The Rumson-Fair Haven area calls for sunshine, spring-like temperatures, a slight chance of (SHHHH …) showers and a heck of a lot of events.
Continue reading A Rousing R-FH Area Weekend: KDM Run, Decoy Show, St. Paddy’s Parade
Category Archives: News
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Chef Rossi: Retro Portrait of an RFH Punk Rocker
Yes, Rossi, as we all know her, is coming home to RFH land tonight!
The RFH grad and premier “anti-chef” of the hipster Brooklyn scene has written a memoir about her not so Orthodox Orthodox Jewish upbringing in a preppy Rumson comprised of short stories accompanied by relevant recipes.
Rossi was a kinky-haired, butt-smoking punk rocker with a raucous mouth in a Lilly Pulitzer RFH world in the 1970s and early 80s. Her look wasn’t one that people in these parts were exposed to very often. Neither was her “I am who I am” attitude. She’s still rocking it — in a more staid way, but definitely rocking.
So, it’s only right that the Retro Pic(s) of the Day pay homage to the RFH friend, star caterer, author and master of many other things — like, from day one, being her authentic self and being damn good at it.
Check her out in these priceless pics from her ol’ RFH days. Kids! The middle shot is of her and her infamous not-so-Rumsonite parents, Marty and Harriet. Oh, and by the way, the double shot is her RFH yearbook pic. Yes, we know, most RFH yearbook pics are taken in a natural setting and I can’t recall any, except this one, in which the grad sporting wearing pink feather earrings. It was usually Monet or pearl studs. And, where’s the Fair Isle sweater and turtle neck??
Rossi rocked the anti-prep look!
— Elaine Van Develde
Focus: Sunny Daze in the R-FH Area
Blame it on El Nino.
Everyone in the Rumson-Fair Haven area got a taste of spring and then some with a good sun drenching and record-breaking temperatures hitting the mid- to high-70s.
In Rumson, it was so packed at Victory Park this afternoon that there was no parking within a few blocks’ radius. Things were quiet down at the Fair Haven Dock, with a couple of people and their best four-legged friends taking a stroll and a few teens out taking a run and jibing one another about some spring fever flirtations (just a little quibble over which guy “she” said hi to first).
Oh, and there was a swan taking a quiet swim.
Take a look. Ahhhhh. Serenity and sun now! Enjoy. Good night, R-FH area.
— Elaine Van Develde
Forrestdale Girls: Basketball Champs
You can call them champs.
The Girls Basketball Team of Rumson’s Forrestdale School has claimed the Coastal Intermediate Basketball League Championship with a win over Shrewsbury on Feb. 26.
Knollwood’s ‘Peter Panic’ an Original Tale of Athletes and Actors
They called it Peter Panic.
The sixth, seventh and eighth grade Performing Arts Troupe of Knollwood School in Fair Haven recently presented a production story of an age-old struggle — athletics versus performing arts — about a fictional drama club and the football program vying for the limited space provided by their high school dubbed Peter Panic.
The 26-member cast acted, sang and danced its way through the Feb. 25 production.
The story: The Drama Club, led by Pam (Nora Doonan), is in desperate need of funds and performers. The Drama Club members (Aaron Bernstein, Sarah Dolan, Sabrina Marshall, Ceci Newman, and Nora Phillips) turn to the school’s two members of the Economics Club (Hannah Bates and Marie Mohen) for help. They decide that they can sell more tickets to the upcoming production of Peter Pan if popular athletes agree to perform.
Two star football players, Lefty (Jacob Gerbman) and Tinkerman (Caitlin Carr), audition and are given key roles as Captain Hook and Tinkerbell. The cheerleaders (Brett Cetnar-Garrett, Addie Cope, Avery Fratto, Elizabeth Harby, Clancy McCann, and Bea Zaleski) are cast as mermaids.
Everyone is doing their best to work together. Even the Detention Girls (Kira Fleischer, Sarah Neczesny, and Grace Tambaro) accept roles as the lost girls. But when conniving football coach Rook (Michael Mazzucca) gets wind of what’s happening, he plots to halt production and bring down the drama club.
Musical numbers in the show included: “All the World’s a Stage,” “Here in Neverland,” “Audition,” “Dreams Don’t Die Hard,” and “The Show Must Go On.”
The production was directed by seventh grade social studies teacher Alison Dooley and eighth grade literary teacher Gabrielle Illiano, with choreography by Sickles School third grade teacher Morgan Bufano. Art teacher Jessica Data was the set designer, and computer tech support provider Brian Ericson directed sound and lighting. Music teacher Karen Hauge was music/choral director.
— Edited press release from the Fair Haven School District
Chef Rossi’s RFH Homecoming: A Raging Skillet Full of Authentic
By Elaine Van Develde
Once upon a time, in a Rumson-Fair Haven world overrun with preppy pink and chartreuse, Lilly Pulitzer, alligator shirts, Fair Isle sweaters, khakis, topsiders and duck boots, there was a pint-sized butt-smoking, brash-talking punk rocker with kinky hair and a Cheshire cat grin who packed a punch full of wild on the status quo.
Continue reading Chef Rossi’s RFH Homecoming: A Raging Skillet Full of Authentic
Preview: RFH’s Bullying Message
In just over a month, Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) drama students will be setting the stage at New York University’s (NYU) Forum on Educational Theater (FOET) to bring awareness to teen harassment and bullying in an production dubbed The Bystander: A portrait of Apathy.
Bystander was written by RFH English teacher Suzanne Sweeney, who is also the high school’s drama director.
With the performance slated for April 24, the students are not only the performers, but the producers of the narrative short drama with a message.
The above YouTube video gives a glimpse into what’s coming at NYU.
The RFH students performing in The Bystander are: Gianna Casale, Vaughn Coleman, Emily Cooner, William Dey, Matthew Hughes, Jeremy Nives, Jane Pavluk, Eli Rallo, Paige Russo, Lisa Sandoli, Ben Segall, Kelli Tuttle, and Alissa Zack.
The student directors are Gianna Casale, Eli Rallo, and Alissa Zack.
Retro Memories of a Fair Haven Mom
Photo/courtesy of Peter Mauger
A Fair Haven mom has passed. She passed away early this morning, leaving behind a loving family and community.
She was a staple in the community for nearly 50 years. Her name: Ann Mauger.
So, our Retro Pic of the Day honors this mom.
Ann lived in Fair Haven from 1957 to 1985. She liked gardening and cooking. She liked spending time with family and friends. She enjoyed bike riding in her healthier years and she loved the beach and she loved camping, her son Peter reminded us.
Ann has been retired and living in Florida since 1985.
She loved a new snowfall and sunsets.
RIP, Ann Mauger! Thank you for being a great R-FH area mom and friend to the community.
Rumson Mayor Inducted into Hall of Fame
As a testament to his decades-long service to the borough, Rumson Mayor John E. Ekdahl has been inducted into the Elected Officials Hall of Fame.
The honor was bestowed upon him recently by the New Jersey State League of Municipalities during the 24th Annual Mayors Legislative Day on Feb. 24 at the State House Annex in Trenton.
“The Elected Officials Hall of Fame recognizes these officials who have selflessly guided their communities through the good times and difficult times, often with little recognition of their public service,” State League of Municipalities President Joseph Tempesta, Jr., also mayor of West Caldwell Township, said. “This small token of appreciation focuses a light on their sacrifices over lengthy tenures, demonstrating how much they care and serving as excellent examples of civic pride for all citizens to emulate.”
The honor is reserved for local municipal governing body members who, as of December 2015, served for more than 20 years in elected municipal office. And that length of public service for Ekdahl has been nearly double that — or roughly 38 years.
Mayor Ekdahl began his formal service on the borough’s Zoning Board of Adjustment in 1978, serving as its chairman from 1991-95. He was elected to the Rumson Borough Council in November of 1996 and was appointed mayor in 2004 when Mayor Charles S. Callman stepped down. Since then, he has been re-elected three times. His current term ends on December 31, 2019.
There are currently 566 inductees in the Elected Officials Hall of Fame.
Congratulations, Mayor Ekdahl! And thank you for your service!
Retro RFH Ski Club Guys & Gals
Photo/RFH yearbook
With all the recent talk about skiing champ and RFH senior Alex Perkins claiming the gold at the 2016 NASTAR Eastern Regional Championship for the second consecutive year and heading to compete in the national NASTAR championship round this month, visions of the old RFH Ski Club were conjured up.
Yes, there was an RFH Ski Club, now a Jurassic memory. While there weren’t too many people in the club, it existed. It’s members took trips and, well, skied the winters away in between mods (remember them?) and studies at RFH — sort of.
And the RFH Ski Club was headed by the beloved RFH coach, gym teacher and RFH Athletic and Jersey Shore Sports Hall of Fame inductee Hal Lorme, who passed away just over a year ago.
So, the Retro Pic(s) of the Day honors Lorme and those renegade conquerers of the slopes.
The guys in the top featured shot all still live in the Rumson-Fair Haven area. One is a Rumson dad and couple of the others are well-known businessmen. One actually handled memorial services for Lorme last year.
RIP, Hal Lorme. You are remembered.
Recognize any of these preppy ski attire-donning ladies and dudes?
RFH Drama Students Set to Perform at NYU Forum on Educational Theater
The Bystander: A Portrait of Apathy, a proposal submitted by Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) English teacher Suzanne Sweeney, has been accepted by the New York University Forum on Educational Theatre (FOET).
Continue reading RFH Drama Students Set to Perform at NYU Forum on Educational Theater
Retro RFH Family Showfolk Affair
By Elaine Van Develde
When it comes to show biz, sometimes in the RFH area, sometimes it’s a family affair. Sometimes it just is.
Sometimes people just catch the bug at an early age. Sometimes it happens in high school or even a little later. Then it spreads rampantly — through the family.
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