Category Archives: Local Life

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

Local Life, News

Woody’s Win: Sea Bright Rising’s Chris Wood & His Telly Award

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Woody’s Ocean Grille owner and Sea Bright Rising creator Chris Wood has earned a place in documentary history.

The Fair Havenite and Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School graduate won a Telly award for his part in a documentary on Sea Bright Rising and the non-profit’s partnership with the St. Bernard Project.

Wood, or Woody, as he is more widely recognized, thanked “Sean Moran, Viacom, MTV and VH1 for doing such a great job documenting Sea Bright Rising and our partnership with the St Bernard Project,” in a post on his Facebook wall about the award, which he said was a surprise to him on Thursday night.

Wood started Sea Bright Rising in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Surviving the storm better than most in Sea Bright, a small strip of a then near-flattened peninsula town, he and his head chef, Onofrio Moscato, started flipping burgers on a grill in the municipal lot next to the restaurant to feed whoever they could.

What started out as a bite to eat and a little comfort quickly turned into three meals a day, clothing, toiletries, incidentals, a U.S. Air Force tent under which cooking was done and then the National Guard rolled in on official duty to help. The effort grew to fundraising to fix Sandy-ravaged homes under the monicker of Sea Bright Rising.

To date, Sea Bright Rising has raised more than $1.3 million and distributed more than $1 million of it to 300 families and 18 businesses in Sea Bright, according to its website.

Congrats, Woody!

Local Life

Going Retro with 2015 Basie Award Winner Julia Mosby

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Julia Mosby and Ben Ley after “Miracle on 34th Street” performance at RFH. Photo/Barbara Mosby
Julia Mosby and Ben Ley after “Miracle on 34th Street” performance at RFH. Photo/Barbara Mosby

She won!

Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School senior Julia Mosby on Wednesday night won as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama at the 10th Annual Basie Awards.

The awards celebrate the talent of Monmouth County high school students in various categories.

RFH was nominated for a total of 11 awards. Mosby was nominated for two: Outstanding Supporting Actress in both the Drama and Musical categories.

She won for her supporting role in the high school’s fall production of Miracle on 34th Street.

So, in our Retro Pic of the Day, we take you back to the closing day performance of that show with a photo of Mosby and friend Ben Ley, also an RFH grad, after the final performance.

Congrats, Julia!

Business Buzz, Local Life

Butler’s is Coming Back Soon

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Butler's Market is making a comeback soon Photo/Elaine Van Develde
Butler’s Market is making a comeback soon
Photo/Elaine Van Develde

No one knows quite when yet, but Rumson’s iconic Butler’s is coming back soon.

The signs are up and the word on the deli’s Facebook page is that it will be any day now when fans will be able to once again, sit and chat on the Adirondacks outside and have any one of the sandwiches, from breakfast to lunch, for which the place has earned its high foodie and social place in Rumson history.

Owner Paul Stout says on the Facebook page that the coffee is brewing and so are some all-time favorites over which townies are still singing songs of tribulation.

Yes, Stout said on the Facebook page, the famous corn chowder will return. So will the chicken salad. Of course, the yummy lobster salad was mentioned as well.

We, at Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect, have made Butler’s our standard stop since high school days back in the 1970s and through the years after.

It has never disappointed. Fabulous bread always, our favorite, in addition to that lobster salad, was always a roast beef sub with pepperoni and provolone. The works, please!

Can’t wait. We will be there!

Just a side note that Butler’s is now Butler’s Market, rather than Butler’s Deli. No mind, all will be there!

What’s your favorite Butler’s sandwich?

Arts & Entertainment, Local Life

Break a Leg at the Basie Awards, RFH’s Julia Mosby!

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By Elaine Van Develde

Curtain up! Light the lights! Tonight’s the night Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) senior Julia Mosby is set to hit the heights as she competes with the area’s high school talent for two Outstanding Supporting Actress wins at the Basie Awards.

With RFH up for a total of 11 awards at the annual ceremony, Mosby is the only RFH actress nominated, and in both the drama and musical branches of the Outstanding Supporting Actress category.

Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect caught up with Mosby recently at a Rumson gathering.

Headed to Princeton in the fall, she’s a lover of the old time Broadway greats, many of whom her generation doesn’t recall. She has a great deal of respect for her craft and those who embodied stage presence and originality in characterization back in the day and it is her goal to emulate that.

She’s not a fan of any typical sound in musical voice or cookie cutter acting method.

What part would she love to play? Reno Sweeny in Anything Goes.

Mosby, for her role in RFH’s Miracle on 34th Street, is competing for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama with: Emily Esposito, Matawan Regional High School, Cocktails with Mimi; Laura Diorio, Middletown High School South, A Diamond as Big as the Ritz; Emily Mitro, Shore Regional High School, Lend Me a Tenor; Amanda Spina, St. John Vianney High School, 3 One Acts.

In the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical, Mosby, who was Frau Blucher in RFH’s Young Frankenstein is competing with: Joelle Rosen, Long Branch High School, A Chorus Line; Rachel Calvosa, Freehold High School, The Addams Family; Julia Crean, Ocean Township High School, The Addams Family; Eliana Swartz, Red Bank Regional High School, Anything Goes; Alysa Finnegan, Mater Dei Prep, Curtains.

Break a leg, Julia and all the other competitors!

Local Life, News

Holy Cross Church: A Look at its Expansion From Start to Near Finish

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Here’s Holy Cross Church. Here’s its steeple. Open the doors … Well, not quite yet.

By the looks of things and according to the word around town, the Rumson church will be ready for its people (or parishioners) by the summer.

And it looks that way.

With the foundation of the 1885 church restoration/expansion blessed on Nov. 3, 2013, after the project broke ground that spring, construction was slated for completion by the end of 2014. While it has looked very close to finished for several months, a look back from its groundbreaking to now shows the progress and latest refinements.

The church project has been a contentious one from the start, tainted by the scandal of its leader in the early 2000s, Rev. Joseph Hughes, who pleaded guilty to embezzling millions from the church and its revamp fundraising coffers.

Then there were battles over the size of the expansion of what was a small, white-shingled 1885 church the expansion of which is being tailored to recreate the original design of Charles Keely.

For fundraising sponsorship offers, check out the church’s website by clicking here.

— Photos and story/Elaine Van Develde

 

Local Life

Retro Good Neighbor Ray Taylor

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Fair Haven resident Ray Taylor at friend Chum Chandler's memorial service recently Photo/Elaine Van Develde
Fair Haven resident Ray Taylor at friend Chum Chandler’s memorial service recently
Photo/Elaine Van Develde

You see him in every parade, at just about every event around town and always ready to lend a hand with a smile, respectful nod and gentlemanly demeanor.

He is lifetime Fair Havenite Ray Taylor and he has been unanimously nominated for Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect’s Retro Pic of the Day featuring good neighbors.

The veteran of World War II and the Korean War is in his 90s and has nothing but love for his hometown and its people.

Whenever he gets the chance, Taylor lets people know that he remembers those in the community who were pillars without pretense — good neighbors, volunteers and friends. He talks about them, offers his anecdotes on what each gave to the town he loves and encourages others to never forget, but to emulate them.

Teary eyed, he told children at the Veterans Day service in Fair Haven a couple of years ago that they are the future and that they should learn right away to “do your best for our beautiful community. I was raised here; and, if i die, I’ll die here.”

Thanks, Ray Taylor, for being a community role model and a good neighbor to all.

Local Life, News

West Front Street Bridge is Open

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It happened on schedule. The new $21.9 million West Front Street (or Hubbard’s) Bridge opened just in time for Memorial Day on Monday, but work will continue.

The old, temporary bridge will be removed; and, with that, finishing touches on the bridge approaches and amenities will be wrapped up within a year or so, Monmouth County officials said in a release.

Continue reading West Front Street Bridge is Open →

Local Life

Sea Bright Farmers Market Feature: Cheesy and Udderly Fresh

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This Sea Bright Farmers Market butter, cheese and probiotic comes to you straight from the cow’s utters — the grass-fed cow’s.

That’s the scoop Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect got from Chris Stoner of Central Valley Farm.

“Yes, that’s my real name,” she said while explaining the makings of some special farm fresh products her farm sells at the market on Thursdays. “People always joke around with me and say, ‘What, exactly is it that you’re growing on that farm?'”

The truth, she said, is that they’re growing lots of vegetables and herbs, harvesting eggs from the chickens, and milking the grass-fed cows at least twice a day. And that organic milk is then churned into butter and turned into cheese, probiotic shakes and fruity treats.

“Yes, the butter, cheeses and shakes come right from the cow,” Stoner said. “Totally organic. Very yummy.”

The farm offers several different types of cheese, such as gouda, dill cheese cubes, ricotta, and the favorite, Jersey Cheese, is a soft, mild cheddar, she said.

We tried the farm fresh butter. It is a creamy organic dream. And it will, yes, melt in your mouth. We’re now convinced that there’s nothing better than fresh butter.

It’s not salty. “We use about a pinch of salt per four pounds, so if you like it a little saltier, you should add some on your own,” Stoner said.

 

 

Local Life

Springing into the Sea Bright Firemen’s Fair

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[WRG id=3630]

It’s a sure sign of spring when the Sea Bright Firemen’s Fair starts.

And spring was in the air on the first night of the longtime area tradition Thursday.

The fair continues through Sunday: Friday, from 5 p.m. to midnight; Saturday, from 4 p.m. to midnight; Sunday, from 2 to 9 p.m.

Take a look at the photo gallery above for a glimpse into opening night of the fair. 

 

Local Life

Retro Ode to Good Neighbor Chum Chandler

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Chum Chandler back in the day Photo/courtesy of the Chandler family
Chum Chandler back in the day
Photo/courtesy of the Chandler family

Well, once we published our first in a series of good (old) neighbors and asked for nominations, it didn’t take long to get an onslaught of nominations to feature  Fair Haven’s Chum Chandler as a shining example of neighborliness.

So, Chum is our Retro Pic of the Day good neighbor.

Chandler, who passed away not long ago, was a native Fair Havenite, RFH grad, local businessman, Fair Haven Fire Company lifetime member and just all-around quirky, personable character. Anyone who knew him would tell you that he embodied all that’s good in this slice of suburbia.

He was known as a tall order of tough pull-yourself-up-by-the- bootstraps love always ready to lend a hand, share a good joke, poke a little fun and spread his zest for life and, yes, the town that he loved.

The man who was known as a good neighbor to the entire borough also believed in paying it forward; and he did just that.

Thank you to neighbor Chum Chandler. People are paying your message forward.

 

 

Local Life, Opinion

Rewind to Good Neighbor Ken Lockwood

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Ken Lockwood at his 90th birthday party in 2012 Photo/Elaine Van Develde
Ken Lockwood at his 90th birthday party in 2012
Photo/Elaine Van Develde

It’s spring. Block party time has come.

And, with the advent of that sort of celebration of a neighborhood, we at Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect are taking a look back at good neighbors.

So, we’re kicking off what will be a daily ode with our Retro Pic of the Day honoring Ken Lockwood.

Lockwood lived in Fair Haven for 88 years, nearly as long as the borough’s existence. He moved to Fair Haven at the age of 2 and is now 93.

Continue reading Rewind to Good Neighbor Ken Lockwood →

Local Life, Obituaries, Opinion

Retro Fair Haven Exxon Icon Ray Miller

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Ray Miller at his Exxon station at the corner of River Road and Smith Street Photo/courtesy of Peggy Miller
Ray Miller at his Exxon station at the corner of River Road and Smith Street
Photo/courtesy of Peggy Miller

By Elaine Van Develde

Another Fair Haven icon has passed.

Ray Miller, a pioneer of Fair Haven small business and longtime community friend, died at 92 on Sunday.

So, we honor him today in our Retro Pic of the Day, courtesy of his daughter Peggy.

This day-in-a-life shot gives a focused picture of the Ray Miller so many knew back in the day. Gravelly voice curmudgeon-like manner always at a “high test” premium, there were countless memorable  visits made by many a youngster and their parents to Ray Miller’s Exxon at the corner of River Road and Smith Street — even if you knew you might get a scolding.

Continue reading Retro Fair Haven Exxon Icon Ray Miller →