Maplewood Trivia archived

There is a great book called "SMILE" I can't recall the author at the moment but it is comprehensive look at Olympic Park complete with pictures. I went to a speaking engagement in Kennilworth a few years ago now, given by the author who is a fan of Olympic Park...you should have seen all the people who came out, many sporting memorabilia and souvenirs picked up when the Park was open.

The land is partly in Maplewood and partly in Irvington...when the park closed it stayed vacant for many many years because the two towns couldn't agree on how to zone the land. It is now an industrial complex with office buildings. My house sits across from where the roller coaster once stood.

The pond in Memorial Park is supposed to be in the shape of the State of New Jersey.

Joan - This?

Yes!

Perhaps it's in the shape of NJ after drinking about 12 beers...

I see a couple of dogs off leash by the pond.

Maybe it's the pond in South Orange that's supposed to be shaped like NJ?

(Still not quite, but it seems closer ...)

Tom: I expect Wikipedia will pick you up when you hit your 50,000 comment mark.

mfpark, someone wrote a wikipedia article about me. And wikipedia took it down quickly because I'm not noteworthy enough.

True story!

But you were one of the first referrents on the WWW!

Mark Rudd lived in Maplewood, not S.O.; his old house is the one on the SW corner of Maplewood Ave. at Jefferson.

-s.

Back to Ultimate Frisbee. The plaque in the parking lot across from Gleason's Cleaners was placed there by Maplewood Bank & Trust Co (now Bank of America). We held an all-day 20th anniversary celebration -- to commemorate the game's invention -- at Memorial Park, which included visits from some of the original team members and matches between some of the top teams in the area (and maybe beyond -- can't remember for sure). At one point, we all trooped over to the parking lot and held a ceremony where the plaque had been placed that very morning (by Bill Harrington of Harrington Construction).

I was doing PR for the bank at the time and worked with David Caruba and other Frisbee players from town to plan the event.

Side note: It was an extremely hot day so when Bill Harrington glued the plaque to the rock on the morning of the event, it kept sliding off. We didn't know this until later, but he stuck it back on several times and prayed it would stay in place during the ceremony. It did -- and later he affixed it so it would never come off again. Proof is it's still there now. He was a wonderful guy that everybody loved who had a hand in so many things in town.

I spoke with an old dude many months back. He said something like Olympic Park had the largest water pool in the USA or something like that.

He could be right, but it may have been Palisades Park. Was one of them salt-water, and therefore the largest salt-water pool, or am I dreaming?

By the way, the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables near Miami supposedly has the largest hotel pool in the U.S. If you're ever down that way, you can at least have a drink or light meal at the bar area in a covered loggia by the pool, even if you are not a guest. The rest of the hotel, including the magnificent atrium dining area, is an amazing example of 20's Mediterranean Revival architecture. It looks likes it has been lovingly cared for for 85 years, but nothing could be further from the truth. It went broke in the Depression soon after construction, went through several owners and even uses. It was at one time a Veterans' Hospital, and at that time was stripped of every original portable furnishing or architectural detail. It took a lot of love, dedication and money to bring it back to its former glory.

Posted By: chopinHe could be right, but it may have been Palisades Park. Was one of them salt-water, and therefore the largest salt-water pool, or am I dreaming?

By the way, the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables near Miami supposedly has the largest hotel pool in the U.S. If you're ever down that way, you can at least have a drink or light meal at the bar area in a covered loggia by the pool, even if you are not a guest. The rest of the hotel, including the magnificent atrium dining area, is an amazing example of 20's Mediterranean Revival architecture. It looks likes it has been lovingly cared for for 85 years, but nothing could be further from the truth. It went broke in the Depression soon after construction, went through several owners and even uses. It was at one time a Veterans' Hospital, and at that time was stripped of every original portable furnishing or architectural detail. It took a lot of love, dedication and money to bring it back to its former glory.

As a native Miamian who grew up just about a mile from the Biltmore, I can vouch for this post. I cherish every minute I've spent at that hotel, playing tennis and golf on its grounds, swimming in the amazing pool, and stuffing myself at the ridiculously wonderful Sunday brunch.

Also, less than a mile from the Biltmore is the Venetian Pool, which may be the most beautiful in the US.

The duck pond...

Late 80's early 90's at MMS there was a 6th Grade Social Studies program called "The Maplewood Project" where the teacher would insist the Memorial Park pond was supposed to be shaped like NJ... but I never thought it was true. It could be where the rumor started. I've been through all the olmstead brothers paperwork in existance on Memorial Park (admittedly, not much) and there is no mention of the pond looking like NJ. Looks like a typical fake kidney pond to me.

Olympic Park Pool...

First Picture shows the pool, outlined in blue. It is ENOURMOUS. The shallow end was sand, there was an island, and it was surrounded by grandstands. Compare to the houses and the warehouse there now. They did claim it to be the largest in the world. For comparison sake, I've brought the current Maplewood pool into the second picture (Outlined in Red) so you could maybe see that it would hold, maybe, a dozen "olympic" pools in the Olympic Park pool?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9163788@N06/3717403857/sizes/o/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9163788@N06/3717437717/sizes/o/

Not sure why my pictures won't show up, but there are the links.

Another Maplewood author: Agnes Sligh Turnbull. I've read her book, :The Day Must Dawn" which she wrote in 1942.
From Wikipedia: In 1918, she married James Lyall Turnbull, just before his departure for Europe during World War I. He returned, and they were married for 40 years and had one child, a daughter named Martha. The family moved to Maplewood, New Jersey in 1922, where she lived for the rest of her life.

My memory of the Olympic Park pool was that it was enormous...I loved that pool....it was the greatest 50 cent bargain of my young summers...a reason to babysit early, to earn money to go to the pool!!

I met Agnes Sligh Turnbull many years ago and she was a lovely lady. I still have her book The Day Must Dawn. As a teenager it was one of my favorites. Probably if I read it now I'd have a different response. She wrote many other best sellers.

Mrs. Turnbull's novels include the following. If my memory is correct The Bishop's Mantle is the basis for a great movie, The Bishop's Wife starring Cary Grant - but I could have it wrong.

* The Rolling Years. New York: Macmillan, 1936.
* Remember the End. New York: Macmillan, 1938.
* The Day Must Dawn. New York: Macmillan, 1942.
* The Bishop's Mantle. New York: Macmillan, 1947.
* The Gown of Glory. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1952.
* The Golden Journey. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1955.
* The Nightingale (novel). Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1960.
* The King's Orchard. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1963
* The Wedding Bargain. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1966
* The Flowering. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1972.
* The Richlands. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974.
* The Two Bishops. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1980.

[edit] Juvenile works

* Elijah the Fish-bite. New York: Macmillan, 1940.
* Jed, the Shepherd’s Dog. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1957.
* George. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1964.
* The White Lark. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1968.

* Dear Me: Leaves from the Diary of Agnes Sligh Turnbull. New York: Macmillan, 1941.

Posted By: tcedwardsJune 30th 2009 10:40:45 PMpermalinkquoteReport PostI spoke with an old dude many months back. He said something like Olympic Park had the largest water pool in the USA or something like that.

I'm not "the old dude" and never used that pool, but I have it on good authority that the pool had wave-making machinery and a "beach".

Has anyone yet mentioned that the golf tee was invented in Maplewood?

I do not remember a wave making action at the pool but do remember the "beach" which was the location of a stolen kiss when I was 14 that I will never forget!! (He was older-college boy).

Does anyone know where Agnes Sligh Turnbull lived in maplewood?

I visited her house when I was a child. I just remember it was between Ridgewood and Wyoming on the left side going up. Around the Roosevelt Park area. Probably if I put my mind to it I could find it.