4-25 HE by Community News Service

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APRIL 2025 FREE

State museum marks 130th anniversary By JOe eMansKi The staff of the New Jersey State Museum was all set to host a 125th anniversary celebration in 2020 when the pandemic put the kibosh on those plans. And since “126th anniversary” or “127th anniversary” just doesn’t have much of a ring, executive director Margaret O’Reilly and her staff had to be content to wait until another round number came along — which is why the museum is finally celebrating this month with party marking its 130 years in existence. On Thursday, April 17 from 6 to 8 p.m., the New Jersey State Museum Foundation plans to commemorate the museum’s anniversary with a celebration that will include an exclusive preview of the museum’s newest exhibition, “Ecosystems at Risk: Threatened and Endangered in New Jersey.” At this fundraising event, former museum trustees Karen S. Ali, Larry Conti, Gabrielle Deen, Sally Lane and Dolores Yazujian, as well as former foundation executive director Nicole Jannotte Stubbs, will receive the Museum Legacy Award. The exhibition, which will be on view from April 19 through March 15, 2026, takes visitors through each of New Jersey’s

major ecosystems: Skylands, Piedmont, Pinelands, Delaware River, Delaware Bay and Atlantic Coast. The exhibition highlights the threatened and endangered wildlife that are native to each region, from bobcats in the Skylands to piping plovers along the coast. There are more than 2,000 plant species native to the state as well. The exhibition also details the threats that our wildlife and habitats face, as well as what residents can do to help protect them. The exhibits also provide examples of research underway that may offer hope for the future of biodiversity in the state. O’Reilly has worked at the museum for 36 years, serving as the executive director since 2015. She says the new exhibition makes sense now because climate change is a topic that is front and center. “We try to do programs that relate to what some of the schools are doing, because fully 40 percent of our visitors are students,” O’Reilly says. “We are all talking about climate in New Jersey right now. Climate change is an important topic in New Jersey because we’re right up against the ocean and feeling and seeing the effects of it.” See NJSM, Page 6

Luke Caldwell (number 22) in action for Hopewell Valley against Princeton in lacrosse, April 4, 2024. Caldwell is one of the great all-around HoVal athletes. (Photo by Mike Schwartz/mssphoto.com.)

Caldwell set to take place among all-time greats in HoVal athletics By riCh Fisher There have been a number of talented, big-time athletes at Hopewell Valley Central High over the first quarter of the 21st century, but arguably the best all-around three-sport athlete in the past 25 years is getting ready to play his final athletic season in high school. That would be Luke Caldwell,

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a record-setting machine in football and lacrosse and a state qualifier in wrestling. Aaron Oldfield never coached Caldwell but has taught and coached track & field at HVCHS since 1993. He’s an ardent supporter of the entire athletic program and has a pretty good feel for the school’s sports history the past three decades. Asked if he feels Caldwell is

the best he has seen at doing three sports, Oldfield said, “Absolutely and if he isn’t I would love to know who it is.” He took it a step further, saying “Luke is super polite, respectful and probably a better person than athlete, which is saying a lot since he is a stud athlete.” Lacrosse coach Matt Foret See CALDWELL, Page 8

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