Growing up in a town mentioned in the polar express could possibly explain the kids train obsession

Popular culture

• Ultimate Frisbee (now called simply "Ultimate") was invented in Maplewood in 1968 by students at Columbia High School. A plaque commemorating the birthplace of Ultimate Frisbee is located in the student parking lot.
• Maplewood is the birthplace of the wooden golf tee, invented by William Lowell at the Maplewood Golf Club in 1921.^[36]
• Maplewood has been the site for several films, including I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Garden State, Gracie, One True Thing, and Stepmom.
• In the 2004 film The Polar Express, Maplewood is mentioned as the place where "Steven" lives.
• Zach Braff, a Columbia High School alumnus, filmed a scene in his 2004 film, Garden State, where he and Natalie Portman drive by the front of Columbia High School.
• In the second episode of the television series House, "Paternity", a patient from Maplewood drives all the way to the city of Plainsboro in New Jersey for medical treatment because, as House puts it, he "sued half the doctors in Maplewood, and the rest are now refusing to treat [him]". [2]
• In the 2007 film Gracie, the plot is set in and partially filmed in Maplewood and Columbia High School. Producer Andrew Shue and actress Elisabeth Shue both attended Columbia, and the plot is loosely based on their lives during high school.
• Bullet For My Valentine filmed their music video for "Waking the Demon" in Maplewood.
• The main character of the Robert Sheckley novel Dimension of Miracles, Thomas Carmody, is from Maplewood. He revisits the town, albeit one belonging in an alternate universe, late in the book.
• Novelist Philip Roth, who grew up in neighboring Newark refers to Maplewood in several of his novels, including Goodbye, Columbus.

[edit] Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Maplewood include:

• Harriet Adams (1893–1982), author of some 200 books, including nearly 50 in the Nancy Drew series.^[37]
• Jason Alexander, actor, "Seinfeld" ^[38]
• William Armstrong (American artist) (born 1938) Painter, sculptor, scenic artist
• Timothy Ball, American Revolutionary War figure and Martha Washington's cousin
• Jeremiah Birnbaum, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. ^[39]
• Seth Boyden, inventor.^[40]
• Zach Braff, actor, Scrubs, Garden State.^[41]
• Norbert Leo Butz, actor. He lives in Maplewood with his wife Michelle Federer, an actress.
• Alta Cohen (1908–2003), former professional baseball player who played outfield from 1931-1933 with the Brooklyn Robins/Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds.^[42]
• Asher Brown Durand (1796–1886), painter.^[43]
• Christine Ebersole (born 1953), actress and Tony Award winner is a current resident.^[44]
• Bruce Feirstein (born 1956), is a screenwriter and humorist best known for his contributions to the James Bond series, and his best selling humor books, including Real Men Don't Eat Quiche.^[45]
• Lauryn Hill, (born 1975), Birthplace: South Orange, New Jersey Best Known As Singer from The Fugees. Attended Columbia High School.
• David Javerbaum, executive producer of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.^[46]
• Benjamin Franklin Jones (1869–1935), Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly in 1900.^[47]
• William G. McLoughlin (1922–1992), historian and prominent member of the history department at Brown University from 1954 to 1992.^[48]
• Anisa Mehdi, film director and journalist.^[49]
• Paul J. Moore (1868–1938), represented New Jersey's 8th congressional district from 1927-1929.^[50]
• James Ricalton (1844–1929), teacher, photographer, inventor.^[51]
• Theodore Roosevelt spent several summers in Maplewood visiting his uncle Cornelius V.S. Roosevelt’s home and property, known as The Hickories, covering 100 acres (0.40 km²). This area is now partly covered by Roosevelt Road and Kermit Place. In the early 1900s, a tree bearing an inscription by Teddy Roosevelt was cut down from the front lawn of 36 Roosevelt Road.
• Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. (born 1934), commander of the Coalition Forces in the Gulf War of 1991.^{[citation needed]}
• Robert Sheckley (1928–2005), science fiction writer.^[52]
• Agnes Sligh Turnbull (1888–1982), who wrote a series of novels in the middle 20th century.^[53]
• George M. Wallhauser (1900–1993), represented New Jersey's 12th congressional district from 1959-1965.^[54]
• George W. Webber (1920–2010), President of the New York Theological Seminary.^[55]
• Teresa Wright (1918–2005), actress.^[56]