Red Bank native, Middletown-raised Laurie Joan McGowan Robinson passed away peacefully on Sept. 6 in Red Bank. She was 68.
Continue reading In Memoriam: Red Bank Native, Middletown-Raised RBC Grad, Laurie McGowan Robinson, 68
Red Bank native, Middletown-raised Laurie Joan McGowan Robinson passed away peacefully on Sept. 6 in Red Bank. She was 68.
Continue reading In Memoriam: Red Bank Native, Middletown-Raised RBC Grad, Laurie McGowan Robinson, 68Longtime Rumsonite Jim Dolan passed away in his home on Aug. 29 after a courageous three-year battle with cancer. He was 84.
Continue reading In Memoriam: Longtime Rumsonite Jim Dolan, 84An area police officer has been charged with theft in connection with instances of failing to leave his home or respond to calls for service while he was supposed to be on duty, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Thursday.
Continue reading Prosecutor: Cop Charged with $16.5K Theft Stemming from Failure to Perform DutiesA former police officer has lost his job, been sentenced to probation and has been permanently banned from public office anywhere in NJ for lying about his criminal history and termination from a prior job in law enforcement while seeking and obtaining police employment in the state, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Thursday.
Continue reading Prosecutor: Ex-Cop Sentenced for Lying About Criminal Past in Seeking Police EmploymentAn area 23-year-old woman has been arrested and charged with vehicular homicide and related offenses in connection with a three-vehicle crash in March that left one person dead and another injured, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago and Wall Township Police Chief Sean O’Halloran jointly announced on Wednesday.
Continue reading Prosecutor: 23-Year-Old Woman Arrested on Vehicular Homicide and Related Charges in March Fatal AccidentFor decades there was what was referred to as The Grab Bag Booth at the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair. The booth was there for kids to get consolation prizes, featuring, of course, real brown paper grab bags full of goodies, that parents could buy if they didn’t win at the wheel games of chance. And there were balloons … and some fair ladies to keep the fair goodness going strong.
The Grab Bag Booth is now gone from the midway. At one point, for many years, my mom, Sally Van Develde was the chairwoman of the booth. This piece is an annual reprise to honor the booth’s goodness, the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair and those things that never disappear like helium balloons into the dark sky … Memories of a special lady — my mom.
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 Grab Bagging Balloon Lady & BudsAn area man has been convicted of the aggravated sexual assault for more than a decade of a child from the age of 4 to 15, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Tuesday.
Continue reading Prosecutor: Area Man Convicted of 10-Year Aggravated Sexual Assault of Child
The following piece was originally published on Aug. 27, 2015. It’s fair time again, so it’s time to take a look back at how things were and are done a pivotal place at the fair — the kitchen and dining room.
By Elaine Van Develde
Someone’s in the kitchen at Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair grounds.
And while they may have, at one point another been with someone named Dinah, as the old ditty goes, it’s a definite they’ve been with someone named Mike, Dale, Sue (x2), Raquel, Ethel (x2), Mary, Anne, Amanda, Skippy, Hodgie, Mary Ellen, Joe, Evie, and, oh, yeah, Andy and a few others.
And they certainly haven’t been strummin’ on any ol’ banjo. They’ve been way too busy — cutting, peeling, filling, flouring, husking and just plain cooking.
Except there’s nothing plain about what’s cooking in the fair kitchen, who’s cooking it, when, where, why or how.



Little Silver resident, Barry Henry Rizzo Sr., passed away peacefully on Aug. 30, surrounded by his loving wife and children. He was 94.
Continue reading In Memoriam: Little Silver Resident, Longtime Coach, Barry Rizzo Sr., 94A former teacher has been sentenced to 12 years in state prison for the aggravated sexual assault of a teenage student, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Monday.
Continue reading Prosecutor: Former Teacher Gets 12 Years for Aggravated Sexual Assault of Student
Longtime Rumsonite Henry Dickson “Dick” Mercer Jr. passed away peacefully at home on Aug. 24. He was 95.
Continue reading In Memoriam: Longtime Rumsonite, Land Conservationist, Community ‘Visionary,’ Dick Mercer Jr., 95The 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. 30, 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 on the fair grounds …
By Elaine Van Develde
It’s been 43 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 Remembering My Fair Daddy
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