Category Archives: Local Life

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

Local Life, Opinion

Retro Knollwood Show Time

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“Times have changed,” as the lyrics to Cole Porter’s Anything Goes go …

Yes they have. And they haven’t.

The shows are still going on, but they’re quite different types of productions. The students at Fair Haven’s Knollwood School have staged Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr.  The show went on in the beginning of the month.

And, way back in 1974, the school’s second ever musical was staged with the middle schoolers. You guessed it. It was Anything Goes.

Yes, times have changed, and mostly because these days they actually have junior versions of otherwise adult-like shows that aren’t really all that adult.

In fact, in those days, nothing was thought of doing a pretty darn adult musical that starred a, ahem, “lady of the evening” turned evangelist, a gangster and his maul, a stowaway, an heiress and a kooky English gentleman all aboard a ship and involved in madcap farce and love triangles.

Who knew? Well, the 1974 cast  of Knollwood’s version of Anything Goes certainly didn’t.

Continue reading Retro Knollwood Show Time →

Local Life

Retro River Rats Bonding

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A 1976 River Rats crew
Photo/courtesy Marc Edelman, Facebook

With the recent death and impending memorial of former longtime Fair Havenite and River Rats purser, Warner White, thoughts turn back to some good old days of being a kid rat, so to speak, and hanging out down by the river.

It’s a rite of passage in the Rumson-Fair Haven area that kid life be rife with river-oriented activities.

River Rats was the king of that sort of thing — especially in the summertime. The little riverfront nook at the foot of Battin Road in Fair Haven was that special place where kids and boating-bonded buddies learned how to sail and navigate riverfront life with the sand between their toes and perpetual smiles on their faces. It was a unique little sailors’ club. Still is.

River Rats has been a Fair Haven institution since 1955.

It all started like this: “In October 1955 shortly after he moved from New York, Captain Walter Isbrandtsen wrote to a friend: ‘I have purchased a house in a small community on the New Jersey coast where I am gradually becoming active … in an organization known as Dads Incorporated … whose activities include a newly established program designed to take full advantage of a neighboring river …'”

Captain Isbrandtsen organized the family-oriented sailing group and became the first Skipper of River Rats, as it is written in the River Rats’ biographical history.

So, the Retro Pic(s) of the Day takes us back to the U.S.A. bicentennial year of 1976 and a bunch of young River Rats.

This crew is comprised mostly of RFH classmates who gathered by the boat launch at the end of Battin Road in Fair Haven to offer a glimpse of their day as a reminder of what growing up by the river is all about.

Sail on! RIP, Warner White …

— Elaine Van Develde

Local Life

Focus: Black & White Spring River Tones

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Spring has sprung — sort of.

Well, the sun was shining brightly on the first day of spring, anyway. And while last week’s lingering patches of snow remained in spots throughout the Rumson-Fair Haven area, buds were popping up from underneath them.

The scene on the banks of the Navesink River at the foot of Battin Road in Fair Haven was still, mild and calming — signals of springing into a warmer sunset took hold.

It was a stark, black-and-white kind of scenario. Take a look. (Oh, and don’t forget to click to enlarge …)

Happy spring; and good night.

— Elaine Van Develde

Local Life

Focus: Morning Rumson Island View

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There was a bitter chill in the air in Sea Bright this morning; but the view from the marina of Rumson’s Gunning Island was vivid this morning.

The predicted snow, or what was left of the little that fell on Tuesday, had disappeared.

The sun was out and the memories of many years’ worth of good summer times were warm ones.

Check it out and remember  …

— Elaine Van Develde

 

Local Life

Retro Rumson St. Paddy’s Parade

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Well, in time step with a relatively new Rumson tradition, the borough’s fifth St. Patrick’s Day Parade is on Sunday.

So, to celebrate the five-year milestone, the Retro Pic(s) of the Day offer a look back to parades of the past four years.

Take a glimpse at some snapshots capturing memorable moments of the March march down East River Road …

— Elaine Van Develde photos

Local Life

Register for Saturday’s KDM Race

The following was originally posted on Jan. 24. The run, set for Saturday, is still accepting registrants. Read on … 

The 15th Annual Keith McHeffey 3-Mile Fun Run is set for March 11 at 11 a.m. in Sea Bright; and, registration has begun, organizers said.

McHeffey, an RFH grad, avid athlete and good friend to many in the Rumson-Fair Haven area, was a victim of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001.

His friends created the KDM Foundation in 2002 to keep his memory alive and fund several charitable causes in his name.

Since then, the Fun Run has been known as an annual memorial to Keith in a setting truest to his nature.

To register for the run, either go to the Sea Bright Municipal Building or click here.

 

Local Life

Focus: Reflective Nightfall at the Dock

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Call it a reflective moment. With crystal clear reflections cast on the Navesink River from Fair Haven Dock just about at sunset, thoughts are turning to a forecasted break in the chilly temperatures — but not without a little precipitation to go with that reflection.

The National Weather service says that while temperatures will go up to roughly 56 degrees, the chance of rain is 40 percent after 5 p.m. on Tuesday. That chance increases as the night goes on.

Another reflection: thoughts of clear skies and sunny warmth.

Take a look …

— Elaine Van Develde

Local Life

Retro Sea Bright Beach Romp

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A Sea Bright beach summer day after Superstorm Sandy
Photo/Elaine Van Develde

Oh, the recent cold snap after unseasonably warm days has unleashed an bitter chill in the air. It makes Rumson-Fair Haven area folks long for warm summer beach days in Sea Bright again.

And the revamp of Donovan’s Reef brings back memories of a Sea Bright ravaged by Superstorm Sandy.

So, the Retro Pic of the Day warms the heart and dank air with memories of fun in the sun at Sea Bright beach and the peninsula borough on the mend.

This snapshot in time takes us back to the summer Sandy and some kids making the most of a sunny day at the beach.

Know them? Remember those days?

— Elaine Van Develde

Local Life

Focus: The Donovan’s Rebuild

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When it comes to the rebuilding (and expansion) of the iconic Donovan’s Reef in Sea Bright, things are looking up … and out.

It will be five years ago this October that the mainstay locals’ summer hangout and RFH reunion spot was tossed and flattened to bits by Superstorm Sandy.

So its rebuild has been a particularly long-awaited one by townies and Rumson-Fair Haven area folks.

The plan is for the new, improved and indestructible Donovan’s to be open for business by the start of the summer season.

Much progress has been made to date.

Take a look and see for yourself …

— Elaine Van Develde