Our annual reprise in celebration of opening night of the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair …
All’s fair. The night before. The decades later. It’s something a Fair Haven kid will always see … a shooting star that they grabbed and tucked away in their heart, holding onto the glistening, magical light.
The night is still. A light is on. Trucks are out of the bays. Cartoony faces and ghosts in empty seats on unassembled carnival rides stare back in the dark. Someone’s cooking at the Fair Haven firehouse. It’s fair time.
A coastal flood warning has been issued for our area due to the impacts of Hurricane Erin and the upcoming new moon cycle. Significant coastal hazards are expected beginning today, Aug. 20, through Friday, Aug. 22, with conditions peaking on Thursday, Aug. 21, as the storm passes offshore.
Over the next 48 hours, please prepare for:
• High sustained winds and stronger gusts
• Tidal flooding in low-lying areas
• Rising water levels that may impact travel and property
Please prepare accordingly and take appropriate safety measures. Do not drive through flood waters. The water may be deeper than it appears and can be extremely dangerous.
For residents of the West Park Section of Rumson, parking will be permitted in a diagonal fashion along Old Rumson Road to help safeguard vehicles. Stay alert and follow all official updates from Rumson PD and Local Officials.
A full briefing package with details can be found here:
Historic Commission members discuss business at the July 22 meeting — Photo/David Vilacoba
By David Vilacoba
Most Fair Haven residents don’t realize that the borough’s Historic Preservation Commission, an advisory board to the governing body designed to protect and promote all things historical, meets and shares discoveries and stamps of approval regularly.
The most recent meeting yielded some interesting tidbits.
Two businesses submitted applications for the approval of those signs by the borough advisory committee: LSK Interior Design and Bloombar Café et Fleurs, a flower shop with a small cafe in it that also sells specialty coffee.
The committee approved both requests with little hassle, the only condition being that the original signpost will not be altered.
The building at 775 River Road used to be an old residence, according to Arthur Pavluk, the Commission chair. The residence was then turned into a business in the borough’s historic business district, and has been renovated and restored to make the building look, “more period correct,” Pavluk said.
In other news, the committee plans to go ahead with work to renovate Fisk Chapel, which is more commonly known as Bicentennial Hall. External work is planned for the chapel, however many committee members brought up concerns about the acoustics of the building as well.
Fisk Chapel was built in 1882 on Fisk Street by an African-American Methodist congregation made up primarily of freed slaves coming north after the end of the civil war. The chapel was moved to its current location in 1975, and when saved and put on the National Registry of Historic Places, was renamed Bicentennial Hall.
The Historic Preservation Commission has used the structure for a while, but plans to move back to Borough Hall soon for its meetings. The chapel will be continue to be used for other functions.
Also during the meeting, Borough Councilwoman Tracy Cole, liaison to the Commission, announced plans to create an online archive for historical sites across the borough.
“Not everything can fit on a plaque,” Cole said.
The Historic Association of Fair Haven, under the umbrella of the official borough Commission is in the process of creating a website, as announced by Commission member and Association President Elise Casey on social media.
The Association’s annual garden party is being held on Sept. 6.
In other news, an old capstan was found at the Department of Public Works and Commission members are trying to figure out its origins and history along with what to do with it.
And the transom (upper window) of the old Youth Center, which was Fair Haven Police Department until recently, has been saved as a piece of borough history. It is the original window above the door to the building, which was a very historic place that was a segregated school house. In later years, after segregation ended, there were a few years when kindergarten was held in the upstairs of the main building.
Members are coordinating where the transom should be placed in the new building.
A Sunday accident in Rumson that downed utility poles, caused a power outage and injured two people is under investigation, Rumson police said in a released statement.
Manning a Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair game of chance booth in the 1960s Photo/FHFD
Reprise, because the countdown to Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair time has begun! Yes, there are games of chance at the fair, but most would agree that everyone’s a winner with the fair and its cache of memories for any area-raised kid. Spin …
“Round and round she goes; and, where she stops, nobody knows.”
That usual was the sing-song mantra echoed through the grounds of the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair back in the day. It was emanating from the guys manning the game of chance booths that still line the grounds — the loud ticking of the wheel with the spin, numbers going round and round, fingers crossed, breath held … until they stopped on that winning number. “Aaaaaand we have a WINNER!” Woohoo!
While the new Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge is open and fully operational, work around the bridge continues and Monmouth County officials continue to advise motorists and pedestrians of waterborne, bridge and surrounding area travel alerts.
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