A reader wrote, “We have been asked to babysit two children. What are we supposed to do with these rascals when they visit us in Hopewell Borough? ”
Actually, no such note arrived, but it seemed like a good lead-in to discuss what the borough has to offer when you have the good fortune of needing to entertain little ones.
Perhaps you want to take your young visitors into the Borough wilderness.
Most impressively, the Borough has four playgrounds: Two at the elementary school, one in the Gazebo Park, and one near the train station. In a town with a population of 1,940 (as of 2018), this must represent the highest ratio of playground to child in the nation, not to mention the many houses equipped with swing-sets just waiting for you and your young charges to boldly walk in and appropriate.
One caution, some of the swings at the school have been twisted or thrown over the top bar by arch criminals, behavior that is surely grounds for prosecution and severe sentences.
While no trains stop at the town’s station, no child could resist watching cars of the Delaware and Bound Brook Railroad rumble past transporting orange juice, oil, and garbage. The hooting of their haunting whistles will be inspirational for those children who, later in life, will be writing blues songs about lonesome souls in jail.
If you are looking for the Doll and Toy Museum, forget it. It’s been gone for years. But there is a roomful of antique dolls with scary China heads at the Hopewell Museum. Even scarier is a photo of the spinster whose hoardings provided much of the furnishings of this 1877 house. Her grim expression clearly suggests that for years she slept beside the mummified remains of her unfaithful boyfriend. (See Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” for confirmation.)
Also in this modest Victorian mansion is a collection of Native American arrowheads and stone axes. One charming docent found such an axe in her backyard and used it as a doorstop for years until she discovered what it was. The museum also has rooms containing Civil War uniforms and rifles, fire department hats and bells, old telephones ranging from crank-operated to dial, and samplers embroidered by children learning their letters .
If you need more history, the cemetery off Greenwood Avenue has grave markers dating back to the Civil War. Word is that the cemetery hill is great for sledding, but that was back when there used to be snow.
Across from the museum is the library, another Victorian building, with a winding staircase and child-height bannisters leading to the children’s room. Not only is it stuffed with books, but it also has toys and a rocking chair.
Perhaps you want to take your young visitors into the Borough wilderness. St. Michael’s Preserve can be toured via an easy farm road past fields and flocks of sheep tended by sheepdogs. While walking these grounds that housed an orphanage until 1973, why not tell the children frightening Dickensian tales or, even better, read a few harrowing selections from “Oliver Twist”?
One end of the Preserve abuts Aunt Molly Road on which live not only cows, goats and sheep, but two emus! Who needs a zoo or a visit to the Australian Outback? Also off the road is a fine loop trail with an easy climb allowing a spectacular view of the town and, if you peek through the trees, the Borough’s sewage treatment plant.
To enhance the children’s arithmetical education, consider engaging them in a rousing game of count-the-vultures, the Borough’s official bird.
For aquatic action, Beden (Bedens or Beden’s) Brook runs throughout the Borough with branches ranging from terrifying trickles to raging rivulets. The brook is a tributary of the mighty Millstone River which, in turn, flows into the mighty Raritan and ultimately the Atlantic. Children can try to catch fish, frogs, and crayfish, and in warm weather cool off hot feet.
Since children love construction sites with heavy equipment moving earth and pouring concrete, there is always some building or renovation going on in The Borough. Currently, two houses are being built on East Prospect, site of the defunct funeral home, just waiting to be gawked at.
Food? The Borough has several child-welcoming restaurants (they have booster seats). How about pizza? Its three pizzerias make the Borough the highest per capita location for tomato pies in the world. Since pizza is the primary staple for nine out of ten children, any worries about what-am-I-going-to-feed-them are over.
If the weather is lousy and the timing right, you might catch plays, concerts or a cartoon festival at the Hopewell Theater.
While the Borough’s single liquor store is not necessarily on your itinerary, you might need to go there after the children have left.
Robin Schore lives in Hopewell Borough.
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