Hopewell Valley Central High School senior Veronique Shaftel will sing. The list of parade participants includes the John T. Dempster Jr. Division, U.S. Naval Sea Cadets,
Hopewell Valley American Legion Post 339, and the Twin Pine Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol. The Hopewell Valley Central High School marching band and the New Jersey State Police Pipes & Drums of the Blue and Gold will provide music. The Hopewell Fire Department and the Pennington Fire Department, along with their respective Ladies Auxiliaries, will participate. The Union Fire Co. & Rescue Squad, and the Hopewell Fire Department’s Emergency Medical Unit and the Pennington First Aid Squad will march.
Also participating are the Rocky Hill Hook & Ladder Co., the Rocky Hill First Aid and Rescue Squad, the Amwell Valley Fire Co. and the Amwell Valley Ambulance Corps. Montgomery Township Volunteer Fire Co. No. 1 and Montgomery Township Volunteer Fire Co. No. 2, along with the Montgomery Emergency Medical Services, will be represented. Montgomery Township Cub Scout Packs 185 and 850 will march, along with Montgomery Township Boy Scout Troop 46. Hopewell Boy Scout Troop 71 and Hopewell Cub Scout Pack 71 will march. The Hopewell Valley
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Girl Scouts also will take part. An assortment of antique cars, trucks and farm tractors will accompany the marchers, ranging from John Deere and Farmall tractors to classic cars such as 1949 Ford convertible, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle with a sidecar, and a 1935 LaSalle to a 1953 Ford pickup truck. A 1942 World War II-vintage Willys Jeep also will be in the parade, plus the Central Jersey Military Motor Pool. The Hopewell Borough Bike Brigade - youngsters on their bicycles - will ride along, too.
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