Chatham's Renaissance Family: The Kaplans

Resident Feature by Stacey McEvoy | Photos Courtesy of the Kaplan family

The Kaplans are one of those renaissance families in Chatham that has an abundance of talent in a myriad of areas. As Jennifer Kaplan put it simply, “We like to put our hands in lots of pots.” She’s not kidding.

Jennifer’s debut children’s novel Crushing the Red Flowers, which was released in November, is a historical fiction novel for children aged 10-14 in 5th-8th grade. Praised by best-selling author James Patterson, the novel was recognized in six literary competitions before publication, including winning the middle-grade category in the 2016 Publishers Weekly BookLife Prize for Fiction.

(L-R) Sam, Madeline, Gabby, Jennifer, & Jeff Kaplan

Photo by Alex Kaplan Photography

The story takes place in 1938 Germany during Kristallnacht and alternates perspectives between a 12-year-old German-Jewish boy and a 12-year-old boy in Hitler’s Jungvolk. The book’s release coincided with the 81st anniversary of Kristallnacht, or Night of Broken Glass, which is widely considered the beginning of the Holocaust—when more than 1,000 synagogues across Germany and parts of Austria and Czechoslovakia were burned, in addition to the destruction of 7,500 Jewish businesses.

To write the book, Jennifer, who was born in Germany and moved to Pennsylvania as a child, drew on family stories. Her heritage is half German and half German-Jewish, so while the novel is fictional, it’s based on true family experiences. Jennifer says the stories she heard from both sides of her family were filled with love and devotion, as well as pain and loss. “I wrote the book to give younger readers an introduction to the Holocaust with diverse points of view, to give children access to authentic WWII literature, and to try to shed light on the evolution of hate and kindness,” she says, adding that the book would also be of interest to older teens and adults who are intrigued by WWII history.

Courtesy of Alex Kaplan Photography

Jennifer’s husband Jeff, who grew up in New City, NY, is an entrepreneur and strategy consultant. The couple met at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Jennifer also earned a degree from the London School of Economics. After graduating, Jennifer was employed with Deloitte Consulting and Jeff started his career with McKinsey & Company. Jeff first left the corporate world in 1998, co-founding an Internet startup in Boston as an Ebay for college students, and was profiled in Forbes magazine at the age of 24.

“One night as we sat at the dinner table and took stock of where we were going, we agreed it was time to take another risk,” says Jeff, reflecting on his leap back to entrepreneurialism. Jeff explains that what started as a passion project, to help families save money during the tough 2008 economy, took off—his business LOZO.com is now a free nationwide grocery coupon service that curates digital coupons for families, saving them 20-40% on bills. LOZO was featured on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and “The Dr. Oz Show” and has led to numerous television appearances for the family.

Additionally, Jeff works as an independent marketing consultant for a sports technology company, and runs an Amazon marketplace business with his father, whom he credits with passing down his entrepreneurial spirit, as a hard-working role model who valued the flexibility he gained from being able to work from home. A member of the Chatham Eskies men’s softball team, and manager of his Temple Sinai softball squad, Jeff is also an avid squash player, and has served as a baseball and softball coach for the couple’s three children’s teams during the 17 years that the family has lived in Chatham Borough.

Twizzy the family cat wearing loungewear.

Jennifer, who has always enjoyed creative pursuits, began to think about what she thought would have a positive impact not only for her family but for everyone in Chatham, and as a result, Jennifer founded Chatham Borough’s Public Arts Council (PAC) 10 years ago. The PAC is responsible for the wonderful art that is or has been seen throughout the Borough including visual art displays at Borough Hall, two painted traffic control boxes on Watchung Avenue, and three sculptures at the train station parking lot and at the library. The Public Arts Council also installed the magnificent mural at the Fairmount Avenue railroad underpass. Jennifer is excited to talk about the PAC’s latest project: the painting of a new mural to be located at the Washington Avenue railroad underpass. With the help of about 40 volunteers, these murals take years to complete. Jennifer was recently asked to help advise two other New Jersey towns with their planning processes for mural projects.

Writing is my happy place, and I stumbled into it accidentally,” says Jennifer who has had short stories published prior to her novel. “When I read books with my kids, I started to think about what I would write about, and when I shared my family’s stories, people would comment that it would be great to preserve them in a novel- -so I started writing. I worked with historians to ensure accuracy, joined a critique group, and attended writing conferences.

Jennifer acknowledges the process to publish her novel was long, but she views the extra time as a blessing. Crushing the Red Flowers took five years to write and then an additional four to launch. When she finished writing in 2015, she began submitting to literary agents, then editors, and all the while to writing contests. By the time her book was selected by Ig Publishing, an award-winning, literary-fiction small press, Crushing the Red Flowers had been recognized in multiple writing competitions. Jennifer says the extra time also afforded her cherished opportunities to collaborate with her family, build relationships with fellow writers, and learn about the publishing industry. “Now, her background in marketing and professional expertise is serving her well in figuring out how to navigate the industry and gain attention for her novel,” says Jeff.

Jennifer has multiple author events on the calendar, and she is currently working on a second children’s novel. Her work and appearance schedule can be found at www.Jennifervk.com and Facebook.com/jennifervoigtkplan.com.

The Kaplan children are just as involved in the community as their parents, each having their own unique interests.

Chatham High School sophomore Sam was one of the JV soccer team captains and serves as a referee for the Morris County Youth Soccer Association. He is the sophomore representative of the Key Club and a member of Future Business Leaders of America and the German Club. The 16-year-old is also a docent at Temple Sinai where he is studying for his Confirmation. Sam enjoys playing guitar. He also participated in the “Summer at Brown” program at Brown University where he studied applied microeconomics.

Sam meeting a sled dog puppy in Skagway Alaska

There’s a thespian in the family! You can catch Chatham Middle School 8th grader Maddie on stage in the role of the Cat in the Hat in the school play, Seussical, Jr. The Musical. In 2018, Maddie served as one of the youngest stage managers at the Summit Playhouse. The 14-year-old is the CMS representative for the Chatham Borough Environmental Commission. She also participates in environmental initiatives with Temple Sinai in Summit. Maddie’s hobbies include kickboxing, skiing, softball, and creating baking videos.

Madeline winning a six-month membership at CKO Kickboxing in Chatham.

Gabby with her spirit animal, the chicken

Fifth grader Gabrielle has made it into the Chatham news cycle in the last year for petitioning Chatham Borough and the Board of Health to allow residential properties to keep chickens. The 10-year-old met with the Board of Health twice and last spring, presented to the Chatham Borough Council. A trendsetter, Gabrielle was the first female Chatham Borough Cub Scout to sign on with Troop 6 in 2018. Active in Tae Kwon Do at Power Training Center, she is a member of the Demo Team. And the Kaplan entrepreneurial spirit continues into the next generation. According to her parents, Gabrielle is always starting a new business—signs that advertise her latest and greatest are usually found on the family home’s front lawn.

Do you know a neighbor who has a story to share? Nominate your neighbor to be featured in one of our upcoming issues! Contact us at smcevoy@bestversionmedia.com.

We would like to thank Salerno Duane Inc. in Summit for bringing you this month’s cover story.

908-227-6700 • 267 Broad St, Summit, NJ • SalernoDuane.com