Resident is tickled 'pink' by courtroom dedication
For almost six decades, Mary Pinkham has been the conscience of town
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer
Here's to good women: May we know them, may we be them, may we raise them.

The classic line spoken by resident gadfly Mary Pinkham at every North Brunswick Township Council meeting she attends is fitting unto herself: Pinkham was honored on Tuesday with the dedication of the municipal courtroom in her honor.

Pinkham, 84, is no stranger to the courtroom, as she has stood at the podium during the open public session of Township Council meetings for the past few decades. Although she has never held public office, she tries to be the conscience of those who do, offering her opinions of how the town should be run based on her experiences of living there for almost six decades.

Given a police escort to the dedication by Patrolman Jason Hatez and presented flowers by former and current township officials, Pinkham said she is "truly honored" by the renaming of the courtroom in recognition of her contributions to the town.

"I've got five of those [proclamations] up on my wall but this one stays here," she beamed. "I really am honored, that's all I can say, I'm honored. I don't think there is any more they could do to make me more happy."

Mary Pinkham, a constant fixture at the public session of the North Brunswick Township Council meetings for the past few decades, was honored on Tuesday with the renaming of the municipal courtroom in her honor.

Highly respected by administrative members of the community, Pinkham can also be their worst nightmare. The 56-year resident is best known for telling it like it is. And she's been doing just that through the administrations of 10 different mayors, challenging protocols and procedures and making officials work extra hard to ensure that quality of life is met in the community. Yet the plaque hanging in the courtroom appropriately describes her as a "perfect model of caring, concerned citizenship and an inspirational example of resident participation."

"I get involved, that's my reason. I didn't move here to be a bump on a log," she said.

The renaming was first envisioned by former Mayor David Spaulding, who sends Pinkham flowers on her birthday every year.

"I do miss Mary and I miss many of the people I had the pleasure to work with," he said. "An idea is one thing, implementing it is another. It's good to honor someone as dedicated to our township as Mary Pinkham," he said.

Before the plaque was unveiled, a video made by township employees Keith and Justine Progebin played "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," chronicling some of Pinkham's more memorable moments. She spoke of sitting with a double-barrel shotgun by the former Otken farm property. She wanted to take two buildings and try to renovate them, possibly to start a brothel. She constantly called out "Tommy" in an effort to catch the attention of Tom Vigna, the former director of the Department of Community Development. She said the geese in town should be hung by their tongues, marinated with Roselle wine, stuffed with apricots and raisins and made into "good eats."

She also said she is opposed to every ordinance unless one is taken off the books. In regard to the budget, she said that she has had to tighten her belt so the town should too, by stopping spending.

She also said that "ain't no one gonna tell me to take my bird feeder down. I feed every deer I can get."

"There's something about Mary. She's unique, dedicated to the town and could be a pain in the butt … but true democracy is what this is … and we thank you, Mary, for what you've done," said former Councilman Bruce Chandlee.

"I love Mary, I really do. Mary is what every township needs, a person who is really a watchdog. Mary doesn't hold back on what she wants to say, and 99 percent of the time she's correct," added current council President Bob Davis.

Several people attending the ceremony shared their stories of Pinkham's ways. Councilman Carlo Socio said that when he got elected to the council in 2000, his father came to visit and saw Pinkham from afar in a parking lot. Socio said that his dad became silent, slumped down in the car and turned white. He said that she used to yell at him while they worked at the township together.

"The fear of Mary Pinkham lasts for years later. As a grown man, one of the best moments was looking at my father," Socio laughed.

In response, Pinkham said she remembered giving Carlo and his brother lollipops when they were younger, and hopes to do the same with Carlo's newborn daughter someday.

Council Vice President Bob Corbin said that the only time he saw Pinkham shaky was when he asked her to hold the Bible during his swearing-in ceremony in January.

"I knew maybe I got to Mary a little bit," he joked.

Councilwoman Cathy Nicola said that Pinkham was a favorite of her father, former Mayor Charles Nicola, and that "we very much appreciate you in every way."

Pinkham said she knew the Nicola girls as cheerleaders at the high school, but that didn't stop her from tangling with Mayor Nicola during his term. She said, however, that she believes he is the best mayor North Brunswick has seen.

Acting Deputy Police Chief Joseph Battaglia said he credits Pinkham with helping him with his police surveillance tactics, as she would always catch him in the parking lot as he was trying to cut class, no matter how much work he had put into trying to escape the building.

Vigna said that Police Lt. William Kloos would leave him voice mails of Pinkham's voice yelling, "Wake up, Tommy, wake up!" for days after a meeting.

Pinkham's service to the township began with her position as an aide at the North Brunswick Township High School the second year it opened, and she became a supervisor the following year. She remembers climbing up onto the balcony during rehearsals for "Romeo and Juliet" to catch a student who was defecating on the stage and seeking out smokers in the boys' bathroom.

"When you work at a high school and see the young adults, we see what the parents don't see. We saw potential. I saw which ones were gonna go and be something," she said.

Around the same time, Pinkham began attending Board of Education meetings, and before each of them, her husband would warn her not to get sued. After five years at the high school, Pinkham became a receptionist and switchboard operator for the township. She held that job for eight years before retiring in 1987.

Since then, during council meetings, she has advocated ways to minimize taxes, suggested ways to improve road infrastructures, encouraged swapping empty township land with more suitable pieces of property and helped design the official seal that hangs in the courtroom.

She is in vocal opposition to the proposed transit village on the site of the former Johnson & Johnson property on Route 1 because of the existing retail center and proposed 108 townhouses just across the highway. She also believes North Brunswick Mayor Francis "Mac" Womack and South Brunswick Mayor Frank Gambatese need to find a way to share both high schools to consolidate resources instead of building new schools.

She has also contributed to the North Brunswick Historical Society and was honored with the Ann Marie Chandlee Heritage Day Award in 2005.

"I love this town. I love the people in it. But it has changed," she said. "I grew with this town, really. I grew with this town and it grew around me."

Although her presence has been limited in recent months at council meetings, which translates into much shorter meetings and fewer debates, the board members said they miss her antics and wish her well in the future, hoping she does come and give them an earful every now and then.

"We may not agree with everything Mary said or the way she approached it, but she's always honest. She's one lady I could listen to because it always came from her love for the township," Corbin said. "We miss her here, we want her to come back and bring her input to this town because it's very important."