Maplewood: Summer 1997

A two-story Maplewood house at sunset with a sprinkler, bike, wagon, ball, and moving boxes

The family’s central hallway at dusk in summer 1997. The front door is straight ahead, the kitchen opens on the left, and carpeted stairs rise on the right beside a glimpse of the living room. Oak trim, a patterned runner and family photographs surround the warmly lit foyer.

The family’s living room at dusk in summer 1997: a wooden entertainment center with an off CRT television, VCR and tapes; blue plaid seating, warm lamps, family photographs and unpacked moving boxes. The coffee table holds Maplewood TV Week, the Maplewood Weekly, a remote and wooden puzzle pieces. An open doorway on the left leads back to the central hallway.

An upstairs bedroom in 1997: the open doorway reveals a carpeted landing and stairs descending. A full-size navy plaid bed sits against the back wall with its lamp and clock on the nightstand to the left, alongside the familiar computer desk, clear phone, boombox, CDs, and moving boxes.

The family’s kitchen in summer 1997: warm oak cabinets, a white refrigerator covered in notes, a white stove, sink, corded wall telephone and answering machine, and a kitchen table with a cereal box and the Maplewood Weekly. A few moving boxes sit beside the open hallway.

Nicole’s bedroom at dusk, with a clear telephone and CDs on the computer desk, photographs on the corkboard, books on the shelf and bedside table, and a denim jacket on the chair

Pixel Palace in summer 1997: fictional racing, fighting and space-shooter cabinets, ball-rolling lanes, a basketball game, token machine, high scores and a glass prize counter surround a patterned carpet aisle. The glass exit beneath the EXIT sign leads back to Maplewood at dusk.

Quick Mart on a summer evening in 1997: Gary behind the checkout, snack aisles, frozen drinks, VHS rentals, and the neighborhood bulletin board beside the entrance.

Maplewood Community Pool, serving neighborhood summers since 1978: turquoise rectangular pool, diving board, white lifeguard chair, worn lounge chairs and towels, a June swim-results board, July pool-party flyer, and the Snack Shack.

Closed for swimming tonight. Enjoy the view — we’ll see you in the morning.

Mrs. Donnelly welcomes you at a weathered poolside concession window beneath a red-and-white striped awning, surrounded by candy, slush machines and summer snacks.

Inside Rewind Records in summer 1997: wooden CD racks with alphabetical and genre dividers, a cassette wall, vinyl bins, wired listening headphones, concert posters and staff picks. A young employee stands behind the register while shoppers browse.

Inside Page Turner Books: dark wooden shelves of young readers and adult fiction, a central bestsellers table, a used-paperback corner beside a green reading chair and brass lamp, and an old-fashioned checkout counter.

Summer 1997 at Maplewood Mall: a low rose-tiled fountain and wooden benches beneath skylights, surrounded by Rewind Records, Velvet Hanger, Flashback Photos, Page Turner Books, Trinket Trap and Game Zone. Shoppers stroll past a vacant storefront and the food court entrance.

A Saturday afternoon, a few fountain pennies, and nowhere to hurry.
The main corridor is open to explore. Store interiors are coming later.

Warm summer sunlight filters through tall trees around the Maplewood Explorers Club clubhouse. Two bicycles lean by the tree, a shallow rocky creek passes beneath a wooden footbridge, a dirt trail winds deeper into the woods, and a rope swing hangs beside the clearing.

Inside the Maplewood Explorers Club: warm afternoon light across weathered planks, a table of maps and comics, cushions, a beanbag, radio, flashlight, binoculars and walkie-talkies. A corkboard holds memories including a summer 1986 treehouse photograph, beside the old membership roster and clubhouse rules. A wooden chest sits in the corner and a few vines climb near the window.

Maplewood at dusk with Nicole's house, Quick Mart, Pixel Palace, the community pool, and the woods

Jake and his younger sister Katie in the Bennett family's warm, wood-paneled basement, with a couch, Nintendo 64, CDs, telephone and Friday Night Board.