Halloween in Lambertville

I've posted about Halloween in Lambertville before, so this is just a few pictures so I don't forget what I want. I squeezed the trip in during a busy week because I wanted to see the Dolly Parton house. The rest of Union Street did not disappoint.

Hockey is Back in Trenton!

From 1999 to 2013, Trenton (NJ) had an East Coast Hockey (ECHL) minor league hockey team first called the Trenton Titans, then they changed their name to the Trenton Devils to reflect their affiliation with the New Jersey Devils (2007-2011) before changing their name back to the Trenton Titans for their final two years. This history courtesy of Wikipedia, who since AI entered the scene is starting to look like an authoritative source. *shudder*

Don and I went to some games in our pre-Ashley days. When she was little, I remember taking her and her favorite doll, Jenny. I remember her teaching Jenny "how to walk" around the 200-level club seats. Fond memories for us, but ones our girl has no memory of.

Fast forward to 2026 and the announcement that hockey was coming back to Trenton. The Titans played in the Sovereign Bank Arena before it was renamed the CURE Insurance Arena. In recent years, the CURE Insurance Arena has mostly been the place for high school and college graduations, monster truck rallies, cheerleading competitions, and the sort. Springsteen rented it out during the pandemic to try out his Broadway show. Lucky fans could hear his music from the parking lot, but no one was allowed in.

When we heard tickets were going on sale for the now named Trenton Ironhawks, Don and I knew we wanted to support their home opener. We were not alone, they had a sell out crowd of 7,032. Compare that to Trenton Thunder having a 6,440 capacity. 

We had fun at the game. It was amazing seeing the crowd excited and united. People talked about how they remember going to Titans games. People wore a combination of hockey jerseys ranging from the electric blue Trenton Ironhawks to the black, red, and white Trenton Titans merch to Team USA, to NHL teams such as the Philadelphia Flyers and the Jersey Devils. Don and I were starting to feel left out wearing regular clothes.

As we passed the ticket scanner we instantly saw Elissa and Andy from Temple Micah. I kept an eye out for other friends, but did not see anyone else I knew. That night my Facebook feed was lit up with pictures from other friends at the game. 

The Ironhawks (or simply the "Hawks" as the crowd chanted) won their home opener by a score of 4-1. With just under three minutes to go, and losing by a score of 3-1, the Adirondack Thunder made a bold move and took away their goalie. The Ironhawks scored again.

I think I saw three fights, including one as the game was finishing. None were bench clearing, but all added to the reputation hockey has as epitomized in the joke: I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out. The crowd loved it.

After the third goal a small mass exodus started. They were the wise ones. Those of us waiting until the end had gridlock that Trenton has not seen since Derek Jeter rehabbed at Trenton Thunder on July 3, 2011 and they had a record 9,212 fans. I think we missed that one.

The lots near the stadium filled up about 45 minutes before puck drop. We were stuck on Route 129 through two traffic light iterations before the police came over to manage traffic. We parked in the overflow lot near the McDonalds with many other fans. Anticipating the crowd, the Titans had markers pointing the way to the stadium. It is a little tricky as that lot is on a triangle of land and you have to cross the railroad tracks, and walk across the 129 overpass, then pass the Taco Bell (which was doing a happening business) to their main entrance. We know the area, and still found it tricky.

Returning to the lot was easy -- we followed the crowd, and waited for a RiverLine light rail train to go by. Once in the car, though, we sat for nearly 30 minutes before Don turned around and tried what he thought would be the harder way out. We'll have to give parking much more thought before returning. Hopefully ticket sales continue to be strong.

Ned Hector at Red Bank National Park

Years ago I learned about a Revolutionary re-enactor Noah Lewis, who portrayed Black soldier Ned Hector. I heard wonderful things about him, but was not able to connect. At one point I was running an event called Bridge to the American Revolution, or rather I was part of a committee. I suggested hiring him or other re-enactors as a draw. Suffice it to say, by the time I got the okay to contact him, he was already booked. 

Every so often I would see his name associated with an event, but the timing didn't work out.

Until today.

Today Red Bank National Park hosted their annual reenactment of the October 22, 1777 battle that lasted 45 minutes and decimated the Hessian soldiers. Noah gave his presentation an hour before the first battle of the day (yes, in real life, there was only one battle).

It was worth the wait. Noah and I ended up chatting after his talk. He likes to engage his audience, and encourages everyone to play. I was brought up a a proper lady of the time to demonstrate how I would have reacted to his talking directly to me. Noah changes his presentation based on how the audience is reacting. Today he had us eating out of the palms of his hands. The magician who was scheduled after him kept telling him to keep going because we were mesmerized.

Ten to twenty-five percent of George Washington's army were people of color by the end of the war. Washington was only winning about two to three out of every ten battles. He needed them, but he didn't want Black men to carry guns.

"My people were forgotten," explains Ned/Noah, but, "it took all of us coming together to win our independence."

He wove discussions of class in the Colonial era. In those days "white is not a color, it is a class." People we consider "white" today, such as the Irish, were not considered "white" in those days. Wealth and ethnicity matter.

The system of indentured servitude, where people worked for about seven years before being released with a little something to start their lives, was ending and permanent slavery was replacing it. In order for slave owners to accept that system they either had to release Blacks, or change how they viewed them. They opted to change their perception, therefore they were considered barely above cattle, and much below white people.

A person asked "Why were there twice as many African Americans in the British troops than on the American side?" 

Noah was ready to shift his talk in whichever way we wanted it to go. 

George Washington sees Black soldiers as Black men with guns. He won't allow any Blacks to be armed. Realizing he needs them, he allows Free Blacks to have guns. Meanwhile, John Murray, also known as Lord Dunsmore says in Virginia that all slaves who fight will get their freedom. At the time it seemed the British would win, so it was an easy decision.

When the British lose, they mostly keep their promise. They send some to Nova Scotia, offer to take others to Sierra Leone in Africa (where they are not welcome by those already living there), and send some to the sugar cane plantations in the spice islands (a death sentence). 

There were three Black groups of soldiers: the Massachusetts Marbleheads, the Rhode Island Regiment, and troops from Haiti. The Rhode Island Regiment fought at Red Bank, though I did not notice any Black troops reenacting that day. There was some revisionist history that turned the African American troops into "swarmy Frenchmen," a slight the battlefield is trying to change with their new interpretive signs.

Noah gave me a few books to check out, including his biography coming out next month called "Chasing Ned Hector." After the battle we chatted again for a while. I learned about how he came into this sideways when his children were young, much of his bio is on his website. 

Meeting him was worth the wait. 

Some pictures from the battle. My archaeology buddy Dan manned one of the cannons, it seemed to be the one always furthest away and often blocked by other soldiers making photography a challenge.

At the end, the dead just stand up and walk away.

No Kings Protest 2026

I'm tired of protesting.

I'm tired of writing postcards encouraging people to vote.

I'm tired of asking friends and strangers if they have a plan to vote.

I'm tired of writing FB posts encouraging people to vote.

I'm tired of thinking about politics.

I'm tired of hearing the news.

Yes, I keep getting out there. I have lost track of how many protests I have attended. How many postcards I have written. How many political conversations I have had. How many FB posts I have written. 

We are seventeen days out from the midterm elections. The ones we all banked on after hearing the news in November 2024 that Kamala Harris lost.

Today's focus was on encouraging people to vote. The message over I-95 was: VOTE EARLY OCT 24-NOV 1.

I found the following encouraging:

1) No middle fingers or obscenities shouted at us.

2) 300 people turned out on the first blustery day of the year.

3) People in their 20s joined us older people. It is good to see young people getting involved. May they vote!

4) Our mayor joined us to hear what is on our mind.

5) A pop-up group of singers treated us to protest tunes. They moved down the line so everyone had a chance to hear them.

6) We stretched from the front of the Municipal Building to halfway across the I-95 overpass.

I try to have hope that the tide will turn. The 1890s saw the Progressive Era. The 1930s saw the New Deal. The Dark Ages lead to the Renaissance. 

Meanwhile, when I hear about a local protest, I try to make it.

UPDATE: I read 9 million people turned out to 2,500 protests. The biggest event to date.

Pictures from today: