History of Place-Juniper Valley Park

1. Juniper Valley Park played a part in the American Revolutionary War. During the Battle of Long Island, in 1776, JVP was a swamp that American soldiers would hide in while they were fighting for independence from the British.
2. After the American Revolutionary War, Thomas Pullis used the swamp as farmland until the 1920’s. The swamp was known for its abundance of peat bog.
3. It is unclear how Arnold Rothstein acquired the land, but in the 1920’s it was used as a race track for thoroughbred, dog, car and motorcycle racing.
4. In the 1930’s Robert Moses wanted to create a park for the Middle Village and the Maspeth communities, The city bought the land from Rothstein’s estate and discovered over a half a million dollars worth of peat bog. In 1942 JVP was opened.
5. To this day there is a cemetery in the park that is the burial home of the Pullis family.

I do not have a place in the history of JVP but the history I am creating every day when I use the park means so much more to me now. I feel so much more connected to it knowing the history.

I have been shaped by this place because it is like the center of the community. I lived in the park when my kids were young. I look at the playground with such fond memories. It is a place where my kids and I made our first friends in this neighborhood. It is the place where I learned many tricks about raising kids from other Moms. It is a very special place.

Source: https://junipercivic.com/juniper-berry/article/before-juniper-valley-park#:~:text=During%20that%20time%20the%20park,the%20swamp%20to%20camp%20out.

History of Digital Place-Wordle

1. Josh Wardle is a software engineer living in Brooklyn. His partner loved word games so he created this game so the two of them could play. Inspired by Mastermind in 2012 he created Wordle as a play on his name.
2. He introduced it to family and it became an obsession on his family’s WhatsApp. He thought he was on to something.
3. On November 1, 90 people played, 2 months later 300,000 people were playing.
4. In January 2022, the NYT bought Wordle. While not publicly known for sure, the rumor’s are saying it was sold for a low seven figure number.

Wordle hasn’t changed over time. As of now, the NYT’s has said Wordle would remain free for all users.

My place in Wordle’s history is that my daughter plays it and challenges me every day. (And she usually does better than me!)

I have been shaped by Wordle because of the connection I am building with my daughter. This is priceless.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/03/technology/wordle-word-game-creator.html

Source: https://www.chron.com/culture/article/story-behind-wordle-16825701.php