Every year, as September 11^th approaches, I am reminded of living in New York City in 2001. I recall the horrors of concern, fear, grief and pain we all went through. I am also vibrantly reminded of the heroes that overcame the unthinkable, that put others before them, that dedicated all they had – some who survived and others who perished.

So, it seemed only fitting to focus our September issue on heroes, from centuries ago and now that have triumphed, excelled and put themselves out in ways that others maybe wouldn’t or couldn’t. In Hometown Heroes of Mercer County and Beyond, we are realizing the experiences of those from the greater Princeton area and recognizing their greatness in so many ways.

Each issue, we also seek to ensure that we’re updating you on stories we’ve covered in the past. You’ll find this in Perspectives Revisited at the bottom of the Homepage, and it always sheds light on something new. This month, read on to learn about new municipal rate hikes that might affect you as well as the latest on parking in Princeton.

Who is your hero? The word has slight nuances for each of us, though it always comes down to someone truly remarkable. This month we asked people around Princeton who they admire most and you can watch what they shared in our Pulse of Princeton video below.

It was hard, as a publication, for Princeton Perspectives to focus on only a sampling of local heroes, since there are so many throughout time, but with only four articles in the issue, that is what we had to do. Our hats do go off to each and every one of you that we were not able to highlight, you are appreciated and not forgotten.

Renewed focus and admiration was cast on our first responders when COVID-19 thrust them into harm’s way in a very public way. More often, what they do is not publicized, and what’s talked about even less is those that take on those roles without pay, as volunteers. The Local Heroes that Live to Keep us Safe Everyday shares a Q&A with one of Princeton’s long-time volunteer firefighters.

Even before Princeton had a fire company, there were people living here or passing through that had great strengths and abilities. Princeton’s Historical Heroes and Their Impact on Our Lives shares the stories of some of those that made remarkable contributions in politics, social action and inventive ways.

While some choose to embark on a heroic journey, others are forced into it. Fighting for Life – The Heroic Role You Never Wanted sheds light on some heroines who had to dig deep, fight hard and find a greatness they didn’t know they had in order to survive breast cancer.

Surviving is a quality of a hero, and sometimes it takes the efforts of other generous, caring people to help you do so. Interfaith Refugee Resettlement in Princeton is Possible Due to the Courageous Acts of Many explains what it takes to ensure that people are safe from harm with an opportunity to live and thrive.

Learning about heroes gives us all an opportunity to reflect a little and recognize the power that lives within each of us to do and be the best version of ourselves. Part of that means taking on the responsibilities granted to you and helping to guide people in the right direction.

As always, Princeton Perspectives will devote our October issue to helping you be as educated as possible about all of the candidates you will find on the November ballot, so that you can head to the polls and take part in guiding the future of America, New Jersey and Princeton.

A hero can be thought of in many ways. It can be a character created in movies, that saves the day; a person that shows incredible courage under difficult circumstances; or, as Meriam-Webster adds, a hero can also be “a person admired for achievements and noble qualities.”

It is not hard to look back in history and see the blood, sweat and tears that many gave for us to be where we are today. One did not have to sacrifice their life (though some did), but also the sacrifice of time, mental and physical energy to move society or people ahead. Though the passage of time may have unraveled controversies surrounding the legacy of some, we’re mentioning these historical heroes for the positive contributions they made in their day.

Princeton, one of the oldest towns in New Jersey, has been the birthplace, the passing through place, the forever in death place for many such people. And the minds and strong people that have lived in or spent time here are amongst some of the greatest contributors to our American life and the world over.

EARLY POLITICAL LEADERS

Princeton’s first settler came in 1683, but shortly after, in the early 1700s Richard Stockton gave land to his sons, which expanded its borders. Stockton, whose father founded The College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) was born, attended college and later died in Princeton. The home he built, Morven, became home to many NJ governors and is now a museum. He is one of several who is remembered for his role in creating the United States.

Stockton suffered for his efforts, being imprisoned and starved by the British for signing the Declaration of Independence, the first to do so. He was a practicing lawyer and appointed Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court who got involved in the revolutionary fight for freedom from the British. But he was not the only Princetonian who helped seek America’s independence. He was instrumental in bringing John Witherspoon to the United States to become head of the college, which led to his important roles in the founding of the country.

Witherspoon, a Scottish-born Presbyterian clergyman, was the only clergy or college president to sign the Declaration of Independence. He is credited with transforming the college, both financially and academically. Buried alongside other Presidents at Princeton Cemetery, Witherspoon was commemorated for years with his name on the middle school in town. His name was removed in 2020, due to controversy surrounding his connection to slavery.

Joseph Hewes, not as famous as some of the other signers of the Declaration of Independence, was also born in Princeton. He became a merchant, an expert in shipping and soon applied his maritime knowledge to help the cause and oversaw the creation of the first naval warships.

While those who were the early leaders in American government are known and therefore easily remembered, when we think of historical heroes there are others whose contributions during the Revolution must also be acknowledged.

“The well-known heroes of the past represent the very tip of the iceberg of heroic people who contributed to the success of our country. While Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Governor William Livingston, and other political leaders who lived or spent time in Princeton during the war are well-known, many non-political people of Princeton at that time also qualify as heroes,” explains William (Larry) Kidder, history teacher and author. “They served in the militia and the Continental Army, and a number helped the military supply departments maintain Washington’s army that spent most of the war in New Jersey. These ordinary people of Princeton played a variety of important roles while their lives were touched by the Revolution every day, often in very devastating ways. They included a number of enslaved people who found ways to achieve freedom for themselves or others and earned high respect for their ability and courage. Without all these people, the critical ideas promoted by the famous political heroes would be lost.”

Though names may not all be written in our history books, their heroic contributions are being recognized. In his book, Revolutionary Princeton, Kidder shares their stories. Thomas Clarke, for example, who lived with his sister in their home at the back of what became Princeton Battlefield, was a Quaker farmer who woke one day to find his life forever changed as his home turned into a hospital to help the wounded from the Battle of Princeton.

LEADERS OF THE NEW AMERICA

With the forming of the United States came people who rose to high levels of its leadership, three of which have a major Princeton connection. Thanks to the success of Hamilton on Broadway, it’s hard to think of the Revolution without recalling the role of Aaron Burr (and the famous duel in which he killed Alexander Hamilton).

His father, Aaron Burr, Sr., was the second President of The College of New Jersey where junior would later find himself a student of theology. He went on to study law, and after the Revolution, that helped him rise through the ranks. He ultimately became a U.S. Senator and made two attempts to win the Presidency. In his second try, in 1800, he tied with Thomas Jefferson in electoral votes but, in deciding the tie, the House of Representatives chose Jefferson as President and Burr as Vice President. Burr is buried at Princeton Cemetery.

Also buried there is Grover Cleveland, the 22^nd and 24^th President of the United States, known best for utilizing his executive power to control wasteful legislative measures. To date, he remains the only President to serve two non-consecutive terms, as well as the only President married in the White House. After his final term, he spent his retirement years at his home on Hodge Road in Princeton where he later died.

Several years later, Woodrow Wilson would lead the United States into World War I as the 28^th President of the United States. His tenure saw major advancements, with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment giving women the right to vote, and as a supporter of the League of Nations, for which he won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1919. A graduate of what is now Princeton University (PU), he later returned to become faculty and then its President. He was seen as a great leader in many ways, but in 2020 an evaluation of Wilson’s segregation policies caused Princeton University to remove his name from its School of Public and International Affairs and Wilson College.

AMBASSADORS FOR CHANGE

To be a heroic leader, one didn’t have to be in political power. Several people from Princeton can be credited with standing up for what they believed and changing the course of the future for those to come.

“Our Center’s namesake, Bayard Rustin—a gay black man intentionally excised from the historical record of the Civil Rights Movement—reminds us of how essential it is for our social movements to lift up the vital contributions of individual activists without whom societal change would have remained impossible,” shares Alia Shinbrough, Minister for Queer Liberation at the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice, a community activist center in Princeton which advocates for marginalized or underserved people. “The history of social activism is not just some far-off events that happened to some very special people; history is so often made locally—by ordinary people with extraordinary courage—and it’s our collective responsibility to learn from these stories to guide our work today to co-create better futures with more justice and full inclusion for our interwoven communities.”

One such ordinary person with extraordinary talents and courage was Paul Robeson. You might recognize his name today because you drive down his namesake street across town, but do you know why a street has been named for him? It’s because the Princeton-born, extremely talented musician, actor, athlete and lawyer broke racial barriers and became a political activist who fought for civil rights. Investigated under McCarthy for his unwavering criticism of American policies, his career was sidelined for many years, but he will forever be remembered with buildings, plaques, an historical landmark and more marking his contributions both artistically and as a Black leader.

Having the courage to speak up and stand up, like Robeson did, is heroic in many ways because you are fighting a constant battle for a cause not everyone believes in. Nadine Taub did just this back in the 1970s, when the Princeton-born Rutgers law professor focused on women’s rights in a way no one had before her. Taub created the Women’s Rights Law Reporter and started Rutgers’ Women’s Rights Litigation Clinic, both the first of their kind focused on women’s legal rights.

Me too, you say? To most, this movement became universally known in 2017, but in reality, it was started decades ago when Taub won the first sexual harassment case in the United States in 1977, by proving in court that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was violated by the act of a boss’ sexual harassment of her client. Taub passed away just two years ago.

Also laid to rest before his time was Daniel Pearl, The Wall Street Journal reporter who was brutally murdered in 2002 after going missing in Pakistan. Accused of being a spy by his kidnappers, Pearl was a journalist who sought to uncover details about alleged terrorists such as “shoe-bomber” Richard Reid and possibly 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Also born in Princeton, Pearl spent his final years as the paper’s South Asia Bureau Chief living in Bombay. Upon his death many have continued to pursue his desire for cultural understanding.

INVENTORS AND VISIONARIES

Though they often don’t encounter the danger of those cited above, inventors and visionaries must be recognized for their heroic works that forever changed the way we see and do things. Like anyone who creates or discovers something new, there are trials, tribulations, naysayers and failures to overcome.

Most well-known for his time living in Princeton is one of the most famous scientists in the world, Albert Einstein. You know, the Theory of Relativity, E=mc² and Pi? Einstein first came to Princeton to join Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), but also contributed his thoughts at Princeton University. He lived here until his final days when he passed away at Princeton hospital, though the home he lived is still standing on Mercer Road. He left behind contributions in scientific and mathematical theories and ideas that would be used to this day. His Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 was an indicator of his gifts.

Einstein is one of many that lived in Princeton and earned high-level accolades for his advancements and contributions. Located in town, IAS is a gathering place for some of the world’s greatest thinkers and calls 35 Nobel Laureates, 44 of the 62 Fields Medalists, and 22 of the 25 Abel Prize Laureates amongst its faculty and members.

“The Institute’s home in Princeton, NJ was strategically chosen by founding Director Abraham Flexner, who realized the value of convening great minds and removing barriers to collaboration. From its establishment in 1930, IAS has cultivated, with Princeton University, a lasting dialogue and countless research endeavors among scholars that have propelled human knowledge in both the sciences and humanities,” details Lee Sandberg, IAS Communications and Public Relations Manager. “Dedicated to the pursuit of fundamental knowledge, IAS research has resulted in various applications that impact our daily lives, from the digital architecture of smartphones to weather forecasting. But perhaps the greatest contribution of IAS remains its ability to accelerate research and the many possibilities that await.”

One such contributor to the sciences was John Bahcall, on the faculty of IAS for 34 years and visiting professor at PU. The National Medal of Science winner was an astrophysicist that changed the way people view the universe through his design and advocating for the Hubble Space Telescope. He also was instrumental in gaining an understanding of how the sun works. His time living in Princeton made significant contributions for future explorers and scientists to utilize.

PU also draws other great thought leaders to the town. The famous mathematician John Nash, who gained wide popularity after the release of the movie A Beautiful Mind, first came to PU as a doctoral student. He later returned as a senior research mathematician and won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1994 and the Abel Prize in 2015. In all, it appears that 50 Nobel laureates, 13 Field medalists and 10 Abel prize laureates were members of the PU faculty or staff. In addition, 20 Nobel laureates, four Fields medalists and five Abel prize laurates cite a degree from Princeton but won later in life.

Beyond academics, the Princeton area has been home to other great scientific advancements. There are many who contributed to the invention of color television, but it is believed that David Sarnoff was responsible for bringing together the scientists at Radio Corporation of America (RCA, which later became Sarnoff Corporation) who were responsible for introducing the first electronic monochrome television system in 1939 and later the world’s first electronic color television system in 1946. The Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) was also created there in the 1960s, still used in a broad array of technology from phones to watches and of course, TVs. These advances all took place on the campus that sits in West Windsor (with a Princeton address) just across Route 1 at what is now SRI International.

As Meriam-Webster states “a person admired for achievements and noble qualities” is a hero, and therefore these men and women must be admired for their heroic efforts, many of which created the world we know today and majorly contributed to the knowledge, understanding and advancements we’ve come to have.

The capital of the United States for a short time, Princeton proved its importance in the United States. Then and ever since, the historical heroes mentioned here and the many others that contributed to society, continue the impress us with their strength, genius and foresight. We are all better off for them having lived here, even if for a short time.

A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. – Christopher Reeve

When one hears the words “You’ve got cancer” there are two options. You can give up or you can fight. One will never know who Reeve had in mind when he defined his hero, but it surely applies here. The fight against cancer could be ugly, traumatic, painful, long and burdensome, but finding the strength to take it on is truly heroic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 264,000 women and 2,400 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. In New Jersey, the Department of Health has declared breast cancer to be the second-most commonly diagnosed form of the disease, with around 7,350 women diagnosed annually.

“For someone with breast cancer, it’s a forever diagnosis. Even if there’s a woman diagnosed early stage then they have no signs of disease for 5-10 years, it’s not something you get over,” explains Melissa White-McMahon, Director of the Breast Cancer Resource Center (BCRC) in Princeton. “You’re physically changing with breast cancer surgeries in ways other cancers don’t. It affects intimacy, relationships, your body dysmorphia. It traumatizes a person, and they live with it their entire life, whether an emotional or physical reminder.”

Michele Schwartz was just 37 when she found lumps in her breast in 2018. She was in the early years of starting a family with 7-month and four-year old sons, and the doctor initially tried to brush off her claims as an infection from dried up milk. But Michele knew something was really wrong, with the itching, redness and swelling she was feeling.

“I spoke up. I said I have 2 babies at home, I want scans. He said, let’s not jump to any conclusions. I said no, I’m not leaving here until I have a script for scans,” Schwartz recalls.

Her strong self-advocacy has saved her life, as after a mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy, Michele was informed she was positive for breast cancer.

“I was diagnosed with stage 3B. I received 16 rounds of chemotherapy – 4 every other week of AC (a combination of two chemotherapy drugs), 12 of Taxol every week. I started January 16, 2019 and ended May 26^thof that year. Then, 4 weeks later, I had a double mastectomy. I did have immediate reconstruction with expanders, but a week later I ended up with an infection,” Schwartz details. “I had to learn to change my thought process somehow, and said no, I’m not going to give into this, I’m going to make it my mission to parent my kids and get through this and know I’m going to get to the other side.”

And with her heroic vision, she has. Nearly four years later, she is still working on her recovery, as the infection led to another surgery, 28 rounds of proton radiation, an oophorectomy (removal of ovaries and fallopian tubes) and further procedures of fat grafting and more to help with the skin and shape of her chest area. She’s still got more work to do but has put a hold on any more surgeries for now.

With a supportive husband, family and friends, Michele was able to ensure her kids were fed and cared for and she found the strength to push on. She also found speaking out and reaching out to be irreplaceable.

“I’m a writer, I blogged throughout my entire journey, and I used that as an outlet for myself. Because I posted all the time, people could just go and read then they’d know what I needed and how to support me,” Schwartz shares. She also found a lot of encouragement and strength when she connected with young moms at the BCRC (Breast Cancer Resource Center). “When you hear the words breast cancer, no one wants to hear that. But there’s a difference with a 60-year-old, it’s more common, their kids are grown. Whereas someone my age, I have kids, a husband, I was a teacher on maternity leave ready to go back to work. Everyone from my life is moving on and I’m going home from chemo to sleep for a few days. I needed to find people who understood and could relate. We have a young survivors’ group. I was able to connect with women my age, who had kids. I always say connection is the biggest piece to be able to push through and find that hope you need.”

Finding hope is at the basis of being able to survive. And sometimes, when you feel that everything is working against you, it’s a hard thing to find. But Barbara Arndt, is a survivor many times over. Seven years ago, four months after discovering a lump on her breast, she was told she had positive cancer cells in her breast and lymph nodes.

“I was diagnosed, triple positive, that’s one of the super aggressive forms. I had to have chemotherapy first. The chemo put me in the hospital twice. I basically slept all the time,” Arndt recollects. “Fortunately, I had a live-in boyfriend who helped care for my 7-year-old son at the time. I’ve come to realize, I’ve always been the person who shows up for everyone, when I had cancer and I was bedridden, I don’t know if people were uncomfortable but very few people showed up for me. That was the beginning of the worst 7 years of my life.”

Arndt’s situation was further complicated by her previous experiences in the military. At age 18, in 1992, she enlisted and went through Military Occupational Specialty school at Camp Lejeune (a site known to have had contaminated water, which may have caused her cancer) where she was sexually assaulted and, on her next assignment, was later verbally abused by senior officers about her body. These experiences proved to worsen what was already a terrible encounter with breast cancer.

“I didn’t know it at the time, but when you are a sexual assault survivor and you have cancer of a sex organ, it can complicate the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms you already have. It kicks up feelings of feeling less-than when having a double mastectomy. Like there’s something inherently wrong with my sex organs.”

Unlike Schwartz, Arndt didn’t have the support of family and friends. She’d always had a good job, with health insurance and savings, but when her money and insurance ran out, she found herself struggling and then homeless. That’s when she went to Veterans Affairs (VA) and got a little help. They diagnosed her with PTSD three years ago, but she was recently told she also has a traumatic brain injury (possibly from the chemo) and still deals with other repercussions from the cancer because, she claims, many at the VA don’t understand women’s health.

“I’ve been complaining about this massive nerve pain I get down my underarm, they never took it seriously. I have an expander in, that is completely crushed and flat. I went to the emergency room 2 years ago when it imploded at the VA and they didn’t know what to do with me.”

Despite the hardships Arndt had and is still going through, she has only recently been able to recognize the hero inside her, how strong she’s had to be to get through it all. She’s opted to try and pay that forward by posing for photographs that exemplify the beauty of a woman that has had her body changed due to breast cancer. Most recently, Arndt posed for The Athena Division of the Grace Project, a photographer’s collection of images of breast cancer survivors focusing on veterans. An exhibition of the photos is taking place later this month at The Military Women’s Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. She’d previously posed for other similar opportunities, such as with the I’m Not Invisible Campaign for Women Veterans.

“When I finally got the picture, at first, I hated it. Then over a couple of months I was able to look at the picture and recognize it for a moment of strength and determination in an otherwise really crappy experience. Now it’s sitting on my fridge door, I look at it and even though I don’t feel like I can do something, I show up and do it,” Arndt exclaims. “For the longest time I looked at being female as a deterrent to my life and I’m starting to realize now there’s a lot of power in that. The (Grace Project) photo shoot is a place of showing I still have value, I’m still part of this world. My experience changed me, but it did not diminish me.”

Like Schwartz, Arndt still has some surgeries left and she needs resources to continue to get through. She has now also been connected to the BCRC for programs and support. In fact, about 900 women (and some men) are currently leaning on BCRC whether it’s for the Healing Arts course, financial help resources, transportation assistance, healthy eating programs and more.

Schwartz found such an immense connection and help from the BCRC that, once healthy enough, she opted not to return to the elementary school classroom and is working with adults as the BCRC program and outreach coordinator doing breast education and helping people through diagnosis, treatment and beyond.

“I love that I get to help others. I have the support at my fingertips, and I work with staff who understand that I sometimes have impairments and have to make modifications,” explains Schwartz, who has also become an outspoken advocate and ambassador for helping people become aware that remaining flat is an acceptable option. “I love that I can help others with everything and walk them through it if they need and provide everything I was given.”

BCRC is a program of the YWCA Princeton. It has 2 fulltime and one part-time employee, all three of whom are cancer survivors (two from breast cancer, one from uterine cancer). Celebrating its 50^th year, it began as Encore and has grown in programming and outreach, servicing the central New Jersey area, most often Mercer County residents.

“What we’ve always offered is support for women and their families diagnosed with breast cancer, at time of diagnosis, going through treatment, then beyond. Once past treatment, we continue to provide resources and programs for them,” White-McMahon shares, acknowledging that financial, emotional and other physical traumas can add to the situation. “We try to remove those barriers for these women going through a hard time.”

Places like the Breast Cancer Resource Center do a great job of helping people to find the hero inside them, as it is not always easy. But, as Reeve once stated, finding “the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles,” is truly heroic – and it is at the core of those who fight against and all who survive breast cancer.