August 7, 2024

Culture and Crafts at HEART Festival

TAPPING IN: Tap dancer Omar Edwards is among the performers at the upcoming New Brunswick HEART Festival on Saturday, August 10.

State Theatre New Jersey, New Brunswick Cultural Center, New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC), and I Am D. Muse present the 5th Annual New Brunswick HEART Festival on Saturday, August 10, from 2 to 6 p.m.; hosted by New Jersey Radio Hall of Famer Bert Baron and Sharon Gordon, founder of TSO Productions.

This free, family-friendly festival celebrates the arts and history of New Brunswick and Middlesex County, featuring live music and dance performances; free dance classes for kids; food, craft, and art vendors; arts and crafts for kids; and free face painting, caricatures, balloon animals, and more. The festival will take place in downtown New Brunswick on Monument Square, 2 Livingston Avenue.

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Tickets Now on Sale for Broadway Series

THE QUEEN: “TINA: The Tina Turner Musical” kicks off State Theatre New Jersey’s upcoming season of four Broadway shows in New Brunswick. (Photo by Manuel Harlan)

Tickets are available for State Theatre New Jersey’s 2024-25 season of Broadway shows. The theater is at 15 Livingston Avenue in New Brunswick.

The season begins with TINA: The Tina Turner Musical October 3-5; then continues with Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations, October 25-27. The musical The Addams Family comes to the theater January 24-26, followed by Dear Evan Hansen March 28-30.

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Women Rock Pioneers Perform at Palmer Square

SINGING OUT: Six female vocalists will be backed by Princeton-area musicians when Princeton Public Library presents WomenRock! on August 25 on the Green at Palmer Square.

Six female vocalists will perform hits by women rock pioneers when Princeton Public Library presents WomenRock! on Palmer Square on Sunday, August 25, at 3 p.m.
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Teen Artists Salon and Professional Artists Panel

“THE NEXT GENERATION”: The Center for Contemporary Art in Bedminster invites visitors to a casual salon on August 13 at 5:30 p.m. featuring a group of teen artists whose work is now on exhibit. It will be followed by a panel discussion with professional artists Anne Hallstrom, Shourabh Mukherji, and Oscar Peterson.

On view at The Center for Contemporary Art (“The Center”) in Bedminster this summer is “The Next Generation: An Exhibition of Teen Artists.” The Center invites visitors to a casual salon on August 13 at 5:30 p.m. featuring this group of artists. Meet the artists, hear them discuss their work, and participate in a Q&A about their work in the exhibition.

Following the teen artists salon will be a panel discussion with professional artists Anne Hallstrom, Shourabh Mukherji, and Oscar Peterson who will discuss their process, pathways to the arts, creative inspiration, and how they have navigated, and are navigating, their creative careers.

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Bohren’s Companies, a Unique Family Business, Celebrates 100 Years of Successful Service

ALL IN THE FAMILY: “We are proud to continue the family business started by Edwin Bohren in 1924. Not everyone gets to celebrate a 100th anniversary!” Ted Froehlich, Bohren’s Companies chairman of the board, is shown with his daughters Louise Froehlich, left, former human resources manager, and Denise Hewitt, president.

By Jean Stratton

Calvin Coolidge was president. Women were cutting their hair into short bobs, and hemlines were moving up and up and up! The Charleston had taken over the dance floor; jazz was the music of choice. It was 1924, and the Roaring Twenties were well on the way.

In the midst of all this excitement, Princeton resident Edwin L. Bohren decided to put his Ford Model T truck and small Chambers Street warehouse to further use and establish a moving company.

Automobiles were about to revolutionize American society. People were on the move, ready for new sights and sounds, and relocating became part of the 1920s scene.

Edwin Bohren had the foresight to see what was ahead, and launched a company that has been a mainstay, while adapting along the way to meet the challenges of changing times.

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PU Women’s Lax Star MacDonald Motivated by Snub, Primed to Make Debut for Canada Squad in U20 Worlds

WORLD CLASS: Jami MacDonald prepares to unload the ball in a game this spring for the Princeton University women’s lacrosse team. Rising Tiger junior MacDonald will be playing for Canada in the upcoming U20 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship, which is taking place from August 15-24 in Hong Kong, China. (Photo by Steven Wojtowicz)

By Justin Feil

Jami MacDonald’s fuel to play in the U20 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship was triggered five years ago when she wasn’t invited to try out for Team Canada.

“I just remember having this goal grow after I didn’t make it when I didn’t get invited,” said MacDonald. “I had this goal I’m going to make it next time.”

When it was last contested in 2019, it was still at the U19 level and MacDonald was just a freshman in high school. The Georgetown, Ontario, native hadn’t yet transferred to the Hotchkiss School (Conn.), where she would excel for three years before following her older brother, men’s lax star Mikey, to Princeton University. After two strong seasons with the Tigers, she will have her first chance to represent Canada in the U20 World Championships in Hong Kong, China, from August 15-24.

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PU Olympians Enjoy Gold Rush at Paris Olympics as Rowers, Fencers Produce Historic Performances

GOLDEN TOUCH: Maia Weintraub, right, celebrates with a teammate during the 2022 Ivy League Championships. Last Thursday, rising Tiger junior Weintraub had reason to celebrate as she helped the U.S. women’s foil team win a gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Weintraub, designated as the alternate for the U.S. squad, stepped in the gold medal match and won both of her bouts as the U.S. defeated Italy 45-39. Weintraub is the first Princetonian to win a fencing gold medal. (Photo provided courtesy of Princeton Athletics)

By Bill Alden

Led by some historic performances from rowers and fencers, several former and current Princeton University standout athletes enjoyed a gold rush last week at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Former women’s open rowing star Hannah Scott ’21 started the Tiger gold rush last Wednesday as she helped Great Britain win the A final in the women’s quad sculls.

The British crew clocked a winning time of 6:16.31 over the 2,000-meter course at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, just edging runner-up Netherlands, which came in at 6:16.46.

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PHS Boys’ Soccer Community Expresses Joy, Relief as Former Star Gershkovich Released from Russian Prison

BREAKING NEWS: Former Princeton High boys’ soccer head coach Wayne Sutcliffe does a TV interview last Thursday at Conte’s. Sutcliffe was giving his thoughts on the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, a former PHS soccer standout, from a Russian jail in a prisoner swap.

By Bill Alden

When Wayne Sutcliffe woke up last Thursday, he had no idea that he would be spending the afternoon doing TV interviews.

But early that morning, former Princeton High boys’ soccer head coach Sutcliffe got news he had been waiting to hear for months, learning that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, a former PHS soccer standout, was being released from a Russian jail in a prisoner swap after being confined since March 2023.

“I found out indirectly on a Twitter post from someone who was connected at the New York Times,” said Sutcliffe. “It was absolute sheer joy, excitement, relief. Hours later local media sources, TV from New York and Philly, were reaching out to me and the admin at Princeton High School.”

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Princeton Supply Utilizes Stifling Defense, Hits Key Shots, Sweeping Lob City in Summer Hoops Title Series, Going 12-0

ENCORE PERFORMANCE: Members of the Princeton Supply team celebrate after they topped Lob City 42-26 last Wednesday at the Community Park courts to sweep the best-of-three championship series in the Princeton Recreation Department Men’s Summer Basketball League. It marked the second straight league title for Princeton Supply, who went 12-0 this summer. (Photo provided courtesy of Princeton Recreation Department)

By Bill Alden

After Princeton Supply won ugly with a lackluster 41-39 victory over Lob City in the opener of the best-of-three championship series of the Princeton Recreation Department Men’s Summer Basketball League, Troy Jones and his teammates were determined to produce a sharper performance in game two.

“We knew we didn’t shoot particularly well out here on Monday, it was probably our worst game of the season,” said Jones, explaining the team’s mindset coming into the contest last Wednesday night at the Community Park courts. “We all talked after the game, we knew we played a bad game. It happens but we still won. Coming in today, it was we know how to play basketball. We know how to win so we came with the mindset of forget Monday.” more

With Stentz Celebrating Special Bond with Moorhead, Duo Goes Into Summer Hoops Hall of Fame Together

FAMED DUO: Ben Stentz, left, and Evan Moorhead are all smiles after they were both inducted into the Princeton Recreation Department Men’s Summer Basketball League’s Hall of Fame last Wednesday evening at the Community Park courts. Stentz served as the commissioner of the summer hoops league for 15 years and became the executive director of the Rec Department. Moorhead succeeded him in both roles and still holds those positions. (Photo provided courtesy of Princeton Recreation Department)

By Bill Alden

It was an idea hatched by Ben Stentz and Evan Moorhead in 2008 over some pizza and beer at Conte’s.

Brainstorming over ways to best celebrate the 20th season of the Princeton Recreation Department Men’s Summer Basketball League, Stentz suggested creating a league Hall of Fame. more

102-Year-Old Brandywine Resident Shares Thoughts on Late Summer Days

To the Editor:

Prayer in August

Let me know Summer before it is gone.
Let me share the high noon loveliness
Of wildflowers in country lanes
Where hedgerows are alive with the hum
Of bumble bees:
Study the deep green of summer trees
Reflected in shaded streams
Listen for the plaintive call
Of the mourning dove
Feel quiet contentment of cows
Grazing in peaceful fields
On drowsy afternoons.
Before it is too late
Let me walk barefoot in lush grass,
Breathe deeply the ripe sweetness of summer…
Grow dizzy from the breath
Of a hundred roses.

Kathleen M. Duhaime
Raymond Road

Noting That a Residential Fire Safety Program Should Be Implemented in Town

To the Editor:

I was both surprised and disappointed to learn that Princeton has no residential fire safety support services available to the community.

In a town that spends hundreds of thousands on consultants and unnecessary street renovations, to not have any community-wide fire safety services in place is embarrassing and unacceptable.

At the very least I’m certain the community would benefit from a periodic smoke/carbon monoxide detector inspection and replacement program. I was informed that such a program did exist at one time but was simply abandoned when the person doing the inspections retired. more

Obituaries 8/7/2024

Robert K. Cromwell

Robert K. “Bob” Cromwell passed away on July 31, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Florida, at the age of 72.

Born and raised in Princeton, New Jersey, Bob served 22 honorable years with the FBI. Prior to his FBI career, he was a Cryptology Technician in the U.S. Navy, a New Jersey Police Officer, and a Special Agent with the U.S. Naval Investigative Services. His book Fugitive Man tells his story.

Bob was a champion for justice, and proudly served on the board of the Florida Innocence Project, helping innocent prisoners in Florida obtain their freedom and rebuild their lives.

He met his beloved wife of 50 years, Rosa Lee (Evans), when he was stationed in Washington State. They married in 1974, and raised three sons who made them proud beyond measure. He taught them so much: everything about the Beatles; the value of a great sense of humor; and the importance of family.

Bob was predeceased by his parents, Ken and Erna Bovie Cromwell, his brother David, and his daughter-in-law, Emerald Cromwell. He is survived by his beloved wife, Rosa, and his three sons, Michael, Daniel (Kim), and Johnny (Elana), all of St. Petersburg. He is also survived by one sister, Kim Cromwell (Kath), and sister-in-law, Carol Cromwell.

He delighted in his grandchildren: Spiro, Sofia, Joe, Izzy, and Leah Cromwell.

How we will all miss our Bob.

Burial will be at Bay Pines National Cemetery in St. Petersburg, Florida. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any donations be made to the Florida Innocence Project or to the Suncoast Hospice Foundation.

August 1, 2024

Evan Gershkovich Released from Russian Prison

As part of a multi-prisoner swap deal, Princeton High School graduate and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been released from prison in Moscow, along with former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who has also been freed. According to ABC News, the swap has allowed both detained citizens to return home.

Gershkovich, 32, was arrested by Russian authorities while on assignment in March 2023, and charged with espionage. A month ago, he was found guilty and sentenced to 16 years in a high-security penal colony. Both he and Whelan, who was arrested in 2018 and also accused of espionage, denied the charges. Whelan has served five years in prison.

Gershkovich graduated from Princeton High School in 2010 and was captain of its soccer team. He graduated from Bowdoin College, where he also played soccer, in 2014.

Princeton Public Schools Acting Superintendent Kathie Foster said in a statement, “We are relieved and delighted by the news that Evan Gershkovich has been released from a Russian prison as part of a prisoner exchange with the United States and other countries. Our thoughts are with his family as they will soon be reunited with him after 15 months of wrongful detention. I know I speak for all Evan’s former teachers, his classmates, and the entire Princeton Public Schools community when I share our joy of his return home to the United States and his family.”

July 31, 2024

Show Time

Teens show their goats last Saturday at the 105th Annual Mercer County 4-H Fair at Howell Living History Farm in Hopewell Township. Attendees share what they liked best about the fair in this week’s Town Talk on page 6. (Photo by Sarah Teo)

Annual Joint Effort Safe Streets Program Kicks Off This Friday

by Wendy Greenberg

It’s a celebration of, and a reflection on, where the Witherspoon-Jackson community has been, and where it is going. And it’s an annual coming together of the community. The Witherspoon-Jackson Joint Effort Princeton Safe Streets Summer Program kicks off this Friday, August 2, acknowledging the legacy of Princeton resident Paul Robeson, and heralding many more local heroes.

Each day in the program, which runs from Friday, August 2 through Sunday, August 11, is named for someone important to the Witherspoon-Jackson community, and also important to Princeton. “Each one is a ‘hero and sheroe’ to the community,” said John Bailey, Joint Effort Community Sports Program and Joint Effort Princeton Witherspoon-Jackson Community Safe Streets Summer Program founder and director.

“The kickoff brings elected officials and concerned citizens together to recognize and acknowledge the contributions of African Americans to the Princeton Community,” said Bailey, who grew up in Princeton and is now a consultant and community organizer in Denver, Colo., but gives back to Princeton in many ways.

The festive and informational event has been going on for almost 40 years. In addition to this year’s focus on Princeton activist Paul Robeson, the future of Princeton, and community bonding through panels, sports, and honorees are all on the schedule.  more

Funding From NJEDA Allows Share My Meals to Expand Its Reach

By Anne Levin

Share My Meals, the Princeton-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing food insecurity and the environmental impact of food waste, has been awarded a $125,000 sponsorship from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) to establish a statewide Meal Recovery Coalition (MRC).

The funding will allow the organization, which recovers surplus nutritious, prepared meals from cafeterias and food services and delivers them to those in need, to expand its reach statewide. According to sharemymeals.org, 1.2 million people in New Jersey are food insecure. And in the food service sector alone, an estimated five million prepared meals are being wasted each year in the Garden State.

The sponsorship from the NJEDA “will make a substantial difference in fighting food insecurity and food waste in the local community,” said Share My Meals CEO Helene Lanctuit, in a press release. “The support exemplifies Gov. Murphy’s commitment to creating a stronger, fairer, New Jersey, where every individual has access to nutritious food and no meal goes to waste. We look forward to announcing the members of the MRC in the fall.” more

IAS Announces Launch of New Center for Collaborative Research

By Anne Levin

A new initiative designed to foster collaborative, interdisciplinary projects that are beyond the reach of single scholars has been announced by the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS). The Jonathan M. Nelson Center for Collaborative Research will launch its first call for proposals this fall.

The goal is to support “team-based, theme-based, inter-institutional, and interdisciplinary projects led by Institute scholars in collaboration with researchers across and beyond academia,” reads a release from the IAS. “The Nelson Center will provide seed funding to develop early-stage research ideas, large-scale funding for multi-year research agendas, and the space, infrastructure, and expertise for collaborative projects with partners across the globe.”

Like so many sweeping concepts credited to the IAS — Albert Einstein’s idea of quantum entanglement among them — the plan for the center began germinating over the Institute’s daily ritual of faculty afternoon tea, said IAS Director and Leon Levy Professor David Nirenberg.  more

Hammerstein House Summer Tours Put Musical Theater History on Stage

HAMMERSTEIN HOME: Tours continue through August at Highland Farm in Doylestown, Pa., the former residence of renowned lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II where many of his popular musicals were written. (Photo courtesy of Oscar Hammerstein Museum and Theatre Education Center)

By Wendy Greenberg

A year ago, on August 1, 2023, the Oscar Hammerstein Museum and Theatre Education Center (OHMTEC) announced a gift that would allow the nonprofit to secure Highland Farm, the Bucks County, Pa., residence of renowned lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II.

The long-awaited purchase of Highland Farm, Hammerstein’s home for 20 years, where beloved musicals like Oklahoma! and The Sound of Music were written, was completed in December 2023, and now the nonprofit organization has invited the public to visit the rooms where those and other musicals were written.  more

Local Events Commemorate Anniversary of Hiroshima, Nagasaki Atomic Bombings

By Wendy Greenberg

Two local events, one in person and the other online, will commemorate the atomic bombings of Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945 and Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945. Both are estimated to have killed hundreds of thousands of people both from exposure to the blasts and from long-term effects of radiation.

One event is the 45th annual commemoration by the Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA) on Monday, August 5 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Hinds Plaza. The other, sponsored by Princeton Public Library (PPL) and the Historical Society of Princeton (HSP), is an online informational event on the legacy of Manhattan Project director J. Robert Oppenheimer, to be presented on August 7 at 7 p.m. via Zoom.  more

Two Brothers Write, Perform, and Produce Their Own Songs

BAND OF BROTHERS: Roger Palmer, left, and his younger sibling James Palmer have been attracting attention in the local music world with their band, XROADRUNNER. Their roots in Princeton and Montgomery go back three generations.

By Anne Levin

Roger and James Palmer have been making music together since their early childhood. Recently, the Princeton natives — Roger, a recent graduate of Rutgers University who teaches at Princeton Child Development Institute; and James, a student at Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Massachusetts — have taken their talents to the next level with the release on Spotify of two of their songs.

Their band, XROADRUNNER, has developed a following in New Brunswick. The siblings can boast multiple musical talents. Both play guitar and drums. James is a classically trained cellist. more

Reading J.D. Vance On the Rebound

By Stuart Mitchner

I started reading J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis (Harper 2016) on the rebound from a problem with PayPal, the co-creation of Vance’s venture-capitalist savior Peter Thiel. The 2018 paperback comes with 10 pages of blurbs, including one from Thiel noting that Vance “writes powerfully about the real people who are kept out of sight by academic abstractions.” Quoted on the same page, Bill Gates says the book’s “real magic” is “in the story itself and Vance’s bravery in telling it.”

Friends who read Elegy when Vance was running for the Senate trashed it, calling it “phony.” I read it straight through in one day, absorbed in the story and the characters until the “real people” Thiel refers to were displaced by language like the subtitle’s “Culture in Crisis.” Although I wasn’t looking for “gotcha” moments as I read, I noticed passages that people on the Far Right would hate, and Hillbilly Elegy may yet land on some banned lists in Texas and Florida, given the campaign to rescue red state libraries from “woke” or suspect material. I’m also pretty sure that Mamaw, Vance’s gun-toting grandmother, a Democrat who liked Bill Clinton and The Sopranos, would have told J.D. to stay the hell away from venture capitalists, the Republican Party, and Donald Trump. All of Vance’s retracted defamations of Trump (“Hitler,” “idiot,” “poison”) could have been shouted by Mamaw from beyond the grave, except she’d have loaded her spectral rifle with f-words.  more

A Slave Ship Appears in Front of the Statue of Liberty in “Emergency”; Princeton Summer Theater Performs a Compelling, Versatile One-Man Show

“EMERGENCY”: Performances are underway for Princeton Summer Theater’s production of “Emergency.” Written by Daniel Beaty and directed by PST Artistic Director Layla J. Williams, the one-man show runs through August 3 at Princeton University’s Hamilton Murray Theater. Above: Destine Harrison-Williams portrays a variety of characters, including a reporter and a poet, who react to the sudden appearance of a slave ship in front of modern-day Liberty Island. (Photo by Layla J. Williams)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

Emergency is a one-man show that imagines a slave ship appearing in front of the Statue of Liberty — in the present day.

Written by Daniel Beaty, the play uses this provocative concept to probe numerous issues, particularly ways in which our culture, especially the media, reacts to significant and devastating events. The monologue is an unsparingly candid, yet often wryly humorous, meditation — from multiple viewpoints — on America’s history of racial injustice, from slavery to police brutality.

Beaty is an award-winning actor, singer, motivational speaker, and playwright whose works include Through the Night; Mr. Joy; and The Tallest Tree in the Forest (a play that examines Paul Robeson). He is the founder of I DREAM, an initiative that uses storytelling to help individuals and communities heal trauma. The biography on Beaty’s website describes him as a “social entrepreneur who lives at the intersection of art, spirit, and social change.” more

“Our House” Showcases Music of a Prolific Era

FAMILY AND FRIENDS: Sons of David Crosby and Stephen Stills and others from the days of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young will perform at the State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick on August 16.

State Theatre New Jersey presents “Our House: The Music of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY)” on Friday, August 16 at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $29-$59.

The concert features family members of the famed musicians, performing the CSNY repertoire. Featured are James Raymond (son of David Crosby), Chris Stills (son of Stephen Stills), Steve Postell (guitarist and musical director with David Crosby and The Immediate Family), Jeff Pevar (lead guitarist with David Crosby, Graham Nash, CSN, Phil Lesh), Steve DiStanislao (drums with David Crosby, David Gilmour), Michelle Wills (keyboardist with David Crosby), and Elijah Thomson (bass with Father John Misty).  more

New Leaders Announced By Westrick Music Academy

François Suhr

Westrick Music Academy (WMA) has announced the appointment of Tyler Weakland and François Suhr as the new co-music directors of the Princeton Boychoir (PBC), effective immediately. This leadership model aims to enhance the educational experience and growth opportunities for all members of the Boychoir.

The transition follows the recent departure of Adam Good, who has served as the music director of PBC. “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at WMA working with the talented singers in the Treble Choir and the Young Men’s Ensemble,” he said. “Their dedication and passion have been inspiring, and I will cherish the memories we made this year.”

Suhr and Weakland bring nearly 15 years of combined service to the organization. Suhr will conduct the newly structured Treble Choir, while Weakland will lead the Young Men’s Ensemble.  more