Three Event Day

I remember being in my twenties and doing so much on a weekend I only shared a portion of my activities with my much older co-workers. Looking back, I realize they were in their forties, or maybe fifties, but when you are 22, they were much closer to my parents' ages. Their children were grown. They had grown up houses (as opposed to our row home). Grown up responsibilities.

They were younger than I am now.

Even the curated version of how I spent my weekend gave the impression I was much busier than they seemed to feel possible. 

In some ways I slowed down to only a couple of activities on a weekend. More than that and I do need time to recharge -- physically and mentally. I don't want to be that busy. I want time to sit down and process life. 

Today is one of those recharging days.

A couple of weeks ago I had three vastly different events to go to. One needed a complete wardrobe change to transform into a different version of me.

The first was a DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) meeting. Since learning we have a DAR relative (Noah Wiswell) who valiantly walked 28 miles from Newtown, MA to the Battle of Lexington at the age of 66 to fight in the war along his sons I've been curious about joining. BTW, adding to the cool factor of Captain Wiswell is that his birthday was the day before mine (270 years earlier).

When my friend Stacy said she was
presenting her research about Lady Sterling a the next DAR meeting in Princeton, I decided to check it out. Her speech was wonderful, and I would love to hear her again. But, sitting in Nassau Hall with minorities quietly white serving us tiny portions of a goat cheese salad or chicken sandwich while wearing white gloves made me cringe. I wore a dress, stockings, pearls, and high heels to dress the part. I didn't realize they had their own parking lot (a rarity in Princeton) so I walked fifteen minutes in the get up. I even had one person cede the sidewalk to me, which gives you a sense of how out of time I looked.

I politely declined the invitation to join.

I dashed home and changed into my usual attire of shorts and tee-shirt and drove to the Lawrenceville School for a symposium about the history of Lewisville Road. The audience was perhaps half white and half black, with a few other minorities represented. I felt at home listening to inspirational messages encouraging us to keep their history alive.

As I type this I see the irony in that the mission of the DAR is to keep the history alive. They are trying to encourage younger women, and women of other ethnicities to join, but they will always be elitist -- must be a woman, and must trace your family tree to someone who fought in the war. For years, we thought we only had people who lived here then, which is already divisive.

The third event required another change. This time because the forecast was calling for cooler temperatures. Don and I went to Burlington County's Arts After Dark event -- a one-night festival with storytelling, art, artisans, and music. I wish it was longer, though I respect it is a lot to organize. This was my second year.

Don and I hung out with Ashley's art teacher, Brittany, and her husband. Then Ashley and Anna joined us, which was a treat.

 

There was no time to cook dinner in the middle of all that, so we ate out at the Flying Pig Tavern in Bordentown - the original location which got its name when they told their friends they would transform their food truck to a restaurant "when pigs fly." They are about to open their fourth location. All are run by family and close friends of the owners. (No advertising dollars were received for that plug, but they would be welcomed.) Had our favorite server, Melanie, whose daughter is about Ashley's age, though they did not go to school together but have friends in common. Small world!

Perfect way to end a busy day.  

Film Tour of Princeton University

Alliance Français of Princeton hosted a tour of where films were created on campus. As we stood in front of buildings, Yassine, a student who organizes the annual French Film Festival carried around his iPad to shows us images of how the places looked in the movies. 

Some I recognized, such as the 2001 "A Beautiful Mind" and "Oppenheimer," others I did not, including the 1928 film "Varsity" by Yale student Frank Tuttle, but only one really surprised me: "Terminator 2."

The weather was perfect. The calendar says fall, but the temperatures are still summer.

In front of Nassau Hall we learned that "Varsity," a movie by Paramount starring Buddy Rogers, was asked by the University to be removed because it showed *gasp* scenes of students drinking. Mind you, this was the era of prohibition.

If you want to film at the university, you need to get permission.

We headed to Blair Hall, part of the earliest campus expansion. Up until the 1970s it is where the Dinky train used to end. The Dinky station has since been moved twice. It was a famous landmark depicted in such films as the 1979 film "Last Embrace," a spy movie with the protagonist visiting Princeton University to find a professor who could translate Hebrew. "Admission," the 2013 film starring Tina Fey and Paul Rudd was also filmed here. Today students and some faculty live in Blair Hall.

"A Beautiful Mind" was filmed outside of Laughlin Hall and inside Rockefeller College. Yassine remembers watching some of the filming.  

We stopped in front of dumpsters outside the U Store. This was an example of when "Runner Runner," a movie starring Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake that was filmed on the streets of Princeton, thus only needing the town's permission, and not that of "the gown."

Also at Rockefeller College, the 1951 Cary Grant film "People Will Talk" was filmed. It is about a female student who is pregnant and the college professor who helps her. Ironically, women were not admitted to Princeton until 1969, so I suppose the trustees did not find this worthy of censorship like they did in the 1920s. 

"Transformers 2" and "Oppenheimer" were both filmed at East Pyne Hall. In real life it is the building where foreign languages are taught. We paused here for a group photo.

Every student has to write a senior thesis before they can graduate. They are housed in Firestone Library. Future students can see them. The most requested ones are by actors Dean Cain, Brooke Shields, and David Duchovny. 

Fort Mifflin Archaeology

A couple of friends shared with me that Eternal Soldier was hosting archaeology on Fridays and Saturdays in October at Fort Mifflin. I really appreciate the information!

Erring on the side of caution, I signed up for only one session. Unlike my experiences at Newlin Grist Mill, these sessions were from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. That's a long day, especially factoring in an hour drive in each direction. 

What if I don't like the people? What if the work is too hard? 

Last week I drove past the site on my way home from West Chester, PA. Fort Mifflin is located directly next to the Philadelphia Airport.

What if it is too loud? 

Dan, my archaeology buddy, signed up for some of the days. We were able to dig together, which eased my mind about what if they don't like me? Dan has worked with Max, the leader on this project, and always has nice things to say about her. Dan has nice things to say about a lot of people.

I arrived at 8:30 am. Some came after me. After orientation explaining the history of Fort Mifflin from its early days as a Revolutionary War site through to its involvement in the Civil War, World War I, and World War II, followed by what we can expect to find and the jobs needed, we were set free to dig!

Our first job was to bail the water out of the test unit that was started last week. I was so glad I did not sign up for week 1 because that is when they have to pull off the top layer of grass and mark out the site. Tedious work that yields no artifacts. Week two should be more exciting.

After bailing water, Dan and I took the drier end of the test unit and started to dig. Pretty quickly he found a bricked off spot. A feature. A feature is a subsection of a test unit. It is handled separately. It could be the remnants of posts that used to be a fence. Rarely are they as defined as the box of bricks Dan discovered. One brick had the marking: WARCO XX, another said 18x12. We got excited when it said 18, hoping it would be followed by a year, but alas no, it was just the size. This area will be studied closer to figure out what it is.

Our test units are 2 meters by 2 meters. Every place uses different measurements. At one point I was helping Chelsea measure how far down we were before we could continue digging deeper. They measure in metric. Keith at Newlin Grist Mill prefers engineering method of ten units per foot. As with many things in life, there is no wrong answer, but you have to be consistent. 

Each unit was assigned a different color bucket to help the volunteers keep track of what they were digging and where to put the artifacts. It mostly helped, but there were times it added to the confusion, especially with regards to the feature since that then needed a separate color bucket.

Within two scrapings of the trowel I found a bullet casing. That generated a bunch of excitement, until they verified it was used as part of WWII reenactment exercises. If it was live ammunition we would have to shut down the project until someone from Fort Mifflin could study the situation. Similar to when human remains are found.

The day was beautiful. A little warm for October (in the low 80s, and sunny). As we dug on the dry side, the other side of the test unit started to fill in with water again. Yes, the Delaware River is tidal and the tide was rolling in. This will make for challenging digger. There was another unit that was completely in the shade, Dan and I have dibs on that for next time, as returning volunteers we know where the better spot is.

I explained to Chelsea I know just enough to be dangerous. I'm not afraid of digging, or getting dirty, or any of the jobs that are needed to be done, but I don't know everything. By the afternoon Max was teaching me the right way to trowel and insisting I recognize the difference in soil changes (eventually I just smiled and nodded, it all looks like dirt to me). 

We broke for lunch for an hour at 1 pm. It was hard returning to digging at 2. I know I slowed down. A lot. I noticed other volunteers slipping away. By 3 pm I was ready to pack it in for the day. The schedule said we were supposed to keep going until 3:45. Chelsea recognized the need to keep volunteers happy so we come back. I started packing things up, but got overzealous and had to return shovels because a couple were still needed. That sort of thing.

It was a fun day. I'm already planning a return later this month.

I gained an appreciation for our weekly digs at NGM. We are never in a rush, and we have the flexibility to change our minds. The project at Fort Mifflin has strict guidelines. Even though the brick says 18x12 and we can only see 12x12 of it, they won't dig another text pit next to it to see how it continues. Maybe in a future year, but not this one. The project has to wrap up by the end of the month. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and they won't lose time to either the elements, or to finding live ammunition.

<<--bottle found at Newlin Grist Mill last week. 

October Kindness Challenge

Last Saturday I said to Don, "I did a good deed today." He replied, "I'm not surprised, that sounds like you. What did you do, did you help a little old lady cross the street?"

After chuckling at the little old lady comment, I told him what I did. It felt good to be thought of as someone who helps others. Lately politics has had me down and I don't feel as if I have been adding positively to the world. I'm still upset with myself for hurting a long-time friend's feelings by stating publicly I'm against all the current President stands for, and don't think very highly of people who voted for him. While I wrote that on Facebook, and I stand behind my words, I did not mean to hurt her. Then again she hurt me by ignoring the times I reached out to her in the past year. 

Lots of hurt to go around.

With the new month, I want to challenge myself to do something kind every day.

Jane Goodall, who passed away yesterday, is famous for saying "You cannot go through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to do."

I want to make a difference for good.

Saturday's good deed was stopping to let someone use my car to jump start theirs. They had been sitting there for a while with the jumper cables at the ready, but no one stopped. I saw him when I was walking towards my car. I told myself if he was still there when I had my car, I would stop. So I did. Wearing high heels and pearls, I was quite a sight as I tried to figure out how to open my hood. It took only a few moments, and he was able to go on his way.

A half an hour later I helped a little old lady cross the street. Well, across the campus to the event, and she wasn't that old.

The next day I returned a library book to the elementary school after it was left in my Little Free Library.

Wednesday, October 1: Volunteered at the English School

Thursday, October 2: Edited a friend's book

Friday, October 3: Told a neighbor I don't know I admire how well he was able to grow new grass 

Saturday, October 4: Went to see a friend perform

Sunday, October 5: Notarized a document

Monday, October 6: Checked in with a friend receiving treatments

Tuesday, October 7: Donated socks to Socktober at the library

I'll try to remember to keep updating this. The point is, small things add up to big ones. It is actually hard to remember what I did on each day. Some days I have more than one action that could be categorized as a kindness, other days I can't think of one. 

If you are inspired by reading this, share your good deeds.

Lewisville Road Symposium

Back in March the township gathered to commemorate the installation of an historic marker highlighting the rich history of the Lewisville Road community. Politicians and historians made speeches. A promise was made to gather again in the fall to learn more about the rich history of this nearly forgotten neighborhood.

At the back entrance of the exclusive Lawrenceville School once stood the first Black neighborhood in Lawrenceville. Some of the people living there worked at the prep school. But that is only a small part of their history.

The area was formed by former enslaved families and their descendants in the 1840s -- about two decades before the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation was law. Lewis W.R. Phillips freed his slaves and joined the abolition movement in the 1820s. Two decades later he started selling parcels of his land to Blacks. There is a great write up about him on the Lawrence Hopewell Trail website, the 20-mile trail passes through what is left of this neighborhood.

On September 26 the township gathered at the Lawrenceville School to learn more about this area. The symposium included the Lawrence High School gospel choir, speeches by area politicians, but most importantly members of this community and their descendants. They reminisced about a gentler time in a past that is not that long ago. When everyone was in and out of each other's homes. When race was forgotten. When racism was hidden from the youngsters. The Lawrence Historical Society is starting an oral history project to capture these stories. "When old person dies, it is like when a library burns down because they preserved the memories of the community."  

Mayor Patricia Hendricks Farmer used township historian Brooke Hunter's description of the neighborhood as "small in size, but rich in history."

Rev. Dr. Charles Franklin Boyer of the Greater Mount Zion AME Church in Trenton gave the keynote speech. He let it slip that he had to leave early because he was due in Washington, DC to pray with the Black caucus event.

The community was formed in the 1840s. By the 1890s there were a dozen homes plus the AME church. Members owned their homes -- which was rare in the Jim Crow era. They continued to own their homes for generations.

Dr. Boyer's church was formed in 1797 as the first Black church in Trenton. They met the needs of their community by having a credit union, a preschool, and were active in the national civil rights movement. The church fit both the spiritual and social needs for their community. "These stones still speak."

"The present challenges of history and humanity are under threat." There is a "temptation to fall into despair or debate. Our ancestors created mutual aid and made a way out of no way. We will build again, remember publicly." 

I was so inspired listening to him. I hope his speech was recorded. He talked about his congregation's history of creating Black infrastructure at a time when they could not participate in what was available to whites, such as the maternal health project. They "organized policy from the pulpit to the people. When faith stays together there is a racial impact."

"Memory is muscle -- use it or lose it. Teach Lewisville Road history" to preserve its legacy. "Take courage. Be Courageous. Courage is contagious." "Record stories. Engage. Protect what we build. We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses."

Our "ancients are calling us forward. Build again. Organize again. Hope again."

He dashed out to Washington, and left the room to a standing ovation. It was hard not to have hope in that moment.

Then the panel gathered in their comfy seats. Mr. Chester, one of the last people
still living in the neighborhood, lives in the house his grandfather bought in 1925. Where eight children and grandchildren were raised.

Glen Nevius, also of Lewisville Road, said "it didn't matter your color, you are family." His great grandson briefly joined him on stage -- the seventh generation represented. 

Jade Thomas great up on Lewisville Road, but moved away. She remembers just how many children lived near each other. Her mother was the third generation to live there, she was the fourth. Within five houses there were 15 children, and another five a block away. They played together.

Fred LeCompte built his house. He had walnut and other trees. Many spoke about how self-sufficient they were. Families grew tomatoes, berries, apple trees, etc. They called their food, storing it for the winter.

Jack Maple (?) was well-known as a local policemen. When youngsters got into trouble, he brought them home to their parents. He respected the members of the community. Mr. Chester became a police officer and followed that model.

Growing up there were dirt roads, cesspools, no water. It was a tight association. "The best life. Abundance of love. I'm proud to be here." added Mr. Chester.

They had one non-African American member, Mrs. Huber, she was a part of the community.

Lessons learned from growing up in the community:

• Family land
• Faith
• Resilience (recover from trauma)
• Strong work ethic
• Justice - equality - civil rights

There was no school bus provided to their neighborhood, so they cut through the prep school. 

"We had creativity. We were rarely bored. We shared food. We didn't have much. We made stuff out of what was available (cardboard for bases, a branch for a bat). We were rich in abundance of life." Students moderating the symposium couldn't imagine a life before cell phones.

The original church is gone. Left behind are the brick foundation Glen discovered once as a child. After Mary "Sis" Ferguson called him out for digging up the bricks, "I hastily put it back." That was the first time he knew a church had stood in that location. Pam, one of the other panelists, said her uncle was baptized there, and he and her aunt were married in that church. None of the panelists were old enough to see Mount Pisgah AME (African Methodist Episcopal) church.

The church community then moved to 61 Phillips in a building that is now a home. I keep meaning to walk over to it to see the former one room church. Phillips is located on the other side of the Lawrenceville School.

"The ground speaks, and you listen. Always instilled faith, which prepared you for tough times. I know I'd be okay when tough times came," added Pam. After learning one of the houses was part of the underground railroad she was too afraid to play hide and seek in that basement. "They paved the way. I always go back to faith. I am who I am because of inspirations of common faith and freedom to be who I want to be and to explore that."

Mr. Chester is now a security guard at the the high school. "Don't forget where you came from. Reach back. Always have resilience. Have a common cause higher than I. Always strive to do better. Make a difference in this life." 

Inspirational!

"We just want equality and justice for all."

The event closed with the gospel choir performing and two more speakers. Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson implored us "to continue to share their stories." Seven generations since the 1840s. "They wanted a permanent place for their families. They preserved it. They didn't lose it. Say their names. ... Keep Black history alive."

Neel Desai, the assistant superintendent for curriculum at Lawrence Township Public Schools and Bernandette Teeley, the dean of faculty at the Lawrenceville School closed us out. 

Desai announced the Lewisville history has been added to the LTPS curriculum to show students how this neighborhood connects the Civil Rights movement to the local community. They want to affirm that their history is not just a footnote, but that it matters. "You matter. Your community helped shape truth and completeness." To give them a deeper identities. "They are models of resilience, of agency, and pride. They are part of school and programs and something larger. Keep their histories alive. Carry their stories in your hearts."

I left feeling anything and everything is possible. 

Walking through Mill Hill

Mill Hill is perhaps the most charming section of Trenton. Nestled between downtown, the Assunpink Creek, and Route 1 it is close-knit neighborhood middleclass that has survived seemingly mostly unchanged for over 150 years. The two and three story rowhomes that were built between 1850 and 1895 are still standing today.

Last week I went on Trenton Walk's 55th tour, my fourth. They have surpassed Key West in their tiny weekly sessions and are now moving figuratively north towards Maine. Tim represented the group. Jean, a long-time Mill Hill resident, was our expert guide. 

Mill Hill as a region dates back to Mahlon Stacy's 1679 mill. The property is built on what counts as a hill in Central Jersey terms, i.e., flat according to just about everyone else. The site's claim to fame was it was the site of the January 2, 1777 Second Battle of Trenton in the Revolutionary War. General George Washington stood up on the high ground, giving him an advantage in the battle.

The bridge that stood there in 1777 was replaced in 1888. Today much of it is under the road, but it is still there. A pond stood in hi this area to support the mill. By 1850 the pond was filled in and what we think of as the footprint for Mill Hill was formed. 

We walked through the park to the Montgomery Street Bridge and the statue of George Washington that we studied on an earlier walk. Since this walk, Ashley said there is an interpretive sign is in front of the statue sharing the stories we heard on the tour. The statue is 14 feet tall, it weighs ten tons and is built from a single block of Italian marble. It was erected for the Chicago World Expo, afterwards it was sold for $10,000. The person died before they could finish the payment. It was put up for auction. The city of Trenton bought it for a mere $300. Five minutes after the gavel came down and SOLD was declared, a representative from Washington and Lee College arrived willing to offer up to $1,000, but he was too late. The train company offered to deliver it for free. For years it stood in Trenton's Cadwalder Park before it was moved to Mill Hill. It had fallen into disrepair and was covered in graffiti and mostly forgotten. 

Behind the statue is the Mill Hill Playhouse, where Ashley works. It is an 1873 Gothic Revival church. In 1902 it was taken over by the Evangelical Lutherans. In 1977 the city of Trenton took it over and secured the funds to repair it. It was featured in the 1981 Eye on Trenton Festival. It is the only theater in Trenton.

Next to the playhouse is the Alexander Douglass House. Now in its third location, it dates back to the Revolutionary War era and is on the national historic registry. The Douglass House used to be a Methodist church. It was called the "house of decision" since Washington met here following the Second Battle of Trenton to decide what to do next.

Mill Hill Park was built in the 1970s. In 1974 Architects Housing was built as a 501c3 apartments, set up by AIA-NJ as low income/senior housing. It opened in 1979. Jean pointed out, the 1970s were a great time for federal funding.

Jean lives in one of a half-dozen wooden houses in Mill Hill. She took us in her her alleyway to her backyard, which overlooks the creek. It is an oasis for hummingbirds and other wildlife. Her two cats stared at us from her upper level screened in porch. Standing on her deck it is easy to forget the city is not far away.

Most of the rest of her neighborhood are brick homes. In the 1970s, thanks to government funding, urban renewal took place. Sidewalks were replaced by brick paths. Streetlamps were replaced by Victorian-style gas lamps, which are still maintained annually. Electricity was moved underground.  

In 1964 Trenton Mayor Arthur Holland made international news when he chose to move into Mill Hill. One headline read "Mayor Moves into Biracial Neighborhood" (technically, mostly African American). That house is next door to where Jean lives. Mayor Holland saw the potential of urban neighborhoods before many others did. He lived there for twenty years with his wife and their five children. He died in the 1990s. His widow, Betty, still lives in Ewing.

We walked up the street to the current home of Mercer Street Friends, a charity that does a lot to help people in the greater area. The building, a former Quaker Meeting House, is also on the national historic registry.

Number 159 Mercer Street is the former

Labor Lyceum. Built in 1916 as a Jewish fraternal organization, it is one example of the many workers' organizations that used to exist in this area. In the mid-2000s it was converted to condos. 

Across the street is The Colony at Mill Hill, built in the 1980s, but maintaining the flavor of the area.

We turned onto Jackson Street. Jean explains outdoor work has to be approved by the Landmarks Commission. They try to keep the flavor of the neighborhood.

We ended the tour in front of Bill's house -- a grand Victorian 5-bedroom home he and his wife moved into last year to live with their daughter. She was tired of paying high rent in Princeton and fell in love with Mill Hill. They did, too. The house is described as a Victorian home on 3/4 scale. The front part, with the mansard roof, was built in the 1880s. The house has been on the tour 22 times with three different owners.

Next to Bill's house is the Holy Assumption Russian

Orthodox Church. It was on the tour in 1972. Jean still remembers the blue ceiling with the stars on it. The church was originally a house. 

Jean said in 1966 Bob Allen bought a home on Jackson Street. It was in awful shape. He rehabbed it and hosted an open house Christmas Party. In 1972 more people joined him, a map was made. The 200 block joined the tour in 1983. Three years later, in 1986, Clay Street residents also joined in. That same year they started the garden tour. In 2016 Mill Hill celebrated their 50th anniversary of the Holiday Tour. 

Jean cited the following statistics:

149 house and three churches

33 individuals and couples on the tour

Each year different people are on the tour

15,000 people have toured.

Hands Across New Jersey

Last month I learned about a protest that brought me back to my youth. The event was called: Hands Across New Jersey. The path was to follow the route General George Washington took from Fort Lee to Washington Crossing as he retreated his troops.

Hearing the name brought me back to Hands Across America, an event that took place over Memorial Day weekend in 1986. I was a high school junior. My mom heard about it and drove us to a spot in Hackensack where we linked hands with 5.4 million people from Battery Park in New York as onlookers could see the Statue of Liberty through 16 states and Washington, DC to Long Beach, CA overlooking the Queen Mary. Participants were encouraged to donate $10 each (about $29.48 in today's dollars). Organizers were building on the 1985 hit "We are the World" to raise awareness for hunger. Money raised went to fight hunger and homelessness. After expenses, about $15 million were raised.

This was not that. 

Held on Wednesday, September 17 in honor of the day the Constitution was ratified it did not seem to gain traction. Still, in anticipation of crowds, I parked a half a mile away and walked to the site. It had rained about an hour earlier, and was forecast to rain again, but at the moment it was dry. I crossed I-95 using the median, the same as I do when heading to Rider University for the fireworks each July. I passed the police station on my way to my stop: 2116 Lawrence Road -- in front of the university. I saw a woman wearing a hoodie under an ASAH umbrella and a couple across the street. 

That was it!

By this point it was after 4:30. It started raining again. The solo woman left to go to a staff meeting she had skipped in favor of this protest. The couple crossed the street and went home. Feeling foolish standing alone with only my hands to hold, I retreated to my car. By this point the rain was coming down in buckets.

What went wrong? Was it the weather? Was it the day of the week? Was it lack of getting the word out?

The next mass protest is scheduled for October 18.

I just want to be done with all of this!

UPDATE: I later learned thousands of people turned out, including about ten in front of Rider.