I grew up in Cranbury. I was born in 1958, and we lived next door to my grandfather’s farm on South Main Street. We were in one house, and my grandparents were in the house next to us. I have seven siblings—five sisters and two brothers. My grandparents’ farm was like our playground. Back then, there wasn’t any TV or video games, so we spent a lot of time outside. We couldn’t get into Cranbury easily since we were further out on South Main Street. We either walked or biked, so we mostly stayed around home, and I got to see my grandparents all the time, which was really nice.
I retired seven years ago from my permanent job. This is an opportunity for me to give back to the town—that’s what I feel. Cranbury has changed over the years; it’s become more crowded, with more housing, though they’ve done a good job keeping a lot of farmland. The population has changed too. I think it’s for the better—seeing new people come in is nice.
My wife and I have two sons who went to school in Cranbury and later to Princeton. We made some good friends in Cranbury through them, meeting other parents. But you lose touch when they go off to college. Now, when we walk our two dogs around town, we see people but don’t necessarily know them. Getting involved has given me a chance to reconnect with people here, and I really enjoy that.
Around 9/11, I was on the first aid squad, so we were involved in a lot of activities. My wife lost a close friend in the Twin Towers, so we had a personal connection to that time. Some members of our squad even went to New York to support the cleanup around the towers. Locally, I think it made people more aware of the work first responders do, especially the volunteer work. Even now, most of our first aid squad and fire department are volunteers, though some are paid. People give a lot to serve the community—whether it’s training, answering calls, or other types of work. All that volunteer effort is so valuable.
I’ve always wanted to give back to Cranbury, being that I grew up here. My father was on the first aid squad before me, so I think I picked up that desire from him. Community service felt like something I wanted to do. After high school, I had experiences that made me want to put effort into volunteering. I went to a local community college while my friends left for college, and that kept me in the area.
Professionally, I worked as an engineer for nearly 40 years at a company called Schlumberger, based in Princeton Junction. It’s an international oil services company, originally from France, and we had a small team of about 120 people. Working with colleagues from all over the world in such a close-knit environment was really unique.
I think the key is that you’ve got to be happy with what you’re doing, whether it’s working for a big or small company or volunteering. That’s the biggest lesson I’ve learned.
Mr. Ed Durner