Princeton WannaBe Blog
I'm not a real historian. I didn't grow up in Princeton. I don't have an Ivy League education.
I'm a total Princeton WannaBe.
Still, I gush about loving the heart of Princeton as much as I can!
A Guy Named Kermit Graduated from Princeton? Yep!
See this guy? His name was Moe. As in THE Moe Berg.
He was a Princeton University baseball player and eventually became a SPY! He was instrumental during WWII and his secret photos were used to decide the place for the atomic bomb. He spoke dozens of languages which made him very valuable in a Switzerland lobby where he would listen in on enemy plans.
Anyhoo, I would like to have met any woman he dated! Why? He supposedly danced as well as he could keep a secret!
I'll let you look up Jim Thompson '28 and Kermit Roosevelt Jr. too. The others I'll disclose on a tour .... SPY business is secret stuff don't-cha-know!)
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I Wonder If Ulysses S. Grant Knew This Guy ....
Ulysses died on this very same day. On our ghost tours, we go inside the Princeton Cemetery. Of course, we show the Presidents Plot and Grover Cleveland ...... we sometimes find in other greats like this guy too:
Captain John H. Margerum served the Union in the Civil War. He has a plaque that says he "risked his life by climbing to the dome of Nassau Hall to erect the stars and stripes of the Union Jack."
Why would he do that? New Jersey was a Union state, but nearly half the Princeton students were from the South! He was presented with two pistols after he erected the flag! (Some say he was buried with those pistols - TRUE!)
Tonight, on the ghost tour, we'll use therma-meters and EMF Meters to see if Captain John wants to talk to us!)
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Hey Princeton, Carnegie Hall Just Called .....
They want their brand back!
I just got clued into the Princeton Symphony Orchestra ......
(awkward silence here - i knew Princeton had a symphony that performed monthly at Richardson Auditorium and i knew people loved it but i didn't know why. Well, it's WORLD CLASS like everything else around this place!) Anyhoo ....
Did you know Buddy Graham, winner of six Grammys and one of the most highly regarded engineers for symphonic recording in the late twentieth century, listed Richardson Auditorium in the company of Carnegie Hall and the Concertgebouw in Holland as one of the world’s acoustically “great” concert halls? TRUE!
Did you know the Princerton Symphony Orchestra has a world class artistic director with a FACE made for TV?
TRUE!
(You read that right. Rossen Milanov gives George Manahan a run for his money and you can tell the artistic director of Carnegie Hall I said so!)
Did you know the PSO serves 10,000 children per year through their BRAVO program which introduces children to classical music education?
TRUE!
Our insiders say the Princeton University Art Museum and Princeton Symphony Orchestra are partnering up to offer a one of a kind Family Day on October 1st.
(It'll be perfect because you can come to town and eat lunch,, head to campus around 2pm ..... enjoy art, music, scavenger hunts, snacks and then go to Palmer Stadium and see the Princeton University football game at 6pm!)
(oh, in case you're wondering ...... Carnegie Hall is the photo on the top of the post ..... Richardson Auditorium is the photo on the bottom. Hard to see a difference, huh? Hard to hear a difference too.)
Here's the convenient link to your new Princeton obsession, Rossen Milanov ......
Ahem, I mean, Princeton Symphony Orchestra:
http://www.princetonsymphony.org/music_director.html
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I'm hoping you'll dig our GUIDEBOOK!
I've partnered with the funniest writer on the planet to co-create a definitive visitor source for all things Princeton!
We're writing it now, in between giggles, planning for a launch the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Just in time for the holidays ..... SO FUN!
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Today Only FOREVER AGO, Brenda Lee Had A #1 Hit with "I'm Sorry!"
Today, Brenda Lee had a #1 Hit for the the song
"I'm Sorry"!
(Did you know I went to highschool with her daughter? TRUE! I'll nevr forget she had a mirror that covered her ENTIRE WALL in her bedroom.)
SHE'S SO COOL!
Anyhoo, she was fifteen when the song got to #1. Now, she's still out there earning a living so if you want to book her, here's the link:
http://www.brendalee.com/pages/bookings.html
LOVE YOU MRS. LEE!
!
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Today, Only FOREVER Ago, George Washington Made a Very Good Friend ....
Today, only FOREVER ago, Marquis de la Fayette was selected as the human link between France and the United States.
(He was an aristocrat from France who fought in the American Revolution FOR FREE!)
If you take a tour with us, we can show you where he slept in Princeton, where we're told he raised a pet alligator in a bath tub as a gift for John Adams Jr. and how he adopted an indian child and named him George Washington!
LOVE IT!
(and him. He's a major figure in our nation's history if you get a chance to do a quick Google search!)
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Okay, today, Aaron Burr shot Alexander Hamilton in Weehawken, New Jersey.
Alexander Hamilton was born on the Caribbean island and didn't have much money. He joined the Continental army In 1776 and won over George Washington with his incredible intellect and energy.
(Later Washington would make him the first secretary of the treasury and most smartypants agree Alexander's monetary system was vital to our success as a nation. Anyhoo,......)
Aaron Burr was born into a prestigious New Jersey family and also intellectually gifted. (He graduated from the College of New Jersey (later Princeton) at the age of 17. He had all sorts of political posts and eventually defeated Alexander Hamilton's father-in-law in a race for the U.S. Senate.)
Everyone knows the duel was a big deal but very few people really know the blow by blow of how these two became bitter enemies and how Aaron Burr, Jr. tried to set up his own country!
Here's the link for one of my favorite accounts of Burr's life (and legacy):
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
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Happy Birthday Arthur Ashe! (Yep, He's Connected to Princeton!)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARTHUR ASHE!
Did you know he received an honorary degree from Princeton University? TRUE!
Did you know there is a Princeton resident that funded the entire legal proceedings for Brown vs. Board of Education? TRUE!
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Today, Only FOREVER AGO the Bikini was Introduced! (Yes, Princeton was ALL OVER that too!)
Today, in 1946, French designer Louis Reard showcased a two-piece swimsuit at a Parisian swimming club and called it "the bikini,"
(The name was inspired by the U.S. atomic test at Bikini Atoll that same week. I KNOW! I LOVE THIS STUFF!)
Anyhoo, did you know the first year Princeton went coeducational, June Fletcher was admitted and she had just WON Miss Bikini!
(She went on to get her Masters from Oxford and is a writer for the Wall Street Journal!)
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My Son Graduated from Princeton At the Age of 10!
HE DID!
Stosh graduated from his first week of computer programming camp with iTech.
(Princeton University opens it's campus to allow some of the top summer education vendors on the planet to take our kids to the next level. Whether it's computer programming, athletics or performing arts, you can count on every camp to be a world class experience!)
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