All posts by Elaine Van Develde

Local Life

Focus: A Fair Haven GOP Council Candidates’ Meet & Greet

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Fair Haven Republican Borough Council candidates Susan Sorensen and Betsy Koch cordially invited, as all invites go, Fair Havenites and all other interested parties to a meet-and-greet, getting-to-know-you gathering at The Raven and the Peach Thursday evening.

Sorensen, the incumbent, has served on various committees in her tenure, including starting the non-profit Foundation of Fair Haven, which is designed to offset costs for special events like Fair Haven Day and Oktoberfest.

This is a first run for political office for Koch. A longtime teacher at Knollwood School, she has said that she felt the timing was right for her to pitch in as a seated councilwoman in the hometown borough she loves and as a testament to the legacy of her husband Jerome, who served on council until his premature death a few years ago.

Take a look at the photo gallery below for a glimpse into the evening …. (and don’t forget to click to enlarge!)

— Elaine Van Develde

Local Life

Scene Around: Fair Still Cookin’

Fair kitchen is open
Photo/FHFD

Well, the word is official. After a few great weather days, the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair has been rained out due to Mother Nature’s lack of cooperation.

That means that the rides and other attractions will be shut down for the evening. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that the kitchen is open, volunteers are cooking and people are invited to grab a seat in the dining room for fair food or hit the take-out window to bring some home and brighten the dank day with a little of the fair’s finest comfort.

As the sign on the firehouse says, “Only dining room is open tonight — 6-10 p.m.”

All’s fair!

Crime, Regional Interest

Prosecutor: Area Convicted Sex Offender Arrested on Charges of Assaulting a Teen

An area man, who is a convicted sex offender, was arrested on Friday and charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl over multiple months and photographing her on at least one occasion and faces up to 36.5 years in prison, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced.

Continue reading Prosecutor: Area Convicted Sex Offender Arrested on Charges of Assaulting a Teen →

Local Life

Retro Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair Carousel Girl

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Riding on the merry go 'round at the Fair Haven Firemen's Fair circa 1990s. Photo/Elaine Van Develde
Riding on the merry go ’round at the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair circa 1990s.
Photo/Elaine Van Develde

More than a couple of decades ago, a little girl got on the carousel at the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair and took a ride.

She was beaming and waving as she rode ’round and ’round. The moment was captured in a black-and-white photo.

It’s a classic fair moment that says a lot about the month’s end more than century-old tradition for which preparations are underway.

So, the Retro Pic of the Day honors this little girl’s ride on the merry go ’round and many other fair moments like it.

The little girl would be in her twenties now. Anyone recognize her?

— Elaine Van Develde

Local Life

Retro River Ratting

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The following Retro Pic of the Day, an annual ode to summer riverfront life in the area, was originally posted on Aug. 1, 2016. Take a look back with us again … 

A 1976 River Rats crew
Photo/courtesy Marc Edelman, Facebook

Summers in the Rumson-Fair Haven area are rife with river-oriented activities that have become tradition.

River Rats’ sailing “camp” is no exception. OK, nobody was camping. It was more like a little club. Still is.

It’s been a sort of rite of living on the Navesink passage for decades — since 1955. Kids learn how to boat and do a lot of summer fun bonding in the process.

Continue reading Retro River Ratting →