Town Topics Newspaper, April 19, 2023

Arts Council’s Princeton Porchfest

Coming April 29 5

Local Francophone Club Hosts

Networking Event 8

PPS Students Win Awards at Science, Engineering Fair 11

Mulham Stars as PU

Women’s Lax Outlasts

Brown in Marathon Contest 26

Led by Defending State Champ Gu at 1st

Singles, PHS Boys’

Tennis Starts 4-0 30

HomeFront to Feature New York Times Writer, Winner of Two Pulitzers

New York Times staff writer and twotime Pulitzer Prize-winner Andrea Elliott will be the keynote speaker at HomeFront’s annual Women’s Initiative reception at the Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village on April 27.

Author of Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City, which won the 2022 Pulitzer in General Non ction, Elliott is the Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University, teaching a course this term on immersion journalism and narrative non ction.

Joining Elliott on stage will be Chanel Sykes and her daughter Dasani, the “invisible child” whose life in New York City Elliott followed for almost a decade, reporting on the poverty, homelessness, and the girl’s extraordinary resilience in the face of devastating inequalities throughout her teenage years.

“This is the rst time that Dasani and her mother, Chanel, will be appearing in person before a large audience,” said Elliott. “It’s momentous. The event will center around a conversation between Chanel and me that revisits the story of the Sykes family and the struggles that Chanel and Dasani have endured. I will also be talking about the journey of reporting and writing Invisible Child.”

Elliott noted that Dasani is now 21 and just completed training to become a home health aide. “She continues to live in the Bronx with Chanel, who is working to advocate for the rights of parents caught up in the child welfare system,” Elliott said.

“Elliott’s book is a triumph of in-depth reporting and storytelling,” wrote Ariel Levy, author of The Rules Do Not Apply, as quoted on the book jacket of Invisible Child. “It is a visceral blow-by-blow depiction of what ‘structural racism’ has meant in the lives of generations of one family. But above all else it is a celebration of a girl an unforgettable heroine whose frustration, elation, exhaustion, and intelligence will haunt your heart.”

The book tells the story of Dasani’s childhood, along with a history of her family from her ancestors in slavery to their migration north and a troubling examination of the homeless crisis in New York City. Dasani becomes a ghter to protect and help navigate her siblings through hunger, violence, drug addiction,

Continued on Page 10

Protesters Rally to Reinstate Chmiel

More than a month since his sudden dismissal as Princeton High School (PHS) principal on March 17, Frank Chmiel and his lawyers are awaiting the delivery from Princeton Public Schools (PPS) Superintendent Carol Kelley of a statement of reasons for the decision to place Chmiel on administrative leave.

New Interim Principal Kathie Foster has been installed at PHS since March 30, but neither Chmiel nor his supporters — more than 100 turned out for an April 16 rally in Hinds Plaza to “Save Princeton High School! Reinstate Principal Chmiel!” — are ready to move on.

On receiving the reasons for dismissal from the superintendent, Chmiel, according to his lawyers who expect the statement to arrive on Thursday, April 20, will most likely request a hearing, which he may or may not choose to make public, in which he and his lawyers will appeal the decision. The PPS Board of Education (BOE), in accordance with state law, will not release information from Chmiel’s personnel le unless he waives his right to privacy.

At the two-hour rally on Sunday, about

20 different speakers — mostly parents of PHS students, along with a few students and other community members — praised Chmiel and his contributions to PHS over the past two years. Many criticized the superintendent and the BOE, claiming lack of transparency in the decision-making process, along with an unwillingness to listen and lack of appreciation for Chmiel’s positive in uence on PHS and its students. Many voiced determination to continue the fight in

support of Chmiel and in opposition to the BOE and superintendent.

“I’m here because I think this is a really important ght that we need to make,” said Dave Auger, whose two daughters attend PHS. Arguing that Chmiel is a force for inclusion as opposed to the bullying that he faces from the district administration, Auger described him as “someone who welcomed all of our kids to school every day in the middle of a pandemic and made them feel special, made them

Area Writers Meet the Public At Library’s Local Author Day

In the 12 years since Princeton Public Library inaugurated Local Author Day, the event has become something of a local tradition. Writers from within a 20-mile radius of Princeton gather on the library’s rst oor to greet readers, sign, and sell their books. Practical presentations focus on the details of getting a book published.

Thanks to the pandemic, Local Author Day was paused in 2020, presented virtually in 2021, and as a hybrid in 2022. It returns in its original form on Saturday, April 29. Save for a Zoom presentation the

evening before, everything is in person from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with 44 authors ready to meet the public during the annual author fair.

“It’s an opportunity to see just how many really talented people are publishing locally,” said Nora Walsh, the library’s adult services librarian. “There are so many different types of books this year, and some of the writers are right in town. It’s great for the authors, too, because they get to meet their peers and

Continued on Page 12

SPRING IN BLOOM: Visitors enjoy the garden at Prospect House, which formerly served as the residence for the president of Princeton University. Built in 1851, it was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1985. People share their favorite things about springtime in Princeton in this week’s Town Talk on page 6.

(Photo by Charles R. Plohn)

TOWN TOPICS

Local Food Insecurity Is Target of Program

United Way of Greater Mercer County (UWGMC) and Princeton Human Services (PHS) have announced a strengthened partnership to help connect the community to NJ SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and health insurance benefits. The collaboration will reduce the hurdles families face to obtain the government assistance needed to stay on their feet during a rough economic climate.

The Mercer County Food Insecurity Index by the Trenton Health Team indicates that Princeton is one of the towns in Mercer which scored high in food insecurity but has a low NJ SNAP utilization rate. SNAP is one of the primary ways to address hunger, malnutrition, and poverty in communities. Families who lost their emergency SNAP benefits may be eligible to receive a supplement to increase the amount from $23 to a $95 minimum that Governor Phil Murphy recently approved.

In addition to access to healthy foods, health care is also critical for families. Information regarding eligibility for NJ Family Care or Get Covered NJ will be available in addition to other resources in the community.

A UWGMC Resource Specialist and a representative from PHS will be at the Princeton Public Library at 65 Witherspoon Street on the third Wednesday of the month from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Spanish

Representatives from Princeton Human Services and United Way of Greater Mercer County are on hand to answer questions about nutrition assistance and health insurance benefits at Princeton Public Library on the third Wednesday of every month. translation will be available for the community.

“ Food insecurity impacts many in our community,” said Rhodalynn Jones, PHS executive director.

“NJ SNAP’s provision of healthy food and nutrition education, coupled with the increase to monthly benefits brought forth by Gov. Murphy, will go a long way in helping of our families most in need. I also believe the increased presence and assistance from Princeton Human Services and United Way of Greater Mercer County will ensure more residents enroll in SNAP and other supportive programs and services.”

“Access to quality foods, like fresh fruits and

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vegetables, is critical for everyone’s health and wellbeing,” said Sandra Toussaint, UWGMC president and CEO. “United Way of Greater Mercer County and Princeton Human Services are working together to broaden outreach to Princeton residents. It is imperative that we do not let families go without adequate food. We are committed to working for solutions to increase access to food and other resources for all in need. Gov. Murphy’s measure to boost the monthly allotment will help families to keep putting food on the table.”

For more information, visit princetonnj.gov/344/ Human-Services.

Leighton Listens : Princeton Councilman Leighton Newlin will be available, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., to discuss local issues with members of the public. April 19: Arlee’s Raw Blends, 14.5 Witherspoon Street. April 26: Sakrid Coffee Roasters, 20 Nassau Street.

Annual Photo Contest: April 22 is the last day to submit an entry for Friends of Princeton Open Space’ (FOPOS) annual contest. Photos can be taken at any time of year during the past three years as long as they have not been submitted in a previous FOPOS photo contest. Fopos.org.

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations: Four new dual-port charging stations for eight vehicles are available to the public, including an accessible charger, at the municipal building, 400 Witherspoon Street. The cost is $2 an hour during the day and $1 for overnight charging between midnight and 8 a.m., the same as in the Spring Street Garage.

Recreation Department Summer Jobs : The Princeton Recreation Department is looking for to fill several positions for the summer season. Visit princetonnj.gov.

Literacy New Jersey Online High School Diploma and Citizenship Classes : For Mercer County residents 18 and older, free classes. The diploma classes are held on Zoom; citizenship classes are on Zoom and in person at Princeton Public Library. For more information, call (609) 587-6027 or email mercer@LiteracyNJ.org.

Health Department Seeks Vendors for Health Fair : On May 5, from 4-7 p.m., the town will hold a health fair at Princeton Shopping Center. Interested participants in behavioral health, dental health, women’s health, primary care, fitness centers, nutritionists, and related fields should contact healthdepartment@princetonnj.gov to participate. The fair is free and no sales are allowed.

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From Hip-Hop and R&B to Classical At Second Annual Princeton Porchfest

With some 89 musical attractions signed up to perform on 18 porches in town, the second annual Princeton Porchfest on Saturday, April 29 is shaping up to be bigger and broader than the one that debuted last year. But Porchfest can only grow so much. The daylong

music festival was created to replace Communiversity, an annual street fair that, over its five decades, had ballooned to an event that attracted some 30,000 people to the central business district and the Princeton University campus. Porchfest is smaller and all about music, art, and the local community. Rotating sets are performed on front porches and other locations throughout the downtown.

TOPICS Of the Town

Several genres are represented. “We have more hiphop and R&B this year, and the Princeton Festival is doing something classical,” said Adam Welch, executive director of the Arts Council of Princeton, which presents the event. “Instead of the Lewis Center on the University campus, they will be at Maclean House, which is a little bit closer to the central business district. And it’s next to Nassau Hall and the Nassau green, which was the first location of Communiversity.”

More than 100 bands applied to participate this year. “It speaks very much to the local musical crowd,” said Welch. “The musicians are volunteering to commit their time and energy and effort on a day they could have been getting a paying gig, so that’s a nice endorsement.”

There was also an increase in the number of porches offered. “We had more than 40 apply this year to be hosts, which is more than last year. These are people opening up their porches and front yards, which is a big leap of faith for them,” said Welch. “Many of them said that, after last year, we hit the right note, so to speak.”

Porchfest 2022 was especially well received because it got people outside after the worst of the pandemic. “So many people had been inside for so long, not really talking to their neighbors,” said Welch. “But we wanted to make sure to do something that was still mindful of super-spreaders. It all went really, really well, and we’re following the same plan this year.”

Keeping local businesses involved is a priority. People are encouraged to patronize

local eateries for lunch, dinner, and drinks.

“We’ve reached out to [the restaurants], telling them to make sure to have things like Porchfest cookies, or something along that theme, available,” said Welch. “Last year, the theme was ‘Come for lunch, listen to music, stay for dinner.’ We especially wanted to encourage people to shop and support restaurants that were having a difficult time. The theme is the same this year, so we’re encouraging the restaurants and shops to be prepared.”

In addition to the residential porches throughout town, there will be performances in front of the Arts

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MUSIC IN THE AIR: Princeton’s porches will be the setting for a range of bands and ensembles at the Arts Council of Princeton’s Porchfest on Saturday, April 29.

Princeton Porchfest

Continued from Preceding Page Street, and on Palmer Square Green. “The final gig is in front of our building at 5:15 p.m.,” said Welch. “It’s the Shakes band, the longtime Communiversity closer.”

Asked what he and his staff learned from last year’s Porchfest, Welch said staying in touch with the performers is a priority. “We did have a couple of bands that didn’t make it last year,” he said. “So, I’ve learned to be more on top of my own staff. But I was certainly to blame. I was sitting there having so much fun that I didn’t check.”

For an interactive map, visit artscouncilofprinceton. org/porchfest-map.

—Anne Levin

New Trustees Named For Local Nonprofit

Friends of Princeton Open Space (FOPOS), a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization devoted to acquiring open space in Princeton and working with groups in the region to support efforts to preserve and protect open space and the environment, has welcomed six new members to its board of trustees: Jessica Atkins, Peter Green, Winifred Hughes Spar, Fran McManus, Michael Timmons, and Robert von Zumbusch.

Atkins regularly contributes eco-conscious gardening advice through Sustainable Princeton, and is a member of the local Garden Club of Princeton. Green is a member of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators and a Duke Farms’ Master Ecologist student. Hughes Spar leads bird walks for FOPOS, Washington Crossing Audubon Society, and Princeton University reunions, as well as running the Audubon Christmas Bird Count in the Rogers Refuge and Institute for Advanced Study woods.

McManus has worked in food and farming for nearly 40 years, and is a founder and board member of the Princeton School Gardens Cooperative and the point person for their Garden State on Your Plate program. Timmons, a patent litigator for firms in New York City and in-house at Johnson & Johnson for the past 35 years, has been a longtime Land Steward volunteer with FOPOS. Von Zumbusch is an architect with a long involvement in historic and open space preservation and planning, especially of cultural landscape corridors.

“The Nominations Committee has presented FOPOS with six enthusiastic new board members who are eager to help us continue to fulfill our mission to protect and preserve the open spaces we know and love,” said FOPOS President Wendy Mager. “We welcome their commitment and support.”

The six new trustees join current members Nasim Ali, Kathy Bagley, Tuck Bigelow, Robert Kiser, Liz Lempert, Clark Lennon, Annarie Lyles, Wendy Mager, Hilary Persky, George Point, Thomas Schorr, Eric Tazelaar, and Lee C. Varian.

Get the scoop from

Question of the Week: “What is your favorite thing about springtime in Princeton?”

“I work at the Princeton University campus stores, and so in the springtime we are very happy to be busy with all of the visitors coming to see the campus, and of course the Reunions weekend.”

—Ancernio Glaude, West Windsor

Willem: “My favorite part is the weather, but I think spring really brings out the full beauty in the campus and its architecture. The cherry blossoms and the magnolias seem to be exceptionally beautiful this year.”

Ayden: “I love how excited everyone is to be outside and the ability to spend time with friends in nature and to enjoy recreational activities.”

—Willem Alleyne, Urbana, Ill., with Ayden Talebreza, Los Angeles, Calif.

George: “Running up the D&R Canal when the weather is nice.”

—Nico, Julia, and George Hill, Cambridge, Mass.

Theo: “My favorite thing about Princeton is the campus. I love the green lawns and it does something to your mood when the weather is so nice, and I feel like it brings a real communal energy.”

Abigail: “This is my first time in Princeton and it’s just beautiful. I love all the green space and agree that the warm weather and communal spaces bring people a real sense of community.”

—Theo Kim, PU Class of ’26 and Abigail Cheng, both of Andover, Mass.

Kleiber: “The beauty in nature and being able to go on walks and see the trees in bloom. It’s nice to be out on a day like today and be around so many people just out enjoying Lucia: “My favorite thing about Princeton is seeing all the outfits. The cute little dresses are so fun and inspiring.”

Alyssa: “My favorite thing about spring is when all the flowers come out and you can just sit out on the lawn.”

—Kleiber Castanon, Washington, D.C., with Lucia Achucarro, Asunción, Paraguay, and Alyssa Woolley, Adelaide, Australia

The idea was to connect University and Francophone (French-speaking) business leaders at the event, which was held at the Princeton Entrepreneurial Hub on Chambers Street and at Rockefeller College on the

campus. More than 70 people attended, starting with a guided tour of the campus before hearing joint presentations by the Princeton Entrepreneurial Hub and Francophone entrepreneurs. A cocktail party and networking followed.

“It went very well,” said Anne de Broca Hoppenot, who is the honorary Consul of France for New Jersey and put together the gathering with fellow PEP members Laurence Stefani, Eric Deltour, and Laurent Metz. “We had asked for some money to organize a real event, and received some from the French government and consulate. Mostly, we wanted to connect the

University students and teachers to the French business ecosystem. We also wanted to attract some people in New York.”

The goal was “to foster synergies between Princeton University’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and the French business ecosystem in order to develop future joint initiatives,” she said. In addition to the organizers, speakers included AnneMarie Maman, executive director of the Princeton Entrepreneurial Council; Naveem Verma, director of the Keller Center; and representatives from Business France, La French Tech, the French American Chamber

of Commerce New York, among other organizations.

“It was very interesting because there were very different kinds of people who attended,” Hoppenot said. “All were from business — some from Big Pharma, others from startups and nonprofits. “We’d like to do partnerships with young adults who are excited about starting new projects [in the future]. We want to maybe offer mentorships, share ideas, and maybe even partnerships.”

Hoppenot moved to the United States from France 30 years ago and has lived in Princeton for 20 of them. “We were supposed to stay two years,” she said. “As honorary French Consul of New Jersey, my role is to serve French citizens of the state. I spend a lot of time on the phone trying to answer questions and represent France. So, this event was a great adventure, proving the dynamism and vitality of the French ecosystems. We hope to do more.”

—Anne Levin

You can purchase a copy of

Town Topics

GETTING OUTSIDE: Princeton-Blairstown Center’s new Venture Out environmental education program is designed to provide equitable access to high-quality outdoor education experiences for middle school students in the Trenton School District. During the Center’s Venture Out sessions early this month, students from Mercer Street Friends participated in authentic learning experiences which included activities like a stream study and an owl pellet dissection.

FRENCH CONNECTIONS: The Princeton business development club Princeton Expat Pro sponsored a networking event in town and on the campus last week, attracting some 70 attendees from many types of businesses.

(Photo by Tamara de Ghellinck)

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After three years of organizing gatherings over Zoom, Princeton Expat Pro (PEP) was ready to put together a live event. Last Thursday, April 13, the organization, which supports French-speaking professionals in developing their careers, partnered with Princeton University’s Entrepreneurship Council (PEC) and its Keller Center to present “Synergy and Networking.”

Rally continued from page one feel that high school maybe wasn’t so scary or such a difficult place to go.”

Auger’s wife Elyse added, “I feel Mr. Chmiel was treated incredibly unfairly. He has been one of the best things for the school. He created such an inclusive environment, and he made the kids want to be there. He should be reinstated.”

Sasha Weinstein, a PHS parent and one of the rally organizers, emphasized the problems with frequent changes in leadership at PHS and in the district. “At Princeton High School we need stability,” she said. “We need good, kind, community-building; supportive advocates for the students and parents; and positive leadership. From my experience working with

many principals as an active parent volunteer in the public schools for over 15 years, the school leader we need is Frank Chmiel. He is an extraordinary principal.”

Another PHS parent, Pamela Strum, reflected the mood of the crowd, which seemed committed to supporting Chmiel and determined to carry on the fight regardless of the outcome of hearings or other proceedings. “The school spirit he generates is really phenomenal,” she said. “We feel great joy that he is defending himself. He’s not backing down. I hope he feels our support.”

Evan Kang, a PHS sophomore attending the rally, said he was confused and angry that Chmiel had been dismissed so abruptly. “All my impressions of him were very good,” he noted. “He got to

he made an effort to build a community around the school. He would say hello to everyone, and he just had a positive impact on the ecosystem of the school.”

A parent volunteer at the rally stated that the rally had been a success and that the parents and students are carrying on their efforts to overturn the superintendent’s decision. “The parent and student community still believes that this wrong can be made right,” she said. “We came together to share our positive experiences with Mr. Chmiel and our disdain over the way the BOE continues to respond.”

She added, “Parents are eagerly awaiting the reasons for dismissal yet to be released by the Board and looking into forming a recall committee to look into this further.”

—Donald Gilpin

“BRING BACK CHMIEL!”: More than 100 demonstrators gathered in Hinds Plaza on Sunday afternoon to protest last month’s ouster of Princeton High School Principal Frank Chmiel and to support what is likely to be an appeal hearing with Chmiel and his lawyers making their

Discussions are Underway

For 250th Anniversary

Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) met on April 12 with U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Deb Haaland to discuss America 250 and the importance of preserving historical heritage sites across New Jersey at the Old Barracks Museum in Trenton. As a member of the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, Watson Coleman is working to prepare the nation for the commemoration of the 250th anniversary milestone with national programs and signature projects.

“I’m honored to welcome Secretary Haaland to New Jersey’s 12th District to experience the rich history that the Crossroads of the American Revolution has to offer, and to discuss the value of sites such as the Old Barracks Museum to the telling of the American story,” said Watson Coleman.

“It was an honor to welcome Secretary Haaland to the historic Old Barracks in Trenton, New Jersey, on behalf of the Murphy administration,” said State Historic Preservation Officer and Commissioner of Environmental Protection Shawn M. LaTourette. “The Old Barracks, like many invaluable sites at these Crossroads of the American Revolution, hold the history of critical moments in our country’s founding as a free nation. As we prepare to mark our nation’s Semiquincentennial, my State Parks and Historic Sites colleagues and I look forward to continued partnership with the Department of Interior and true champions like Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman. Together, we will invest in these treasured sites, welcome visitors from across the nation and world, and tell the diverse and inclusive stories that made our liberty possible.”

Watson Coleman and Haaland were joined by New Jersey Commissioner of the Department of the Environment Shawn LaTourette; Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora, Trenton; Carrie Fellows, Crossroads of the American Revolution executive director; Gay Vietzke, drector of the National Park Service’s Northeast Region; Elaine Buck and Beverly Mills, authors and founders of the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum; Sally Lane, founding member of Crossroads of the American Revolution Board; Michelle Doherty, acting executive director of the Old Barracks Museum; and Brad Fey, board president of the Millstone Valley Preservation Coalition.

University Public Events

Include “Fireside Chat”

Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs has announced some upcoming events that are open to the public.

On Wednesday, April 19 at 4:30 p.m., a fireside chat will be held in Robertson Hall with Desirée Cormier Smith, the U.S. State Department special representative for racial equity and justice. The first person to hold the position, Cormier leads the State Department’s efforts to protect and advance the human rights of people belonging to marginalized racial and ethnic communities and to combat systemic racism, discrimination, and xenophobia around the world.

On Friday, April 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in Robertson Hall, “Law, Identity and Economic Development in the PostColonial Era: The Case of the Northern Atlantic and Larger Caribbean Regions” is a symposium exploring the cultural, legal, and institutional tools available to post-colonial jurisdictions seeking to grow their economies in a rapidly changing

and increasingly post-global world.

The program will explore this puzzle through the lens of smaller nation-states and territories in the Northern Atlantic and larger Caribbean regions. Many of these jurisdictions have struggled economically since gaining their sovereignty or increasing their internal autonomy. Others have been more successful. Scholars and practitioners will analyze the governance and institutional arrangements that have contributed to the divergence in fortune in this part of the Global South.

Other upcoming events include “Debt and Emerging Market Economies” on April 26, “Constitutionalism after COVID-19: Transatlantic Perspectives on Risk and Resilience” on April 27, and “European Strategic Autonomy: What it Means in the Context of the Russian Aggression against Ukraine and of the Competition Between the U.S. and China,” also on April 27. For more information, visit spia.princeton.edu.

Princeton Kingston West Windsor Robbinsville

PLANNING THE PARTY: Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, second row, second from left, was among those gathered at the Old Barracks Museum in Trenton to talk about how the nation’s 250th birthday will be celebrated in 2026.

case before the Princeton Public Schools’ superintendent and Board of Education. (Photo by Mimi Omiecinski)

HomeFront

continued from page one and the challenges of monitoring child protection services.

“The response to Invisible Child has been overwhelming, with readers across the globe,” said Elliott. It is being translated into Japanese, Chinese, German, and Spanish.

Recipient of many awards for her work, Elliott is the first woman in history to win Pulitzers in both Arts & Letters and Journalism. She won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Feature Writing for “An Imam in America,” a threepart series about the life of a Muslim leader in Brooklyn.

Elliott reflected on the undergraduate course she is currently teaching. “I’m thrilled to be teaching creative nonfiction at Princeton with the Ferris program, which brings a formidable roster of journalists to campus every year,” she said. “Young fiction writers are told to ‘write what you know.’ Well, I am teaching what I know: immersion. This is the reporting practice of going deep, of embedding in another person’s world.”

Elliott’s students are undergoing their own immersive journalism experiences. “My students are each immersing in an off-campus community of their choosing in order to produce longform narrative stories,” she explained. “So far, they have surpassed my expectations. They’re doing graduate level work. I’m proud.”

created through the power of their story and words and the change that we can create together to build a world where all families can succeed,” she said. “The women and men who support HomeFront’s Women’s Initiative give us hope for a better tomorrow.”

The upcoming reception will benefit HomeFront’s work to address basic needs in the Central Jersey area. Their Women’s Initiative, founded nearly 15 years ago, is a group of 1,000 local women of all ages who provide expertise and support to help alleviate family homelessness in the community. Each member donates $100 annually with the goal of contributing a total of $100,000 towards services at HomeFront that urgently need support.

HomeFront Chief Executive Offi cer Sarah Steward commented on the April 27 event and the crucial challenges faced by agencies like HomeFront. “This special night will remind us of the power of community to inspire change — the change that Andrea and Chanel have

HomeFront reports that this year has been exceptionally hard for so many because of inflation and large increases in local rents. They’re currently welcoming nearly 1,800 households a month to their food pantries for groceries, period products, and baby formula. Last month they distributed more than 146,000 diapers and wipes, an 87 percent increase over this time last year, and they anticipate distributing more than two million diapers and wipes to local families this year.

Tickets for the April 27 HomeFront event range from $200 to $300, which includes dinner and a copy of Invisible Child. Sponsorships are also available. Call (609) 989-9417 x107 or visit HomeFront’s website at homefrontnj.org for tickets and more information.

—Donald Gilpin

Loteria Bingo Event Connects Neighbors

On April 15, Princeton University Art Museum hosted “Loteria” Mexican Bingo to connect neighbors and give residents an opportunity to visit the exhibit “You Belong Here: Place, People, and Purpose in Latinx Photography,” which celebrates Latinx photographers across the United States. Recognizing the importance of building relationships among residents who otherwise may not have opportunities to meet, Princeton Art Museum, Princeton Human Services, the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund (LALDEF) collaborated with the help of donors and volunteers to host a successful community event.

Approximately 150 residents gathered at the Princeton University Art Museum’s Art on Hulfish to play Loteria, which is Spanish for lottery. The game is a tradition of Mexican fairs and similar to bingo, using images on a deck of cards. An additional game of human bingo was played at the two-hour event, encouraging participants to talk to new friends and ask them questions about themselves.

Prizes, donations, and food were donated by Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton University Athletics, LALDEF, Princeton Human Services Commission, Olives, Princeton Affordable Housing, Sustainable Princeton, Princeton Public Library, Housing Initiative of Princeton, Meals on Wheels,

Cornerstone Community Kitchen, Share My Meals, St. Vincent de Paul, Arm in Arm, Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, Princeton Active Circle, YWCA, Terhune Orchard, La Lupita, McCarter Theatre and the Red Umbrella Princeton.

The Human Services Department hopes to host more community events to give Princeton residents a chance to get to know their neighbors in a friendly and inviting environment. For more information or to volunteer for future events, call (609) 688-2055 or email Rjones@princetonnj.gov.

a k a sh J h a

July 5 – Brooke DiCaro

July 11 – Jeff Pengue

July 12 – Greg McGarvey

J. EDWARD FARNUM LECTURE

BINGO AND MORE: Princeton Councilwoman Leticia Fraga, center, and Mayor Mark Freda were among those taking part in Loteria, held at the Princeton University Art Museum’s Art on Hulfish location on April 15. More than 150 people attended.

Andrea Elliott

(Photo courtesy of HomeFront)

PPS Students Win Multiple Awards

At Mercer Science and Engineering Fair

With an array of projects in the fields of math, physics, plant science, environmental science, computer science, chemistry, biochemistry, biology, and medicine, seven Princeton High School (PHS) students and a Princeton Middle School student brought home a total of 12 awards from the Mercer County Science and Engineering Fair held at Rider University earlier this month.

Many of the students who received awards participate in the PHS Research Program where they develop experiments, collect data, and produce their results under the guidance of PHS science teachers Mark Eastburn, James Smirk, and Jennifer Smolyn, along with PHS computer science teacher Grace Elia.

“We are close to realizing the greater goal of getting every student in our community to explore their passion and complete a meaningful inquiry project before high school graduation,” said PHS Science Supervisor Joy Barnes-Johnson in congratulating the group and wishing them ongoing success in their STEM explorations.

“We are very proud of these students, and all of them have worked very hard to make these achievements,” said Eastburn.

Monroe with her project on “Mealworm Frass as Fertilizer,” and she was also awarded the Air Force Research Laboratory Award.

Monroe has spent the last three years developing and carrying out her independent project in seeking to find sustainable solutions for agriculture and combating climate change. She became interested in finding safer, effective alternatives to fertilizers, and turned to studying insect frass, made from excrement, to do so, according to Smolyn. Monroe was able to demonstrate that frass can increase plant productivity and serve as a potential alternative to fertilizers.

She was also one of only two students from New Jersey to participate in the World Food Prize Global Youth Institute last year and will be presenting at PHS’s annual research symposium in June.

“Katherine is a fantastic role model for our younger students, demonstrating the value of curiosity and persistence in research,” Smolyn wrote in an email. “As a leader in the program, she mentors students who are starting to plan out their projects, providing guidance and advice to those just beginning their research journeys.”

In the Chemistry and Materials category, PHS senior Daniela Gonzalez was the second-place winner for her project “Scrubs with Bugs: Cleaning, Disinfecting, and Foaming Properties of Soaps Made with Sustainable Oils.” That project also won Gonzalez the RICOH Development Award.

will look at next.”

Eastburn pointed out, “Her results showed that soaps made from black soldier fly oil actually cleaned grease better than palm oil soap, and removed bacteria equally well.”

Emphasizing the importance of “working as a team with the resources of our planet,” Gonzalez added, “Having the support and the ability to provide a good, sustainable, high quality, and profitable solution is like a dream. My goals working with chemistry, science, and research are to contribute to the discovery of how the world works.”

Another PHS senior working to improve the planet, Shrey Khetan won first place in the Environmental Science and Engineering category for his project on “Catalytic Carbon Capture: A Low-cost Climate Change Mitigation Strategy,” and also brought home the American Meteorological Society’s Outstanding Achievement award and NOAA’s Taking the Pulse of the Planet award.

“Climate change is the greatest problem of my generation,” Khetan wrote. “A lot of focus is on reducing carbon dioxide emissions to mitigate extent of climate change. We will also need to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to avoid the worst effects of climate change.”

He continued, “With this goal in mind, my research was aimed to develop a lowcost, scalable, and sustainable process using a liquid metal catalyst to convert carbon dioxide into solid carbon. I have been able to overcome a number of challenges and setbacks to get to this proof of concept, and will continue to work on this to develop a fully working solution.”

“Salt and Surface: The Fastest Way to Melt Ice.”

“I spent about two months conducting experiments and analyzing data,” Shriram wrote in an email. “I learned so much about deicing roads and sidewalks, and I also learned how to do research.”

Anchor House Receives

Donation from Amazon

Thanks to a three-year partnership with Amazon from 2020-23, Anchor House has continued to provide access to a safe place and receive supportive services in the midst of uncertain times. Funds were awarded in the range of $25,000 and $50,000 each year to help provide a safe haven to at-risk and unsheltered youth in Trenton and Mercer County.

on a path to greater independence,” McNear said.

Anchor House operates from four locations throughout Trenton. Each day, staff provides a coordinated system of care to help prevent and end youth homelessness in Trenton/Mercer County. Staff support youth in crisis, assist in securing housing, lend a caring ear, and provide food and clothing along with a myriad of other services.

Eleventh grader Nick Hagedorn was the grand prize winner in the category of Math, Physics, and Astronomy for his project on “Strict Inequalities for the n-crossing Number,” “a truly integrative project that builds on his interests in knot theory,” according to Barnes-Johnson.

Hagedorn’s project also won him the Naval Science Award and the honor of representing Mercer County in the International Science and Engineering Fair, the world’s largest pre-college STEM competition, which will take place in Dallas, Texas in May. “I am very excited for the fair and I am especially looking forward to meeting new people from across the world,” said Hagedorn.

In an email Monday, he explained some of the intricacies of knot theory and his fascination with the field and its applications in synthetic chemistry, in cybersecurity, in biology, and in developing certain chemotherapy drugs.

“Without any doubt in my mind, you will make an unforgettable mark on the STEM world in the days ahead,” Barnes-Johnson wrote to him in a congratulatory email.

First-prize winner in the Plant Science category was PHS senior Katherine

She explained how she was able to create and develop her project, which was an offshoot of her work on the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Competition that PHS won last year. “I have been interested in skin care and cosmetics for a long time, but my real passion is marine biology and oceanography,” she wrote. “This is why I wanted to make a soap that does not damage the environment, as palm oil does.”

She continued, “We need to take better care of the planet, and I would also like to know how these soaps will break down in the water. If I have time, that is what I

Other PHS prize winners included senior Sumuk Anand, who won second place in Environmental Science and Engineering with “A Novel Method to Accelerate the Degradation Rate of Plant-based Tableware Using Compost Tea”; sophomore Amy Lin, who won third place in the Software and Embedded Systems category with her project on “Understanding Dog Behavior through Visual and Aural Sensing Using Deep Learning”; and sophomore Lawrence He, who received honorable mention in the Biochemistry, Biology, and Medical category with his project on “Biochemical Nanosensor Networks for Accurate Injury Detection.”

In the General Science junior division Princeton Middle School seventh grader Samhita Shriram received an Outstanding Achievement award for her project

Curiosity was the strongest motivating factor, she said, as she followed up on a school lesson on conductivity. “While I had a little knowledge about thermal conductivity, I didn’t know why different surfaces had different thermal conductivities, or what it really meant,” she explained. “Also, it was winter, and I noticed that salt was used to melt ice, and I didn’t know why. By combining these two questions, the idea for the project was born.”

Shriram is excited to develop a new project and participate in next year’s fair. “I’ve always loved science because it explains why everything happens the way it does, which I find really interesting,” she said.

—Donald Gilpin

“Amazon’s support for the past three years helped enable our core programs to continue to operate during some challenging times, said Kim McNear, executive director of Anchor House. “Private support is critical to our ability to provide a safe and supportive environment for young people who need us most. Too many youth remain without basic needs such as shelter and access to a caring support system.”

Anchor House provides youth in need with safe housing initiatives, outreach services, counseling, life skills, and case management. All services are provided within a trauma-informed environment. “We are helping youth

“Amazon has been thrilled to partner with Anchor House and support the critical work their team does to uplift Trenton’s youth in need,” said Carley Graham Garcia, head of community affairs, Amazon New Jersey. “ Partnerships such as ours with Anchor House reflect our commitment to the greater Trenton community and the entire state of New Jersey. At Amazon, we are committed to being great neighbors and supporting communities across the state we call home.”

ONLINE

www.towntopics.com

Nick Hagedorn

Daniela Gonzalez

Samhita Shriram

Area Writers continued from page one commiserate. When you’re a writer, you don’t usually have an office to go to every day.”

Books by this year’s authors cover a variety of topics. Barry Singer’s recently published novel, Exit the Bronx: Coming of Age in the Mid 60s During the Vietnam War, tells the story of a man whose life was changed by his experiences in the U.S. Army at the height of the conflict. The Hoarder’s Wife by Deborah S. Greenhut is a novel based on her own experiences married to someone who couldn’t throw anything away.

Connie Escher’s She Calls Herself Betsey Stockton: The Illustrated Odyssey of a Princeton Slave has already won awards, as has Evelyn Joseph Grossman’s Hidden in Berlin: A Holocaust Memoir, which tells her family’s story. For a full list of authors, visit princetonlibrary.org.

The one virtual presentation is on Friday, April 28 at 7 p.m. Penny C. Sansevieri, founder and CEO of Author Marketing Experts Inc., will discuss “Building a Direct Connection with Readers.”

“Penny is on the West Coast, and it’s so nice to be able to have her,” said Walsh. “There is still some value to the virtual.”

Saturday’s events begin with “Crafting a Compelling Query Letter” at 11 a.m. in the Technology Center. Liz Alterman, author of the domestic suspense novel The Perfect Neighborhood among other books, will outline how to write a winning query letter to pitch a manuscript to a literary agent or publisher. Registration is required.

Also, at 11 a.m., “Prepping for Publication,” a workshop for grades 5-8, will be held in the STEAM Studio. Author Megan McCafferty will invite young writers to bring a work-inprogress to workshop with the group, and prepare a pitch for publication in youth literary journals. Registration is required.

The Author Fair is in the Community Room and elsewhere on the first floor from 1:30-4 p.m. Writers of fiction and nonfiction for all ages will be available to interact with readers and sell and sign their books. Also, from 1:30-4 p.m., author and grammarian Ellen Jovin, who wrote Rebel with a Clause: Tales and Tips from a Roving Grammarian, will answer questions and resolve grammar and punctuation issues at a pop-up Grammar Table in the lobby.

“We love this event,” said Walsh. “It’s not just an opportunity for people to meet published authors. It’s a chance for the authors to meet this audience base, and show off the really hard work they’ve been doing. For us, to have people coming in the door excited about reading — that’s what we are about.”

For more information and to register for events, visit princetonlibrary.org.

—Anne Levin

Empower 2023 Conference

Celebrates Women Entrepreneurs Princeton University’s Empower 2023 conference, presented virtually April 26-28, will provide a range of sessions dedicated to launching, funding and scaling startups while also celebrating women academic entrepreneurship. All are welcome.

Day 1 is focused on launching startups, with sessions on I-Corps, grants, accelerators, tech transfer, and more. A keynote session is by Katie Rae of The Engine, built by MIT; and Sydney Thomas of Impressionism Capital.

Day 2 explores funding startups, with sessions on closing the funding gap for women entrepreneurs, social sciences and the humanities, roundtable discussions to contribute ideas for growing support for the Empower community, a storytelling workshop, keynote sessions led by Kate Goodall of Halcyon and Valerie Red-Horse Mohl of Stanford University and Known Holdings, and the Empower 2023 pitch competition.

Day 3 is focused on scaling startups, with sessions on Dell research on top cities for women entrepreneurs, life sciences, a keynote by Julia Boorstin of CNBC, and endnote session with Marian Croak of Google and Morag Grassie of Yale University. The conference will take place online via the Whova app and website. Visit empower.princeton.edu for more information and a full agenda.

Princeton Medicine Doctors

Open Pennington Practice

Princeton Medicine Physicians, the primary and specialty care provider network of Penn Medicine Princeton Health, has opened a new multi-specialty practice at 2482 Pennington Road, Suite 102, in Pennington. Specialists in bariatric surgery, cardiology, gastroenterology, gynecology, and pulmonology will see patients at this location. This is the third multi-specialty practice that Princeton Medicine Physicians have opened since September. The others are in Robbinsville and Hillsborough. Another is planned for later this year in Monroe, and will be dedicated exclusively to women’s health.

The new practices are part of a broad initiative to bring specialty care closer to home for individuals throughout the region, and complement Princeton Medicine primary care offices that had already existed in those areas. Princeton Medicine employs more than 200 providers at 24 locations across Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset counties. Visit princetonmedicine.org for more information.

FOHW Receives Award

From Bowman’s Hill Preserve

The Friends of Herrontown Woods (FOHW) has received a 2023 Land Ethics Award for Best Community Effort from the Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve.

FOHW, a nonprofit that cares for 230 acres of Princeton’s open space at Herrontown Woods and Autumn Hill Reservation, was recognized for its “immense efforts in promoting the use and enjoyment of

active plants in the landscape” through its creation of the Botanical Art Garden, nicknamed the Barden.

“We are grateful to Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve for their recognition of our work at Herrontown Woods,” said FOHW Board President Steve Hiltner. “The extraordinary wildflower preserve at Bowman’s Hill was an inspiration for me when I first moved to Princeton 20 years ago and may well have inspired Oscar Veblen as he began to acquire lands in the 1930s that later became Herrontown Woods and the Institute Woods.”

Hiltner continued, “The Barden is most definitely a community effort. Thanks to everyone who has contributed and continues to contribute to the Barden’s ongoing evolution.”

The Barden combines elements of art, education, whimsy, and 150 species of native plants, with pathways radiating out from a central garden.

Located next to the Herrontown Woods parking lot, the Barden is open daily to the public, with coffee and homemade treats served on first Sundays of the month. Visit HerrontownWoods. org for more information.

Rider University Program Prepares for STEM Careers

Rider University recently introduced a new general science program intended to help select first-year students find their preferred career path in STEM. Students will receive tailored coursework their first year to prepare for the rigors of collegiate study and set the foundation for declaring a math, science or technology major their sophomore year.

Students in the general science program will also receive exclusive benefits, such as individual academic advising from STEM faculty, a dedicated STEM success coach, who will provide personalized guidance and support throughout the first year, a free course and more.

“The first year of college can be the most challenging as it is filled with a number of transitions,” said Kelly Bidle, dean of Rider’s College of Arts and Sciences.

“By increasing the level of personalized support for first-year students who are interested in STEM, we will provide a strong foundation for whichever math, science, or technology major they select, setting them up for a successful four years and beyond.”

The first-year curriculum will be determined based on the intended major, which may be selected from 14 undergraduate majors, ranging from biology to cybersecurity to mathematics. In order to select a major sophomore year, students must meet a series of requirements, including specific grades and credit hours, as well as participation in academic meetings and tutoring. Visit rider.edu/general-science for more information.

VOLUNTEERS MAKE IT HAPPEN:

Sourland Mountain Festival

Has Food, Music, and More Unionville Vineyards presents the Sourland Music Festival on Saturday, July 15 from 3 to 8:30 p.m., with a VIP Experience provided by The Ryland Inn. Tickets are available with early bird pricing.

Included in the event is live music by favorite Central New Jersey bands, local food, craft beer, wine and spirits, mountain history, and family activities. The Lenape Nation will give the blessing of the Mountain. The New Jersey Snake Man will be bringing a few slithery friends. There will be educational exhibits featuring the Conservancy’s partner organizations. Kids can sign up for the Scavenger Hunt, see live amphibians, and get up close to animals that give a glimpse into the rich farming community that encompasses the Sourlands.

Volunteers are needed to ensure safety and run different events. More than 60 took part last year. To volunteer, visit sourlandmoutainfest.com/volunteers.

Proceeds benefit the Sourland Conservancy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the history and ecology of the Sourland Mountain region. The 90-square-mile Sourland region is home to the largest contiguous forest in Central New Jersey. It encompasses a complex ecosystem of forest, wetlands, and grasslands, and is home to a rich diversity of animal and plant species, many rare or endangered. The forest is especially important as a breeding area for migratory songbirds, particularly those who nest only in large wooded areas.

For tickets, visit www. sourlandmountainfest.com/ tickets.

Blood Donation Center Opens in Princeton

People wanting to make a lifesaving difference in Central New Jersey now have the opportunity to donate blood and platelets at the American Red Cross Llura Gund Central New Jersey Headquarters and Blood Donation Center, located at 707 Alexander Road, Suite 101. The donation center is now collecting blood and platelet donations for patients, such as those battling cancer, accident victims, transplant recipients, and those living with sickle cell disease. A formal ribbon-cutting was held on April 13. This new donor center replaces the Suite 302 location previously open in the back

building at 707 Alexander Road and joins the newly renovated chapter headquarters office space in Suite 101.

“From cancer patients undergoing treatment to those facing trauma situations in the emergency room, many of us may be connected to someone who has relied on lifesaving blood products,” said Rosie Taravella, CEO, American Red Cross New Jersey Region. “The Red Cross is pleased to offer donors this new opportunity to help provide hope, healing, and access to treatment for patients in need.”

Platelets are the clotting portion of blood and are needed for many reasons, but they are primarily given to cancer patients. These tiny cells have a very short shelf life — just five days from the time they are donated — so there is a constant, often critical, need for new and current donors to give to keep up with hospital demand for platelets.

Having a readily available blood supply is vital for patients whose survival depends on transfusions. Donating blood is essential to community health, and volunteer donors are the only source of blood for those in need. Hours are 11:45 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Monday-Wednesday; 10 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. Thursday; and 7:15 a.m.3:30 p.m. Friday-Sunday.

For more information, visit redcrossblood.org.

Carrier Clinic Reception On Belle Mead Campus

Hackensack Meridian Carrier Clinic will host its signature fundraising event on Thursday, April 20 on the behavioral health hospital’s sprawling 100-acre Belle Mead campus. The event will raise funds to support the expansion of the adolescent behavioral health unit at Carrier Clinic so that the facility can treat more adolescents in crisis.

The Centers for Disease Control has recently reported that one in three teenage girls has reported feeling persistent sadness, and one in three seriously considered attempting suicide. In fact, suicide was the second-leading cause of death among teenagers nationwide.

“We are committed to transforming behavioral health care by expanding access, better coordinating care and innovating treatment,’’ said Robert C. Garrett, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health. “There is an urgent need to do more, especially for children and adolescents, and this

screening, and treatment, especially in regard to how it affects access to care among underserved populations. This aligns well with Capital Health’s mission to serve urban and suburban communities in our area.”

and Capital Health research staff open the trial for Capital Health Cancer Center patients.

For more information, visit capitalhealthcancer.org/ ncorp.

to the public. In addition, presenters may opt to discuss their work in person at the PRD Showcase, followed by the PRD Reception.

expansion is part of a comprehensive and robust strategy to address this growing need.’’

Carrier Clinic, the largest not-for-profit behavioral health facility in New Jersey, is embarking on a $29 million, 50,000+ square foot expansion, taking its bed total up to 52 from 36 beds for children and adolescents. Additionally, the new stateof-the-art unit will feature a family resource and training center, new gymnasium, and clinical features designed specifically for the safety of patients and clinicians. The design will ensure that Carrier Clinic can implement best practices for all behavioral health diagnoses and also incorporate space for a latency program, which will allow Carrier to lower the age of the patients served to seven.

Visit GiveHMG.org/CarrierReception for more information.

Capital Health Cancer Center

Approved as Research Site

Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell is now a NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) affiliate site of the Atlantic Health Cancer Consortium (AHCC). As a participating site, Capital Health Cancer Center will now offer residents in the greater Mercer and Bucks County region access to new and innovative NCI-sponsored clinical trials in the cancer prevention and control, screening, care delivery, and treatment areas.

“The vision for our Cancer Center is clear,” said Al Maghazehe, president and CEO of Capital Health. “To deliver exceptional care for our patients in a convenient location, with the clinical and support services they need and the research to support their fight and the advancement of care. Our participation in NCORP brings more opportunities to our patients, who are at the heart of everything we do.”

“Capital Health is known for its commitment to providing people of the greater Mercer and Bucks County regions with the highest quality care close to home,” said Dr. Cataldo Doria, medical director of Capital Health Cancer Center.

“With the NCORP site designation, our Cancer Center will provide patients access to cancer clinical trials and cancer care delivery studies that are available at top institutions around the nation. We look forward to contributing to NCORP’s national network of research that focuses on cancer prevention,

As part of AHCC NCORP, Capital Health Cancer Center’s team of providers and researchers will help patients gain access to clinical trials across a broad range of cancer care benchmarks, including symptom management, prevention, screening, surveillance, care delivery, and quality of life. The NCORP network’s diversity in patient age, race, and geographic location, provides a natural laboratory for developing improved strategies for cancer prevention, more efficient cancer trials, and a better balance between the risks and benefits of interventions.

To help connect patients to advanced care options, research staff at Capital Health Cancer Center will select trials from the NCORP research portfolio that may benefit the Center’s patient population. Appropriate studies are then presented to oncology physician teams to determine if they are good fits for specific patients. When a match is made, a primary investigator is appointed,

Princeton Research Day At Frist Campus Center

On Thursday, May 11 from 12 to 4:30 p.m., Princeton Research Day (PRD) will be held at Frist Campus Center on the Princeton University campus.

The event celebrates the research and creative endeavors of the campus-wide community, and serves as an opportunity for researchers and creators to reach across disciplines by communicating in non-specialist language about their research or creative work. Now in its eighth consecutive year, the event highlights work in the natural sciences, social sciences, engineering, the arts, and humanities. Presenters include undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, and other early-career researchers.

Participants will create three-minute video presentations describing their research projects, performances, artistic works or other creative expressions. All videos will be posted online where they will be accessible

Speaker DesiréeCormierSmith

SpecialRepresentativefor RacialEquityandJustice, USDepartmentofState, BureauofDemocracy, HumanRights,andLabor

Moderator

NaimaGreen-Riley

AssistantProfessorofPolitics andInternationalAffairs, PrincetonUniversity

Videos and in-person presentations are eligible for awards and cash prizes, presented at the PRD Awards Celebration. The winners will be selected by PRD judges and the viewing public. All are welcome to visit the showcase, reception, and awards celebration, which will also be livestreamed.

Princeton Research Day is a collaborative initiative between the offices of the Dean of the College, the Dean of the Graduate School, the Dean for Research and the Vice President for Campus Life, with support from the Dean of the Faculty and Office of the Provost. Admission is free. Visit researchday. princeton.edu/attend.

JoinusforafiresidechatMs.CormierSmith,theUS StateDepartmentSpecialRepresentativeforRacial EquityandJustice.Thefirstpersontoholdthe position,Ms.CormierleadstheStateDepartment’s effortstoprotectandadvancethehumanrightsof peoplebelongingtomarginalizedracialandethnic communitiesandtocombatsystemicracism, discrimination,andxenophobiaaroundtheworld.

Planning is underway for the 18th annual Sourland Mountain Festival, and volunteers are the backbone of the event. (Courtesy of Dan Eldridge Photography)

Mailbox

PPL Board of Trustees Reminds Community About National Library Week

To the Editor:

As representatives of our Princeton Public Library Board of Trustees, we welcome this opportunity to remind our community that Sunday, April 23 through Saturday, April 29 is National Library Week (NLW). This year, the theme of NLW is “There’s More to the Story.”

And indeed there is!

Our Princeton Public Library (PPL) is full of stories in a variety of formats from picture books to large print and from audiobooks to e-books and beyond, including in a range of languages. But there’s so much more to our story.

Our Library of Things lends items like museum passes, games, musical instruments, and tools. Library programming brings our community together for entertainment, education, and connection through book clubs, storytimes, movie nights, crafting classes, lectures, and so much more. Our Library infrastructure supports our residents, providing internet and technology access and literacy skills as well as support for local businesses, job seekers, entrepreneurs, and, yes, Princeton University students.

The American Library Association has set aside Tuesday, April 25 as National Library Workers Day, and our trustees, on behalf of our community, want to celebrate our staff.

Our Library would not be the exemplary institution that it is without the outstanding services of the entire staff, the support of the Friends & Foundation and our Library volunteers, and the generous financial support of the municipality. To all, our profound thanks.

We hope that, as patrons visit our Library next week, they’ll take the time to acknowledge our colleagues; it doesn’t have to be only on the 25th. In fact, it doesn’t have to be only next week.

We’re grateful to our superb staff for the work they do throughout the year, so we ought to tell them so whenever they help us — in April or in September or at any other time — with locating a book, finding some obscure detail to support a report, teaching us how to use an app to give us access to the wonders of the technological world, offering a program that feeds our minds or souls, or providing

a forum for presentation of ideas. They consistently fulfill the mission we’ve articulated in our new strategic plan, including “advancing knowledge, encouraging dialogue, and providing opportunities for discovery and joy” while serving as the “vital cornerstone of community connection, where curiosity and wonder flourish.”

Thank you, PPL staff members! We’re privileged to serve you and to have you serve our patrons and us.

With appreciation, on behalf of the PPL Board of Trustees,

ROBERT A. GINSBERG President

STEPHANIE OSTER Vice President JEFFREY LIAO Secretary CHRISTOPHER VAN BUREN Treasurer Witherspoon Street

Urging Use of Diversion Funds to Preserve Tracts on Princeton Ridge

To the Editor:

This is to urge those in decision making positions to use, to the greatest extent possible, the “diversion” funds to preserve the forest and wetland tracts on the Princeton Ridge to complete the “Emerald Necklace” [“Town Presents Proposal on Open Space Diversion,” Page 1, April 12]. Such action on the 90 acres and other forest tract would link to the 153 acres of existing woods.

This forest preservation will aid in mitigating flooding and pollution, ecosystem preservation, a wildlife corridor, air quality enhancement, and weather moderation, as well as preserving the beauty of this valuable space, a critical asset to all in Princeton.

Princeton is in a large development phase with some woodlands being destroyed in the process, e.g. Terhune Road and the loss of thousands of trees due to the emerald ash borer. We need to counter this current and future loss of trees and woodlands with creation of large impervious material areas causing more water runoff by preserving as much wooded land as possible. More than ever, we must heed the need for holding back the effects of climate change.

For decision makers and others who care but may not have known what is at stake, your positive action is needed. Make your voice heard NOW as some decisions may be made as early as this week.

GRACE SINDEN Ridgeview Circle

Earth Week 2023 Events

Lawrence Township, NJ

Wednesday, April 26 7- 8pm

rth Week 2023 Events

From Assumpink to Stoney Brook: Story of the Streams of Lawrence Township

Lawrence Township, NJ

Virtual Presentation

Saturday, April 22: Earth Day

9am

Stream Clean-up

Wednesday, April 26 7- 8pm

Learn how local streams helped to shape the Lawrence of today, and how they were shaped by the past

Thanking Those Who Look for Opportunities to Source Locally

To the Editor:

I’m writing to express my gratitude to the Princeton Public Schools, which twice in recent months found occasions to buy some of the books they needed through Labyrinth. We know they have other options. In choosing to source these books locally, they help sustain us. They also set an example for the ways institutions can act thoughtfully to keep the local economy viable.

Of every dollar spent locally, 70 cents stay in the local economy in the form of wages, taxes, and more. Many at Princeton University similarly look for opportunities to source locally, and Labyrinth since its inception has had a close partner in the University. It’s great to drink Small World coffee and have Bent Spoon ice cream on campus. Now what if the town offices and University departments bought (at least some of) the paper they use from Hinkson’s? What if all baby gifts needed by area corporations or on campus came from JaZams? What other ideas can we come up with together to help sustain the shrinking retail landscape in Princeton and preserve the unique character of our town?

DOROTHEA VON MOLTKE Co-owner, Labyrinth Books Nassau Street

Letters to the Editor Policy

Town Topics welcomes letters to the Editor, preferably on subjects related to Princeton. Letters must have a valid street address (only the street name will be printed with the writer’s name). Priority will be given to letters that are received for publication no later than Monday noon for publication in that week’s Wednesday edition. Letters must be no longer than 500 words and have no more than four signatures.

All letters are subject to editing and to available space.

At least a month’s time must pass before another letter from the same writer can be considered for publication.

Letters are welcome with views about actions, policies, ordinances, events, performances, buildings, etc. However, we will not publish letters that include content that is, or may be perceived as, negative towards local figures, politicians, or political candidates as individuals.

When necessary, letters with negative content may be shared with the person/group in question in order to allow them the courtesy of a response, with the understanding that the communications end there. Letters to the Editor may be submitted, preferably by email, to editor@towntopics.com, or by post to Town Topics, PO Box 125, Kingston, N.J. 08528. Letters submitted via mail must have a valid signature.

Colonial Lake Park and Lawrence Nature Center, Drexel Avenue

From Assumpink to Stoney Brook: Story of the Streams of Lawrence Township

y, April 22: Earth Day

Clean-up

Choose from two Lawrence Township locations and join volunteers and The Watershed Institute in a spring cleaning of our waterways. Preregister at: thewatershed org/stream-cleanups

Virtual Presentation

Presented by Dennis P. Waters, Mercer County Library Commissioner and former Lawrence Township Historian Register at mcl org/events

Learn how local streams helped to shape the Lawrence of today, and how they were shaped by the past

Saturday, April 29 10am -2pm

Lake Park and

11am

e Nature Center, Drexel Avenue

rom two Lawrence Township and join volunteers and The ed Institute in a spring cleaning aterways Preregister at: shed.org/stream-cleanups

Nature Center Renaming

Lawrence Nature Center, Drexel Avenue

Celebrate the significant contributions of Anne Demaris as a sign is unveiled with the center's new name, the Lawrence Township Anne Demaris Nature Center

Center Renaming

e Nature Center, Drexel Avenue

e the significant contributions of maris as a sign is unveiled with er ' s new name, the Lawrence Anne Demaris Nature Center

Presented by Dennis P Waters, Mercer County Library Commissioner and former Lawrence Township Historian. Register at mcl org/events

Bike Rodeo and Electric Vehicle Meet-up

Lawrence High School

2525 Princeton Pike

Saturday, April 29 10am -2pm

Bike Rodeo and Electric Vehicle Meet-up

Lawrence High School 2525 Princeton Pike

The day will feature bike course, bike safety check, free bike helmets (while supplies last), fire truck and ambulance to explore, tree seedling giveaway, food trucks, and dozens of owners of electric

The day will feature bike course, bike safety check, free bike helmets (while supplies last), fire truck and ambulance to explore, tree seedling giveaway, food trucks, and dozens of owners of electric cars and bikes to share their EV experience and help you find the vehicle that is right for you.

Books

Salon at Phillips’ Mill Features Fiction Authors

The Drama Program at Phillips’ Mill Community Association in New Hope, Pa., is showcasing local selfpublished fiction authors on Tuesday, April 25 at 7 p.m. as part of its ongoing series of literary salons.

“Self-publishing is a rapidly growing part of the publishing world,” says John McDonnell, host of the series, “and the salon will feature local authors who have chosen this method to showcase their stories and novels. They will read selections from their work and their books will be available for purchase. In addition, there will be a panel discussion with valuable insights for anyone who is curious about the self-publishing route.”

Princeton U. Historians Debunk Myths in Book at Labyrinth Event

Princeton University historians Kevin Kruse and Julian Zelizer push back against historical misinformation in their book Myth America: Historians Take on the Biggest Lies About the Past (Basic Books $32). The authors debunk some historical narratives in a conversation on Tuesday, April 25 at 6 p.m. at Labyrinth Books. The event is sponsored by Labyrinth and the Princeton Public Library and is cosponsored by Princeton University’s Center for Collaborative History and Humanities Council. The event is live at Labyrinth due to livestreaming technical difficulties.

Kruse and Zelizer are the editors of the collection of essays by a team of fellow historians, who take on narratives that portray the New Deal and Great Society as failures, immigrants as hostile invaders, and feminists as anti-family warriors — among numerous other “distortions” portrayed in conservative media and replace myths with research.

According to Vanity Fair, “The book’s incisive essays poke holes in everything from American exceptionalism and white backlash to Confederate monuments and America First, taking us on a sobering tour through some of the nation’s deepest and darkest chapters.”

Kruse is a professor of history at Princeton University and the editor or author of five books, including White Flight and One Nation Under God Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, is the author and editor of numerous books, most recently Burning Down the

Featured authors include Raysa Santos of Ivyland, Pa., author of An Angel Amongst Us ; Marc Dickerson of Yardley, Pa., author of Art Farm, James Betz of Princeton Junction, author of Ralston Heights , James Martin of Doylestown, Pa., author of Eggplant Emoji , Paige Gardner of Lansdale, Pa.; author of Every Breath Alight, Patrick Lombardi of Lawrenceville, author of Junk Sale ; John McDonnell of Doylestown, Pa.; author of Rose of Skibbereen ; Ashini Desai of North Wales, Pa., author of The Secrets We Keep ); and Bob McCrillis of Doylestown, Pa., author of Puckerbrush

There is limited space available, so interested attendees are encouraged to sign up through the Phillips’ Mill website at phillipsmill. org/event/salon-self-published-fiction.

Scholars of Feminism Consider Wollstonecraft

Author Susan J. Wolfson offers new insight into how Mary Wollstonecraft’s particular methods, style, and energy made a pioneering and influential argument for women’s equality in Woillstonecraft’s 1792 book, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, at Labyrinth Books on Thursday, April 20 at 6 p.m. Wolfson is joined by fellow feminist scholar Maria DiBattista. This in-person event is cosponsored by Princeton University’s Humanities Council and English Department. (A planned livestream is canceled due to technical difficulties.)

Wollstonecraft pinpointed the role of gendered phrases and concepts in political discourse, both in her opponents’ metaphors and received ideas, and in her own efforts to craft a new political language with which to defend women’s capabilities.

Wolfson reveals Wollstonecraft as a pioneer in decoupling sex from gender and shows how she provided an enduring model of how to be a female intellectual.

Wolfson is professor of English at Princeton University. Her recent books include A Greeting of the Spirit , Romantic Shades and Shadows , and Reading

John Keats, as well as annotated editions of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey DiBattista specializes in 20th century literature and film, the European novel, and narrative theory. Her books include Virginia Woolf: The Fables of Anon ; First Love: The Affections of Modern Fiction ; and Fast

in progress in a friendly, informal atmosphere.

Phillips’ Mill Community Association is at 2619 River Road in New Hope, Pa. For more information, contact John McDonnell at johnmcdonnell@phillipsmill.org or visit phillipsmill.org.

PU Fund for Irish Studies

Features Mary Burke Talk Princeton University’s Fund for Irish Studies concludes its 2022-2023 series with a lecture by Mary M. Burke, Professor of English at the University of Connecticut and author of the forthcoming book, Race, Politics, and Irish-America: A Gothic History (Oxford University Press, $35). Visiting Leonard L. Milberg ’52 Professor in Irish Letters Fintan O’Toole will introduce the April 21 event, which takes place at 4:30 p.m. at the James Stewart Film Theater at 185 Nassau Street. The event is free and open to the public; no tickets are required.

within America’s contexts of race, Burke explains.

Burke’s scholarly work focuses on race and Irish America and Irish American minorities and identities. She is also the author of “Tinkers”: Synge and the Cultural History of the Irish Traveller (Oxford University Press, 2009). Her collaboration with Tramp Press on a new edition of The Horse of Selene, Traveller novelist Juanita Casey’s lost classic, will launch in the U.S. this month. Burke’s work has been featured or published with James Joyce Quarterly, NPR, the Irish Times, RTÉ, and Faber. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin and Queen’s University Belfast, she was awarded a fall 2022 Long Room Hub Fellowship at Trinity College Dublin for her book in progress, Bohemian Ireland

O’Toole’s books on politics include the recent best sellers We Don’t Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland and Heroic Failure: Brexit and the Politics of Pain. He has been appointed official biographer of Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney.

O’Toole chairs this year’s The Fund for Irish Studies. The lecture series is co-produced by the Lewis Center for the Arts. More details can be found at fis.princeton.edu.

MCLS Poetry Circle Holds

Reading, Book Signing

In celebration of National Poetry Month, the Mercer

County Library System (MCLS) Poetry Circle will hold a poetry reading and book signing event on Saturday, April 22 at 2 p.m. at the Lawrence Headquarters Branch.

At the event, Poetry Circle poets Harvey Steinberg, Bill Waters, Mark Schardine, Sharon Wang, Andrew Punk, Ann Kerr, and Edith McGowan will read their poems written for the library garden sign display. Local poets Bruce Lowry, Ellen Foos, Coleen Marks, Andrew Condouris, Vida Chu, and Lois Marie Harrod, who donated their books to the library, will read some of their work. After the reading, the poets will answer questions and sign books. Sharon Wang, the facilitator of Poetry Circle and a librarian at the Lawrence Headquarters Branch, will host this event. All are welcome to join.

MCLS Poetry Circle promotes poetry reading and poetry writing with a group of poetry lovers and poets from Mercer County, who meet monthly to discuss and read poetry.

Advanced registration is appreciated. The Lawrence Headquarters Branch of the MCLS is located at 2751 Brunswick Pike, Lawrenceville. For more information about the library’s programs call (609) 8838294, email lawprogs@mcl. org or visit mcl.org.

The Salons at Phillips’ Mill series was created to emulate the great salons of Paris in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, to offer a creative environment for the arts and literary communities of Bucks County. These Salons bring together creative people from across the spectrum — writers, actors, artists, directors, and more — to share their ideas, talent, and works

Jazz

Burke’s talk will draw from her book, which examines the cultural legacies of the forcibly transported Irish, the Scots Irish, and post-Famine Catholic immigrants through the words and lives of Black and white writers and public figures in the Americas, from Andrew Jackson to Grace Kelly and the Caribbean Irish Rihanna. Burke notes that the Irish became both colluders in, and victims of social and racial oppression in America. History is gothic in the narratives of Irish America because the undead Irish past replays

Groups

Jazz Vespers

Jazz Vespers

Jazz

Mary M. Burke

(Courtesy of Mary M. Burke)

Reading Murakami’s “Norwegian Wood” and Rediscovering “Rubber Soul”

I’m lost amidst a sea of wheat where people speak but seldom meet

—Keith Reid (1946-2023)

Haruki Murakami’s Novelist as a Vocation (Knopf 2022) comes with a blurb from Patti Smith, who compares readers waiting for the novelist’s latest work to past generations lining up at record stores for new albums by the Beatles or Bob Dylan. As it happens, the Beatles are at the heart of Murakami’s chapter “On Originality” where he recalls a boyhood moment sitting in front of his “little transistor radio” listening to them for the first time (“Please Please Me”), thinking, “This is fantastic! I’ve never heard anything like this!” It was as if “air of a kind I have never breathed before is pouring in, I feel a sense of profound well-being, a natural high. Liberated from the constraints of reality, it’s as if my feet have left the ground. This to me is how ‘originality’ should feel: pure and simple.”

A Fateful Double

In the chapter “When I Became a Novelist,” Murakami recalls attending the April 1978 baseball season opener between his team the Yakult Swallows and the Hiroshima Carp at Tokyo’s Jingu Stadium. Yakult’s first batter was Dave Hilton, “a rangy newcomer from the United States and a complete unknown.” Hilton slammed the first pitch into left field for “a clean double. The satisfying crack when bat met ball resounded through Jingu Stadium.... In that instant, and based on no grounds whatsoever, it suddenly struck me: I think I can write a novel.”

After the game, Murakami went to a bookstore, picked up a sheaf of writing paper, and “splurged on a Sailor fountain pen.” Each night after that, he sat at his kitchen table writing what became his first novel, Hear the Wind Sing (1979), the first draft begun on opening day and “wrapped up” in October, “right when baseball season ended.” In April 2023, with a new season underway both in America and in Japan, I’m here to say that although Dave Hilton (1950-2017) ended his hepatitis-shortened big-league career with a mediocre .213 batting average, he and he alone delivered the hit that inspired a future Book World All-Star to play the writing game.

“Rubber

Soul”

The first two tracks on the 1965 Beatles album Rubber Soul delivered titles for two of Murakami’s best-known works — the story “Drive My Car,” the basis for last year’s Oscar-winning film of the same name, and the novel Norwegian Wood , written in voluntary exile from the liter -

desks in cheap hotels.” In Rome he bought a college-ruled notebook, writing in it with a disposable Bic pen on wobbly tables in noisy cafes and in hotels where couples “were going at it hot and heavy” in the room next door. The novel was a breakthrough literary success in 1987, selling more than four million copies in Japan while creating a Beatlemaniacal sensation that sent him hurrying back to the West, where he worked on his most widely acclaimed novel The WindUp Bird Chronicle (Vintage 1997) while teaching at Princeton in 1991-92 and at Tufts in 1993-95.

Chimings

My reading of Norwegian Wood awakened me to the greatness of Rubber Soul . As much as I’ve enjoyed this album through the years, it’s always been overshadowed by the Beatles LPs and singles that followed. Listening to the 14 songs while reading Murakami’s narrative half a century later has been like hearing the album for the first time and feeling something close to what Murakami felt on first hearing “Please Please Me,” the “sense of profound well-being, a natural high.”

Aside from the power of the music, I’m struck by how well the lyrics chime with the ambiance of the novel; certain lines from “In My Life” — “All these places had their moments with lovers and friends I still can recall / Some are dead and some are living / In my life I’ve loved them all” — would make a fitting epigraph for college-age narrator Toru Watanabe’s adventures and misadventures with girls like sad and soulful Naoko; zany Midori; the stylish, pool-playing Hatsumi, who wears a hooded Princeton sweatshirt when she’s relaxing at home; and Reiko, a woman in

experience, for Naoko the song evokes wandering in a deep wood “all alone” where “nobody comes to save me,” which is how it is at the end when she takes her own life.

The lyric to “You Won’t See Me” could refer to Wantanabe’s on-again off-again friendship/romance with the human whirlwind Midori, whose whose wild and wayward spirit can be felt in the “la-lala” backup vocals and the exhilarating bridge — “time after time you refuse to even listen / I wouldn’t mind if I knew what I was missing.” John Lennon’s searingly plaintive singing of “Girl” evokes all the angst and pain in Murakami’s coming-of-age story, and “Nowhere Man” haunts the novel’s conclusion, when during a phone call Midori asks, “Where are you now?” and Wantanabe has no idea, no idea at all. Where was this place? All that flashed into my eyes were the countless shapes of people walking by to nowhere. Again and again, I called out for Midori from the dead center of this place that was no place.”

The Beatles song ends with “Nowhere Man in a nowhere land making all his nowhere plans for nobody.”

Wantanabe

The name Murakami gives his narrator is the sixth most common surname in Japan. So, there’s no reason to think an allusion is being made to the doomed hero of Akira Kurosawa’s great film Ikiru . Even so, that’s what the name suggests to me: a Tokyo bureaucrat who has been given only months to live, a nowhere man going nowhere. In fact, the first-person narrator of Norwegian Wood is probably one of the most autobiographical characters

and reread Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and has obviously lived with the works of J.D. Salinger, for instance the Salingeresque nuances in Midori’s quirky view on life, and the moment Reiko says to Wantanabe: “You’ve got this funny way of talking ... Don’t tell me you’re trying to imitate that boy in Catcher in the Rye? ” More than once in Jay Rubin’s Murakamioverseen translation, Wantanabe definitely sounds like Holden (“Whaddya want me to say?”)

The Murakami of Rock

My epigraph is taken from Keith Reid’s lyric “Quite Rightly So,” a song on Procol Harum’s second album, Shine On Brightly . In a review centered on the Beatles’ Norwegian Wood , it might have been more appropriate to simply use a line from Lennon & McCartney or Harrison, but I’ve done that already in the review and as writers they have less in common with Murakami than the mysterious lyricist who was remembered a year ago in the New York Times for his “surreal paradoxes” that invoked “literary and historical allusions and spun tall tales, sometimes at the same time.” While it may seem presumptuous to call Reid the Murakami of rock, his wonderfully “wild and whirling words” fit well with a novelist known for fusing “the realistic and fantastic” in works that have won the World Fantasy Award and the Franz Kafka Prize.

It also seems very Murakami that Reid, the forever offstage member of Procol Harum, should appear a year before his own death in a March 2022 Times obituary for singer and composer Gary Brooker, the man who set his lyrics to music. Reid died this past March 23, a year and a month after his songwriting partner. Remembering Brooker last March, I suggested that he and Reid can be spoken of in the same breath with Lennon and McCartney. Whether they will ever be recognized in those terms, the process may have begun in 2018 when “Whiter Shade of Pale” was admitted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a newly established category for songs.

Ihope I’m right in assuming that Murakami knows and admires Reid’s work. He would surely be intrigued by his background. His father was one of more than six thousand Jews arrested during Kristallnacht, November 9-10, 1938. After a brief internment in Dachau, he fled to England along with a younger brother. The paternal grandparents Reid never knew were apparently Holocaust victims. I hope to write

Performing Arts

directed by Lynette Linton. Her plays have been performed at Arena Stage, Hartford Stage, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Huntington Theatre Company, Long Wharf Theatre, Just Us Theatre Company, True Colors Theatre, Bushfi re Theatre, Intiman Theatre, The Black Rep, and 7 Stages.

MUSICAL FAMILIES: “CMS Kids: Exploring Dvorak” is the final family program this season for Princeton University Concerts. Two sessions are curated for kids ages 3-6 and their families at the Lewis Center.

Chamber Music Society

Returns to Princeton

Princeton University Concerts (PUC) welcomes The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center back to Princeton for the final family program of the 2022-23 season on Saturday, May 20, at 1 and 3 p.m. “CMS

Kids: Exploring Dvorák” is curated for kids ages 3-6 and their families. Performances will take place in the Lee Rehearsal Room at the Lewis Arts Complex.

Host Rami Vamos and the professional musicians of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center will guide audiences in an exploration of the theme of identity through Antonín

Dvorák’s Quartet in E-flat

Major for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 87. This inclusive concert experience is adapted for neurodiverse audiences, including children with autism or other special needs. The performance is presented in a judgment-free environment, and is less formal and more supportive of sensory, communication, movement, and learning needs.

“Accessibility of all kinds has been at the core of PUC’s mission from our inception, and I am so grateful to partner with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center to bring a program friendly to neurodiverse audiences,” says PUC Director Marna Seltzer. “With the launch of our Healing with Music series this season it has become ever more apparent that music plays an absolutely essential role in all of our lives — and I believe that introducing kids to its power from a young age can be life changing.”

“Blues for an Alabama Sky” Comes to McCarter McCarter Theatre Center presents Blues for an Alabama Sky by Pearl Cleage in the Berlind Theatre May 6-28. The play marks the McCarter directorial debut of Associate Artistic Director Nicole A. Watson.

“I could not be more thrilled that Nicole A. Watson is making her longawaited debut at McCarter,” said Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen. Watson’s production ran at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis earlier in 2023.

In a Depression-era Harlem apartment building, a close-knit group of friends has become a chosen family. New roommates Angel and Guy — a recently fired blues singer and a promising costume designer with Paris in his sights — live across the hall from Delia, a social worker who sparks

a relationship with the hardworking doctor Sam. Their lives are upturned when southern newcomer Leland arrives and falls hard for Angel, who is torn between a stable life in New York City and an exhilarating overseas adventure with Guy. Angel chooses her path, but the decision leads to devastating consequences that shift the trajectory of everyone’s futures and long-held dreams.

Cleage is an Atlanta-based writer whose plays include Angry, Raucous and Shamelessly Gorgeous, Flyin’ West, and Bourbon at the Border, which were commissioned by Alliance Theatre where Cleage is Distinguished Artist in Residence. She is also the author of A Song for Coretta, written in 2007 while the Cosby Professor in Women’s Studies at Spelman College, and The Nacirema Society…, which was commissioned by Alabama Shakespeare Festival and premiered in 2010. Blues for an Alabama Sky recently received an awardwinning production at London’s National Theatre,

Watson is the associate artistic director at the McCarter Theatre Center. Prior to this appointment, she served as the AAD at Round House Theatre. On behalf of both theaters, she produced the Adrienne Kennedy Festival, directing a digital version of Kennedy’s She Brought Her Heart Back in a Box . A history teacher turned freelance director, she has premiered new plays by writers of color in addition to restoring missing voices onto the stage. At McCarter she is the curator of the Toni Morrison Commissions, the co-curator with Paula Vogel on Bard at the Gate where she directed a digital production of Dipika Guha’s Passing and has been the lead teacher for the Kennedy Center Directing Intensive of the past three years.

Tickets start at $25 and are now on sale at McCarter. org or (609) 258-2787.

Collegium Musicum NJ

Announces Concert Series

Collegium Musicum NJ begins its 2023 Classical Music Concert Series, “Culture for Understanding and Tolerance,” at Nassau Presbyterian Church on April 22 at 6 p.m.

“We strongly believe the 2023 Concert Series will enable our communities to better understand and enjoy each other’s unique national culture, traditions, and historical development through the performance of music along with presentations of other art forms,” reads a press release on the series.

Performances will be by chamber orchestra,

soloists, and small chamber music groups. Each event will include a short lecture illustrating its musical connections to its history and cultures.

Tickets are available online through Eventbrite. Seating is limited, so advance registration is advised, at https://qrco.de/ bdrkG7

Continued on Next Page

CULTURE BRINGS TOLERANCE: Collegium Musicum NJ has titled its April 22 concert at Nassau Presbyterian Church “Culture for Understanding and Tolerance.” Pianist Larissa Korwin, left, and violinist Alexei Yavtuhovich are among the performers.

CUMBIA AND COMMUNITY: Some of the cast members of “La Gran Cumbia Espectacular!,” which continues this week at the Wallace Theater.

Performing Arts

Continued from Preceding Page Princeton Senior Celebrates

Rhythm/Dance/Music Genre

Kaelani Burja, a senior at Princeton University, has created “La Gran Cumbia Espectacular!,” a theatrical performance and celebration of an art form with African and Indigenous roots encompassing rhythm, dance, and music. The show continues Thursday and Friday, April 27 and 28 at 8 p.m. at the Wallace Theater, located at the Lewis Arts complex on the Princeton University campus.

The art originated along Colombia’s Rio Magdalena. The show celebrates cumbia

and community, through three styles of cumbia.

The cast will teach audience members interested in participating how to dance cumbia, and share what it means to them in a “perfectly imperfect rollerskating/quinceanera/Selena/ Zumba/horror/drag/pop/ zombie community block party,” according to a press release.

Admission is free. Visit arts.princeton.edu for more information.

African American Museum

Marks Jazz Appreciation Month

The Stoutsburg Sourland

African American Museum (SSAAM) will celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month and the

history of African American music in New Jersey with “Jazz in the Sourlands,” a series of special events on Friday and Saturday, April 28 and 29.

On Friday, SSAAM will hold a concert and wine and cheese reception at the True Farmstead, a historically Black-owned property on Hollow Road in Skillman. Guests will be invited to the National Historic Registerlisted Mt. Zion AME Church to view “From Fiddlers to Jazz Bands: African American Music of the Sourlands,” a new exhibit from SSAAM.

Historian Isabela Morales will open the exhibit with a presentation on the rich history of Black fiddle

playing in New Jersey and the United States from the 18th through the 20th centuries. Special guest and SSAAM contributor, violinist Laticia Lewis, will perform selections from her repertoire, including traditional African American spirituals and jazz pieces. Lewis is a composer, performer, and educator. She is an awardwinning author and historian of slavery who serves as SSAAM’s education and exhibit manager.

On Saturday, SSAAM invites community members to bring their own food, drinks, and blankets to the grounds of the True Farmstead for a live, outdoor musical

concert headlined by the Jonathan Ware Quartet. The quartet is a flexible consortium of members morphing from a duo to a septet. Their style ranges from funky jazz instrumentals to soulful jazz with vocals. Vocalist Gia Ware will accompany the band on Saturday. Visitors are welcome to stroll across the lawn to view “From Fiddlers to Jazz Bands: African American Music of the Sourlands,” as well.

“I’ve loved jazz from the moment I heard Louie and Ella on our family’s record player as a child,” said SSAAM Executive Director Donnetta Johnson. “This amazingly collaborative and improvisational music rich with complex harmonies and rhythms was created by Black musicians in New Orleans. As this popular music spread across the United States and the world, musicians in the Sourland Region played and contributed to the art form.

Jazz Appreciation month is a wonderful opportunity for SSAAM to celebrate the joy of making and sharing music in the Sourland Region of Central New Jersey.”

SSAAM’s mission is to tell the story of the unique culture, experiences, and contributions of the African American community of the Sourland Mountain region. Visit ssaamuseum. org/upcoming-events for tickets.

of “Cinderella”

Roxey Ballet’s “Cinderella”

Geared to All Audiences

Cinderella, part of the Children’s Classic Stories repertoire of Roxey Ballet, will be represented this spring in two matinee performances at Villa Victoria Academy in Ewing, a sensory-friendly show at Mill Ballet in New Hope, Pa.; and “Cinderella’s Royal Tea Party” at Mill Ballet.

The tea party is fi rst, on Sunday, April 23 at 2 p.m. Mill Ballet is at 46 North Sugan Road in New Hope, Pa. Guests will visit with Cinderella and her friends while having tea and sweets. The Fairy Godmother will also make a guest appearance for a story time and dance class. Tickets are available at roxeyballet.org/teaparty.

The sensory-friendly performance is Saturday, April 29 at 2 p.m., at Mill Ballet. It is suitable for children and adults with autism spectrum disorder and other special needs or sensitivities. Adaptations include decreased sound levels, elimination of special effects, and increased house lighting. This performance is also a good option for very young children, providing a relaxed atmosphere with the freedom to move around. Visit roxeyballet.org.

The two shows at Villa Victoria, 376 West Upper Ferry Road in Ewing, are May 6 and 7 at 2 p.m. (a school show is May 5). Visit roxeyballet.org/cinderella for tickets.

Featuring

NEW

(Photo by Abe Jacobs)

FAIRY TALE: Roxey Ballet’s upcoming season

includes a tea party and a sensory-friendly performance in addition to a regular show.

gifts that are distinctly Princeton

PRODUCTS ADDED WEEKLY!

Mill Photo Show Features

Volunteers’ Fine Art Images

Putting a cap on photography month at Phillips’ Mill, the “Not Your Run of the Mill Photo Show” will be open to the community April 23 -30. Now in its third year, the Mill Photo Committee members’ fine art photography images will grace the walls of the historic mill following the 30th Anniversary celebration of the juried “Phillips’ Mill Photographic Exhibition,” which closes on April 21.

One of the best perks of being a Mill Photo volunteer is the opportunity to show your work in this innovative show. Giving traditions new energy when the need arises is a hallmark of the Mill Photo Committee of volunteers. When the pandemic closed the doors to the 18th century mill and life seemed to come to a screeching halt as they were organizing the 2020 juried show, the Mill Photo Committee sprang into action. All talented photographers in their own right, the committee members assembled works from their own portfolios to present an online show when inperson gatherings were suspended. The result was the “Not Your Run of the Mill Photo Show.”

Throughout the year, the Mill Photo Committee dedicates its time, talent, creativity, and resources to producing the annual juried “Phillips’ Mill Photographic Exhibition” as well as numerous other programs and events at the Mill. “Not Your Run of the Mill” is an opportunity to celebrate these volunteer artists and their work.

“This show is one of the prime benefits of joining the Mill Photo Committee,” said Committee Chairman Spencer Saunders. “It is the reward for all the hard work these volunteers put in each year across 20 different committees, from marketing to digital and social media to building walls, setting the lights, and hanging the show.”

Phillips’ Mill is located at 2619 River Road in New Hope, Pa. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday from 1-5 p.m., with extended hours on Friday and Saturday until 8 p.m.

Art

For a glimpse of what’s in store this year, the inaugural 2021 “Not Your Run of the Mill Show” is available online at phillipsmill.org/ photography/membersphoto-show.

For more information about events, exhibitions, and programs at the Mill, visit phillipsmill.org.

Prints Inspired by King At NJ State Museum

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” the New Jersey State Museum is exhibiting four prints by artist Ben Shahn that reflect ideas King put forth in his letter. The mini exhibition, “I Cannot Sit Idly By: 60 Years Since Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is on view through June 4 near the museum’s main entrance on the first floor.

On April 16, 1963, while imprisoned for participating in nonviolent demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama, King penned an open letter in response to a public statement of concern over his message and methods issued by eight white religious leaders of the South. In the letter, King addresses each claim put forth in the statement and outlines the value of nonviolent campaigns against racial injustice. His underpinning message is that devotion to order over justice will never bring about necessary social change, and each person is responsible for acting according to their own conscience.

Approximately two years after King published the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Time magazine used artist Ben Shahn’s portrait of the civil rights leader for their March 19, 1965 cover. Shahn (1898–1969) was among the most prominent socially engaged American artists of the 20th century, tackling social and political issues from the New Deal to the civil rights movement. An admirer of King, and a strong advocate in the fight for racial equity, Shahn was deeply committed to art that revealed the injustice in the lives of marginalized and persecuted people.

The museum holds a number of works by Shahn; three other prints are on view in

the American Perspectives gallery on the museum’s second floor.

Located at 205 West State Street in Trenton, the New Jersey State Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. General admission is free. For additional information visit statemuseum. nj.gov.

Free Frame Craft Workshop at Ellarslie

Trenton City Museum invites area families to dress their children up in their finest for a free Family Photo Shoot and Frame Craft Workshop on Sunday, April 23, from 1 to 4 p.m. Trenton City Museum is in historic Ellarslie Mansion, at the heart of Cadwalader Park.

This April offering, a part of the museum’s monthly family craft series, is made possible by the generosity of the Williamson family of Trenton. Participants will have their photo taken with a spring-themed museum hall as the background. While photos are being printed by museum volunteers, families will make colorful Popsicle stick frames. Their creative keepsakes will hold lasting memories of a special day at the museum.

The photo shoot and craft project are free of charge. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Register in advance at ellarslie.org/ spring or at (609) 989-1191 or tms@ellarslie.org

Museum hours are Friday and Saturday from 12 to 4 pm and Sundays from 1 to 4 pm. There is no admission fee, but donations in support of the museum’s mission and programs are welcomed. Visit ellarslie.org to learn more.

“Artie” Art Supply Drive

At Baxter Construction

For nearly 40 years, Baxter Construction has been involved in community outreach — helping organizations large and small. Jim Baxter is deeply rooted in the place he calls home and as principal and founder of Baxter Construction, he is committed to giving back and being of service.

When his storefront shop in Hopewell became available almost two years ago, Jim offered HomeFront a

space for free to help make up for the financial hardship when the world shut down. It turned into an enormous success for HomeFront and created a wonderful partnership with additional opportunities to make a difference. And now, you can help make a difference to bring art enrichment to the underserved families in our community.

The newest member of HomeFront, Artie, is a mobile addition to HomeFront’s ArtSpace. Artie is a reimagined and repurposed van designed to bring smiles and

creative experiences to under-resourced children living throughout Mercer County.

Artie is filled with art supplies and staffed with HomeFront volunteers and staff, and will provide hands-on activities as well as serve as a pop-up shop for businesses and events.

Baxter Construction is now collecting art supplies for Artie. The list of supplies needed includes paint brushes (all sizes); canvas 5x7, 8x10, 11x14, 16x20; watercolor paper; white card stock; acrylic painting paper;

acrylic paints; Crayola kids watercolor paint sets; crossword books; coloring books; word search books; tie-dye kits/white T-shirts; Sharpies; Michael’s gift cards; and Walmart gift cards.

Baxter Construction, located at 31 West Broad Street in Hopewell, serves as a collection point on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from 12 to 4 p.m. For question, call (609) 466-3655 and ask for Elizabeth Wislar.

Continued on Next Page

“MARO DĒLO TOUR POSTER”: This image by Thomas C. DeLorenzo will be on display at this year’s “Not Your Run of the Mill Photo Show,” on view April 23-30 at Phillips’ Mill in New Hope, Pa.

SUPPLIES FOR ARTIE: Jim Baxter, right, founder of Baxter Construction, with HomeFront’s ArtSpace and Sewing Space Director Ruthann Traylor, has announced an art supply drive for Artie, a mobile addition to HomeFront’s ArtSpace program that will bring creative experiences to under-resourced children living throughout Mercer County.

Princeton Public Library

Hosts Four Spring Exhibits

Princeton Public Library has four exhibits on view on the second floor this spring.

Through May 15, the work of photographer Larry Parsons is on view. The exhibit, “THE Question: A Photographic Journey,” is on view in the Reading Room. Parsons is a longtime businessman and avocational photographer, having worked many years in investment management in the Princeton area. His work has been exhibited at many local shows and he has taught photography at the Princeton Adult School, Chautauqua Institution, and Grounds For Sculpture.

In the Technology Center and other second floor locations, an exhibit by Michael Shieu is on view through June 15. “The Art of Calligraphy” features a wide range of calligraphy styles.

Shiue, born and raised in Taiwan, came to the U.S. in 1976 to attend Ohio State University where he earned a Ph.D. in chemistry. During his career, he worked in chemical research at Princeton University, The Rockefeller University, and several

pharmaceutical companies in central New Jersey. Shieu took up calligraphy as a serious pursuit, a passion from youth, after retiring in 2010.

“A Prologue to the Chapters that Follow: Princeton and Paul Robeson” is displayed in the Princeton Room through April 30. Today, Princeton celebrates

Paul Robeson — the noted actor, athlete, scholar, and activist — as its “native son,” but in his writings, Robeson was often resentful towards the segregated Princeton of his childhood. This exhibition, developed in partnership with the Historical Society of Princeton, the Princeton Public Library, the Witherspoon-Jackson Historical and Cultural Society, and the Paul Robeson House of Princeton, uses Robeson’s own words to examine both sides of the Robeson-Princeton relationship and its

evolution throughout his life.

“Hinds Plaza Gates,” hand embroidered works by Kyle Burkhardt, are on view on the second floor near the Conference Room through May 15. Burkhardt created the works as a statement against white supremacy following the 2017 attacks in Charlottesville. Burkhardt is a sewist and embroiderer. He works at Princeton University.

Princeton Public Library is located at 65 Witherspoon Street. For more information, visit princetonlibrary.org.

“HINDS PLAZA GATES”: Works of embroidery by Kyle Burkhardt are on view on the second floor of Princeton Public Library near the Conference Room through May 15.

“THE ART OF CALLIGRAPHY”: An exhibit of works by Michael Shieu, featuring a wide range of calligraphy styles is on view in the Technology Center and other second floor locations at Princeton Public Library through June 15.

INSIDE THE ARTIST’S STUDIO: Visual artist Spriha Gupta, whose work is shown here, will be the featured speaker for the Inside the Artist’s Studio talk on April 21 at 7 p.m. at Princeton Makes in the Princeton Shopping Center.

Princeton Makes Talk

Series Features Gupta

On Friday, April 21, at 7

p.m., artist Spriha Gupta will be the featured speaker for the Inside the Artist’s Studio talk series at Princeton Makes in the Princeton Shopping Center. Gupta, a member of the Princeton Makes artist cooperative, is a mixed-media artist strongly influenced by her Indian cultural roots. She is known for creating narratives with organic forms and textures. Gupta, who has placed work internationally and frequently has work in solo

and group shows, will share insights about her artistic practice and creative process.

“The uniqueness of my works comes through various textures that I create by building layer upon layer with a variety of materials most of which are found objects,” said Gupta. “None of the paintings are preconceived. They flow from my brush onto the canvas with freedom of the mind and soul. One can feel transported into the painting living and breathing each color and mood.”

Gupta layers and washes the objects with acrylic paints, other gels, and modeling mediums to give her work a three-dimensional feel. She uses organic material, such as wood, flowers, and paper to promote the concepts of repurpose, recycle, and upcycle through her beautiful art.

The event will begin with a reception, with light refreshments, at 6:30 p.m.

Princeton Makes is a cooperative comprised of 37 local artists who work across a range of artistic genres, including painting, drawing, stained glass, sculpture, textiles, and jewelry. Customers will be able to support local artists by visiting their in-store studios and by shopping for a wide variety of art, including large paintings, prints, custom-made greeting cards, stained glass lamps and window hangings, jewelry in a variety of designs and patterns, and more.

Additional information is available at princetonmakes. com.

Area Exhibits

Art@Bainbridge, 158 Nassau Street, has “Cycle of Creativity: Allison Saar and the Toni Morrison Papers” through July 9. artmuseum. princeton.edu.

Artists’ Gallery, 18 Bridge Street, Lambertville, has “Outside — Inside” through April 30. Gallery hours are Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. lambertvillearts.com.

Art on Hulfish, 11 Hulfish Street, has “You Belong Here: Place, People, and Purpose in Latinx Photography” through May 7. artmuseum.princeton.edu.

Arts Council of Princeton, 102 Witherspoon Street, has “Inspired by Optimism” through May 6. artscouncilofprinceton.org.

Artworks Trenton, 19 Everett Alley, Trenton, has “A Stolen Aesthetic” May 2 through June 3. artworkstrenton.org.

D&R Greenway Land Trust Johnson Education Center, 1 Preservation Place, has “Land, Light, Spirit” through April 21 in the Marie L. Matthews Gallery. drgreenway.org.

Gallery 14 Fine Art Photography, 14 Mercer Street, Hopewell, has Martin Schwartz’s “Some Old Some New” and Joel Blum’s “Italian Light” through May 7. gallery14.org.

Gourgaud Gallery, 23-A North Main Street, Cranbury, has “Four Seasons” through April 26. cranburyartscouncil.org.

Grounds For Sculpture, 80 Sculptors Way, Hamilton, has “Local Voices: Memories, Stories, and Portraits” and “Spiral Q: The Parade” April 23 through January 7 and “That’s Worth Celebrating: The Life and Work of the Johnson Family” through the end of 2024, among other exhibits. Timed tickets required. groundsforsculpture.org.

Historical Society of Princeton, Updike Farmstead, 354 Quaker Road, has “Einstein Salon and Innovator’s Gallery,” “Princeton’s Portrait,” and other

exhibits. Museum hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 12 to 4 p.m., Thursday to 7 p.m. princetonhistory.org

Michener Art Museum, 138 South Pine Street, Doylestown, Pa., has “Alan Goldstein: Elemental” April 15 through September 4, “Walé Oyéjidé: Flight of the Dreamer” through April 23, and “Mid-Century to Manga: The Modern Japanese Print in America” through July 30. michenerartmuseum. org

Milberg Gallery, Princeton University Library, has “Toni Morrison: Sites of Memory” through June 4. library.princeton.edu.

Morven Museum & Garden, 55 Stockton Street, has “Striking Beauty” April 21 through February 18 and the online exhibits “Slavery at Morven,” “Portrait of Place: Paintings, Drawings, and Prints of New Jersey, 1761–1898,” and others. morven.org.

The Nassau Club, 6 Mercer Street, has “Christine Seo: Princeton Solo Show” through June 4. christineseo.com.

Phillips’ Mill, 2619 River Road, New Hope, Pa., has “Phillips’ Mill Photographic Exhibition” through

April 21 and “Not Your Run of the Mill Photo Show” April 23-30. Hours are Wednesday through Sunday 1 to 5 p.m. with extended hours on Friday and Saturday until 8 p.m. phillipsmill. org.

Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street, has “A Prologue to the Chapters that Follow: Princeton and Paul Robeson” through April 30, “Hinds Plaza Gates” and “THE Question: A Photographic Journey” through May 15, and “The Art of Calligraphy” through June 15. princetonlibrary.org.

Small World Coffee, 14 Witherspoon Street, has “Coloring the Mind: A Journey Through Neural Pathways” through May 2. Works by Dan Fernandez are at the 254 Nassau Street location through May 2. smallworldcoffee.com.

West Windsor Arts Center, 952 Alexander Road, West Windsor, has “Member Exhibit: Yesterday Today Tomorrow” through June 3. westwindsorarts.org.

Collegium Musicum NJ presents CONCERTSERIES

Three different concerts

Culture for Understanding and Tolerance

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May 4th is at 7 pm: For Tickets https://qrco.de/CMMay4

May 12 is at 7 pm: For Tickets https://qrco.de/CMMay12

Limited Seating Engagements https://collegiummusicumnj.org/2023-events/

After Noon Concert Series

Thursdays at 12:30pm

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Mark Your Calendar TOWN TOPICS

Wednesday, April 19

6 p.m.: Princeton Public Library Board of Trustees meeting, in the Community Room unless otherwise noted. 65 Witherspoon Street. Princetonlibrary.org.

7 p.m .: Screening of the documentary Complicit at The Jewish Center Princeton. 435 Nassau Street, followed by a discussion with the director and two survivors of the S.S. St. Louis, the ship of Holocaust refugees that was turned back after trying to flee. Register at bit.ly/StLouisDoc.

7 p.m .: The Archivists: Stories author Daphne Kalotay and A.M. Homes talk at Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street; and online. Princetonlibrary.org.

7:30 p.m .: Scholar/author Robert Alter speaks on The Art of Biblical Narrative at Douglass Student Center, Rutgers University, 100 George Street, New Brunswick. Presented by the Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Life. BildnerCenter.Rutgers.edu.

8-10:30 p.m .: Princeton Country Dancers presents a contra dance at the Suzanne Patterson Center, 1 Monument Drive. Paul Norris with Night Moves. $15. Princetoncountrydancers.org.

Thursday, April 20

8-10:30 a.m .: Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber presents “Women in the Workforce: Finding Your Path,” at Mercer Oaks Catering, 725 Village Road West. Networking and discussion. Princetonmercer.org.

10 a.m.-2 p.m.: eton Farmers Market at the Dinky train station lot. Local farms, baked goods, artisan foods, gifts, and more. Free parking.

12-4 p.m .: D&R Greenway Native Plant Sale at Johnson Education Center, 1 Preservation Place. Drgreenway.org.

12:15 p.m .: Pianist Clipper Erickson performs at Nassau Presbyterian Church as part of the Westminster Conservatory faculty recital series. Music by Black composers is on the program, which is free. Rider.edu.

6 p.m .: Susan Wolfson and Maria DiBattista discuss Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman at Labyrinth Books, 122 Nassau Street. Labyrinthbooks.com.

Friday, April 21

1-4 p.m.: D&R Greenway Native Plant Sale at Johnson Education Center, 1 Preservation Place. Drgreenway. org.

4:30 p.m .: “Race, Politics, and Irish-America: A Gothic History,” lecture by Mary M. Burke, professor of English at the University of Connecticut, at James Stewart Film Theater, 185 Nassau Street. Free. Presented by Princeton University’s Fund for Irish Studies. Princeton.edu.

7:30 p.m.: Westminster Symphonic Choir performs Carl Orff’s Carmina Buraat Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, Trenton. Rider.edu/arts.

Saturday, April 22

9-11:30 a.m.: D&R Greenway Native Plant Sale at Johnson Education Center, 1 Preservation Place. Drgreenway.org.

9-11 a.m.: Spring Open House at French American School of Princeton, 75 Mapleton Road. RSVP to (609) 430-3001 or ecoleprinceton.org.

9 a.m.-3 p.m.: Friends of Herrontown Woods Earth Day celebration. A day of exploring and learning in nature, co-sponsored by Princeton Public Library. Herrontownwoods.org.

9-11 a.m.: Stream cleanup at Hilltop Park, 782 Bunn Drive. Sponsored by the Princeton Environmental Commission and

AUTHOR MEETS CRITICS:

Andrew Koppelman’s

Burning Down the House: How Libertarian Philosophy was Corrupted by Delusion and Greed

(St. Martin’s Press, 2022)

Monday, April 24, 2023 4:30 to 6:00pm

Robertson Hall, Bowl 01

The Watershed Institute. Volunteers get a free tree sapling. Pre-register at thewatershed.org.

9-11 a.m. and 2-4 p.m .: Kingston Greenways Earth Day cleanup sessions; the first is at Laurel Avenue and the vicinity of Rockingham Historic Site; meet at Rockingham lot, 84 Laurel Avenue. The second is trash collection in the Mapleton Preserve. Park along Railroad Avenue off Ridge Road. Gloves, vests, and garbage bags provided. Kingstongreenways.org.

10 a.m.-4 p.m . Potato Planting at Howell Living History Farm, 70 Woodens Lane, Hopewell Township. Help farmers plant potatoes. Howellfarm.org.

10 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1-3 p.m.: Friends of Princeton Open Space celebrate Earth Day with spring planting sessions at Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve. Volunteer land stewards needed to plant native species. Fopos.org.

11 a.m.-3 p.m .: Earth Day Community Green Fair at Morven Museum and Garden, 55 Stockton Street. Trash can upcycling workshop, free bike repairs, electric lawn equipment demonstrations, lawn lounging with books, and Jenny’s Amazing Composting Chickens. Sustainableprinceton.org.

11 a.m.-2 p.m .: Spring Cleanup Day at Princeton Battlefield State Park. Gloves and tools will be provided. Followed by a pizza party and tours of the historic Thomas Clarke House. Pre-registration necessary at pbs1777.org.

12-5 p.m.: Spring Winery Weekend music series at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. With live music from 1-4 p.m. by Jerry Steele. Terhuneorchards. com.

APRIL

7:30 p.m .: Westminster Conservatory Faculty Recital Series presents “Zephyrs: Music for Winds,” at Cullen Music Center, 101 Walnut Lane. Free. Performers are Kevin Willois, flute; Timothy Urban, recorder; Melissa Bohl, oboe; Kenneth Ellison, clarinet; Stephen Andrewlavage, saxophone; Patricia Landy and Phyllis Lehrer, piano. Free. Rider. edu.

Sunday, April 23

12-5 p.m.: Spring Winery Weekend music series at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. With live music from 1-4 p.m. by Mike & Laura. Terhuneorchards. com.

1 p.m .: Free carillon concert at Cleveland Tower on the Princeton University graduate campus; listen from outside the tower. University Carillonneur Lisa Lonie and guest artists perform.

2 p.m .: Cinderella’s Royal Tea Party, at Mill Ballet, 46 North Sugan Road, New Hope, Pa. Have tea and sweets while visiting with Cinderella; story time and dance class. Roxeyballet. org.

3-5 p.m .: “Building Princeton,” sponsored by the Historical Society of Princeton at Updike Farmstead, 354 Quaker Road. Architect Stephen W. Schwartz leads teams working with LEGOS to build scale models of historic structures, famous residences, community buildings and houses of worship in Princeton. Princetonhistory.org.

4 p.m.: Choral reading of Haydn’s Lord Nelson and Brahms’ Nanie by the Princeton Society of Musical Amateurs, Unitarian Church, Route 206 at Cherry Hill Road. Vocal scores provided. $10 for singers; free for students and nonsinging guests. Musicalamateurs.org.

Tuesday, April 25

9:30 and 11 a.m.: Read & Pick Program: Chickens, at Terhune Orchards, 330 Cold Soil Road. Read two books about chickens, visit hens, and more. For ages preschool to 8. $12 includes craft activity. Online prepurchase required. Terhuneorchards.com.

3 p.m .: The film A Man Called Otto is screened at Princeton Public Library’s Community Room, 65 Witherspoon Street. Princetonlibrary.org.

6 p.m .: Kevin Kruse and Julian Zelizer discuss Myth America: Historians Take on the Biggest Lies about the Past, at Labyrinth Books, 122 Nassau Street. Labyrinthbooks.com.

Wednesday, April 26

6-7:30 p.m.: Mercer County Community College Jazz Band plays jazz favorites indoors at Princeton MarketFair. Included are songs by Grant Green, Albert King, Irving Berlin, Sergio Mendes, the Gershwin brothers, Otis Redding, Freddie King and others. All selections feature improvisations by MCCC music students. Mccc.edu.

6 p.m.: Geology lecture at Montgomery Library, Skillman. Sean Kinney is the presenter of this free event. Reserve a ticket at scisnj.org.

8-10:30 p.m .: Princeton Country Dancers presents a contra dance at the Suzanne Patterson Center, 1 Monument Drive. Bob Isaacs with Crossing the Millstone. $15. Princetoncountrydancers. org.

Thursday, April 27

9 a.m.-3 p.m.: Eden Autism Princeton’s lecture series presents “Adolescents with Autism and the Transition to Adulthood,” at 665 College Road East. Edenautism.org.

Respondent: Leif Wenar

Laurance S. Rockefeller Visiting Faculty Fellow, Princeton University

Chair: Stephen Macedo

Professor of Politics and the University Center for Human Values, Princeton University

Andrew Koppelman

John Paul Stevens Professor of Law, Northwestern University

Open to the Public

Sponsored by University Center for Human Values and the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions

For more information and a pre-read selection, visit uchv.princeton.edu/andrew-koppelman

6 p.m.: Collegium Musicum NJ presents “Culture for Understanding and Tolerance” at Nassau Presbyterian Church, 61 Nassau Street. Pianist Larissa Korwin and Violinist Alexei Yavtuhovich play works by Tchaikovsky, Handel, Grieg, Piazzolla, Saint-Saens, and Yavtuhovich. $15-$20 (students free). Qcro.de/ bdrkG7.

7 p.m .: Preservation Hall Jazz Band performs at McCarter Theatre, 91 University Place. Performance follows the annual McCarter gala benefit. McCarter.org.

7 p.m.: The Seeds of Vandana Shiva, film and discussion, at Hopewell Theater, 5 South Greenwood Avenue, Hopewell. Hopewelltheater. com.

7:30 p.m.: Westminster Chapel Choir Spring Concert, at Gill Chapel, Rider University, Lawrence Township. Conducted by Alicia N. Brozovich. Vivaldi’s Gloria and Eric Whitacre’s Five Hebrew Love Songs. Rider. edu/arts.

4 p.m.: The chamber choir Variant 6 performs at All Saints’ Church, 16 All Saints Road. Madrigals, medieval prayers and more by Britten, Ravel, Ortiz, and Menotti. Variantsix.com/ sacred-and-profane.

7:30 p.m.: Westminster Jubilee Singers at Gill Chapel, Rider University, Lawrence Township. Works by George Walker, Nathan Carter, and Moses Hogan, along with The Cry of Jeremiah by Rosephayne Powell. Rider.edu/arts.

Monday, April 24 Recycling

6 p.m.: “Toni Morrison: Sites of Memory: The Making of an Exhibit.” Autumn Womack and the curatorial team for “Toni Morrison: Sites of Memory” give a behind the scenes account of the three years of research and work that went into the creation of the exhibit. Community Room, Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street. Princetonlibrary.org.

7:30 p.m .: The Emerson String Quartet performs at Richardson Auditorium as part of their farewell tour. Joining them are their proteges, the Calidore String Quartet. (609) 258-2800.

8 p.m.: “La Gran Cumbia Espectacular!” at Wallace Theater, Lewis Arts complex, Princeton University. Theatrical performance celebrating cumbia, a rhythm/ dance/music genre with African and Indigenous roots, created by University senior Kaelani Burja. Free. Arts. princeton.edu.

Friday, April 28 12 p.m.: Friends and Foundation of the Princeton Public Library hold a Book Lovers’ Luncheon at the Nassau Inn. Lynne Olson, author of Empress of the Nile: The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt’s Ancient Temples from Destruction , in conversation with William Storrar, director of the Center for Theological Inquiry. Tickets include a copy of the book. Princetonlibrary.org.

Redefine and Reconfigure Your Closets With the Expert Help of Closets Redesigned

Where is that sweater? I need that green handbag — and where are those shoes?

If this sounds like a familiar stressful moment, you are not alone. Spending unavailable time searching for needed items is something that happens to many of us. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to clear the chaos and have everything organized in full view so that you can see it when you need it!

IT’S NEW To Us

Fortunately, Rachel Webster, partner and co-owner of Closets Redesigned, is here to help you declutter your life with customized solutions. In partnership with Brett Margulis, owner of Innovative Commercial Interiors (ICI), she opened Closets Redesigned in 2021.

A Princeton native, Webster has a long history in design. Her interest in creating personal and inviting spaces began at an early age, she says. “As a young girl, I started to arrange things in my room. I wanted to do my room my way!”

Visual Expertise

Webster brought her developing skill to the window and store displays of Princeton businesses, and then earned a certificate in interior design from Parsons School of Design in New York City.

Her visual expertise also flourished in the fashion industry in Manhattan for eight years before she transitioned into professional interior design. She later managed high end interior design projects fin New York for 18 years, and then became a top designer for a national closet company for five years.

Opening Closets Redesigned was a special opportunity for Webster to offer clients her skill and experience for their individual needs.

“I love this aspect of home design,” she explains. “I incorporate a very practical, functional aspect along with the creative side. One common problem for many people is not having the proper organization of all their items.

“I love figuring out all the pieces of the puzzle and organizing everything for them.”

Whether it’s reconfiguring an existing closet or working with something brand new, Webster can create a space that is functional and efficient as well as attractive and in keeping with the style of the house.

The initial consultation at the prospective client’s home is complimentary, she says, and that will be a learning experience, both for herself and the client. She will observe the space and listen carefully to what clients have to say about what they hope to achieve.

Crowded Spaces

“Listening and observing is very important,” Webster points out. “It is so important to learn about what they want. Clients have very dif-

ferent personalities, and some have crowded spaces, while others can be neat. I have seen all kinds of situations.

“Some people want to save and store everything; others are ready to pare down, and maybe are in the process of downsizing.”

For those clients who are reluctant to throw anything away, she offers a gentle reminder. “When the closet is emptied to have the work done, I do have to tell them that not everything goes back in!”

Also during this initial meeting, budgets will be discussed, she adds. “When I meet new clients, I can give them a sense of the ballpark price, but the ultimate cost depends on the materials and components they decide to use. It’s quite flexible, and we work together to come up with just the right design and budget for each client.

“We listen to your needs and design a space specifically for you. We handle all the details, from materials to professional installation. We use the highest quality and most sustainable materials available. We also offer a lifetime warranty against manufacturer or labor defect.”

Once agreement is reached, she starts the design process. “I will design something suitable, taking into consideration what I have learned about the clients, their space, and their wishes. I’ll present them with a 3-D design, sample materials, and layout recommendations. We incorporate the clients’ goals, taking into account their particular space, budget, and style to come up with the perfect solution for them. The final design will include their choice of finishes, accents, accessories, and lighting.”

Eight Weeks

Once underway, shelving, drawers, cabinets, and hanging components will be ordered. It can take eight weeks for delivery, and then installation can be started.

“We have a full-time, very experienced installer and team to handle the job efficiently,” notes Webster.

Bedroom closet projects are very much in demand, she reports, and all sizes, from reach-in to walk-in, are part of her work. Everything is completely customized. Larger closets may have islands. Some may have fulllength mirrors, and dressing areas. Sliding belt racks and valet racks are other options. A recent closet design even included placement of a folding ironing board in a drawer.

Many closets include double hanging features, she adds. “This is very popular, and a real space saver.”

In addition to bedroom and linen closets, Webster is very involved with garage, pantry, laundry, and mud room projects. Indeed, from the bedroom to the garage and everything in between, Webster and her team design custom storage spaces that bring more ease to daily living.

“I’ve put in closets and shelves in garages and mud

rooms, and I recently converted a laundry room into a home office/laundry room,” she notes. “There are so many possibilities today.”

At Home

She was very busy during COVID-19, she adds. “Since people were at home so much, they wanted their environment to be pleasing and also efficient for working at home. We had many interesting projects to help people feel comfortable and make the best use of their space during that stressful time.”

Closets Redesigned clients are all ages, and while her work is predominantly in Mercer County and Bucks County, Pa., Webster has also had projects in New York and at the Jersey Shore. She is happy to see her clientele expanding as more people learn of her expertise.

Depending on size and complexity, jobs can last two months or even a year. “Every project has its own challenges and rewards,” she points out. “It can be relatively simple or something more complicated. Each project is unique and personalized to each client’s particular vision and space. When everything is right, it all works. I love to see the creativity and functionality married together.

CREATIVE CLOSETS:

Webster is proud and thankful to be able to do the work she loves, and at the same time create spaces that her clients will appreciate and savor. “When everything is organized in just the way the customer envisioned, and they can see how easy everything will be, it is wonderful to see the joy it brings them.”

For more information, call (609) 531-8763, and visit the website at closetsredesigned.com

—Jean Stratton

“We build closets that will make the best use of your space, and we work with closets of all sizes in all rooms in the house.” Rachel Webster, co-owner of Closets Redesigned, headquartered in West Trenton, is shown by a recently designed primary bedroom walk-in closet. A redesign of an existing closet in an older house, it features custom drawers. shelving, and hanging components. (Photo by Karin Belgrave).

S ports

With Tiger Women’s Lax Celebrating 50th Anniversary, Mulham Goes on Scoring Spree in Marathon Win over Brown

As the Princeton University women’s lacrosse team celebrated the 50th anniversary of the program by hosting Brown on Saturday afternoon, the festivities ended up going a little longer than planned.

The contest started around noon but didn’t end until after 1 p.m. on Sunday as the game was suspended in progress due to the intense storms that pummeled the area Saturday afternoon and evening.

The Tigers led 15-8 when the action was paused, and then closed the deal some 25 hours later by posting a 20-16 win over the Bears, improving to 6-6 overall and 3-1 Ivy League.

Princeton senior attacker Kate Mulham acknowledged that the delay posed a challenge for the players.

“It was so strange, we were looking to finish what we started yesterday,” said Mulham. “We felt like we were finding our rhythm. We were all really playing in synch, so the lightning delay was unfortunate. We were excited to finish out the game from where it stood and come back and get into that rhythm today.”

Mulham thrived in the marathon contest, ending up with five goals and two assists for a career-high seven points.

“I feel like I am finding my own personal rhythm as well; our attack is just working so nicely as a unit and were really moving the ball well,” said Mulham, a 5’8 native of Setauket, N.Y., who now has 22 goals and seven assists this season. “I just so happened to be the open girl on a lot of those plays, all the credit to my fellow attacking unit. They are really awesome.”

With Princeton trailing 6-5 heading into the second quarter, the Tigers broke open the game, outscoring the Bears 10-2 over the next 21 minutes of the contest.

“Everyone just felt it, you could feel it in the air,” said Mulham, reflecting on the run. “It was such a great feeling; we were really all playing together and we were on a roll. It was definitely upsetting to have that lightning delay put a stop to that, but we came through today which was most important.”

With a throng of former Tiger players on hand for the 50th anniversary celebration, Mulham and her teammates were determined to come through with a win.

“It was a huge focus for us coming into this game, honoring the legacy, being able to put on the Princeton jersey and doing it for the people who came before you and planting the seeds for all of those who will be coming after you,” said Mulham. “I think it is so rich and rewarding to be a part of this program. It is such a storied, successful program — it really is such an honor to play for it. The turnout yesterday was awesome. It is always great to have familiar faces come back who feel just as close to the program and strongly connected to it years out from graduation. It is really an awesome feeling. I am very grateful to be a part of it.”

As the season heads into its homestretch, Mulham is looking to make most of her final weeks in a Princeton jersey.

“It is bittersweet, it goes so quickly; these are the last few games on ’52 (Class of 1952 Stadium) which is such a great place to play,” said Mulham. “I think we are peaking at the right time.”

After falling 20-10 to No. 11 Loyola last Wednesday evening, the Tigers were viewing the Brown game as a potential turning point.

“This next stretch of games for us is Ivy League play which is important; it was definitely a disappointing loss against Loyola,” said Mulham. “We wanted this Brown game to be a statement win for us to find our footing again, bounce back, and set the tone for the rest of our Ivy play to finish out the season.”

Princeton head coach Jenn Cook liked the way her players took care of business in dealing with the delayed end to the game.

“It is difficult, it was not an easy situation to be in and I thought our players handled it really, really well,” said Cook. “All you can do is play the cards you are dealt, and I thought they did a good job with that and had really good composure. It is hard focuswise, they handled it well.”

Doing a better job handling draws on Sunday proved to be a key for the Tigers.

“The draw was great, we won today on the draw,” said Cook, whose team went 11of-19 on draw controls in the second half. “Sophie Whiteway had nine draw controls which was awesome to see.”

It has been awesome for Cook to see Mulham’s late surge, which has seen her score 15 goals in Princeton’s last five games.

“Kate is really getting on a roll, she is finding her stride and her rhythm and it is great to see,” said Cook, who got four goals from Grace Tauckus in the win over Brown with McKenzie Blake scoring three and Jami MacDonald and Kari Buonanno chipping in two apiece.

“Different people step up in different games on the offensive side of the ball which has been awesome. It is McKenzie at points, Jami, Kate, Grace, and McKenzie at others. It is great to see that spread and it is exciting to see because that is what you want at this time of the year.”

The Tiger defense stepped up when it counted against the Bears.

“The second quarter yesterday, we really found our rhythm defensively,” said Cook, whose team yielded just two goals in that period.

“I think it is a really big ask to come back and be extremely focused the next day. Some of those were 8-meter goals. You are never going to change that with how refs are calling certain things. I do think we got stops when we needed them, I think was important as well. It wasn’t pretty but sometimes it is not a pretty game.”

In reflecting on the big weekend for the program, Cook was glad that her squad made its alumnae proud.

“Really what makes Princeton lacrosse so special are the people,” said Cook, who served 10 years as an assistant coach for the Tigers before succeeding Hall of Famer Chris Sailer as the head coach last spring. “The support that we have from the alumni and the families really makes this place what it is. It is so incredibly special. Having our alums remain so connected to our program is so important to us. It is important for our current team to see that support because that is what it is all about. Once you are a Tiger, you are always a Tiger and we really, really believe that. Our alums show that to our current players and that is the culture that will just continue to build.”

With No. 24 Princeton playing at No. 15 Penn (8-4 overall, 4-0 Ivy) in a league showdown, Cook hopes the Tigers can build on the win over the Bears.

“From this game forward, it was Ivies on out, which is what we have talked about; our goals are still our goals,” said Cook. “Penn is a really tough opponent. They are coached extremely well, they have some really fantastic pieces. We have our work cut out for us. We are excited for the opportunity.”

Mulham, for her part, is confident that Princeton will take advantage of its opportunities over the rest of the season.

“I am just really excited to see how we perform down the stretch in the Ivy tournament and all of that,” said Mulham. “Knock on wood, we are going to do great.”

—Bill Alden

STEPPING UP: Princeton University women’s lacrosse player Kate Mulham brings the ball upfield in recent action. Last weekend, senior star Mulham tallied five goals and two assists as Princeton defeated Brown 20-16 in a game that started on Saturday and was suspended in progress due to the intense storms that pummeled the area that afternoon and finished on Sunday. The Tigers, now 6-6 overall and 3-1 Ivy League, play at Penn on April 19 and at Dartmouth in April 22.

(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

PU

Women’s Open Crew

Varsity

8 Off to Hot Start, Facing Big Test as it Hosts Texas, Yale this Saturday

Coming into this spring, Lori Dauphiny wasn’t sure what to expect from her Princeton University women’s open crew.

Although Princeton produced a stellar 2022 campaign which saw it finish third in the team standings at the NCAA Championships for the first time since 1997 as the varsity 4 took first at the regatta and the first varsity 8 placed third, things didn’t go smoothly last autumn.

“Our fall was not our strongest, everyone knows that every year is a new year,” said Princeton head coach Dauphiny. “The little hiccup of the fall not being as strong as we had hoped for it to be, but it possibly did some good things too. I think it made people recognize that we have some work ahead. I think that it put some concern in people’s minds, “Oh, are we going to be able to do this.’”

Putting in that work, the Tigers have done some good things so far this spring as they have started 6-0. The Tiger varsity 8 opened the season by topping Brown and Rhode Island on March 25. Two weeks later, the top boat defeated HarvardRadcliffe and Cornell in racing on the Charles River in Boston. Last Saturday,

the varsity 8 topped Virginia and Columbia at the Ivy Invitational on Lake Carnegie.

“The start of our season being strong has been very helpful,” said Dauphiny. “There is a lot of enthusiasm and excitement about what is to come. There was some doubt as to know what the team is capable of, and we are working on that.”

In Dauphiny’s view, the win over Harvard-Radcliffe and Cornell was key for the top boat and the whole program as the varsity 4 and second varsity 8 also posted wins.

“I thought it was great,” said Dauphiny, reflecting on the performance which saw Princeton clock a winning time of 6:35.5 with Harvard Radcliffe taking second in 6:47.4 and Cornell coming in at 7:14.6 to finish third.

“We had Brown on our home course in the opener and that is always tricky. I think we had overall strong results, but it was a little bit mixed with the 2V loss. Boston was a real step up for us because we hadn’t raced away yet during the season.”

Last weekend, hosting the Ivy Invitational gave Princeton and the league’s other boats the chance to step up against some national competition.

“The Ivy coaches got together, knowing the way to get to the NCAA championships is to make sure that you are racing across conferences,” said Dauphiny of the regatta which drew Oregon State, Rutgers, USC, and Virginia. “The main objective was to have some good racing and to get crews from across the country so there is more cross referencing. Our league races are important but our races outside of the league are just as critical now.”

Racing well, the Tiger varsity 8 came in at 6:12.2 to post a 4.1-second victory over No. 9 Virginia (6:16.3) and a 17.5-second decision over Columbia (6:29.7). The varsity 4 also won its heat, clocking a time of 7:07.19 with Virginia taking second in 7:10.19 and Columbia coming in third at 7:32.0. The 2V won its race, coming in at 6:29.6 as Virginia was next in 6:32.3 and Columbia paced third in 6:59.1.

“I was pleased with both the varsity 8 and the varsity 4,” said Dauphiny. “I thought the racing on Saturday morning was great for the 1V. For the 2V, it was a close race; they stayed composed and that was great for the boat because they had stumbled earlier in the season. It was a highlight for me in the racing. I thought the V4 also did an outstanding job in pressing against a large, strong program in Virginia and Columbia.”

Dauphiny is confident that her boats will get stronger

and stronger as the spring unfolds.

“The varsity 8 still has a lot to learn. I think their strength is that they are constantly improving,” said Dauphiny, whose top boat is now ranked fourth nationally. “I anticipate that continuing to happen, fingers crossed. I am very proud of the depth. The 2V is making progress. On the V4, there are three from last year’s boat. They have actually been instrumental in making all boats faster. The kids are still moving, we have a pretty good sense of things, but the boatings are not set yet. It is still too early. Everyone is helping the speed of the boats.”

The program’s seniors have played a key role in

getting their teammates up to speed.

“I always like to point out the seniors; Hannah Diaz is a senior and she is coxing that varsity 8,” said Dauphiny.

“Camille Vandermeer and Lydia Rosen are in that varsity 8, so there are three seniors in there. They are really leading the team. Natasha Neitzell is the other one, a senior who has been racing in that 4 as well.”

With Princeton hosting No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Yale

this Saturday, Dauphiny is looking for some more good racing from her rowers.

“We want to continue to make progress in all areas of the race, it is still early,” said Dauphiny. “We are looking to see if we can get faster from last weekend, and I think more consistent. The group can be fairly up and down; we need to be more consistent in our performance throughout the week from practice to practice and racing.”

—Bill Alden

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Since [1950] Conte’s has become a Princeton destination; a great old-school bar that also happens to serve some of New Jersey’s best pizza, thin-crusted and bubbly. The restaurant hasn’t

We could not have reached this accomplishment without our dedicated employees and customers.

We could not have reached these accomplishment without our dedicated employees and customers.

Thank you from the owners of Conte’s Serving the Princeton community for over 80 years, and we will continue to serve you another 80 years and more.

Thank you from the owners of Conte’s Serving the Princeton community for over 80 years, and we will continue to serve you another 80 years and more.

OPENING STATEMENT: The Princeton University women’s open crew varsity 8 churns through the water in a race earlier this year. The Tiger top boat defeated Virginia and Columbia at the Ivy Invite on Lake Carnegie last Saturday to remained undefeated this spring. In upcoming action, the Tigers, now 6-0 and ranked fourth nationally, host No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Yale on April 22. (Photo by Ed Hewitt/Row2K, provided courtesy of Princeton Athletics)

PU Sports Roundup

PU Hockey’s Fillier, Thompson

Help Canada Women Take 2nd Princeton University women’s hockey standouts Sarah Fillier ’24 and Claire Thomson ’20 helped Canada take second at the 2023 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Women’s World Championships last weekend in Brampton, Ontario.

Canada fell short of winning its third straight world title as it lost 6-3 to the United States in the gold medal last Sunday night.

Star forward Fillier, a native of Georgetown, Ontario, was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, finishing fifth in scoring with 11 points on seven goals and four assists. She scored a hat trick in Canada’s 5-1 semifinal win over Switzerland. Fillier also earned recognition as the tournament’s Best Forward as selected by the IIHF Directorate and a spot on the All-Tournament Team as voted on by media.

Standout defender Thompson, who was not on the 2022 world championship team as she was beginning medical school at NYU, played well on the blue line. She will now be continuing her studies at NYU. Both players were also integral to Canada winning the gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Men’s Heavyweights Top Harvard for Compton Cup

Snapping a four-race los -

SATURDAY APRIL 29

ing streak against Harvard, the ninth-ranked Princeton University men’s varsity 8 topped the No. 6 Crimson last Saturday in the race for the Compton Cup.

Princeton covered the 2,000-meter course on Lake Carnegie in a time of 5:33.5 with Harvard coming in at 5:38.3.

The Tigers host Yale and Cornell on April 22.

Tiger Men’s Lightweights Falls at Cornell

Suffering its first defeat of the spring, the top-ranked Princeton University men’s lightweight varsity 8 fell to No. 12 Cornell last Saturday in the race for the Platt Cup.

Cornell covered the 2,000-meter course on Cayuga Lake in Ithaca, N.Y., in a time of 5:41.75 with Princeton coming in at 5:44.25.

The Tigers will look to get back on the winning track when they race at Penn on April 22.

PU Women’s Lightweight

Crew Cruises Past Stanford

Continuing an undefeated streak which has not seen it not lose a race since March 2019, the top-ranked Princeton University women’s lightweight varsity 8 topped No. 4 Stanford last Saturday to retain the Class of 2015 Cup.

Princeton posted a winning time of 6:43.25 while Stanford finished at 6:53.65.

The Tigers host Georgetown on April 22.

Princeton Softball Goes 2-1 at Cornell

Serena Starks came up big as the Princeton University softball team went 2-1 in a three-game series at Cornell

BIKE

last weekend.

Senior star Starks had hits in all three games against the Big Red, going 6 for 11 with a double with a slugging percentage of .636 and on-base percentage of .583. The Tigers split a doubleheader on Saturday, winning the opener 10-9 and then falling by that same 10-9 score in the nightcap. A day later, senior pitcher Alexis Laudenslager tied a career high with 13 strikeouts as Princeton closed the series with a 5-3 win. Starks was later named the Ivy League Player of the Week.

The Tigers, now 19-15 overall and 12-3 Ivy, are tied for first in the league standings with Harvard and host the Crimson this weekend for a three-game series with a doubleheader on April 22 and a single game on April 23.

PU Men’s Volleyball Defeats NJIT

Brady Wedbush starred as the Princeton University men’s volleyball team defeated NJIT 3-1 last Friday evening.

Senior standout Wedbush had a season-high 15 kills to help the Tigers prevail 3028, 22-25, 25-22, 25-21 to close out the regular season.

Princeton, which improved to 13-11 overall and 7-3 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA), is next in action when it competes in the league semifinals on April 20 at Penn State. The Tigers are seeded second in the tourney and will face the winner of the first-round match against Charleston and NJIT in its semi.

Tiger Women’s Water Polo Defeats St. Francis

Wrapping up a stellar regular season, the sixthranked Princeton University women’s water polo team defeated St. Francis 12-4 last Sunday in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Five different players scored at least two goals for the Tigers as they improved to 27-3 overall and 9-1 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA).

With the victory, the Tigers earned the No. 1 seed in the upcoming CWPA Tournament and will host the event at DeNunzio Pool. The Tigers open play in the tourney with a semifinal contest on April 29.

Tiger Men’s Tennis Defeats Yale

Producing a superb performance, the Princeton University men’s tennis team defeated Yale 6-1 last Sunday in New Haven, Conn.

The victory over the Bulldogs gave Princeton a weekend sweep as it had defeated Brown 5-2 a day earlier.

Princeton, now 15-12 overall and 2-3 Ivy League, hosts Dartmouth on April 22 and Harvard on April 23 to wrap up regular season action.

PU Women’s Tennis Tops Yale 5-0

Completing a weekend sweep, the Princeton University women’s tennis team defeated visiting Yale 5-0 last Sunday.

Princeton got wins from Maia Sung and Zoe Howard and Neha Velaga and Eva Elbaz to earn the doubles point while Daria Frayman , Velaga, Howard, and Elbaz posted singles wins.

The Tigers, now 14-6 overall and 5-0 Ivy League, play at Dartmouth on April 22 and at Harvard on April 23 to conclude the regular season.

Princeton Track Teams Excel at Ellis Invitational

Asher Robbins provided a highlight as the Princeton University track program hosted its annual Larry Ellis Invitational last weekend at Weaver Stadium.

Freshman Robbins took first place in the men’s hammer throw with a heave of 62.75 meters, which ranks sixth all-time for Princeton. Another freshman, Casey Helm, placed first in the shot put.

Join us at Lawrence High School parking lot from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm for this free activity

• Bike Rodeo – fun Bike course bike safety check

free bike helmets from capital health (as long as supplies last)

• Fire truck & ambulance for children to inspect

• EV cars & owners to answer EV car experiences

• Accepting bike donations for Boys and Girls

club bike exchange

• FREE tree seedlings from shade tree com

• New Bike safety map of Lawrence

• Food trucks - Kona, Deputy Dag

• Energy fact signs

As for the Tiger women, Madeleine Wood placed first in the high jump while the quartet of Adelaide Asante, Brianna Mponzi , Harlowe Brumett-Dunn , and Olivia Hee took first in the 4x100 relay.

LION-TAMER: Princeton University baseball player Kyle Vinci takes a big cut in a game earlier this season. Last Sunday, junior first baseman Vinci hit a homer to help Princeton defeat Columbia 7-5. The win gave the Tigers a split in a doubleheader and helped them win the three-game weekend series with the Lions as they had defeated them 10-9 on Friday. Vinci’s homer was his 13th of the season, tying the program single-season mark set by Michael Ciminiello in 1996. Princeton, now 14-17 overall and 7-5 Ivy League, plays at Rider on April 19 and then heads to Cornell for a three-game set with a doubleheader on April 22 and a single game on April 23. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

In upcoming action, Princeton will be competing in the UVA Challenge in Charlottesville, Va., from April 21-22.

Princeton Athletics Now 14th in Directors’ Cup

Princeton University Athletics has moved up to No. 14 in the most recent update to the LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup standings, a jump bolstered by an exceptionally strong winter championships season which saw the Tigers score points in six of the 11 sports tracked so far this winter season.

Currently, Princeton has totaled 590.00 points this academic year, scoring 361.00 of them in the most recent season. Princeton’s winter championships performance of 361.00 points was the seventh-best of any Division I program this winter.

After the fall rankings, Princeton had ranked No. 36 overall with 148.00

THE FUND FOR

points earned by men’s water polo, field hockey, men’s cross country, and women’s cross country.

Fencing led the charge this winter with a No. 2 finish at the NCAA Championships, while the run by men’s basketball to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen also was a key contributor. Wrestling, led by NCAA champion Patrick Glory and a No. 13 finish as a team, helped Princeton’s ascent as did women’s basketball, men’s indoor track and field — led by NCAA pole vault champion Sondre Guttormsen — and men’s swimming and diving.

The LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in NCAA Championships.

SPRING 2023 LECTURE SERIES

APRIL 21

MARY BURKE, Lecturer in English at University of Connecticut on “Race, Politics, and Irish-America”

Introduced by Fintan O'Toole

Free and open to the public

PHS Boys’ Lacrosse Edges Notre Dame

As Beatty Comes Through in the Clutch

Brendan Beatty took matters into his hands for the Princeton High boys’ lacrosse team as it hosted Notre Dame last week in a Colonial Valley Conference showdown.

With the rivals knotted in an 11-11 deadlock midway through the fourth quarter of the April 11 contest, PHS sophomore midfielder Beatty tallied two goals down the stretch to help the Tigers pull out a dramatic 1312 win.

“I didn’t get nervous, I knew we were going to come out gritty to get the goals to win in the fourth quarter,” said Beatty. “I knew our defense was going to step up, I knew we were going to get the ground balls and the face-offs. That is what happened and that is how we won.”

Beatty notched the goahead goal with 3:39 left in the fourth quarter.

“I just saw an open lane and I took it and shot it,” said Beatty. “I saw I had a shorty on me and I thought it’s go time. They were expecting me to go righty because they were yelling ‘no left,’ so I took it lefty and put it in.”

Just over a minute later, Beatty scored the 13th goal for PHS, scooping up a rebound and firing it home in what turned out to be the game-winner as Notre Dame scored with 1:24 left to pull within one goal.

“I took the original shot and saw it didn’t go in,” said Beatty, who ended up five goals in the victory. “I stayed with the play and picked up the ground ball and put it in. I was ready to get hit.”

In the early stages of the contest, it didn’t look like the Tigers would need Beatty’s late game heroics as they jumped out to 4-0 lead and increased their advantage to 7-2 late in the second quarter.

“We trust every guy on our offense to make shots and make passes,” said Beatty, reflecting on the team’s hot start. “The trust on this team is going to get us these wins. It is just play gritty.”

Beatty has developed a deep level of trust with junior star Patrick Kenah, who tallied five goals and two assists against Notre Dame.

“Will Doran, a senior last year, left a big void; he brought me and Kenah to work well together,” said Beatty of Doran who is currently playing for Willams College. “He has been texting us, we have been staying in contact so that has helped me and Kenah out. Kenah and I are pretty close off the field, so we just bring that on the field. We always have our eyes up, looking for each other.”

PHS head coach Peter Stanton credits Beatty and Kenah with being catalysts for a balanced Tiger attack.

“We have two guys that can really create in Brendan and Patrick and then all of our other guys are good players,” said Stanton. “We are hard to guard, we always feel like we have six guys that demand defense take account of them but those two in particular are very creative and very hard to guard.”

Stanton was not surprised to see Beatty to come through against the Irish.

“We have really grown to expect Brendan to do that, we see him do that every single day in practice,” said Stanton. “We see him do that against everybody he plays against — he just makes the extraordinary look ordinary. It is not like wow, where did that come from? It is he does that every day. That is Brendan, that is what he does.”

Kenah does a lot for PHS offense as well. “Patrick is very much a coach on the field, he is very much the

savvy of our offensive end,” said Stanton, noting that Kenah has committed to attend Lafayette College and play for its men’s lax program.

“I will ask him like, ‘what do you want to run here?’ because he has got a better sense of what works for us. I can’t believe he is a junior. He is a really fine player, and it is crazy because he is going to get better and better.”

Sophomore Matt Thomson, who tallied two goals and an assist against Notre Dame, has been getting better and better.

“He had a big goal in the Scotch Plains game (an 1110 loss on April 8), the thing I love about him is that he plays with such enthusiasm,” said Stanton. “He is a kid that every time he gets on the field, he makes the most of it. When he makes plays, you can just see that there is happiness. That is what it is about.”

While the Tiger defense had some lapses in the win, the unit made stops when it counted.

“We are working on our communication, we had good moments,” said Stanton. “We held them to two goals for the longest time in the first half — we got a stop at the end when we needed it. We believe that we can play, we are working for some consistency.”

With PHS hosting Hightstown on April 20 and playing at WW/P-South on April 25, Stanton believes his squad can do some special things this spring when it gets into postseason play.

“That is what we are trying to get these guys to believe. They get excited when we start telling them

about doing those sorts of things,” said Stanton, whose team fell 12-9 to Red Bank Regional last Saturday to move to 3-2. “There is a thing where you kind of believe and then you have to do it. These guys have to get a few more reps before they really internalize it that they belong, they are getting there.”

Beatty believes that the Tigers are headed in the right direction.

“We just need to keep moving forward and keep our fundamentals,” said Beatty. “We have to keep doing the same things that we are doing right and fix the mistakes.”

—Bill Alden

well loved and well read since 1946

Dealing with Void Left by Graduation Losses, PHS Baseball Taking its Lumps, Starting 1-6

Having lost 14 seniors to graduation in 2022, the Princeton High baseball team was bound to take its lumps this spring.

Last Wednesday, PHS ran into a buzz saw as it fell 16-0 to an undefeated, battletested Cinnaminson squad.

Tiger head coach Dom Capuano acknowledged that the contest turned into a bit of a mismatch for his young team.

“I feel like this was the first game that we truly lost and just got beat,” said Capuano. “It is a lot easier to accept, they are a good team. They are an old team with 10 seniors. We threw strikes, they just hit the ball. It is what it is. We didn’t beat ourselves, so we take that away from this.”

While disappointed, Capuano believes that PHS can get into a groove.

“It is still early,” said Capuano, who got hits from Nick Akey, Jack Durbin, and Jon Tao in the loss to Cinnaminson.

“Overall, the good part about how the state tournament works is that it is

your best 15 games. I think before the cut off, we will play something like 24, 25 games. It is your best 15 but we are getting to that point in time where we can’t keep throwing these games out.”

The Tigers, who fell 11-0 to Notre Dame last Monday to move to 1-6, will have plenty of chances to get going over the rest of April.

“We have to start somewhere, I think we have eight games in the next two weeks,” said Capuano, whose team plays at Allentown on April 21, at South Hunterdon on April 22, and at Princeton Day School on April 24 before hosting Trenton on April 25. “It is going to be a lot of baseball.”

In a 14-4 win over WW/ P-North on April 6, PHS showed a lot of punch, highlighted by scoring 10 runs in the fifth inning against the Northern Knights.

“Any time you score 10 runs with two outs, it helps a little bit but it wasn’t a perfect game and we know that,” said Capuano. “We need to keep moving forward.”

The Tigers have been

moving in the right direction where it comes to their batting.

“In two of our losses, we have outhit the other team,” said Capuano. “The top of the lineup has been hitting. [Mike] Prete has been hitting well. Durbin has been hitting well. Tao has been hitting well. [Alex] Winters has been doing his normal thing, he is leading off for us. The bottom of the lineup is starting to hit better.”

In Capuano’s view, the squad needs to be sharper on the mound and in the field.

“We are throwing strikes a little bit better this week, which is good. Walks have been a big issue,” said Capuano.

“We are still making too many errors for my liking. A lot of them are mental, a lot of them are just not thinking the game through.”

Looking ahead, Capuano believes that PHS will raise its game.

“We have to just keep working, that is how you do it,” said Capuano. “They are keeping their heads up. We are still learning how to be a team; a lot of people are learning how to play together. We will get there. Hopefully some leadership emerges, especially from the younger group. We will see.”

—Bill Alden

Led by Defending State Champ Gu at 1st Singles, PHS Boys’ Tennis Has Potential for Stellar Season

There is plenty of optimism around the Princeton High boys’ tennis team as it has started its 2023 season.

“I think they realize that we have the potential to have a fantastic year — there are a lot of strengths in our singles lineup and the talent in the doubles as well,” said PHS head coach Sarah Hibbert, whose team improved to 4-0 with a 5-0 win over Lawrence High last Thursday and hosts WW/P-North on April 20 before competing in the Mercer County Tournament on April 24 and 26 at Mercer County Park.

“The challenge as always is putting together the doubles teams to support the singles players. We expect those players to hold their own quite a lot of the season; we want to have the doubles teams there to back them up.”

The Tigers boast a fantastic player at first singles in senior Jonathan Gu, who won the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) boys’ singles title last year to cap an undefeated season. Gu was the first state boys’ singles champion from PHS since Jacob Leschly in 1984.

“Jonathan had a fantastic year last year, going undefeated and winning the state championship; that is an amazing accomplishment for him,” said Hibbert of Gu who is heading to Carnegie Mellon University where he will continue his tennis career. “There are some players who are playing this year that did not play last year as well. He knows he is going to have a tough run to repeat. He is going to try his hardest to play his best tennis all year. We will see where things go. He contin -

ues to work on his all-around game, just putting forth his best effort each match.”

At second singles, junior Melvin Huang is known for putting forth a big effort all of the time.

“In terms of improvement, Melvin has really been working incredibly hard on his game as he always does,” said Hibbert. “He has put in a lot of effort. His challenge matches with Jonathan this year were much more competitive — they really had some great points. He is one of the hardest working people out there, he is always trying to improve. He is always willing to put in the work and the sweat.”

Freshman Garrett Mathewson has been providing some good work for PHS at third singles.

“Garrett is a solid player, he has got lots of weapons to his game,” said Hibbert. “He is a lefty. He has got powerful groundstrokes and a nice serve. We will look forward to him being able to settle into the high school tennis.”

At first doubles, junior Nikita Medvedev and sophomore Shaan Zaveri are developing into a solid pair.

“Nikita brings the doubles experience, and he is strong on serves and volley which is key in doubles,” said Hibbert.

“Shaan has grown several inches this year and worked really hard on his game. He looked good during preseason, so we are hoping that two of them will complement each other nicely. There is always a learning curve working with a new doubles partner.”

Junior Aman Kapur and freshman Andrew Kuo have been complementing each

other at second doubles.

“Aman stepped up for us in a really big way last year, he brings a lot of consistency and hustle,” said Hibbert, noting that freshman Aashil Patel has also seen action at doubles.

“He is incredibly fast, he runs down everything. Andrew has a really solid game and groundstrokes. He is more of a singles player as many of them are before they come to high school. I think he will make a smooth transition to doubles. He has a good serve, he has really solid groundstrokes. Hopefully, he and Aman will work together well.”

With the MCT coming up, Hibbert is confident that PHS will make a good showing at the competition.

“We are certainly hoping that this would be a year that we would put it together,” said Hibbert. “It is going to be a little difficult because of the draws and the seeding and everything. We have a really strong group of guys his year, especially for Jonathan’s senior year, so we are hoping to have the best season possible.”

—Bill Alden

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FIRST IN HIS CLASS: Princeton High boys’ tennis player Jonathan Gu prepares to hit a backhand in a match last spring. Senior first singles star Gu, who won the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) boys’ singles title last year, is primed for a big final campaign for PHS. The Tigers, who improved to 4-0 with a 5-0 win over Lawrence High last

host WW/P-North on April 20 before competing in the Mercer County Tournament on April 24 and 26 at Mercer County Park.

(Photo

Frank Wojciechowski)

Sparked by Rzeczycki’s Leadership, Production, PDS Boys’ Lax Showing Improvement, Now 4-1

Sebastian Rzeczycki and his teammates on the Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse team were ready to shine as they hosted George School (Pa.) in a Friday night lights clash.

“It was a great environment,” said PDS junior Rzeczycki of the night game last Friday which culminated Spring weekend festivities. “Even when we walking out, I saw so many people around the field. It was amazing.”

Rzeczycki gave those people plenty to cheer about right from the start, tallying a goal and assisting on a second score as the Panthers jumped out to a 2-0 lead.

“Lacrosse is a game of setting the tone right away,” said attacker/midfielder Rzeczycki. “Setting the tone is big for us, especially this year. We did great, we just kept going after that. Once we got going, we didn’t stop.”

Playing great, the Panthers built a 10-0 halftime lead as a number of players got on the score sheet.

“It is great to have Andrew Ahrens, Ollie Hall, and all of those kids out there,” said Rzeczycki. “Harry Bernardi had a great day. It is great to see all of these guys thrive in the offense. I think coach Nate [Small] finds a way to do everything for us, to balance it out and get everyone the looks. He does a great job and I think we did a great job today.”

Rzeczycki, for his part, looks to follow Small’s lead. “I have always seen myself as more of a leader and stuff like that, I always try to do that part,” said Rzeczycki, who tallied two goals and six assists in the win over George. “I have always echoed coach Nate. Whenever he tells me to do

something, I will echo it to the team. We get it done most of the time, there are always those rough times.”

Coming into this spring, Rzeczycki was looking to spread the ball around a little more.

“Last year was a little bit rough for us, I saw the ball on my stick more times than maybe I should have,” said Rzeczycki. “I was always there to be the guy that dodges. I think it is great this year to have so many guys that I can rely on and not only be a goal scorer but be a feeder and start the offense.”

Rzeczycki has developed an instant connection with freshman standout Ahrens, who had two goals and an assist against George.

“Andy is a great guy to have on the field, I see him a little bit as my mini-me,” said Rzeczycki. “It is nice to nurture him, and I definitely work well with him.”

With PDS getting off to a 4-1 start after going 6-11 in 2022, Rzeczycki believes that some postseason heroics last spring served as a catalyst for the squad’s progress.

“Our run last year in the state tournament set the tone and set the potential, upsetting a No. 1 seed and going to the semifinals is a great thing,” said Rzeczycki. “Coming into this season, I just saw us as ready with so many people returning. I saw the seniors, growing up with them, I sought to look up to them and give them the best I can.”

PDS head coach Joe Moore liked the way his squad set the tone as it jumped on George before the big crowd on hand under the lights.

“I think a night like this

is fun for the whole, entire school and the whole community,” said Moore. “I know our guys had a lot of positive energy and I told them to use this environment because as we get into these playoff games, this is what the atmosphere is going to be like.”

In Moore’s view, Rzeczycki has emerged as a positive force for the Panthers.

“His leadership abilities both on and off the field have grown tremendously,” said Moore. “You see it in the way he carries the ball. He is so much more confident, and the guys feed off of his energy.”

The partnership of Rzeczycki and Ahrens on attack has energized PDS.

“Their two-man game is getting better every day in practice and in games,” said Moore. “We let them freelance at this point which is cool because we can let them play the game. They are both big guys, they can throw their weight around and they are smart players. They are starting to get to know where each other are on the field and making the right decisions.”

In the win over George, PDS got contributions all over the field as Bernardi tallied three goals and two assists with Hart Nowakoski also chipping in three goals and two assists, Charlie Hogshire getting one goal and two assists, and Hall contributing seven assists.

“It is nice to have multiple offensive threats — we have six or seven guys who we truly expect to score very game whereas last year or previous years, it has been one or two,” said Moore. “I think the biggest thing about our group is that we are starting to play together. They are breaking that oneon-one mold that they have been used to so our offense is evolving.”

The work of sophomore Asher Lewis in the face-off X has also helped the PDS offense thrive.

“Asher has been great for us,” said Moore. “He has got to continue to develop his game and develop his stick so when he has the ball, he can make the right plays. It is a huge game changer to be able to expect the possession on every face-off.”

The Panthers have also been getting some great play at the defensive end.

“I think our defense is the strong point on our team, they have held multiple teams to fi ve or less this season,” said Moore. “Our defense is awesome, we have seniors down there (Nico Cucchi, Will Brown, Ace Ewanchyna, and Milan Patel) and a freshmen goalie (Jake Harrison), our seniors have really rallied around our goalie. Jake is our guy right now, Charlie [West] is our No. 2 guy. I think collectively our defense is extremely strong. Honestly, I don’t think we have seen them at their full strength so it is exciting to see where they will go.”

In Moore’s view, the Panthers can do some exciting things this spring.

“Last season was used to prepare us for this season in a way; we had a lot of really young guys that were new to the varsity level last year,” said Moore, whose team hosts Morristown Beard on April 19 in the opening round of the Prep B state tournament and Delaware Valley on April 20 before playing at St. Peter’s Prep on April 24.

“Now we were here, everybody understands their role,” said Moore. “We have really good leaders in our program and a lot of positive energy. Outside of that, everybody on an individual level has just gotten better. The talent is really there, we have to continue to learn how to play together. That late run prepared us for what we would like to do this year. Our expectations are extremely high for these guys. We have a lot of seniors and I know they want to go out on a positive note. We have lofty expectations for our group.”

Rzeczycki, though, isn’t about to get carried away by the team’s hot start.

“It is always the next game, we can’t get too happy right away,” said Rzeczycki.

“We just have to look forward to the next game, keep our heads down and keep working.”

—Bill Alden

Hardened by Dealing with Formidable Foes, PDS Boys’ Tennis Primed for Big MCT Run

Having faced a gauntlet of tough foes over the fi rst two weeks of the spring, the Princeton Day School boys’ tennis team has proven that it is ready for the challenges ahead.

“I love having a tough schedule so there aren’t any surprises when you get to the tournaments,” said PDS head coach Michael Augsberger, whose team has started 6-1 with wins over such formidable squads as Haddonfield, Germantown Academy (Pa.), Rutgers Prep, Hun, and Peddie. “The tournaments are what matter; we have time to fi ne-tune things. We are really proud of what the guys have accomplished, particularly with the Germantown match.”

Augsberger believes that sophomore Heyang Li can accomplish a lot this spring at first singles.

“Heyang has the mindset of a professional, that is the way he trains,” said Augsberger, noting that Li focused on USTA tournaments as a freshman before joining the Panther squad this spring. “He just saw the fun that they guys have. He loves the group of guys that we have; that helped him warm up to the idea of playing team tennis. He knows those other guys look to him and he wants to be seen doing the right thing, making sure that the guys see him committed in practice.”

Li does a lot of good things on the court. “I have seen really quick hands and he is lightning quick,” added Augsberger. “I love the way he volleys the ball and his touch. He is really fast, and he gets to things too.”

Augsberger loves having senior Joshua Chu at second singles. “That is the great thing about the team, that Josh plays two,” said Augsberger. “He is a No. 1 that a lot of teams would kill for, and we get to have him at No. 2. He is our senior leader along with Farhan Mohammad. It is incredible to have him playing there. He has got great touch too; I love the way that he mixes up shots. He is a shorter guy and uses his speed.”

Another senior, Jason Wu, is playing well at third singles. “What is crazy about his game is that he is the only person that anyone is going to see that serves lefthanded but hits righty,” said Augsberger. “He switches his hands, people don’t realize that. That goes with his

game, he throws a lot of spin and a lot of kicks, not that he doesn’t have power.”

At first doubles, senior Oliver Silverio has been a staple and can be paired with juniors Jaylen Peng and Steven Li.

“We started out with Silverio and Peng, but we are definitely going to try out Silverio and Steven Li; we are going to see which pairing is the best and the better of that two,” said Augsberger. “Silverio has won two Prep B first doubles titles, one with Aaron Phogat and won with Neel Adusumilli. I play all of the guys in practice, and this is the fi rst time Oliver beat me. Why he beat me is what impressed me the most, he has probably the highest tennis IQ. He made some incredibly smart shots; he continues to do that in matches and that is why he is where he is.”

Peng and Li boast an impressive skill set. “They have both made strides, they are both playing at a higher level than last year,” said Augsberger. “Steven is more of a singles player and you would think that is why I would put Jaylen at first doubles. Jaylen is big, he has a huge serve. What won us the second doubles Prep B title last year was his huge forehand. You would think he would be the guy to put in at first doubles, but we are really impressed with what Steven has done this year.”

Senior Mohammad and freshman Avi Saran have been seeing action at second doubles.

“Mohammad is the senior leader; he is the guy we rely on to get the chemistry together,” said Augsberger. “We have an influx of freshman guys who are all inexperienced but the game is there. The two guys who know how to compete are Saran and Jacobo Garcia-Carillo from Madrid.”

Looking ahead to the Mercer County Tournament, which is slated for April 24 and 26, Augsberger believes that Panthers can compete for the title. “We always go in with the mentality that we want to win the counties,” said Augsberger, whose team hosts the Blair Academy on April 19 to tune up for the MCT. “This year, especially, we think the pieces are there. We want to be in the conversation for it. The goal is to peak at the tournaments.”

—Bill Alden

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TOUGH TO STOP: Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse player Sebastian Rzeczycki, left, controls the ball in a 2022 game. Last Friday, junior star Rzeczycki tallied two goals and six assists as PDS defeated George School (Pa.) 14-1. The Panthers, who moved to 4-1 with a 7-6 loss to Lenape last Monday, host Morristown Beard on April 19 in the opening round of the Prep B state tournament and Delaware Valley on April 20 before playing at St. Peter’s Prep on April 24.

(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

With Junior Standout Caputo Setting the Tone, PDS Girls’ Lacrosse Edges Hun in 16-14 Thriller

Tessa Caputo had a large ice pack wrapped around her right leg last Friday evening, but she was smiling through the pain after helping the Princeton Day School girls’ lacrosse team edge Hun 16-14.

Having been unable to play when the local rivals met last year due to illness and Hun prevailed 10-6, PDS junior midfielder Caputo was thrilled to come up big as the Panthers avenged that defeat.

“Losing that game last year and watching that happen was devastating and I think that really fueled us today,” said Caputo, who tallied seven points on five goals and two assists in the win. “We were so excited for this game, we really wanted it. In the end, it came down to who wanted it more and I think we really wanted it.”

Fueling the PDS attack, Caputo scored two goals in the first 2:03 of the game as PDS jumped out to a 2-0 lead.

“We really got hyped up in the beginning of the game,” said Caputo. “We needed to come out strong and that is exactly what I was looking to do. I had the opportunities, so I went for it.”

The teams set a dizzying pace with goals coming in bunches as PDS forged ahead 12-10 at halftime.

“They are a really good team, they have some really great players,” said Caputo. “A lot of us play club with those girls. They are such an

aggressive team; they really gave us a fight.”

Fighting through pain as her right leg was ailing, Caputo was determined to keep playing.

“I have a few injuries; we don’t have too many subs, so I have to push through it a little,” said Caputo.

With the Panthers clinging to a 15-14 lead in the waning moments of the contest, Caputo fired in an insurance goal to end the scoring.

“Having a one-goal lead with four minutes left in the game wasn’t enough,” said Caputo, whose final tally came with 1:37 left in regulation. “I had that opportunity, I feel confident with that shot, I do that every day in practice. I felt like that was a sure one, so I took it.”

Caputo saw the win over Hun as a confidence builder for a Panther squad that began the season by falling 18-17 to Blair Academy and 12-9 to Shore.

“We had a pretty rough start to the season,” said Caputo, who tallied five goals and an assist to help PDS defeat Somerville 12-8 last Saturday as it improved to 3-2. “We just needed a couple of wins under our belt and I think it is really going to be good.”

Having scored a team-high 32 points on 20 goals and 12 assists, Caputo is looking to be a more versatile weapon for the Panthers.

“I have definitely been stepping up to play some

more mid and I am taking the draw this year,” said Caputo, who has committed to attend Fairfield University and play for its Division I women’s lax program. “I am normally a low attacker so being able to do that is really awesome.”

Forming a one-two punch with senior star Paige Gardner, a fellow Fairfield commit, has helped Caputo step up this spring.

“It is awesome working with Paige,” said Caputo. “I am going to be playing with Paige in college; I would say her being committed there was a pretty big factor in me committing there. Fairfield is such an amazing school and to be able to have another four years with my best friend is awesome.”

PDS head coach Tracy Young credited Caputo with sparking the Panthers against Hun.

“Tess is not normally a midfielder for us,” said Young. “Paige and Sophie [Jaffe] have been playing much more of our mid. Since they were two that were not feeling great, I had to go with Tess which benefitted us in the long run. She came out hot really quick.”

In Young’s view, the PDS attack was running too hot at times in the first half.

“I kept saying to them we don’t want to go back and forth; we needed to really get the ball on our end and settle it a little on attack,” said Young, who got six goals and two assists from Jaffe in the win over the Raiders with Gardner and Jesse Hollander each chipping in two goals and an as -

sist. “We were really packed in the beginning and really needed to spread out and move the ball around. Our shot selection really took a dive so that was also a point of emphasis. I told them we really had to start thinking about taking smarter shots and taking care of the ball.”

Holding Hun to four goals in the second half, the Panther defense played smarter down the stretch.

“We were having trouble with the slides in the first half, so we really just emphasized with them that it was the second slide that they really needed to see,” said Young. “There were a couple of girls wide open in the middle in the first half that they kept hitting. We started to slide much better and we started to move better. We told them they were doing a lot of man watching and not really watching the ball and the field itself. Once they turned that around that really helped us get in position to really slow them down or at least be in their way and not give them a free shot at goal. Arden [Bogle] came up with some big saves in the end which really helped us too.”

With PDS having won three straight games, Young believes that the Panthers are showing the potential to match the postseason run last year that saw the program win both the Prep B state and New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) NonPublic Group B titles.

“We just really have to work now on cleaning up the game, I think it can carry us to great places,” said Young, whose team hosts Allentown on April 20. “They really have to focus on taking care of the ball, not getting fouls, and not getting turnovers. I think I tallied 12 turnovers today for us. If we want to go as deep as we did last year, those are the things that we are going to have to clean up the most going forward and they can do it. They are skilled players; they are strong players. We have had two out with concussions, we have had kids out sick, so we just need to get everybody healthy and keep everybody healthy. I think that will be the difference-maker for us moving forward.”

Caputo, for her part, feels that PDS is moving in the right direction.

“We have some underclassmen that are stepping up in a great role,” said Caputo. “Shelby [Ruf] today did amazing. Arden made some big saves. Everybody has to step up, and I think we have really done a great job of that.”

—Bill Alden

Hun Baseball Loses to Bergen Catholic, Plagued by Inconsistency as it Moves to 5-4

In 2022, the Hun School baseball team ended April with a 12-1 record on the way to going 20-4 and winning the program’s first-ever Mercer County Tournament title.

With a stellar group of seniors having departed after driving that success, Hun figured to experience some growing pains this spring as it went with several new faces.

Last Thursday, the Raiders experienced a painful defeat as they fell 23-7 to Bergen Catholic. Hun trailed 8-0 after the first inning and found itself down 18-0 in the third inning before scoring four runs in the bottom of the third and three in the fourth.

“The message is we still have the whole season ahead of us — we have three things, we have a Mercer County Tournament, we have a Prep A tournament, and we have our MAPL (Mid-Atlantic Prep League) schedule, so everything is ahead of us,” said Hun head coach Tom Monfiletto, whose squad moved to 5-4 with the defeat.

“To play the onslaught of really good teams that we have played will make us better. We have to be able to take the positives of each game, piece it together each game and bring the same amount of intensity every day in practice and then we will have success.”

Monfiletto did see some positives in the way Hun plated seven runs after falling so far behind.

“I liked how some of the guys battled and competed,” said Monfiletto, who got three RBIs from Mike Smith against Bergen Catholic with Tyler Tucker, Charles Batista, William Kraemer, Gabe Jacknow, and E.J. Balewitz each knocking in one run. “We saw some good swings out of some of our guys against their No. 1. I was happy about that.”

Reflecting on Hun’s 5-4 start, Monfiletto acknowledges that his team hasn’t found a rhythm.

“It has definitely been up and down, we want consistency in our play during games,” said Monfiletto. “We have to have more consistency during practice, that is as simple as it gets. We need to maintain consistency during practice and have consistency during games.”

With the Raiders hitting .279 as a team, Monfiletto is upbeat about the Hun offense.

“Kraemer has been swinging the bat really well, Mike Jolly has been swinging the bat really well, he has been getting on base,” said Monfiletto. “Tyler is fighting himself out of a little slump in the beginning to the year which I am happy with. [Mike] Chiaravallo has been pretty consistent. He is the focal point in our lineup for opponents. He is ready for that challenge and has been great for us so far.”

As for the team’s mound staff, Monfiletto acknowledges that is a work in process.

“We are still trying to find who the most reliable guys are on a consistent basis,” said Monfiletto. “We have had seen great performances. Kerrick [Shannon] last week was incredible, he threw a no-hitter against Peddie. Charlie Batista against LaSalle was amazing. Jackson Bailey in our first game against Lawrenceville was outstanding. Ryan Greenstein and Mike Chiaravallo were both excellent against Gloucester Catholic. We have seen some good stuff — we just have to continue to put it together in tough games.”

Monfiletto, for his part, likes the mental toughness displayed by his players as they have dealt with the upand-down play this spring.

“The one thing that I will say that I am proud of how they act like men when they lose,” said Monfiletto. “They don’t point fingers; they don’t make excuses. They own it and then move on.”

—Bill Alden

IN CONTACT: Hun School baseball player Tyler Tucker hits the ball in a 2022 game. Last Thursday, Tucker went 1 for 3 with one RBI in a losing cause as Hun fell 23-7 to Bergen Catholic. The Raiders, who moved to 5-4 with the setback, play at the Hill School (Pa.) on April 21, host the Blair Academy on April 22, and Allentown on April 24 and then play at the Lawrenceville School on April 25. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

PUTTING IT TOGETHER: Princeton Day School girls’ lacrosse player Tessa Caputo, left, looks to unload the ball in recent action. Last Friday, junior star Caputo rallied five goals and two assists to help PDS edge Hun 16-14. The Panthers, who topped Somerville 12-8 last Saturday in improving to 3-2, host Allentown on April 20.

(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Softball: Sparked by Sam Jolly, Hun defeated the Pingry School 4-1 last Monday. Freshman Jolly went 2-for-2 with a run and an RBI to help the Raiders improve to 8-0. Hun plays at the Hill School (Pa.) on April 19 before hosting the Blair Academy on April 22 and Lawrenceville School on April 25.

Boys’ Lacrosse : Dean Scalamadre came up big to help Hun defeat Notre Dame 15-4 last Monday. Scalamadre tallied six goals and two assists for the Raiders, now 2-2. Hun hosts the Hill School (Pa.) on April 19 and the Blair Academy in April 22 before playing at the Perkiomen School (Pa.) on April 25.

Girls’ Lacrosse : Abby O’Brien starred in a losing cause as Hun fell 16-14 to Princeton Day School last Friday. O’Brien scored five goals and had two assists as the Raiders moved to 3-2. Hun hosts the Hill School (Pa.) on April 19 and Delaware Valley Regional High on April 22.

Hun Lawrenceville

Baseball : Tim Griegel starred as Lawrenceville defeated Princeton Day School 8-0 last Monday. Griegel went 3 for 3 with two runs and an RBI as the Big Red improved to 3-5. Lawrenceville plays at the Blair Academy on April 19, hosts Poly Prep (N.Y.) on April 20, plays at the Hill School (Pa.) on April 22, and then hosts the Hun School on April 25. Softball : Squandering an 8-1 lead, Lawrenceville fell 11-10 to WW/P-North 11-10 last Thursday. The Big Red, who moved to 0-4 with the loss, play at the Blair Academy on April 19, at Hamilton West on April 21, and at the Hill School (Pa.) on April 22, before hosting the Peddie School on April 24, and then playing at the Hun School on April 25.

Girls’ Lacrosse: Lexie Koch scored five goals, but it wasn’t enough as Lawrenceville fell 11-8 to Penn Charter (Pa.) last Saturday. The Big Red, now 2-2, play at Springside Chestnut Hill (Pa.) on April 19 before hosting the Blair Academy on April 22.

Central Jersey sectional crowns, and two NJSIAA state championships.

news and events section.

Baseball: Managing just one hit, PDS fell 8-0 to Lawrenceville last Monday. The Panthers, now 0-8, play at Montgomery High on April 19 before hosting South Hunterdon on April 20 and Princeton High on April 24.

Softball : Falling behind 5-1 after two innings, PDS lost 13-5 to Rutgers Prep last Friday. The Panthers, who moved to 0-2 with the defeat, play at Peddie on April 19 and at Princeton High on April 20.

PDS Stuart

Boys’ Golf : Brooks Cahill-Sanidas led the way as PHS topped Princeton Day School 155-165 last Monday. Cahill-Sanidas carded a 37 in the nine-hole match as the Tigers improved to 4-1. In upcoming action, PHS hosts WW/P-North on April 20 and Lawrence on April 24 at the Princeton County Club before competing in the Mercer County Tournament on April 25 at the Mercer Oaks West course.

Pennington

Baseball : Led by Caleb Hibbert, Pennington defeated the Hill School (Pa.) 10-4 last Monday. Hibbert went 2-for-4 with four RBIs and pitched a complete game in getting the win on the mound as the Red Hawks improved to 8-0. Pennington plays at Hamilton West on April 22 and then hosts North Hunterdon on April 24.

Girls’ Lacrosse : Ellie Fermo triggered the attack as Pennington defeated Hopewell Valley 12-7 last Friday. Fermo tallied three goals and two assists for the Red Hawks as they improved to 2-2. Pennington plays at Newark Academy on April 19 and then hosts New Hope-Solebury on April 21.

PHS

Softball : Natalie Hester and Delaney Keegan had the only hits for PHS as it lost 13-0 to Notre Dame last Monday. The Tigers, who dropped to 0-6 with the defeat, play at Allentown on April 21 before hosting Trenton High on April 25.

Boys’ Socce r: Ending a storied tenure, longtime PHS head coach Wayne Sutcliffe said Monday that he is stepping down from the program after 26 years at the helm. During Sutcliffe’s time in charge, the Tigers won a slew of championships including 19 Colonial Valley Conference division titles, seven Mercer County Tournaments, seven New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA)

The event honors the late Kate Gorrie ’98 and provides an opportunity to support the Katherine Wright Gorrie ’98 Memorial Scholarship that allows a deserving student to have the opportunity to attend Hun. This scholarship is awarded to a student who “best exemplifies Kate’s qualities – love of family and friends, respect for the environment, joy and radiance of expression and demeanor, integrity, a desire to acquire and impart knowledge, and a commitment to community service.”

Hopewell Valley PTO Holding Bunny Hop 5K

Lacrosse : Emily Ix had a big game in a losing cause as Stuart fell 20-9 to WW/PNorth last Monday. Senior star Ix tallied seven goals and an assist for the Tartans, now 2-4. Stuart plays at Princeton Day School on April 19.

Local Sports

Princeton Post 218 Legion Baseball Holding Evaluations

The Princeton American Legion Post 218 baseball team is holding player evaluations/workouts on April 23 from 1-3 p.m. at Smoyer Field and on April 30 from 1-3 p.m. at Smoyer Park.

The program encourages all interested high school players from Princeton High, Princeton Day School, Hun School, and Notre Dame High or any players who live in the towns of Princeton and Cranbury to attend these two sessions. In addition, college freshman born in 2004 may also be eligible to play.

For more information on the program and to RSVP for the tryouts, contact Jon Durbin at jonwdurbin@ gmail.com.

Hun’s Run for Kate 5K Scheduled for April 23

The Hun School is holding its 25th annual Run for Kate on April 23 at 9:30 a.m. as part of its alumni weekend celebration.

The five-kilometer run/ walk starts and finishes on the Hun School track and features a course that winds through the neighborhood surrounding the school. For more information on the event and to register, log onto hunschool.org and hit the alumni link and go to the

The Hopewell Valley Central High PTO will be holding the inaugural Hopewell Valley Bunny Hop 5K Run/ Walk on April 22, at Washington Crossing State Park.

The event has a checkin time of 8 a.m. and a 9 a.m. race start. In addition to providing the community with a fun way to welcome spring, the Bunny Hop also supports fundraising efforts for the Class of 2024 Post Prom.

For more than 25 years, parent volunteers, in cooperation with the HVCHS PTO, school administrators, and the Hopewell Valley Municipal Alliance, have organized a large-scale event known as Post Prom. This event provides an alcohol- and drugfree alternative for all HoVal students and their guests following the senior prom. Participation awards are being given to the top HVRSD elementary school ($300), the top grade at Timberlane Middle School ($400), and top grade at Hopewell Valley High ($500).

All registrants can affiliate with one of these groups, as appropriate. The top three finishers (male/female) of each age group will be awarded chocolate bunnies provided by David Bradley Chocolatier.

Log onto hvbunnyhop5K. com for more information and to register.

BE GOOD: Princeton High girls’ lacrosse player Phoebe Steiger heads upfield in a 2022 game. Last Monday, Steiger tallied a goal and two assists but it wasn’t enough as PHS fell

Middle of the Night Can’t Find Your Town Topics!

Take a stroll down to our previous office at 4 Mercer Street or come to our new location, 4438 Routh 27 North in Kingston, where you can purchase a copy for 75 cents (3 quarters required) from our coin-operated newspaper boxes, 24 hours a day/7 days a week.

Earth Day Birthday 53

FAST COMPANY: Runners take off at the start of the Princeton Athletic Club’s 6,000-meter crosscountry run last Saturday at the Institute Woods course. Pictured, from left, are Jan Manschot (bib 157), Junyoub Lee (bib 123), and Julian Ost Ost placed first of 68 finishers in a time of 21:04 with Lee taking second at 22:13 and Manschot coming in third at 22:24. Sophia Singletary was the top women’s finisher, coming in eighth in 27:42.

(Photo by Shira Kutin, provided courtesy of Princeton Athletic Club.)

12-8 to Robbinsville. The Tigers, now 3-1, host Hopewell Valley on April 19 and then play at Notre Dame on April 20. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Obituaries

to the Rhokana-Kitwe Copper Mine. In the fall of 1963, the family moved to England, where David worked for Honeywell and the Challoner Company until he was recruited by Kepner Tregoe, a consulting firm based in Princeton. In 1967 he opened the firm’s first office in England and was invited to join its office on Research Road in Skillman. The family arrived at Philadelphia airport on August 17, 1969.

David Hagen

David F. W. Hagen, 91, died peacefully at home on Thursday, April 13, with family members present. He was born on February 16, 1932, in Makhanda (then Grahamstown), Republic of South Africa, and attended Pretoria Boys High School, Pretoria, RSA. He graduated from Rhodes University, Makhanda, in 1953 with a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and History and a teaching diploma. He then emigrated to Lusaka, Zambia (then Northern Rhodesia) and taught in the Gilbert Rennie schools. On April 5, 1955, he married Elisabeth (Liz) Slater, also a Rhodes University graduate.

In August of that year, David and Liz moved south to Harare (then Salisbury), Zimbabwe, where he started work with the Anglo American Corporation of South Africa, a mining company based in Johannesburg. In 1961 David was one of 12 prize winners named by the Chartered Institute of Secretaries in London. Among 2,935 candidates, he won the Institute’s Overseas Prize for the best overseas candidate.

After seven years, during which their three sons were born, David and Liz moved north again, this time to Kitwe, Zambia, where David served as education officer

After two years, David left Kepner Tregoe. He worked as a management consultant for Larry Wilson of Minneapolis and the Forum Corporation of Boston. In 1971, he and Liz bought The Queenstown Shop, a picture framing business at 43 South Main Street, Pennington. They owned the shop for 10 years and earned a reputation for fine work. During that time, David built his own consulting business, specializing in management training for the banking industry. From 1985 to 2007, he ran courses worldwide, as evidenced by his collection of 60 miniature national flags purchased at airports around the world. His favorite venue was Turkey, where he taught annually for 22 years.

David served on the boards of NAMI Mercer NJ, Greater Trenton Community Mental Health, and Woodmont Homeowners Association. His consulting career was ended by a catastrophic fall on the tennis court which destroyed his hearing in one ear and greatly reduced it in the other.

David then qualified with Audrey Grant as a bridge director, ran games at St. Matthew’s Church in Pennington, Windrows, and Princeton Landing, and attracted a number of students. He remained a bridge enthusiast, playing regularly and occasionally substituting as a director in Bill Miller’s sanctioned games at the Princeton Senior Resource Center and the Stone Hill Church.

David ranked in American MENSA’s top two percent.

Worship Service

Sundays at 11am

He was especially proud of his 35 years of sobriety. He was a loving husband and father, and had a charming manner and a wicked wit.

He is survived by his wife Liz; his sons and their wives, George and Terri, Anthony, Stephen and Melanie; his grandchildren Sophie, Brooklyn, Max, Sam, and Noah; his brother Timothy and sister-in-law Pat (Stellenbosch, RSA); his three nephews and their wives, Peter and Christina, Andrew and Hayley, and Daniel and Samantha. They will all miss him very much.

A memorial gathering will be held later in the year. Donations in David’s memory can be sent to the Trenton Rescue Mission or Mercer Street Friends. Condolences can be addressed to Liz Hagen and family at 1101 Sayre Drive, Princeton NJ 08540.

three grandchildren, whom she adored (the feeling was mutual), and this past October achieved the status of great-grandmother, which tickled her to no end.

Toni’s interests were marvelously diverse, and reflected her ceaseless intellectual curiosity. She enjoyed her travels to Europe, soaking up the art in the museums and cathedrals of Rome, Florence, Paris, and London. She was an avid reader; ancient and European history, biographies and early Hollywood among her favorite genres. In her 80s she took adult courses at Princeton University.

Additionally, she was a superb cook, always adding to her repertoire, a needlepoint enthusiast, and looked forward to day trips with friends to New York to attend shows and the opera.

Her daily routine, particularly in her golden years, included knocking off the New York Times crossword puzzle and watching Turner Classic Movies, and perhaps a Western or two.

Toni is survived by her sons John J. Keaney and Paul M. Keaney; daughterin-law Mary Jo Keaney; grandchildren Laura C. Huntley (Aaron), Alex K. Solaas (Shawn), and Sonya M. Keaney; and great-grandson Callahan P. Huntley.

Edwina Keaney

Edwina Marie (Tonelli) Keaney, a longtime Princeton resident, died peacefully March 23 at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center after a brief illness. She was 92.

Born and raised in Ontario, Canada, the daughter of Giuseppe Tonelli and Elda Gabbianelli, “Toni,” as everyone called her, earned a nursing degree in Toronto, and accepted a nursing position at Peter Bent Brigham hospital in Boston in the mid-1950s.

While in Boston, on a blind date, Toni met her future husband, John J. Keaney, who was then studying for a doctorate in Classics at Harvard University. They married in 1957, and in 1960, their newborn daughter Anne in tow (followed shortly thereafter by sons John and Paul), they moved to Princeton, where John accepted a position on the faculty at Princeton University. He was to embark on a distinguished 40-year career in the Classics Department, and Princeton became John and Toni’s cherished home for the duration.

Toni reveled in raising her three children, who lovingly called her “Mum” – as did her children’s friends. Such was her warm and caring nature. Though she was employed for years as a substitute nurse in the Princeton public school system and later as a favorite substitute teacher (students in her classes actually behaved!), there was little doubt the role she enjoyed most was as a loving and supportive mother.

In later years, when her beloved daughter Anne was fighting the debilitating effects of Multiple Sclerosis, Toni’s round-the-clock care for Anne and fierce advocacy on her behalf was a model of motherly love and devotion.

Toni was blessed with

Electric Company where he thrived for 22 years rising to Vice President and General Manager of the Housewares and Audio Business Division, successfully leading a turnaround of that business. With Mary he created lifelong friends among his colleagues at GE in the growing consumer electronics field, as his career took them and their children through four northeast states until settling in Princeton, New Jersey, where they have resided for the past 45 years. Following his time at GE, he joined Lenox, Inc. as President, Chairman, and CEO. In five years, he restructured the company, reestablished the brand, made strategic acquisitions and negotiated the ultimate sale of the company.

In 1985 he joined Avon Products as President and Chief Operating Officer where he remained until deciding to enter the private equity field. As an active participant in several private equity acquisitions of consumer products companies, he spent another decade as a board member, advisor, leader, and mentor to younger executives, a role he relished. During this period, he served as Executive Chairman of the LifeFitness Company.

out in song around a piano, and taking in the remarkable sunset over Cape Cod Bay. The family wishes to extend their sincere gratitude to Carren Oluoch for her compassion and care these last few years.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held for members of the Chamberlin family. Memorial donations may be made to Princeton Medical Center Foundation, 5 Plainsboro Road, Suite 365, Plainsboro, NJ 08536 (princetonhcs.org/princeton-medical-center-foundation/donate-now).

Arrangements are under the direction of MatherHodge Funeral Home, Princeton, NJ.

She is predeceased by her husband John J. Keaney; daughter Anne M. Keaney; and daughter-in-law Asmira Halim.

Arrangements by MatherHodge Funeral Home, Princeton.

John S. Chamberlin

1928-2023

John S. (Jack) Chamberlin, 94, passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, April 12, 2023 with his beloved wife Mary by his side.

Born on July 29, 1928, in Boston, Massachusetts, he was the son of Stephen and Olive (McGrath) Chamberlin and was raised in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He was a graduate of the Boston Latin School, obtained his AB cum laude from Harvard College (1950) and received a Masters in Business Administration from the Harvard School of Business (1953).

As a young boy, Jack acquired a love for the challenges of sales and marketing serving customers at his father’s ice cream stand, Chamberlin’s Ice Cream, in South Boston. It was no surprise then, when following his graduation from HBS, he launched himself into a long and fulfilling career in the consumer products industry where he was recognized as an expert and leader in the development of national and international markets.

His career began at the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and he quickly moved to join the General

Jack served as a director on the boards of public companies and private institutions including, The Travelers Companies, The Scotts Company, Prince Manufacturing Sports Company, Princeton HealthCare System, The Parsons School of Design, The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, Junior Achievement of New York City, and The National Association of Manufacturers. He was a longtime parishioner of Saint Paul’s Parish and a Knight of the Order of Malta. He was a member of The Bedens Brook Club, The Harvard Club, and The Nassau Club.

One of his most rewarding accomplishments was his role as member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Princeton HealthCare System in helping to develop and guide the strategic plan to build an entirely new hospital and health campus, the new University Medical Center at Princeton, a state-ofthe-art hospital that opened in Princeton in 2012, now known as Penn Medicine Princeton.

He is survived by his devoted wife of 68 years, Mary (Leahy), who was everything to him; his children, Mary Katherine Durgin (Bill), Trish Keyes (Ted), Carol McCabe (Patrick), John Chamberlin, Liane French (Tim), and Mark Chamberlin (Deana); 15 grandchildren; two great grandchildren; his brothers Stephen (Rosemary) Chamberlin and Kevin Chamberlin; and several nieces and nephews.

Jack’s passion for his work throughout his life was only surpassed by his love and unwavering commitment to his family and to his faith. He and Mary were happiest when they were surrounded by their loving children and cherished grandchildren at their welcoming home. He also enjoyed the simple pleasures of cheering on the Red Sox, rooting for Harvard, playing pitcher in a spirited game of wiffle ball with the grandkids, belting

Joseph Sferra, 80, of Pennington passed away on April 9, 2023. He was born in Pettoranello del Molise, Italy. At the age of 15, he came to the United States with family and resided in Princeton. For the past 45 years he has lived in Pennington.

Upon arriving in Princeton, he worked for Nelson Glass until he joined his brothers as a barber at Continental Barber Shop in Princeton. His skilled talent and craftsmanship lead him to his career at Princeton University as a glazier and carpenter. He worked at Princeton University for 48 years until his retirement. He was a family man who loved spending time with his children and grandchildren. They were his world as much as he was their world. He was exceptionally talented with all trades. He would always have projects ongoing to which the end results were breathtaking. He was one of a kind in all aspects. He would be the first wanting a family gathering and to raise a glass with family and friends. He always would leave you with his signature line “see you at Christmas.”

Predeceased by his parents Domenic and Angelina (Toto) Sferra; brother and sister-in-law Antonio (Clara) Sferra, brother and sister-inlaw John (Rose) Sferra, and brother-in-law Oreste Sferra; he is survived by his son and daughter-in-law Scott and Meredith Sferra; daughter and son-in-law Jennifer and Michael Kopliner IV; grandchildren Ava, Ryan, and Joshua; brother and sister-in-law Umberto (Ester) Sferra, brother and sister-inlaw Florindo (Patricia) Sferra, sister Assunta Sferra; and many nieces, nephews, and friends.

Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on April 18 at St. Paul’s Church, 216 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ. Burial followed in Princeton Cemetery.

Arrangements are under the direction of Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, Princeton.

Guest Preaching Sunday, April 23, 2023 at 11am is Raj Nadella, Samuel A. Cartledge Associate Professor of New Testament at the Columbia Theological Seminary. Music performed by the Princeton University Chapel Choir with Nicole Aldrich, Director of Chapel Music and of the University Chapel Choir, and with Eric Plutz, University Organist.

Princeton’s First Tradition

Joseph Sferra

Bruce McLain Breckenridge, 96, passed away on Sunday, February 19, 2023, at Pennswood Village in Newtown, Pennsylvania. He was born in Brooklyn, Iowa, on November 7, 1926, as the son of Robert W. Breckenridge and Mildred McLain Breckenridge. He grew up in Ames, Iowa, near Iowa State University, where his father was a member of the engineering faculty. He had a strong love of nature and the outdoors, encouraged by his uncle, the noted ecologist and conservationist Walter J. Breckenridge.

In 1967 he became the first chairman of the Department of Pharmacology at the newly established Rutgers Medical School, now known as the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He served in that position until 1989, and then continued as Professor of Pharmacology and Adjunct Professor of Medicine until his retirement as Emeritus Professor in 1995.

He and his wife Mary Breckenridge lived in Princeton, New Jersey, before moving to Pennswood Village in 2003.

Dr. Breckenridge’s first publication was a brief 1943 report in The Auk, describing how he and three high school friends, with advice from wildlife biology professor Paul Errington, conducted field work to determine the incubation period of the great horned owl. He entered Iowa State University in 1943 and served in the United States Navy during 1945-46. He pursued graduate studies in physiology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and was awarded the PhD degree in 1952. He continued there as an instructor while completing clinical requirements for the MD degree in 1956. During that time, he also conducted research on the biochemical basis of multiple sclerosis. He became a medical intern at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri in 1956. He then joined the Department of Pharmacology, Washington University School of Medicine where he pursued research on carbohydrate metabolism in the brain. Both at Washington University and in later work, he and his collaborators produced a series of notable publications on the mechanisms of hormones, neurotransmitters, and therapeutic agents, with a particular focus on the signaling roles of the neurotransmitter cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP).

He was selected as a Markle Scholar in Academic Medicine for 1959-1964.

During a sabbatical year in 1964-1965, he was a visiting scientist at the Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique in Paris. This year gave him the opportunity to establish ties with many other laboratories in Europe, and it was a formative experience for the family members who accompanied him. Later, in 1984, he was a visitor at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, affiliated with Harvard Medical School in Boston.

At the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Dr. Breckenridge helped to establish the Pharmacology and Toxicology Graduate Program with Rutgers University and to affiliate the medical school with Middlesex General Hospital (now Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital). He served on numerous university and government advisory panels and committees.

He was a member of the Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton, New Jersey, where he served for a time as a deacon.

He was predeceased in 2022 by his wife of 72 years, Mary Alice (Barber) Breckenridge. He was also predeceased by his sisters Harriet Turkington, Esther Blackburn, and Eleanor Gates. A loving and devoted father, he is survived by three daughters and two sons-in-law: Lee Peters Breckenridge and Robert A. Margo; Janet B. and Raymond T. Pierrehumbert; and Ellen Douglas Breckenridge. He is also survived by four grandchildren Anna McLain Pierrehumbert, Nadia Douglas Pierrehumbert, Larissa Douglas Koch Ursprung, and Andrei Santino

Breniman Koch, and by three great-grandchildren

David Barber Speh, Eric Douglas Speh, and Laura Dente Speh.

A private funeral and burial were held at the Princeton Cemetery (Princeton, New Jersey) on February 24, 2023.

Arrangements are under the direction of Mather Hodge Funeral Home.

before moving to Newtown, Pennsylvania in 2003.

She received her undergraduate degree in chemistry in 1947 from Iowa State University, where she met her future husband Bruce Breckenridge, whom she married in 1949. She received a master’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Iowa in 1949. In the 1950s she worked as a research assistant at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, and in the 1960s at Washington University in St. Louis, where she collaborated on several celebrated studies in public health.

health services and pursued influential research in population sciences. She was honored several times for her contributions to the scholarly mission of the medical school. A YMCA Tribute to Women in Industry (TWIN) award in 1994 commended her as “a role model and mentor for women and men in academia.” She retired in 2000 as Professor Emerita of Family Medicine.

Assoc. Rector, 33 Mercer St. Princeton 609-924-2277 • www.trinityprinceton.org

Mary Alice Barber Breckenridge, 97, died peacefully on May 5, 2022, surrounded by her loving family at Pennswood Village in Newtown, Pennsylvania. She was born in Omaha, Nebraska on March 4, 1925, as the daughter of Peter Thaddeus Barber, Jr. and Alice (Douglas) Barber. She grew up in Omaha, where her parents worked together in the family dental supply business.

She and her husband Bruce McLain Breckenridge resided in Rochester, New York; University City, Missouri; and Princeton, New Jersey,

Professor Breckenridge earned a PhD in sociology from Princeton University in 1976, graduating as a member of the fi rst class of women in a new program for mature graduate students. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in biostatistics. Among her mentors was the biostatistician John Tukey, whose methods of exploratory data analysis she applied in her book Age, Time, and Fertility: Applications of Exploratory Data Analysis (1983). Regarded as a pioneering work in population sciences, this book used robust statistical methods to model two centuries of longitudinal fertility data from Sweden.

Professor Breckenridge joined the faculty at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (now part of Rutgers University) in New Brunswick, New Jersey, where she developed several new degree programs and obtained substantial funding from the National Institutes of Health. She conducted innovative studies of community-based

Professor Breckenridge was a longtime member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. She was active in the Princeton Graduate Alumni Association. She was a member of the Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton, New Jersey, where she served for a time as a deacon.

Professor Breckenridge was survived by her husband of 72 years, Bruce M. Breckenridge, who passed away on February 19, 2023. An inspiration to her children and grandchildren, she is survived by her three daughters and two sons-inlaw Lee Peters Breckenridge and Robert A. Margo, Janet B. and Raymond T. Pierrehumbert, and Ellen Douglas Breckenridge; her four grandchildren, Anna McLain Pierrehumbert, Nadia Douglas Pierrehumbert, Larissa Douglas Koch Ursprung, and Andrei Santino Breniman Koch; and her three greatgrandchildren, David Barber Speh, Eric Douglas Speh, and Laura Dente Speh.

A private funeral and burial were held at the Princeton Cemetery (Princeton, New Jersey), on May 10, 2022.

Arrangements are under the direction of Mather Hodge Funeral Home.

Bruce McLain Breckenridge

Mary Alice Barber Breckenridge

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The Limitations of Past Comparables in a Hot Real Estate Market

In a hot real estate market, relying solely on past comparables to make offers may not be accurate. Recently sold properties that are similar enough to serve as accurate comparables may be challenging to find due to the market's fast pace, bidding wars, and quick sales. Additionally, the market conditions in the past may be different from the current conditions, making past comparables less reliable.

To make informed pricing decisions in a hot market, it's essential to work with a knowledgeable real estate agent who has access to the most up to date information on recently sold properties and active listings. Agents can help buyers and sellers navigate the challenges of a hot market by identifying accurate comparables, analyzing data, and making adjustments for any differences between properties.

Flexibility and adaptability are also crucial for buyers and sellers in a hot market. Buyers may need to adjust their expectations and make competitive offers quickly, while sellers may need to adjust their pricing strategies based on the competition. While past comparables are important tools, they may have limitations in a hot market, and working with an experienced agent can help navigate these challenges.

Sales Representative/Princeton Residential Specialist, MBA, ECO Broker Princeton Office 609 921 1900 | 609 577 2989(cell) | info@BeatriceBloom.com | BeatriceBloom.com

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Aunt Molly Road

Hopewell Township, NJ | $7,750,000

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Introducing: Rosedale Road

Princeton, NJ | $2,450,000

Owen ‘Jones’ Toland: 609.731.5953 callawayhenderson.com/NJME2028768

Introducing: Nassau Court

Montgomery Township, NJ | $949,900

Susan McKeon Paterson: 609.468.9017 callawayhenderson.com/NJSO2002212

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Princeton, NJ | $749,000

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Introducing: Oakridge Court Princeton, NJ | $2,975,000 Princeton Office: 609.921.1050 callawayhenderson.com/NJME2028720

Battle Road

Princeton, NJ | $2,850,000

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Princeton, NJ | $1,785,000

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Prentice Lane

Princeton, NJ | $1,350,000 (1.5 acres)

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Pennington Borough, NJ | $775,000

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Hopewell Township, NJ | $520,000

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Hopewell Township, NJ | $342,500

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