Category Archives: Local Life

A look, in photos, of latest area events, local everyday people and places.

Remembering Area Mamas’ Legacies

Today is Mother’s Day.

And, we at Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect are thinking, the day should not just be one in which kids dutifully pay attention to the woman who pretty much, well, twisted her heart up and spit it out to ride a Big Wheel at 100 miles per hour with no helmet. OK, so that was a tad dramatic.

But, it’s not really just for all that jazz — though, it is important jazz. It should be about moms celebrating one another, especially to learn a little bit about one another’s roots in a tight-knit community such as the Rumson-Fair Haven area.

There are so many women in this area who served as unbreakable bricks in the foundation that is this community now. It goes back may generations. We are thankful for those women of all different motherly types — yes, different. Each unique and special in her own way. Each contributing in her own way. Each leaving her indelible fingerprint on many here, through generations.

You see, the strong community foundation that brought us all here is not about a number and a few borrowed phony promotional words — real estate value, flipping and the lingo concocted to make the sale.

The sale was made long ago and the value was tucked away in the hearts of some of these moms who were here when it all started, caring for one another through their community.

It’s about lifeblood — the lifeblood of, in this case, matriarchs who have bequested a legacy of true love.

They put the coffee on. Who’s bringing the crumb cake? Yes, crumb cake. When it comes to community, you can indulge in the simple a little to keep it very sweet.

Take a look at our slideshows of some area moms from the past and present. Some are still with us. Some are not. But, they are remembered for their own contributions to one another and laying bricks in the foundation that is the Rumson-Fair Haven area. If  you have a photo you’d like to add, of a mom from the past, email it to us at evd@rfhretro and we will include it in a gallery.

Retro RFH English Teacher Appreciation

RFH English teachers of the 1970s
Photo/RFH yearbook

What would Teacher Appreciation Day be without a little ode to those who unwittingly set a writer on her twisted path to write — about them?

They are the English teachers at RFH. Back in the 1970s, they comprised quite the crew of educators. They taught us how to communicate more effectively. They chided us for using improper grammar. They expected better when they knew we were capable of the best. They glommed onto the small details that mattered in stringing a better sentence together with the peskiness of a dangling participle.

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Retro RFH Boys’ Jump for Baseball Joy

RFH guys play ball in the 1970s
Photo/George Day

It’s not every day that a casual baseball game causes a player to levitate — just one day back in the 1970s.

We’re not sure of exactly what happened here on the field, but RFH yearbook photographer George Day caught this home run of a shot — mid-air.

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Scene Around: Rumson Cops Run Toward Suicide Prevention

A dank, dark Sunday didn’t stop those running for the cause of shining a light on suicide prevention awareness in the annual Ridge Road Run 5K. And some of Rumson’s finest were among the many sprinting into the support effort — specifically, three police officers.

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Retro Spring Chillin’ RFH Style

RFH students of the 1970s take some free time outside in the nice weather. Photo/George Day
RFH students of the 1970s take some free time outside in the nice weather.
Photo/George Day

A reprise of a very popular Retro Pic of the (George) Day that pays homage to spring — RFH style … Now where were these RFHers? Word has it that they were far off campus … 

Spring has truly sprung. In fact it’s bloomin’ bouncing into seasonal warmth lately, save for a few bad days.

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Scene Around: A Local Paperboy, Musician, Actor/Writer and a Street Naming

Call it an esteemed happening in their hometown.

They’re three Middletown-raised celebrities in their own right — famed news anchor Brian Williams and brothers Stevie and Billy Van Zandt. But it was all about the Van Zandt brothers on Friday. Middletown honored the duo in their hometown with the naming of the street where they lived, Wilson Avenue in the New Monmouth section, after them — Van Zandt Way. Williams was there to host and bask in it all with the brothers. He, as a youngster, was a paperboy for the now defunct Courier newspaper.

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Retro RFH Batty Gym Suit Home Run

A reprise in honor of the girls, baseball season and not having to wear these horrific mandatory gym suits anymore! Strike! The suits are out! Phew! Remember the fun and the horror with us … (Be sure to CLICK on one photo to enlarge and scroll to fully experience the horror. Ha!)

It’s just plain batty! Batter’s up at RFH as baseball season is in full swing. But, looking back at some RFH 1970s games, you have to wonder when or why, exactly, there was ever a season of the ol’ gym suit, baseball or softball aside.

Really. Ponder it. Those things that made girls look like Stay Puff marshmallows, or, worse, a big baby with a onesie that had enough space for a diaper or, well … you get the picture.

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