July postcard about the escavation of Firestone Library
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by University Advancement
February 15, 2023

Do you know which building on campus was the first to be named for a woman?

Why did the College of New Jersey (ultimately Princeton University) move to Princeton from Newark?

Where was Picasso’s first home for “Head of a Woman,” and when did it move?

“Postcards to Alumni” is a collection of monthly digital postcards featuring unique facts about Princeton’s history. The postcards were introduced in December 2022 by the Alumni Council’s Princetoniana and Communications and Technology (CAT) Committees who collaborated on the project.

July’s postcard about “Firestone, A River Ran Under It” was just released:

“You never know what you’re going to find when excavation begins. That’s certainly true of construction of the Firestone Library, which began in December 1945 with three stories above ground and three below. Excavations revealed the 175-million-year-old Triassic Lake with a large layer of fossils. Workers removed the “rock above the fossiliferous layer,” and geology professors A.F. Buddington *1916 and Glenn L. Jepsen ’1927 *1930 began their work. Students, faculty members and other Princeton residents became “temporary geologists,” and paleontology classes were held. The discovered fossils included billions of Estheria (an 1/8-inch crustacean enclosed in shells and related to barnacles), an abundance of Candona (smaller crustaceans) and thousands of Coelacanths (fossil lungfish 1 to 8 inches long). The American Museum of Natural History pronounced this Triassic discovery as “the best fossils of their kind in the Western Hemisphere.” Construction resumed, and on July 6, 1948, more than 1 million books began the move from Pyne and Chancellor Green to Firestone. On April 5, 1985, The New York Times announced that Princeton was abandoning “the field of vertebrate fossil paleontology” to “emphasize geochemistry and geophysics” and was transferring its collection of 24,000 Firestone fossils to the Yale Peabody Museum where it remains today.”

The postcards are being shared monthly with alumni around the globe via numerous digital channels.

“Our work as a committee is not only about collecting and archiving history, memorabilia and traditions but also how to share it and engage alumni,” said Jean Hendry *80, former chair of the Princetoniana committee, who is leading this initiative. “We brainstormed projects that would enable us to connect with alumni on a regular basis. At the same time, we didn’t want a project that caused alumni to have to do anything other than feel a connection to the University. ‘Postcards’ seemed to fit the bill.”

To research and collect the facts, Hendry tapped the Princetoniana committee. While Princetoniana members are experts in Princeton history and traditions, they leaned on the CAT Committee’s expertise in technology to help design the digital postcards. Credit for the initial postcard design belongs to CAT Committee member Cindy Drakeman ’02 who sourced images, conceived the nostalgic postcard look and “stamp” designs, suggested using “Dispatch” on the postcard to lend a nostalgic feel, and created many of the postcards. Credit goes to Princetoniana committee member Tom Swift ’76 for designing the initial postcard.

“We were so happy when Princetoniana approached us with the postcard idea,” said Michael Lin ’13, former vice chair of the CAT Committee. “The pandemic brought on an increase and a need for digital communication and initiatives, and this is a great one, much like Orange & Black Day that our committee helped introduce last year. ‘Postcards’ provides yet another opportunity to engage with alumni across the world and share the love of Princeton, while also bringing awareness to the great resource of Princetoniana and its museum.”

 

“Postcards to Alumni” will appear as a monthly feature in Tiger News and on @PrincetonAlumni social media channels. The postcards will also be archived in the Princetoniana virtual museum.