To the Editor: Call It the Penns Neck Campus
In your December 15, 2021, paper you write about Princeton University opening its Lake Campus. There was lots of talk about the West Windsor Lake Campus but not one word about Penns Neck. If you look at a map you will see that all of the Lake Campus is in Penns Neck. Thus, the name of the new campus should be the Penns Neck Campus not the Lake Campus.
Over the years Princeton University has bought up about half of Penns Neck. If you look at the West Windsor website, under Penns Neck, you will see that Penns Neck was started in 1737 when Garrett Schenck and Jan Covenhoven bought 6500 acres from the sons of William Penn and called it Penns Neck. The original farm was built in 1737 and stood on the land between Route 1 and Carnegie Lake. It was lived in and a working farm until it was shut down and then torn down by Princeton about the turn of 2021. You can see a picture of the house on the website. I know because we as kids in Penns Neck used to play on the farm in the late 1940s and I worked on the farm in the 1950s. That house was about 20 years older than Nassau Hall, the oldest building at Princeton University.
And also on the farm, there was a graveyard which is still there. It is in the middle of where Princeton is building its campus. What are they going to do with that? The oldest grave is 1746, and there are 95 graves there. You can see that on the website, too. In the late 1800s a Schenck descendant had a wall built around the graveyard, and it is still there. You can see it if you drive from Princeton to Penns Neck on Washington Road and look left. You will see a stone wall and that is the graveyard.
The Delaware Raritan Canal was built in the 1830s and Carnegie Lake in the early 1900s. Penns Neck is older than both, so why is it the Lake Campus? Your picture in the paper shows five people shoveling dirt for the opening of the Lake Campus. I’m sure that all of those people come from somewhere else and don’t know anything about Penns Neck or its history. Well, I am one of the people of Penns Neck and I want to keep its name and memory alive. I know I can’t stop what Princeton is doing, but I sure hope they will call the new campus the Penns Neck Campus not the Lake Campus.
I want you to know that I am not against Princeton. I am 85 years old and have lived in or near Penns Neck all my life. My father graduated from Princeton in the class of 1928, my grandfather was the head of the Paint Department at Princeton for over 40 years, and my father worked at Princeton for over 40 years. Also, we have owned a home in Penns Neck for over 100 years. So even if Princeton is gobbling up Penns Neck we still want to see its history and name saved. Please call the new campus the Penns Neck Campus.
Capt. Samuel W. Payne (Ret)
Rainflower Lane, West Windsor
To the Editor: Changings of the Guard
Ushering in a New Era at Artworks
This is not an end, it’s a beginning. A hello, not a goodbye. On January 18, M’kina Tapscott stepped into the role of executive director of Artworks, and I stepped down. M’kina is a dynamic, creative and dedicated leader with experience in everything Artworks currently does. She joins an amazing Artworks team, Kenny, Lank, Addison, our great volunteers, as well as the incredible cohort of all of you, Trenton artists, community builders, creative businesses, dedicated citizens. I can’t wait to see what this team does to advance the wonderful place that is our city through inspired programming, collaborative work and building community health and pride through the arts.
Don’t be shy. Now more than ever is the time to show up, introduce yourselves, bring your kids, make some art, make a difference. M’kina, Kenny, Lank, and Addison are waiting to hear from you, and looking forward to seeing you at our expanding series of workshops, classes, exhibits, public art projects, and events. It has been a difficult few years we all know, but the door to Artworks is still open for one and all.
In my years as Artworks executive director, I have had to navigate some difficult, even terrible circumstances, for Artworks and for Trenton. What remains with me though, is the good, the beautiful, the sometimes smaller acts of kindness and positive change and sometimes larger ones. The child’s pride who for the first time ever exhibits their newly-made art at a pop-up class exhibit, the teen who sees a whole universe of self-expression opened up through a lens or a brush, those who walk the streets of the city and see art which speaks to them, reflects their rich experience back at them, exhibits that send talented artists on their way, and bring the wealth and diversity of Trenton’s people to our gallery walls.
Despite the adversity, I am optimistic, for Artworks, for Trenton, for our important place in New Jersey and the world. I can’t shake the wonderful sense of beauty, resilience and tenacity within all of you. I am humbled by the community support, the endurance in the face of naysayers, the will to positive change overriding all. Sorry to crib from you Dolores Huerta and Barack Obama, but Sí se puede Trenton, Yes we can Trenton. Not only is the potential here, but the change is already in our midst, even if we don’t recognize it yet.
There will be changes at Artworks, and change is good. One important change in the coming year will be that Art All Night – Trenton will take a sabbatical in 2022. After the tragedy of 2018, Art All Night Director Joseph Kuzemka and I, along with the whole Art All Night team, brought back Art All Night in 2019, thanks to the incredible support and encouragement of all of you. Then came COVID, and the need in 2020 and 2021 to take Art All Night into the virtual realm, which we succeeded in doing too. With continuing uncertainty on many fronts, and after deep reflection, Joe, myself and the Artworks Board of Trustees made the difficult decision to not go forward with an Art All Night event in 2022.
But, as I said at the outset here, this is not an end, it’s a beginning. Barely a week goes by when I don’t encounter someone who tells me Art All Night is their favorite event of all. Not just Trenton event, but event period. So for all the lovers of Art All Night, it’s ethos of inclusiveness and creative free expression, its diversity and energy, it’s ongoing importance for the region, please join Artworks in rethinking Art All Night in the coming year, so Artworks and Trenton can plan to bring this signature event for the city back in 2023, rethought, rebuilt, retaining the best of what Art All Night is.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this wonderful chapter of my life. Like you, I am eager to see what the future holds, for Artworks, for Trenton. I will be helping my successor and Artworks in any way I can or they need. And maybe I have a few other things I’m eager to embark on. Stay tuned.
Lauren Otis
Former Executive Director, Artworks Trenton
Editor’s note: For more on M’kina Tapscott, see the January 5 issue of U.S. 1.
New Chapter for the Historical Society of Princeton
I am reaching out to share some news about the Historical Society of Princeton. At the end of January, I will be stepping down as Executive Director of the Historical Society of Princeton. It was not a decision I came to lightly – I care deeply for this institution that has been a fixture of my life and professional development for nearly 15 years. But after over five-and-a-half years in the Director role and nine years volunteering and working for HSP before that, I began to feel ready to move on to the next chapter of my career.
That HSP continues to thrive is of the utmost importance to me, and I knew I wanted to arrange my departure with ample time to set HSP up for success. Since the time I informed the Board about my plan to depart, we have been working together diligently to implement a comprehensive transition plan to ensure that HSP can march on uninterrupted. Leanne Hunter, a current staff member at HSP, will step in as Interim Director while a search committee, comprised of HSP Board and staff members, conducts a nationwide search for my permanent replacement. I feel confident that, given our successful track record and Princeton’s unmatched history, we will be able to attract a cultural leader of tremendous caliber.
HSP is in an incredibly strong position as it emerges from the pandemic; we have seasoned Board leadership, we have an impressive history of programming and educational impact, and we are financially healthy. I am proud of the incredible team we have and know they will carry our work forward along the innovative vision we have all set.
I have been honored to get to know many of you over the course of my tenure and to have earned your support, either through enthusiastic attendance at our programs or through generous contributions. Thank you for all you do to advance HSP’s important history education mission. I certainly hope you will continue to engage with HSP for many years to come.
Thank you, and all best wishes
Izzy Kasdin
Executive Director, Historical Society of Princeton
Editor’s note: Read about HSP recently reopened exhibits at Updike Farmstead in the Winter Preview starting on page 8 of this issue.
