As Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”
That’s sort of how it goes when the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair ends after it’s traditional end-of-summer week-long stint — because it’s never really over.
The fair never really ends. And most of the people running it are still around year-round.
So are the fairgoers in the area. It’s called community. And it’s something that may culminate annually at the fair, but is a mainstay of life in the Rumson-Fair Haven area.
But there is that annual closing night. There are also some fair traditions that have not ensued over the years. Do you know what they are?
We do.
Did you know? …
• that there used to be a high wire act on closing night? It dates back to the mid- to late- 60s and early 70s. I think Batman may have actually been there, too.
• There also used to be a band playing nightly on the front balcony of the firehouse. The bands King James and His Court and Pete Galatro’s Orchestra were staples. And, in later years, there was carnival music piped onto the grounds. Notice that there is no longer any music?
• Candy apples, a longtime fair treat, are no longer made and sold at the fair.
• There used to be a booth where you could win Kewpie dolls and many of them served as toilet paper covers, with embroidered skirts to cover the roll.
• There was also a booth where television sets and other smaller appliances were prizes.
• There was no super 50/50. There was a car raffle.
• There was a carousel ride.
• The Zipper has been a fair ride since the dawn of time.
Generations of Fair Haven Fire Department people have worked the fair for decades. Tradition. Some things never change. It ain’t over.
As closing time for the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair came, yet another old picture popped up, and there was a little chat on the fair grounds with a present co-chairman of the fair and the stockroom guy of more recent years — Andy Schrank and Frank Leslie.
Frank Leslie and Andy Schrank on the last night of the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair. Photo/Elaine Van Develde
Schrank, now one of three co-chairs, took us back in time a bit. He reminded us of the times when there was only one chairman. Before there were the present three, Gary Verwilt, former longtime Knollwood School teacher, had the job. Back in the day, though, from the late 1960s to the late 80s, that guy was James Acker.
So, the Retro Pic of the day features a photo of Acker peering out of the stockroom at fair time somewhere in the middle of those years.
What does the chairman do? Well, it’s what it sounds like. He has to make sure that everything is up and running right, son Bill said.
There’s some haggling that goes on over purchases, rentals and state operation licenses.
In then end, though, it’s all boils down to just making sure things are always running smoothly. And they always have.
James Acker, or Jimmy, as my dad called him, always had a sincere smile on his face and twinkle in his eyes, especially when talking about the fire company. He always looked people straight in the eyes when talking to them, too. He was just a nice guy who, his son reminds us, was stubbornly dedicated when it came time to chair that fair — but always a friend.
“I remember going to New York to Conelle’s to buy stuff (prizes) for the fair and rent the tents,” Bill said. “When Dad and Mr. Conelle got together, it was like watching two dogs fight over a bone. But when it was done, Mr. Conelle and Dad were like old friends again.”
Yes, James Acker was loyal. He loved his fire company and his friends. A perfect example of his extreme loyalty was his helicopter dad manner when protecting the fair’s famous clam chowder secret.
He had the secret recipe to the much sought-after soup. He got it from an old Fair Haven friend. He made that chowder with that recipe, Acker kids getting things cooking beside him, for decades.
As promised, Bill said, the recipe went to the grave with him. He had promised the hander-down of the hush-hush concoction that it would never be shared with another soul. It wasn’t.
It was a measure of commitment to the best for Jim Acker, loved his fellow firemen — enough to make sure he got the fair the best chowder around. And it was bowl-licking good.
Oh, the new recipe is good, too, but he and some others would have to argue that the secret recipe version had a bit of an edge.
A 1983 story from the Red Bank Register archives on the fair has Jim Acker quoted. He said that the fair drew about 5,000 people a night then. He also said that it took about 225 people a night to operate it. Don’t forget, there was no internet purchasing then. He said he started going into New York and buying $25,000 worth of prizes in January (from Mr. Conelle, whose first name escapes Bill) for the 15 games of chance.
The big prize in 1983 was a Dodge 400 convertible, rather than the present super 50/50.
Oh, and among the prizes purchased were cartons of cigarettes for the Big Six tent, now the Money Wheel.
Step right up for a spin on the fair memory wheel! Game of chance? No. It’s a sure bet that there are many more where it came from.
RIP James Acker. Thanks for the memories … oh, and the chowder!
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