Category Archives: Local Life

A look, in photos, of latest area events, local everyday people and places.

Local Life

Retro Fair Haven Kindergarten Daze

A Knollwood School kindergarten class of 1956 or ’57
Photo/courtesy of George Martin

Well, school is back in session. Students are settling into the classroom routine. And for some, it’s a new experience. We’re talking kindergarten kids.

While many, or most, in this era have already been to some sort of pre-kindergarten class, that was not the case years ago. In fact, the first day of school really was a first day in a school for kindergarteners. And it could be traumatic for both parents and students.

Yes, it was only half a day of school, but it was all new: the drop-off (or rope walk), the first-day outfit and haircut, the new friends from the other side of town, the teachers, the classroom. All of it.

Then there was the school itself. There was a time when there were three school buildings in Fair Haven.

Continue reading Retro Fair Haven Kindergarten Daze →
Local Life

Focus: A Fair Finish

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The rides are dismantled. The chowder is sold out. The grounds are cleared. Games of chance are won and done. Town tales spun, lifetime friendships rekindled and begun. The 2019 Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair has come to a close for another year, but not before a banner finale.

Here’s a glimpse into fair closing night happenings and people on Saturday, from daylight to dark … (Don’t forget to CLICK on each photo to enlarge! Click again on same photo to advance to the next. Enjoy!)

— Elaine Van Develde

Local Life, Opinion

Reflection: All’s Fair in the Middle

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There have been a lot of significant beginnings and endings lately. The end of summer. The beginning of locals’ summer. The start of school — new chapters and first days.

But, what about the middle? The end of the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair brings me, and probably more than a few others, back to that middle.

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Local Life, Opinion

Remembrance of the Fair Stock Room Dude — Dad

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The following piece was originally published on Aug. 31, 2015. It is being re-run, with changes only in the amount of years that have passed, in memory of my father, Bill Van Develde, former longtime Fair Haven Fire Company member, president and captain of the Fire Police and chairman of the stock room at the fair, on the anniversary of his death on Aug. 31, 1983. RIP, Dad. You are missed. Thank you for all the embarrassing moments that I didn’t appreciate enough. Thank you for making Fair Haven my home. Thank you for being a real dad. See you later at the fair …

Retro Fair Haven Firemen's Fair stock room days in the 1970s Photo/FHFD booklet
Retro Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair stock room days in the 1970s
Photo/FHFD booklet

By Elaine Van Develde

It’s been 36 years, but I can still see his face and that kooky Brylcreemed hairdo. I can still hear his crazy belly laugh and that signature “Take ‘er easy, buddy!” I can still see him slapping kids on the back, forever clutching his trusty clipboard, pencil perched behind his ear, sweat on the brow and finger wagging.

Continue reading Remembrance of the Fair Stock Room Dude — Dad →

Local Life, Opinion

Retro Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair Balloon Boss & Buddies

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Sally Van Develde selling balloons at the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair Grab Bag Booth

The following piece was originally published in August of 2015. Here it is again in honor of the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair and my mom, Sally Van Develde, to whom this site is dedicated … 

Growing up in Fair Haven with parents in the fire company, Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair time meant time spent inflating punch balls during the day and helium balloons at night.

Continue reading Retro Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair Balloon Boss & Buddies →

Local Life

Focus: RFH Class of ’79 & Good Times

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If the song fits …

It was the summer of ’79. Bean bag chairs and Sony Walkmans were cool. Trivial Pursuit was launched. McDonald’s introduced its Happy Meal. A gallon of gas cost 79 cents. Disco dancing was still cruising in popularity. And the number one song on the charts on Aug. 17, 1979 was Good Times.

In Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) land, good times are exactly what a bunch of seniors who had just graduated in June were after. It was that summer of senior year — a summer of fun, milestones and memories. Lifetime connectors.

Bonds. Time. Trends. Music. Dance. Good Times was fitting in that summer of ’79. They were all good times; even the worst were the best. And four decades later, the song was the perfect time capsule to capture the RFH Class of ’79’s 40th reunion on that day, Aug. 17.

In RFH land, while bean bag chairs and Walkmans weren’t spotted on the gala weekend (that may still being going) and games of Trivial Pursuit were likely not played. The class was still cruising around the towns to the old haunts, like Barnacle Bill’s, Undici (formerly the ol’ Hook, Line & Sinker hangout), Even Tide, Salt Creek Grille, Donovan’s and just about any other of their hometown streets. The alligator shirts, topsiders and Rumson Roulette belts have since fazed out, but those good times live on.

“These are those good times! Leave your cares behind” and take a look … (and don’t forget to click to enlarge!)

Thanks to Jackie Iglesias Leslie and Karen Apy for the photos! Congrats on your reuniting, RFH Class of ’79!