A look, in photos, of latest area events, local everyday people and places.
Reprise, because everyone’s asking about those hot Rumson girls of the 1950s dock days. And they’re still around the towns …
Well, we are steeped in steamy summer heat. And there’s really nothing more sizzling summer hot than two Rumson girls of the 1950s who took the plunge into and out of summers together — suited up, off the Rumson Dock and into a longtime friendship.
Continue reading Retro Sizzling Rumson Dock Girls’ 50s Summer
The following piece was originally posted on July 8, 2015. As we dive into summer season, we thought it only fitting to remember good summer times outside of the usual beach romp for those who grew up and raised their families in the Rumson-Fair Haven area — summer theater. Once upon a time, there was a special little place in Rumson called The Barn … Take a trip back with us to simple summers and magical, theatrical times …
Remember The Barn Theater in Rumson?
Well, if you don’t, you missed out and are probably significantly younger than those who do and didn’t — miss out, that is.
It’s a plus if you’re that young. But, it’s definitely a factor in the minus category if you didn’t work, play or get entertained there.
It was a community theater that cast hundreds, maybe thousands, from the area, including many Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) students.
The building is still there, only a few blocks away from the high school on Avenue of Two Rivers near the intersection at Ridge Road. The reason why it was called The Barn was, well, because it was an old barn, gutted (if there is such a thing with a barn) and converted into a small arena-type stage theater, with the stage at floor level and risers around it as seats, though not all the way around.
You get the picture. Now, here’s what’s behind the place’s show folk and shows …
Continue reading Retro Rumson Summer: The Barn Theater
All’s cool with these little rats in the pool … or, more like down by the river! A reprise from 2018 in ode to the tradition of summer recreating on the river in the Rumson-Fair Haven area. It’s all about River Rats, one summer rite of passage in the area …
Summers in the Rumson-Fair Haven area are rife with river-oriented activities that have become tradition.
River Rats’ sailing “camp” is no exception. OK, nobody was camping. It was more like a little club. Still is.
It’s been a sort of rite-of-living-on-the-Navesink passage for decades — since 1955. Kids learn how to boat and do a lot of summer fun bonding in the process.
Continue reading Retro Cool River Rat Daze
Summer theater productions are opening once again all over the Rumson-Fair Haven area. This seasonal show time for locals has proven as popular as hitting the beach with buddies — OK, far away from the invasion of the outta town tourists.
Continue reading Retro RFH Summer Theatrics
A reprise for history’s sake …
The Rumson beach boys of the 1960s no sooner made their retro appearance than the iconic spot of their clubbing and lifeguard stand antics became a focal point of the snapshot.
And there’s a sequel with a girl added to the beach boy mix, apparently having broken up the standoff on the lifeguard stand, calming top spot. Mayhem ensued. Meanwhile, back at the club …
Continue reading Retro Rumson Beach Boys & Girl & Clubbing History
Sometimes the best front-row seat is the one that cradles your river time.
Wherever it is, front-row Rumson Barnacle Bill’s or docked, it’s that seat that offers a hometown view with heart. Even in the haze, the the clarity of what matters most is caught like an opening night bouquet tossed into the audience’s lap from the Navesink River’s scenic stage.
It’s a show without a ticket or playbill. Curtain’s always up, even if the lights are dim and no one’s in the house. That’s because it’s always your own show with a take-away that stays like pressed flowers from the best of times.
That front-row seat to river time always calls, offering river time its own sitting ovation — always bowing in, not out.
That’s the show that holds down by the river. Always. Take a look at the above photo gallery for a glimpse from the seat ... (CLICK on one photo to enlarge and scroll. Enjoy!)
— Photos/Elaine Van Develde
The weekend weather …
Continue reading Focus: River Time Front-Row Seat
The sun has had a hard time peering out from the dank weather veil these days. So, daydreaming about a simpler summer time when a dive into the ocean in Sea Bright was all you needed comes a lot easier than that ball of fire and the imminent need to cool down.
Continue reading Retro RFH Guys’ Summer Dive
It doesn’t have to be the longest day of the year to get the most out of the warmth of river time before the sun sets, calling it a day — a first summer day.
The day may be over, but the river time feeling is forever docked in the mind. The fair haven on the Navesink always calls. Rain never drowns the call. The lap. The lull. The gentle tide reaches out and tugs at our hearts to stay. And we do.
Any day is the longest day down by the river, because it’s an endless river walk in our Fair Haven.
Rain never washes away the footprint of time wrapped in home’s swaddling river tide.
— Photos/Elaine Van Develde for R-FH Retro exclusively
And there will be lots of rain this week, drenching the area, according to the National Weather Service. It continues through the weekend and into next week …
A reprise from Feb. 5, 2016 in honor of Juneteenth …
The Fair Haven Fisk AME Chapel is steeped in tradition — Fair Haven tradition and roots that many do not realize jut very deep into the community.
Many of the founding families of Fair Haven have roots that are deeply entrenched in the church. A lot of the names and faces are traceable back to the early days of the church, back in the mid-1800s.
Continue reading Retro Fair Haven Fisk AME Chapel FolksOur annual tribute …
It’s Father’s Day weekend.
And, we at Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect are of the mind that the actual day on Sunday was really about much more than flipping a burger and patting a good ol’ dad on the back.
Continue reading Ode to the Grand Daddies of the R-FH Area
We took you back to 1974 and some Fair Haven eighth grade class tripping with popular teachers with the last Retro Pic(s) of the Day.
Continue reading Scene Around: Retired Fair Haven Teacher Trippin’
School’s out and graduation’s near — very near. And the heat is always on to seek out a good time among class friends. So, there’s nothing quite like a final class trip to — with class clowns, friends, foes and teachers. Yes, teachers — sun bathing and all.
This particular trip was taken in 1974 to a dude ranch somewhere with Fair Haven’s Knollwood School soon-to-be grads and teachers. Where? None of the old folks in the pictures can remember. Hey, some of us don’t even remember the trip.
Continue reading Retro Knollwood Grads’ Class Trippin’
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