It’s how the tradition goes … Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair time is old friends’ reunion time.
Continue reading Focus: Fairing Well with Old Friends at the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair
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It’s how the tradition goes … Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair time is old friends’ reunion time.
Continue reading Focus: Fairing Well with Old Friends at the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair
Fair Haven Republican Borough Council candidates Susan Sorensen and Betsy Koch cordially invited, as all invites go, Fair Havenites and all other interested parties to a meet-and-greet, getting-to-know-you gathering at The Raven and the Peach Thursday evening.
Sorensen, the incumbent, has served on various committees in her tenure, including starting the non-profit Foundation of Fair Haven, which is designed to offset costs for special events like Fair Haven Day and Oktoberfest.
This is a first run for political office for Koch. A longtime teacher at Knollwood School, she has said that she felt the timing was right for her to pitch in as a seated councilwoman in the hometown borough she loves and as a testament to the legacy of her husband Jerome, who served on council until his premature death a few years ago.
Take a look at the photo gallery below for a glimpse into the evening …. (and don’t forget to click to enlarge!)
— Elaine Van Develde


Well, the rain may have dampened Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair attractions on a rainy Tuesday night, but things in the kitchen were still cooking strong.
Continue reading Retro Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair Foodie Time

Well, the word is official. After a few great weather days, the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair has been rained out due to Mother Nature’s lack of cooperation.
That means that the rides and other attractions will be shut down for the evening. That’s the bad news.
The good news is that the kitchen is open, volunteers are cooking and people are invited to grab a seat in the dining room for fair food or hit the take-out window to bring some home and brighten the dank day with a little of the fair’s finest comfort.
As the sign on the firehouse says, “Only dining room is open tonight — 6-10 p.m.”
All’s fair!
The Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair got off to a rousing start on Friday and Saturday nights with mighty fair weather and friends reunited in the name of community tradition.
Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect was there to grab some snapshots capturing the moments. Take a look … (And don’t forget to click to enlarge!)
— Elaine Van Develde
The following Retro Pic of the Day, an annual ode to summer riverfront life in the area, was originally posted on Aug. 1, 2016. Take a look back with us again …

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.
It doesn’t get much more simple, sublime than reuniting with high school classmates 40 years after graduation. And it doesn’t get much more scary than realizing that 40 years have passed — or not.
A grand jury returned a 14-count indictment charging two Monmouth County people with multiple counts of animal cruelty and related charges, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced on Monday.
Continue reading Prosecutor: Monmouth County Pair Indicted for Animal Cruelty

Nothing says good simple summer times like a sunny day, a serenade by a familiar local face and just plain fun with friends. Oh, and a couple of coincidental birthdays, to boot.
Continue reading Simple Summer: Val’s Manager, Music,Buds & Birthdays

It’s that time. They’re setting up for the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair. And before you know it, Majestic Midways will come rolling into town with the rides.
Some have been fair staples for decades — like the Zipper and the ferris wheel. Some are still terrifying to adults — never mind the childhood chicken terrors from the thought of being dared to ride anything but the stationary chair on the merry go ’round.
OK, so that’s a little pathetic. Hey, sometimes you just want to spare onlookers from some scenes that just wouldn’t be pretty — like a full-grown middle-aged person ill, in tears and hanging upside down at the top of a ride.
But we digress …
The Retro Pic of the Day hones in on two classic fair rides from the 1990s. We know one is the ferris wheel. And it looks like the same one. What about the other?
Know what ride that is? What’s your favorite? Least favorite.
We vote Zipper on least. Still, it’s some sort of odd comfort to see it again every year.
— Elaine Van Develde
A contingent of Fair Haven residents riled over the proposed removal of 50-foot sweet gum trees along Third Street and Cedar Avenue were quelled by the eventual edict at Monday’s Borough Council meeting that, for now, officials will leave the trees be.
Fair Havenite Megan Douty wiped away a few tears, smiled and told a capacity crowd at Monday’s Borough Council meeting, “I’m just so honored” as she accepted a proclamation honoring her for being a Team U.S.A. World Cup champ.
Flanked by family, friends, fans and old high school lax team girls, Douty expressed gratitude to her hometown and posed for some photos.
Douty, a 2011 Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) graduate and 2015 graduate of The University of Maryland, was part of the U.S.A. Lacrosse Team that beat Canada, getting the gold in an undefeated 2017 season.
Douty has participated in the U.S.A. program for the past three years. She was then selected for the 2017 U.S. World Cup Team.
While Douty was a student at RFH, she was known as a star athlete on the high school’s lacrosse team. As a Terrapin at University of Maryand, she became known as one of the top lacrosse defenders in the country who earned all-American status in 2014 and 2015.
“It was a great honor for the Borough of Fair Haven to have one of its residents, Megan Douty, represent the United States of America and Fair Haven,” the proclamation said, designating Aug. 7, 2017 as Megan Douty Day in Fair Haven.
Congrats, Megan!
— Elaine Van Develde
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