You could call this week a reflective one in the Rumson-Fair Haven area. It started with a sad farewell to the young Fair Haven hometown hero U.S. Army Pfc. Jamie Riley, 21.
Continue reading Focus: Reflections of Rumson-Fair Haven LifeGalleries
Focus: Power of People 2018
People. People put the power of place into perspective. They pull us back into places we remember, milestones. They set us soaring toward our dreams, reaching for our own stars. They bring us down to Earth. They anchor us, our memories, our life journeys.
So, in honor of bringing the people in our lives, our communities, all into focus on the journey of one year in the Rumson-Fair Haven area, we offer a glimpse at the people around us in 20018. Relive. Remember. Treasure.
Happy New Year! Be sure to stop, take a look at the faces around you and embrace the memories created in 2019 …
Take a look back (and don’t forget to CLICK to ENLARGE!)
— Elaine Van Develde
Photo/Loujeanne Cuje 
Photo/FHFD 
Winning Itsy Bitsy Spider, Mom and Dad Photo/FHFD 
Focus: Power of Place 2018
There’s a lot to be said about the importance of place in people’s lives. It defines us in many ways. It brings us comfort. It triggers memories. It is a bookmark in our hearts. Oftentimes that important place is home.
So, to pay homage to the profound power of place in the Rumson-Fair Haven area, home, we offer a glimpse back to significant places of 2018 and many decades preceding it.
Happy New Year! Take a look and let the photos give a tug at your heartstrings. Remember.
(Oh, and don’t forget to click on each photo to enlarge and get the full view!)
— Elaine Van Develde
Focus: Fair Haven Holiday House Decoration Winners
Drum roll please … for, perhaps, the little drummer nutcracker boys on the front porch of the first-place winner of the first Fair Haven Holiday House Decoration Contest — the Ruscignos at 39 Parker Avenue.
Ben, Maria and Rocco Ruscigno added some special touches this year, they said. They collected PJs for ill children and their families at the Jersey Shore University Medical Center Children’s Hospital in an effort to give back the kindness they received when Rocco was ill one year. In an effort to make the drop-off spot as festive and easy to find as possible, spirits soared and their house got the deluxe decoration treatment. Maria announced that they dropped off “100 pairs of brand new pajamas” to Jersey Shore. She thanked all for the donations.
Congratulations to the Ruscignos!
Second place went to the family at 11 Country Lane with the beautiful array of white lights. If you’ve done your holiday lights drive with due diligence every year, you’ve surely seen and admired the display here.
And third place went to the folks at 77 Poplar Ave., whose home is adorned with lots of festive multicolored lights and decorations year after year.
All the entries were drive-by worthy. Take a ride around the borough to see for yourself. There were 13 that were entered in the contest. In the meantime, take a look at some photos of the winners. And don’t forget to click to enlarge!
39 Parker Ave. 
39 Parker Ave. 
11 Country Lane 
11 Country Lane 
11 Country Lane 
77 Poplar Ave. 
77 Poplar Ave.
Focus: Black & White Winter on the River
You’ve seen it before. The view of Rumson from Hartshorne Woods at sunset on a winter’s day is a stunning, stark one.
It’s simple. It’s black and white. It’s peace and landscape harmony.
Take pause and take it in.
Good night, Rumson-Fair Haven area.
— Elaine Van Develde
Lighting Up the Holidays in Fair Haven
Remember the old Sunday night drive to check out all the Christmas lights when you were a kid?
Well, it doesn’t have to be a Sunday night. Any night is a good one for the drive around to look at the lights.
We took a little night drive in Fair Haven. The only thing that was missing was the ol’ “Ooooo … ahhhh” and the backseat sibling quibbling to Dad’s, “Girls! If I have to pull this car over!”
This is what we saw. And it’s just a sampling. Fair Haven is quite festive. In fact, the borough, starting tomorrow, is having it’s first holiday decoration contest. Check out the informational flyer below …
Know of any great decorations? Let us know where they are, too. We’ll make sure everyone gets to take the pre-Christmas drive with us.
— Elaine Van Develde
Focus: Santa Comes to Fair Haven
Santa Claus came to Fair Haven on Friday. Well, he rode down the street in the firetruck to the annual Tree Lighting and Holiday Stroll, after arriving from the North Pole, of course. Something like that.
Tradition is the cornerstone of the 1.4-square-mile borough. It prevailed on a chilly Friday evening laced with a community spirit of comfort and warmth. Nestled in a time-honored corner at Memorial Park, young helpers helped, officials officiated, families flocked, friends got festive and, once again, Santa came to town.
Take a look at the smiles and get a glimpse into what transpired … (And don’t forget to click to enlarge!)
Happy holidays!
— Elaine Van Develde
Focus: Gulls’ Paradise on the Rumson Riverfront
The days have been dank on the banks of the Navesink River.
Yet, sea gulls seem to always seem to settle into a bit of hovering and hanging out at Victory Park in Rumson.
Year after year, damp days or not, they always come back home, lie many this time of year.
It’s another familiar scene down by the river. You’ve seen it before. Take a look again … It never gets old.
— Elaine Van Develde
Focus: Dank Fair Haven Dock Daze
After a brief respite of sunshine and classic crisp fall weather, damp, windy days are here again in the Rumson-Fair Haven area. But, the sun will make a return appearance by Saturday, the National Weather Service predicts.
Focus: Favorite Halloween Haunts
It’s beginning to look a lot like Halloween. That’s because it is.
So, everywhere in the Rumson-Fair Haven area there are reminders of the spooky season. Over the years, people have outdone decorations of the past and, in some cases, never managed to measure up to those unforgettable houses many of us visited as a kid.
So, to set the mood for the day, take a look back at some the finest Rumson-Fair Haven Halloween sightings. Your favorite? What tops these haunts? Your house? Send us a photo, if you dare!
Happy Halloween! (And don’t forget to click to enlarge and scroll!)
— Photos/Elaine Van Develde
Focus: Remembering Superstorm Sandy’s Wrath
It was the year that Halloween wasn’t. It was 2012 and Superstorm Sandy had pummeled the Jersey Shore. It decimated Sea Bright and destroyed low lying parts of Rumson. Fair Haven was a bit war torn and powerless.
Continue reading Focus: Remembering Superstorm Sandy’s Wrath
Focus: Fair Haven Halloween Parading 2018
With some chills, thrills, ghouls, goblins and festively costumed spirits of the night and day, the annual Fair Haven Egg Hunt and Halloween Parade set a seasonal tone on Sunday.
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