Current Bordentown
OCTOber 2014
Free
bOrdenTOwnCurrenT.COm
Gone, not forgotten
Kicking off the season
Alumni cherish memories of Bordentown Military Institute By Lexie yearLy
Angela De Ieso, Connor Bramley, Aiden Rich, Sanjay Rajalu and Aiden Deal chase down the ball during a Bordentown Community Soccer Association game Sept. 13, 2014. For more photos, turn to Page 20. (Photos by Albert Rende.)
BRHS grads find success on the stage Local thespians land roles on national tours By MichaeL NuNes Going to college often means leaving behind old friends and moving on with life. But for two friends from Bordentown, a love for theater and performing kept them from growing apart. They attended schools in different states and are set to perform in tours across the country, but Ben Walker and Nicholas Rodriguez are continuing to support each other in their theatrical endeavors. While Rodriguez was attend-
ing Montclair, Walker studied at Penn State. Individually, they landed excellent opportunities right after graduating college: Rodriguez playing the role of Pablo in Sister Act for the Greater City Theatre Company, and Walker understudying the roles of Gaston and Beast in an on-stage adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. In high school, Rodriguez was outgoing and felt a natural attraction to the stage, especially after seeing some live productions, which whet his appetite for performing. “I had a very competitive attitude. I always said, ‘I could do that,’” he recounted. “I decided to take the dive and fell in love.” That “dive” was joining
his high school choir, where he would meet future friend Walker. “Ben was always one of those people who were very easy to talk to and I was new in the choir,” Rodriguez said. Soon enough, Rodriguez also became a staple in the high school plays. “He just caught the acting bug,” Walker said. Walker fell in love with singing after watching his sister sing as part of the Westminster Choir. Following in her footsteps, he joined the choir at BRHS. Starting his freshmen year, he performed in the productions at BRHS and was an active member in the choir. See ACTORS, Page 6
Much has changed in Bordentown City since the Bordentown Military Institute closed its doors for good in 1973, nearly 100 years after it opened. The Bordentown campus was left empty for several years before the buildings were torn down or repurposed. The site of the Old Main building was replaced with Kings Gate condominiums; the old homes used as dormitories are now private residences or businesses. Only a tiny corner of BMI still remains on Park Street: a square of land designated as a mini-park, located at what used to be the entrance to the Old Main building on campus. Now, the space features a cadet statue as a tribute to the school. Every two years, BMI alumni gather in town and march down Farnsworth Avenue, just as they used to when they were students at the school. These days, they end their march at that special memorial. The BMI Alumni Association has organized the biennial reunions since the late 1980s, with the next reunion sched-
uled for Oct. 18. It’s a time when alumni can share the stories of their experiences at the military school, reconnect with old classmates, and, most importantly, keep the memory of the school alive. BMI left a lasting impression on its alumni, one that most alumni recall with fond, clear memories of the teachers, the campus, the athletics, and the town. BMI was renowned for its athletics, primarily football, and attracted students from across the country. The school was founded in 1881. In 1972, it merged with Lenox School, moving its operations to Massachusetts. The school closed the following year. Local residents followed the sports at BMI, knowing they’d often see the school’s top athletes find success at the college or professional level. On Sundays, it was common to see cadets marching down the city streets, each to his respective house of worship. Daily at 6 a.m., the sounds of “Reveille” echoed throughout the sprawling campus, rousing the BMI cadets, who woke to brush their teeth, straighten their uniforms and attend the military formations before breakfast in the mess hall and a day full of academic study, military training and athletics. See BMI, Page 8
Bordentown Township celebrated its annual Community Day Sept. 20. See photos on Page 10
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