Category Archives: Around Town

Personal posts — some social justice (Not in Our Town), some faith-related (Princeton United Methodist Church), some I-can’t-keep-from-writing-this

Every Button Has a Story: August 5, 7 pm

button pearl carved 18thc

Perhaps you kept your grandmother’s jar of buttons. Or you enjoy looking for special buttons to use on quilts or
jackets. Or maybe you just like history and looking at beautiful antiques. On Monday, August 5, at 7 p.m, I’ll be giving a talk, on behalf of the New Jersey State Button Society. Title: “The World’s Smallest Antique: Every Button Has a Story,” and you’ll get to see some gorgeous buttons. It is at the Hickory Corner Branch of the Mercer County Library System, 138 Hickory Corner Road, East Windsor, 08520.

Another chance to ogle these fascinating tiny antiques is at the New Jersey State Button Show at the Union Fire Company building on Route 29 in Titusville, September 7, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., program at 1:30 p.m. Admission $2. Lillian Buirkle, (732-691-1776), buttonlady@optonline.net

At my talk and at the show, you will see exquisitely beautiful buttons made in the 19th century from enamel, china, shell, and ivory. Equally fascinating are buttons manufactured from modern materials — including rubber, plastic, celluloid, glass, and metal.

You can start your collection with buttons that cost 25 cents — or $25. Maybe you will collect buttons
made of glass, or that show pictures of cats, or that were used on uniforms.

Whether you like to use your antique or vintage buttons on your clothes or display them in your home, join me to explore the fascinating world of buttons.

Registration for the library talk is required, but you can register at the last minute if space is available. Call 448-1330 or register online at http://www.mcl.org or email hcprogs@mcl.org . No reservations needed for the September 7 show.

Scripture Tour: No Andrew Carnegie Library Here

Scripture Tour of Princeton, , , , , ,

bainbridge-houseBainbridge House, home of the Historical Society of Princeton, is the former home of Princeton’s municipal library. Princeton was not one of the 1689 cities to which Andrew Carnegie donated a library building. As the story goes, the university asked Carnegie to donate, not a library building, but a lake for its rowing team. Result: Carnegie Lake, hand dug.

A just-aired NPR story by Susan Stamberg reveals that Carnegie (some compare him with Bill Gates) was a self-made steel magnate. Fresh from Scotland, as a 17-year-old worker, he petitioned the Pittsburgh library to let him borrow books and was at first refused, but prevailed until the policy was changed. An indefatigable worker, he sold U.S. Steel for half a billion dollars to JP Morgan and then, as Stamberg said, “gave it all away,” or at least $350 million of it.

Carnegie money paid for impressive buildings in the style of the time. What would Princeton have looked like with one of those? Perhaps it would have been built on campus? In any case, the eager readers of Princeton had to find their books stuffed into an 18th century home, getting a purpose built building only in 1966. Now Princeton has its Taj Mahal building, adored perhaps even worshipped, called “Princeton’s living room.”

Perhaps it is a double blessing that we don’t have a Carnegie building. We might not have had the gumption to tear it down to build our three-story Taj Mahal.

(This post is part of the Scripture Tour of Princeton series, inspired by a tour I gave to Ohio’s Peddling Parsons when they visited us at Princeton United Methodist Church. But I haven’t decided on the Bible verse. Suggestions?)

We can’t hear this story without two codas. Carnegie famously built his empire on the backs of the steel workers, provoking the bitterest union fight in the history of this nation. And, supposedly Ellen Wilson, wife of the university president Woodrow Wilson, entertained Carnegie in her home (now Prospect House) and importuned Carnegie to give Princeton a library. Carnegie’s answer: “Madam, I gave you a lake.”

Statistics Don’t Count . . . But

Faith and Social Justice

Somebody has supposedly measured the intelligence of every city in the United States and has proven that Princeton is in the top three smartest cities in the nation.

We could have figured that out without the test. And we doubt the efficacy of the test in the first place. But we’ll smile and acknowledge the honor.

Now the question is — what are we doing with these massive brains to help our community, our world?

White Southern Lady: Civil Rights Advocate

Faith and Social Justice,

How would Princeton be different if Barbara Boggs Sigmund had lived? Her mother, Lindy Boggs, just died: 

The New Orleans Times Picayune obit writer describes Bogg’s “disarming personal charm, a gift for communicating warmth and a sense of civility that drew others as her allies, almost to their surprise. 

Friends said she elevated manners to an art form, and made personal charm a powerful political tool. . . But a hard substantive edge always glinted just below the surface. . . Mrs. Boggs also became famous for her tenacity — a warm and ever-gracious refusal to take no for an answer. . . 

Boggs supported civil rights, as did her daughter, who began to follow her father’s and mother’s political trajectory as mayor of Princeton Borough. Boggs quit her job in Congress in 1990 to care for Barbara who, after years of sporting an eye patch, would die of cancer that year.

Had Barbara Boggs Sigmund lived, I believe she would have — in her New Orleans drawl — done something about issues of inequality with which Princeton is still struggling. She was her mother’s daughter.

 

Scripture Tour: Princeton University Chapel

Around Town, Faith and Social Justice, Scripture Tour of Princeton

earlymorning_MG_5524_575

When the Pedaling Parsons — ministers riding bikes to raise money for missions — toured Princeton, their favorite spot was  the beautiful Princeton University Chapel. Here is the virtual tour with details on the choir loft carved from wood found in Sherwood Forest, and pews made from gun carriages. 

What is the scripture for this? My pick is Isaiah 2:4 and what’s yours?

It was built in 1928 for $2 million after the Marquand Chapel was destroyed in a fire.  The intent was, according to the University history, “to permit the University to maintain its religious heritage, but in a manner that recognized its public mission in an increasingly multicultural society.” I told them about the community -wide services at Thanksgiving and we commiserated on the sad fact that the University Chapel services are held, invariably, at the same time as the PUMC services. Tour it online here.

 

 

 

 

 

Photo by Steve McDonald.

The Peddling Parsons’ mission target this year is “Stopping Random Violence Before it Happens: investing in children and youth programming at local community centers.” office@northcantongrace.org

Smarter Roads for Smarter Cars: July 22 to 25

Around Town

More sidewalks, more bike lanes, better infrastructure — after Hurricane Sandy, when an entire village burned because the road was impassable, the Department of Transportation is rebuilding. Find out how in the current issue of U.S. 1 as Diccon Hyatt tells about one of those conferences that don’t get advertised, “Driving a Sustainable Environment,” set for  Monday through Thursday, July 22 through 25, at the Transportation Review Board Summer Workshop at the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick. Among the topics will be “intelligent roads,” like those I’ve seen in Germany. On the autobahn, electronic signs tell the speed limits, which varies according to weather and circumstances. It’s what we need for the “smart cars” of the future.

Honoring Evelyn Voorhees

Around Town

A Memorial Bench for the late Evelyn D. Voorhees will be dedicated on Friday, July 19, at 2 p.m.  at Spruce Circle.  A resident of Spruce Circle, she was a pollworker for District 9, a Commissioner on the Housing Authority of the Borough of Princeton and worked for the Princeton Senior Resource Center as an administrative assistant until she retired in 2010. 

“Anyone who knew Evelyn and would like to attend the Memorial dedication and the reception to follow is welcome to attend,” says Linda Sipprelle.

Spin the Wheel — Preserve the Sourlands

Business, Faith and Social Justice, , , ,

Two “do-good” events come up in the next 18 hours. Will you be stopping by the Plaza Palooza this afternoon, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.? I’ll be at the table sponsored by Princeton United Methodist Church and United Front Against Riverblindness. We’ll have a “Help Us Help Others” Wheel — for $1 you get to spin the wheel and either win a prize — or your dollar goes to the charity that the wheel chooses. It’s fun. At the other tables you’ll meet area business folks, get free tastings and lots of giveaways. BAI water will be there, sure to be a hit in the heat! It’s free and a great place to network.

Bryson
Tomorrow morning, Wednesday, Jennifer Bryson will speak at the Princeton Chamber breakfast on one of her recent exciting endeavors.  For two years she had worked for the Department of Defense at Guantanomo Bay. Now her day job involves partnering with Muslim advocates for religious freedom, but she also campaigns to defend the Sourland Mountains from encroachment. Bryson (Stanford, Yale) is currently teaching at the Army War College.

I’m not always in agreement with preservationists (I’m siding with the Institute of Advanced Study re building on its property). Hear what Bryson has to say and make up your own mind about the 90 square miles of the Sourland Mountains, New Jersey’s “last great wilderness.” Everybody can come to this breakfast for the reduced member price, $25, and it’s great networking.

Align the Body as Well as the Soul

Faith and Social Justice,

Make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Hebrews 12:13

I came across this verse in today’s Moravian Daily Texts, an ecumenical devotional guide read by 1.5 million in 50 languages. Though the writer of Hebrews surely meant spiritual healing, the same principle — align yourself correctly to be healthy — applies to the physical body as well.

With my Pilates instructor, Katrine, I am currently trying to heal tendinitis in a shoulder joint — partly by trying to learn to use my arm in a better way. And with a physical therapist, Jeff, I am retraining my jaw to open in a normal way. (Loquacious as I am, my mandible is abnormally tight.)

So it occurs to me that Hebrews 12:13 could be the mantra for Pilates and physical therapy. If your body is not aligned correctly, it develops bad habits until eventually you are “out of joint.” Pilates trainers and physical therapists discern alignment problems; they heal.

For your interest, here is the entire selection. The long passages (Psalms, Hebrew Bible, New Testament) at the top are from the “lectionary,” the verses read and preached upon by most Christian churches for this week. The Hebrew Bible verse (Ezekiel for today)  is chosen by lot during the previous year. A minister chooses the New Testament verse to go with it — and composes the prayer.

Moravian Daily Texts

Friday, July 12 – Psalm 83:13-18 Isaiah 32:1-33:16; Ephesians 5:21-33

They shall live in safety, and no one shall make them afraid. Ezekiel 34:28
Make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Hebrews 12:13
Like a comforting mother, hold me this day, Lord, with the tender touch that kisses our wounds and rubs our shoulder and keeps us safe when we fall or even fail. Thank you Lord. Amen.

‘She’s So Smart.’ Duh. Why Diversity Matters

Faith and Social Justice

Angela Amar, an African American nurse and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholar, tells of an incident when a patient’s wife referred to her as “a lil’ colored girl here to see you.”
That was one issue to for her to work through, but Amar reveals the bigger issue is when her students say she is “smart.” Faculty members are supposed to be intelligent, Amar points out. Her white colleagues do not hear the same compliment.
“So, is it something that is remarkable because I am a woman of color? Am I an exception? Does my mere presence challenge students’ perceptions of African Americans?” Yes, her presence does challenge perceptions. She is effective as a mentor for minorities, but even more as a challenge to stereotypes that the majority holds.
Amar currently works in Georgia, and I don’t know where the “lil colored girl” incident took place, but let me make it plain to my Southern friends that I realize Northerners can be equally steeped in harmful stereotypes.
Here is the link, again, to Amar’s essay, and I’ll let her have the last word:
Diversity is not a one-way glass that only directs light in one direction. Diversity is a window—it lets light in and out. The benefits and opportunities of diversity are not just for the individuals who bring the diversity to the environment; diversity benefits everyone.