Retro RFH Witchy Women’s Ride

Witchy RFH women on Halloween of 1977 Bonnie Werner and Sue Brower
Photo/George Day

Call it Halloween buddy system brooming. Remember the old buddy system? Trick or treating with a buddy to stay safe. Ever apply that theory in high school tricks with the only treat being the friendship and good ride through it all together?

Well, this gruesome twosome of best buds applied the system for some double trouble all in good ghoulish fun. Now that’s a special brand of mischief. You could say they were headed every witch way on this Halloween in the late 1970s, except to class.

The two would be Sue Brower and Bonnie Werner of the RFH Class of ’78.

So the double-dose Retro Pic(s) of the (George) Day feature them at their Halloween best.

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Looking Back: Donovan’s Sandy Demise

By Elaine Van Develde

Seven years ago it began. And when Superstorm Sandy stopped its swirling on the sliver of peninsula that is Sea Bright, it plopped the iconic Donovan’s Reef down in bits and pieces.

People of the Rumson-Fair Haven area mourned the loss to a relentless, remorseless Sandy. And when they were allowed to travel over the bridge into Sea Bright, many diehard loyalists of the tiki hut by the sea could be found just sitting and staring at what once was. They walked the sea wall looking for souvenir scraps reminiscent of their glory days at Donovan’s. They talked. They even cried.

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Retro RFH Ghostly Gaggle

An RFH ghostly gathering on Halloween in 1977
Photo/George Day

A Halloween reprise to honor the season of the ghost …

Scary season has set in. People in the Rumson-Fair Haven area aren’t just out raking leaves, either. They’re haunting up their homes, crafting costumes and getting into the spirit. So, why not add a little extra retro spooking from RFH students of the past?

BOO … who or what? It was all in the haunt for RFHers back in the 1970s. They started getting the Halloween party going early on and ended up with a pretty festive feast of ghouls on the grounds of the high school and, yes, beyond.

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Prosecutor: Man Convicted of Crimes Against Special Needs Victim

A Tinton Falls man who, in 2018, retaliated against a 63-year-old special needs person, after being caught in possession of the person’s stolen bicycle, has been convicted of witness retaliation and related charges, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced on Friday.

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Focus: Halloween Haunts II

Some are creepy. Some kooky. Some mysterious. Some spooky. And some, as the Addams Family theme song goes, are “altogether ooky.” That is how Halloween decorations around the towns in Rumson and Fair Haven can be described.

But to see for yourself is to know the thriller factor of it all. So, a good drive-boo (or by), or two or three, of local haunts is always in order on such a “holiday.” The Halloween spirit, or spirits, seem to have moved residents — or at least jarred them a bit. Good ghoul! Now, that’s the All Hallows spirit!

Take a look at the latest and most diabolical decorations we spied and tell us about the best haunters in your ‘hood for Halloween!

Photos/Elaine Van Develde

Halloween in Fair Haven
Photo/Elaine Van Develde

Focus: Rumson-Fair Haven River Hug

To talk to anyone who considers the Rumson-Fair Haven area home, from their own back yard to far away places, a peek into the day’s end at the river is a home embrace. A hug. Comfort. So it’s been said. So it’s been felt.

So, if you can’t get down by the river tonight, here’s a hug, or 20, from the end of your road to home. (And, don’t forget to click to enlarge to get the whole hug picture.)

Which hometown hug speaks to you most?

— Elaine Van Develde

Prosecutor: Man Charged With Murder of Man Found In Roadway

A Monmouth County man has been charged with the murder of another man whose body was found lying in the roadway in Howell early Friday morning, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced.

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Remembrance: Fair Haven’s Rudy Garcia

Another Fair Haven dad, husband, neighbor and friend has passed away.

Longtime Fair Havenite and Korean War veteran Adolph S. “Rudy”  Garcia, known to many as a loving husband and father, world traveler and kind friend, “passed gracefully and peacefully from this Earth” on Oct. 20, his family said. He was 88.

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