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I've known people with the last name Voorhees. It's a relatively common Dutch surname. Jersey was settled mostly by the Dutch, so it's not a big surprise. Never watched Friday the 13th movie, so I didn't know that was Jason's last name. Interesting that he was Dutch.
Haddonfield is mostly known for being the location of the first dinosaur bones ever found, but thanks for the cultural info (I've never watched any of the Halloween movies, either!)
Middlesex--very cute, but I hope you do know what it means. The "sex" at the end of towns/counties like Sussex and Essex and Middlesex comes from "Saxon", after the people called that who lived in England before the Norman invasion and their ancient kingdoms. Sussex is South Saxon, Essex is East Saxon, Middlesex is Middle Saxon. There's a Wessex in England, but we don't have one in NJ.
Egg Harbor is for the duck or goose eggs and named by the sailors who got to those places and found a nice source of fresh food after months of eating the dried and salted stuff they had stashed in barrels on their ships.
There's a Breakneck Road in Oakland, going to Wayne. I always liked the sound of that one. Kind of tells you to drive slowly, and it's got a number of twists and hills.
Folsom - "But I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die..."
Verona - "In fair Verona where we lay our scene..."; home to the Capulets and Montagues.
Mantua - Where Romeo was banished for killing Tybalt, separating him from Juliet.
Pleasantville - The 1950s sitcom where Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon are magically and
mysteriously transported.
Salem - Where Stefano DiMera has been terrorizing the Brady and Horton family for generations.
Pine Valley - Where the trials and tribulations of Erica Kane played out.
(If you know what I'm talking about with the last two, shame on you, and shame on me. Let's be embarrassed together.)
Oh good, I didn't, but Pleasantville is one of my favorite movies. Not so much the town near AC, though.
One town name that has always stumped me is Wyckoff, a town I grew up next to (the border was at the end of my street. Supposedly it's a corruption of an Indian word, but no one knows for sure. There are several Wyckoff Avenues in Waldwick and Wyckoff, but when I moved 60 miles south to Monmouth County, I was surprised to find a Wyckoff Road down here, too.
Me too! Great concept, great art/set direction, stellar cast and Don Knotts. Four thumbs up.
It's funny, because I rented that movie just before my husband and I separated. I knew my marriage was doomed, and I felt like a failure--I was 41, couldn't fix my husband's alcoholism, would not be having the house or more children than the one I had--basically, what was supposed to happen in my life was not going to be, and I could just feel the word LOSER branded on my forehead for the whole world to see. Then I watched Pleasantville, and the movie seemed like a message.
I wouldn't call a lot of these "funny". Haddonfield, Voorhees, Verona, and Middlesex are all just derived from common European names -- John Haddon, the dutch name Voorhees, the Italian city Verona (though that may not be how the NJ town got its name), and the "Middle Saxons". Succasunna is Lenni-Lenape, as is Cinnaminson. There's no excuse for Redneckville or Buttzville, though :-).
My all time favorite is when driving to Great Adventure on 195 east and the sign that has both "Coxs Corner" and "Imlaystown" on the same sign. I still chuckle every time I pass it.
Some other funny names - Hackensack (indian), Harvey Cedars (sounds like a p*rn star's name), Lake Hopatcong (indian), Moonachie (?), Mahwah (indian), Spotswood (?), Weehawken (indian), Cheesequake (Not sure but it's making me hungry for some reason)
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