Tag Archives: Barbara Leslie

Retro Fair Haven Folk Singer Parading

Fair Haven Folk Singers in a Fair Haven parade circa early 1970s
Photo/Jack Croft via Mary Croft

They had the “whole world” in their hands. The whole wide world. And they didn’t even know it.

It was a song the Fair Haven Folk Singers used to strum, sing and march to in parades. It encapsulated some happy insular times in one tiny niche in the world aptly called Fair Haven. The mission of the Fair Haven Folk Singers was a simple one — learn to play the guitar, all three chords, strum, sing, smile and spread the joy of music.

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Old News: A ‘Cheers’ to Iconic Places & People

There’s a reason why the 1970s and ’80s TV show Cheers was so popular.

The title song said it all in one sentence “You wanna go where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.” It resonated with millions. Everyone wanted that place to go to where they knew they belonged. A nose-to-the-screen-free environment. Face-to-face social interaction with a family of another kind that, good or bad, always showed up. Regulars. A place like Cheers — with parents.

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Scene Around: Whistling & Stopping Home with Barbara Leslie

She’s that lady who taught guitar to many a Fair Haven kid. She rowed the musical boat ashore and marched, played and sang with them as Fair Haven Folk Singers in parades. She’s Barbara Leslie. Her iconic base of song and play? The Whistle Stop.

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Retro Whistle Stop Smiles; Timeless Celebration of a Fair Haven Icon’s Birthday

Frank Leslie Sr. and his gaggle of kids at the Whistle Stop in Fair Haven circa 1979 Photo/Elaine Van Develde
Frank Leslie Sr. and his gaggle of kids at the Whistle Stop in Fair Haven circa 1979
Photo/Elaine Van Develde

Today would have marked the 89th birthday of Fair Haven’s Frank Leslie Sr., owner of the iconic Whistle Stop. In honor of that, we are sharing this piece originally posted on July 20, 2016. Happy Birthday, Mr. Leslie! Thanks for the many smiles and simple good times!

By Elaine Van Develde

Sometimes all it takes is a jawbreaker, a slice of Elio’s pizza, pinball and friends all enveloped in a gingham-curtained room with a jovial giant of a dad host to make a bunch of kids smile.

Sometimes. Some simpler time back in time.

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