344 Nassau Street, known in the 19th Century as the “Robert Horner House”

TRACING THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN NEW JERSEY

By Doug Wallack // Photographs Courtesy of The Historical Society of Princeton

The Underground Railroad has long captivated the American popular imagination; as a nation in turmoil struggled to reckon with its moral realities, this network of safe houses and volunteers conveying fugitive slaves to free states and Canada was a beacon of grassroots resistance, an instance of interracial cooperation, and the setting of countless tales of individual and collective courage. more

By Wendy Greenberg 

Princeton University freshman Jack Aiello credits a special New Jersey camp for giving him the confidence to climb the Himalayas with the challenges associated with type 1 diabetes.

Despite the unpredictable effect elevation can have on metabolism, his blood sugar numbers stayed under control. In a blog on the camp website he wrote, “Eight summers of living with peers and counselors who have diabetes have given me a tremendous amount of knowledge and confidence in managing diabetes…Camp gave me counselors who spent weeks camping in the wilderness, friends who cycled thousands of miles competitively, and dozens of role models and friends who always kept their diabetes under control—not the other way around.”  more

By Taylor Smith

The boarding school experience is unique to each individual student and school. For some, the setting or architecture may be a defining feature — encouraging students, faculty, and alumni to dream big. For other institutions, traditions hold a special place in the heart of each graduate — a perpetuation of history, pride, and scholarly achievements. While some of the schools described here believe in the importance of a single-sex high school education, all of them hope to instill in their students a passion for collaboration. Perhaps one of these high schools is well-suited to your family. more

CELEBRATING HISTORY: Members of the Princeton High boys’ track team celebrate last Sunday after they placed first at the Mercer County Track Indoor Championships in the Lavino Field House at the Lawrenceville School. It was the first-ever indoor county crown for the program, which last earned the outdoor county title in 1982.

By Bill Alden

Even though the Princeton High boys’ track team appeared to have the pieces in place to win the Mercer County Track Indoor Championships last Sunday, Ben Samara knew nothing was guaranteed.

“We knew we were the favorites going in, but as I said to the guys on the bus, that doesn’t really matter because we were the favorites indoors and outdoors last year too,” said PHS boys’ head coach Samara, noting that PHS had never won the indoor county title and last earned the outdoor crown in 1982. “You have to get the job done and that is the bottom line.” more

BIRD’S EYE VIEW: This 1874 imagined aerial view of Princeton includes Morven, just off Nassau Street at Bayard Avenue, as it was then known. The tiny rectangle behind the house is evidence of Colonel Stockton’s greenhouse, which is the subject of the next exhibit at Morven Musem & Garden. The map is included in the exhibit.

By Anne Levin

At the front end of what is now the parking lot of Morven Museum & Garden, a small glass building once stood. Commodore Robert F. Stockton’s 19th-century greenhouse was filled with lemon trees, japonicas, cacti, azaleas, and other varieties, according to account books and inventories from the time. more

SNAP DECISION: Princeton University men’s basketball player Jerome Desrosiers dribbles the ball in a game earlier this season. Last Saturday, freshman Desrosiers made his Ivy League debut, contributing eight points and five rebounds in a losing cause as Princeton fell 76-70 at Penn in the Ivy opener for both teams. The defeat snapped the Tigers’ 18-game winning streak in Ivy League regular season and tournament play. Princeton, now 7-8 overall and 0-1 Ivy, hosts Columbia on January 12 and Cornell on January 13. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Mitch Henderson believed that his Princeton University men’s basketball team was in a good place as it faced Penn last Saturday in the Ivy League opener.

Heading into the clash with the Quakers, Princeton was coming off a superb western swing which saw it go 4-1, posting wins at Cal Poly and Southern Cal and then topping Akron and host Hawaii after falling to Middle Tennessee State at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu. more

“I LOVED TEACHING”: Princeton University PhD candidate Merle Eisenberg (right) put teaching theories into practice in his interactive history class on Western civilization at Mercer County Community College this past fall. The PU-MCCC partnership will continue this spring and next fall, with five more PU doctoral students teaching at MCCC.

By Donald Gilpin

Princeton University (PU) and Mercer County Community College (MCCC) have launched a collaborative program for PU graduate students to gain teaching experience in the community college classroom, and the reviews are positive on both sides. more