Oral History with Robert Vandeventer

Robert Vandeventer moved to Princeton with his family as a 13-year-old in 1945. His father worked as a radio newscaster and the host of a quiz show called “Twenty Questions.” (Bob and his mother participated on the program as panelists.) Bob was a 1949 graduate of Princeton High School, where he was active in the band, orchestra, and choir. He later worked as a speechwriter for public- and private-sector organizations. Bob shares memories of riding his bicycle to Cradle Rock and Devil’s Cave as an adolescent, witnessing public celebrations on V-J Day on August 14, 1945, and helping Albert Einstein pull his capsized sail boat out of Lake Carnegie. Bob also recalls the trolley lines in Mercer County that terminated on Witherspoon Street and Alexander Road. Finally, he talks about the pace of development in Princeton and the town’s increasing density.