Monthly Archives: June 2016

Obituaries

Rumson Mourns Loss of Kenneth Swain, 51

The Rumson community is mourning the loss of 51-year-old Kenneth Robert Swain, Jr., who died suddenly at his Rumson home on June 12, according to bloomberg.com.

Kenneth Swain Photo/courtesy of Thompson Memorial Home
Kenneth Swain
Photo/courtesy of Thompson Memorial Home

Swain, a U.S. Army veteran and managing director the Red Bank office of BTIG, LLC, a hedge and mutual fund equity trading services company, was known as a “larger than life man with the biggest of hearts, who was often the first to volunteer his time and support to the community,” his obituary from Thompson Memorial Home said. “He was a loving and dedicated husband, father, son, brother, uncle, and an amazing friend …”

Swain, a football and basketball coach, was on the board of the RFH Touchdown Club and AYF. He was a graduate of Radford University, his obituary said.

Kenny is survived by: his wife of 16 years, Kim; his seven children, Meghan, Kenny, Tommy, John, Julia, Paige and Colin; his sister, Diane Swain Korsh, of Encinitas, CA; his brother, Clifford Swain, of Moneta, VA; his parents, Kenneth and Carol Swain, of Moneta, VA; his in-laws; and beloved nieces and nephews.

Visitation is set for Wednesday, June 15, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Thompson Memorial Home, 310 Broad St, Red Bank.

A Mass of christian burial will be held on Friday, June 17 at 10 a.m. at Holy Cross Church, 30 Ward Avenue, Rumson. Interment will follow at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Middletown. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that people consider a memorial donation in Kenny’s name to the Rumson Education Foundation, P.O. Box 395, Rumson, NJ 07760.

Local Life

Retro Remembrance of Fair Havenites on First Fair Haven Day

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Pat Topfer at the first Fair Haven Day Photo/Elaine Van Develde
Pat Topfer at the first Fair Haven Day
Photo/Elaine Van Develde
George Giffin at the first Fair Haven Day Photo/Elaine Van Develde
George Giffin at the first Fair Haven Day
Photo/Elaine Van Develde

Fair Haven Day is Saturday. It was a few years ago that the first Fair Haven Day took place on the borough’s centennial celebration.

Since then, the borough has lost some of its longtime residents who everyone knew in one capacity or another. They were some of the faces of Fair Haven.

So, the Retro Pic(s) of the Day honors two of those people who were there on the first Fair Haven Day, proud longtime Fair Havenites and icons: Life member of the Fair Haven Fire Department’s Ladies Auxiliary, Pat Topfer; and ever-popular RFH science and dance teacher extraordinaire, George Giffin.

The featured photo on the Fair Haven Day event announcement today included a popular longtime resident and friend to the borough, Ben Hamilton.

RIP, Ben, Pat and Gif. You are remembered.

Local Life

R-FH Area Weekend: Fair Haven Day & Canterbury Fair

The tents are in place. The stage is set. Fair Haven Day is Saturday, and organizers say they’re set for a full Fair Haven Fields.

With the event starting at 3 p.m., there will be food (picnic, seafood and desserts), live music, kids’  games, bouncy rides, fireworks and more.

New this year is a climbing wall, brought to the fields by the Monmouth County Parks System and sponsored by Fair Haven business Canyon Pass Provisions. The wall can e climbed by kids 8 and up.

For the adults, new this year is a bottomless white or red glass of wine for $30.

The Fair Haven Business Association is providing a magician to entertain kids and face painters.

Music, provided by Stone Bullets, River Road Band, RipTide and Juke Box Criminals, will begin at 3 p.m.

Beer, wine and sangria can be purchased starting at 4.

Ground rules: No dogs, outside alcohol, personal tents or grills/open flames. And attendees are asked to please clean up after themselves.

Click here to purchase food and beverage tickets and for more details.

Also on Saturday, in Rumson, the tradition of the annual Canterbury Fair continues, rain or shine.

The fair, set on the grounds of St. George’s-by-the-River Episcopal Church, runs from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The fair features a petting zoo, clowns, balloons, cotton candy, face painting, games and a children’s chance auction.

In addition to the famous white elephant sale, jewelry, electronics, sporting goods, gently used children’s games and clothing, homemade gourmet treats, plants, flowers and books for all ages will be sold. There will also be a silent auction tent.

Grilled food, lobster salad luncheon, baked goods, coffee and tea will be served.

 

News

Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge Plans Aired

By Elaine Van Develde

“The cul-de-sac is no longer an option,” a Monmouth County project coordinator could be heard telling Rumson residents about a hotly contested proposed cul-de-sac on Ward Avenue that was to be an option for intersection improvements that are to come with the 2020 Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge replacement. “People were strongly opposed to the concept, so it has been eliminated.”

It’s one component of what was revealed about conceptual plans at a public information forum on the estimated $60-million federally-funded bridge project at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School Wednesday night. Another was held earlier in Sea Bright.

The 66-year-old historic drawbridge, deemed in serious condition a few years ago, is slated for replacement with a similar structure spanning the Shrewsbury River to the south of the original bridge. Though nothing is set in concrete and steel yet, county officials cautioned, it’s a definite that the existing bridge will remain functional as the new one is built parallel to it, significantly minimizing if not eliminating the need for detours during construction.

Continue reading Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge Plans Aired →

Arts & Entertainment, Schools Scene

Focus: RFH Art Show

Gallery

A group of Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) seniors giggled, gossiped, reminisced and complimented one another’s artwork.

It was Wednesday night — the night of the RFH Art Show. It was one of the last events they would attend together as RFH students. Graduation is soon — the end of an era for the Class of 2016.

“You’re graduating soon. Are you going to cry (realizing the end of your high school years)?” asked Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect. “Yes, I think so,” one senior girl said as she blushed and started to get a bit teary eyed. The bittersweet ending sentiment was contagious. “Yeah, we are,” another chimed in with a sad grin, glancing at her friend.

And they put their arms around one another and smiled for a picture.

There were lots of moments like that at the RFH Art Show. And there were students of all grades taking in the art, realizing the end of an era as seniors and the beginning as freshman and everything in between.

The students conveyed their personalities and experiences in various art mediums. Take a look at the gallery below for a glimpse into the evening.

Good luck, RFH seniors!

— Elaine Van Develde

 

News

Reminder: Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge Replacement Meetings

It’s not something that’s happening any time soon, but the replacement of the deteriorating Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge is happening.

With what has been dubbed the Local Concept Development Phase of the project in the works, Monmouth County officials are letting the local public know that their input, in the form of public informational meetings, is invited as the project’s design moves into its Local Preliminary Engineering Phase.

Those meetings, held in cooperation with the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, the New Jersey Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration, are today in both Sea Bright and Rumson: from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Sea Bright Municipal Building’s public meeting room, with a presentation at 2:30 p.m.; and tonight from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School in the cafeteria.

 

From the county …

“The purpose of the Public Information Center meetings is to inform the public of the status since the Local Concept Development Phase of this bridge replacement project including refinements to the approach roadways and intersections, and to solicit public input and comment on the Preliminary Engineering Phase of the project.

“These meetings are being conducted in conformance with Federal and State regulations. The public is invited and encouraged to comment on the project and may attend either or both meetings.

“Written comments will be accepted through Friday, July 8, 2016. Comments may be mailed or faxed to:

Inkyung Englehart, Project Manager
Monmouth County Division of Engineering & Traffic Safety Hall of Records Annex, 3rd Floor
1 East Main Street
Freehold, NJ 07728

Fax 732-431-7765 [email protected]”

 

Continue reading Reminder: Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge Replacement Meetings →

News, Obituaries

Services Set for Former Rumson Roulette Owner, Community Leader Peggy Werber

The following is an edited obituary of Margaret “Peggy” Werber from Thompson Memorial Home:

Former Rumson resident, business owner and community leader Margaret “Peggy” Werber passed away suddenly on Friday, June 3.

Margaret "Peggy" Werber Photo/courtesy of Thompson Memorial Home
Margaret “Peggy” Werber
Photo/courtesy of Thompson Memorial Home

A lineal descendant of Thomas Hinckley, governor of Plymouth Colony and first governor of Massachusetts, Mrs. Werber was a wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother who was known to epitomize grace, intelligence and kind heartedness, her obituary from Thompson Memorial said.

Continue reading Services Set for Former Rumson Roulette Owner, Community Leader Peggy Werber →

Local Life

Focus: Nightfall River Kayaking

Gallery

The sun set. The water was still. It was a serene nightfall on the river in Fair Haven.

A lone kayaker rowed his way from the shore across the Navesink from the Middletown shores to the River Rats boat launch. The clouds seemed to follow him. The new moon a sliver above.

And, in the distance, in the hushed evening, were only soft echoes of the water lapping gently to each paddle, bringing him home.

Home here. Good night, Fair Haven.

— Elaine Van Develde

 

Local Life, Opinion

Retro Fair Haven Ride

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A special Fair Haven bike ride in the 1960s Photo/courtesy of Peter Mauger
A special Fair Haven bike ride in the 1960s
Photo/courtesy of Peter Mauger

There’s nothing quite like taking a ride with your buddies when you’re a little kid, especially if your bike is a tractor, too.

What kid rides a tractor in the Rumson-Fair Haven area? Well, back in the 1960s, Fair Havenite Peter Mauger did. He, the pint-sized driver carted Nancy Wilson down Lake Avenue in what was a combo tractor-bike with a cool little trailer to lug stuff or a pal in — a “dump trac,” to be exact. Susan Wilson, old and cool enough to ride a two-wheeler with a bell, rode along.

No power wheels in the form of high end, luxury cars. No helmets. No special permission needed to drive a dump trac, because, you know, they’re rural kinds of vehicles.

And the streets were barren enough in those days to ride up and down and even around the block on a seemingly endless loop. Hey, neighborhood kids used to also play dodge ball and hopscotch in the street. But, that’s a retro pic for another day.

Today, the Retro Pic of the Day, courtesy of Peter Mauger, honors a kids’  bike ride of a simpler time — not that there’s anything wrong with helmets and designer power wheels.

What kind of bike did you have? Your dream bike or foot-pedaled car? Remember those?