By: centraljersey.com
January is probably not the best season to try to learn your way around a new area, as this newspaperman has learned.
I like to poke my nose in out-of-the-way places, and I have probably irritated drivers by slowing to gawk at things like the plaque (I’m a history major) atop the Neshanic Station bridge over the Millstone. One thing about New Jersey drivers: they want to get where they want to go. Right, Yogi?
In this weather, finding alternate fast, safe, direct routes to Hillsborough and to the office in Princeton has been a primary consideration. I don’t know which is worse: battling traffic on 206, meandering to find how to cross divided Route 202 at an intersection controlled by a traffic signal or wondering if there’s an icy curve in the sylvan shadows on a winding local road.
The easy initial observation: Hillsborough is an incredibly diverse township. You can get stuck in a traffic jam, but you can click on a website camera watching an eagle’s nest at Duke Gardens at all times. It prides itself on bringing business to the township (good for money, bad for congestion) but I also drive past preserved farmland.
It’s quintessential checkerboard suburbia, but also carries the marvelous flavor of small villages. (I stumbled on Flagtown the other day; I have to go back in better weather.) The iconic photo of the former mill and the railroad bridge in Neshanic Station reminds me of the signature Red Mill snapshot from my hometown of Clinton.
In Hillsborough, you can spend time looking for spring peepers in the Sourland Mountains, or catch the latest big-screen movie show. Not many towns can say that. You can’t help but be impressed with some of the public facilities, including the one-stop municipal complex for township government, school administration and the library. The local YMCA is sure one beehive of activity, too.
My sense is that sports and schools rank highly in importance for a good portion of the population. You can sense local pride by seeing the town trading on that "one of the nation’s best 100 places to live" ranking from Money magazine in 2007.
So I’ve begun to learn my way around Hillsborough. I know the learning process will continue – and will never end, really – especially since the process of meeting the people, the true resource of an area, is ongoing. The only resident that I readily know is my college friend, who does a bang-up job as a fantasy sports league commissioner. In past jobs, I said I made friends by carrying a camera, on the prowl for a good shot to illustrate a story or the pace of life. I intend to continue that here.
I’ve found small post offices in out-of-the-way places, but I’m on the lookout for places to score a good sub sandwich, buy the cheapest gasoline, cash in on the ATM at a local branch of my bank, etc. I’m afraid it’s almost inevitable that I’ll initially miss on some of events and profiles of the township, but with your help, the process can go faster. What should I know about the township? What should the paper be writing about? E-mail me at [email protected], or phone 609-874-2163.
Gene Robbins is managing editor of the Hillsborough Beacon.

