A Retro Happy Thanksgiving from the Kids’ Table

Thanksgiving at the kids' table in the 1960s with Kate and Ben Hamilton Photo/Hamilton family
Thanksgiving at the kids’ table in the 1960s with Kate and Ben Hamilton
Photo/Hamilton family

Our annual Thanksgiving tribute to the kids’ table … Remember that? Happy Thanksgiving, all! Stay safe. Stay healthy. Enjoy!

It’s Thanksgiving, and, yes, it’s all about giving thanks.

So, the Retro Pic of the Day is an ode to just that.

It’s a snapshot back in time to the 1960s with a sibling duo from Fair Haven — Ben and Kate Hamilton. Ben passed away and Kate had posted this picture on Facebook giving thanks for him. RIP, Ben.

The photo brings back memories of the era the kids’ holiday table. Remember that one?

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Old News: Giving Thanks for Missing Spouses, Turkeys, Butts, Beer and a Banshee of a Doctor

To have or have not on Turkey Day …

There were things that were a focal part of tradition on Thanksgiving Day decades ago — in the 1948 Red Bank Register archives, to be exact. Those things are traditions rarely shared, much less championed and advertised now. But, hey, everyone has to live a little … in the past. So, come along with us, again …

That in mind, we take you back to some headlines and ads of that Thanksgiving of 1948. Why? Well, it just seemed like a banner of a microcosm of a year. And then there’s the mind-boggling aspect of the era — what made the top news, the prices, the habits, the must-haves and better-off-withouts. But, who knew?

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Retro RFH Football Halftime Show Folk

It’s not all about the game when it comes to RFH’s football games. Games have always been a very entertaining full-on production, featuring a big halftime show. And, back in the day, that classic RFH-RBC rivalry game always one of the showiest, most unique halftimes of all high schools. They featured, twirlers, color guard, marching bands, cheerleaders and the one and only RFH Drill Team. All encompassed the entertainment that championed many wins. How could it not? It was and is all about the RFH winning spirit. Go Dawgs!

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Retro RFH Thanksgiving Touchdown

RFH Thanksgiving Day football game
Photo/George Day

If some old RFHers had a pre-Thanksgiving turkey wishbone to yank on, they may be hoping to pull the bigger end to make a wish to revisit their own RFH Thanksgiving Day Homecoming game. Yes, the homecoming of today is already over and the RFH Dawgs are already on the state championship path.

But, back in the day, Thanksgiving, to be exact, the RFH football season used to peak with what then was the classic rivalry homecoming/Thanksgiving Day game between Red Bank Catholic and RFH. Two days before, everyone was headed home from college for the big homecoming reunion, dance and, of course reunited partying at Ichabod’s (now Woody’s, owned by RFHer Chris Wood).

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Prosecutor: Area Man Arrested, Charged with Sexual Assault of 13- and 16-Year-Old

An area man has been arrested and charged with committing sexual crimes against two children, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Monday.

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In Memoriam: Red Bank-Raised, RBH ’53 Grad, Community ‘Firebrand,’ Barbara ‘Bobbie’ Thorpe, 89

Barbara R. Thorpe

Red Bank-raised Red Bank High School graduate, Barbara “Bobbie” Thorpe, of the Lincroft section of Middletown, passed away on Nov. 20, “just four days shy of her 90th birthday.” She was 89.

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Retro RFH Tower Players Play Time

RFH Tower Players costumed and playing in 1977
Photo/RFH Yearbook

Tonight, the RFH Tower Players are opening their fall show of the school year — Frozen Jr.. The RFH shows of this era are always billed as Tower Players plays, because, of course, it’s the drama club. But, in the age of the RFH Tower Player dinosaur, playing with the Tower Players was a bit different.

There were always been two productions, as with now, but not two musicals. That was the spring production only. Originally, there was a fall drama and a spring musical. The fall drama was a Tower Players play. Tower Players only were auditioned and cast. The spring musical a different, bigger, more school-wide production. It was billed as an RFH show, with auditions open to anyone in RFH, casting dance and vocal choruses, lead and supporting role actors and all.

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In Memoriam: Native Red Banker, Longtime Little Silver Resident, Vaccarelli’s Bakery Owner, Chick Vaccarelli Jr., 97

Native Red Banker, longtime Little Silver resident, owner of Vaccarelli’s Bakery, James V. “Chick” Vaccarelli Jr., “beloved father, grandfather, and great-grandfather,” passed away peacefully on Nov. 15. He was 97.

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In Memoriam: Longtime Sea Bright Resident, Musician, Former Drummer in Tim McLoone’s Atlantic Coast Band, Carl Wendelken, 78

Longtime Sea Bright resident, musician and former drummer in Tim McLoone’s 1970s Atlantic Coast Band, Carl Wendelken, passed away on Sunday, Nov. 16, at Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank after a long illness. He was 78.

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Curtain to Go Up on RFH Tower Players’ ‘Frozen Jr.’

Call it a cool production.

The curtain goes up Friday on the Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) Tower Players in their fall musical production of Frozen Jr.; and the show will run through Sunday.

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Prosecutor: 24-Year-Old Man Indicted on Vehicular Homicide Charge in 2024 Fatal Crash

A 24-year-old man has been indicted on a vehicular homicide charge stemming from the death of a driver in a 2024 head-on collision, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Thursday.

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