Category Archives: News

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UPDATE: Don’t get your lederhosen on just yet. Despite the rain-or-shine, move-forward original declaration, the event, due to uncertain Joaquin storm repercussions, Fair Haven Oktoberfest has been postponed, according to Councilwoman Susan Sorensen.

Sorensen advised on the Fair Haven Facebook page that people should check the page for updates and a new date.

Stay tuned.

Original story, posted on Sept. 29 …

Hoist up your lederhosen and grab your beer stein. It’s that time of the year again in Fair Haven — Oktoberfest time.

For the fourth year, The Foundation of Fair Haven (a 501C3 non-profit group) is sponsoring the fundraiser on Saturday from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. at the Smart Start Preschool and adjacent River Road municipal lot.

The proceeds of the adults-only event will benefit special community events, such as Fair Haven Day, some borough capital improvements and other amenities.

“A very dedicated committee has been hard at work for many months and excited that the Fair Haven Oktoberfest has now become a fun outdoor fall tradition celebrating the Borough of Fair Haven,” Fair Haven Borough Councilwoman Susan Sorensen, also president of The Foundation, said. “We hope that the residents come out and support this event. We have some community restaurants providing authentic Oktoberfest food, a great local band, RipTide, providing music and, back by popular demand, the Pong Tournament.”

This year’s Oktoberfest will feature RipTide, traditional Oktoberfest food from local eateries, games, seasonal beer and sangria.

The cost for admission is $25 and includes the food and entertainment. The beer and sangria are to be purchased separately as is inclusion in games.

Tickets are available at Fair Haven Borough Hall or by contacting Sorensen at susan.sorensen6@gmail.com or via Facebook or blasts with a link.

Fair Haven Oktoberfest is a rain-or-shine event.

Local Life

Retro ‘Register’ School Tech Daze in Rumson

Image September 28, 2015 Elaine Van Develde

The Tandy and gifted and talented Rumson students Photo/Red Bank Register archives — The Tandy and gifted and talented Rumson students
Photo/Red Bank Register archives

Apparently, it was considered a gifted and talented trait in the early 1980s to be well-versed in the operation of a Tandy computer — or whatever you want to call it.

This Red Bank Register photo went unpublished in March of 1982.

It shows Rumson students, clad in the oh, so traditional preppie fair isle sweaters and turtle necks, gathering around the ol’ Tandy in this promo for a “conference on gifted students for elementary school teachers and administrators to be held at Brookdale Community College on March 26,” a photo caption in the archives of the 2011 Monmouth County Library exhibit entitled Red Bank Register: 40 Photographs, 1976-1985 said. “The Model 3, released in July 1980 and sold at Radio Shack, featured a 2.03 MHz processor; it predated by more than a year the first IBM PC, introduced in August 1981.”

So, the Retro Pic of the Day takes us back to that March 13, 1982 with a copy of an unpublished Register photo of that day.

The exhibit featured the work of several Register photographers. The photos came from years’ worth of preservation of negatives from the work of Carl Andrews, James J. Connolly, Carl Forino, Dave Kingdon, Don Lordi and Larry Perna.

While the records did not indicate which photographer took the RFH shot, it’s a classic, so we’re sharing it in our look back for the day.

So, have you ever worked on a Tandy? What about a word processor? Recognize anyone?

Local Life

Fair Haven Super Moon Gazing

Video September 28, 2015 Elaine Van Develde

It was a lot of things — the full moon on Sunday was a harvest moon, a super moon, a blood moon and, yes, it was a moon in full eclipse mode to boot.

Skies were a bit hazy, but, post-eclipse, the moon managed to peek through and cast an irdescent glow.

Fans of the movie Moonstruck might simply call it “la bella luna.” Bella. Take a look.

Don’t forget to click on the lower right icon to enlarge!

— Elaine Van Develde

Local Life

Focus: Falling for Rumson

Gallery September 24, 2015 Elaine Van Develde

Fall may officially be on the calendar, but some glints of summer are still lingering — especially along the Navesink in Rumson.

The sun was shining brightly on the first day of the autumnal season, and people were basking in it.

Take a look.

Schools Scene

411 on Dialing 911 at Sickles School

September 24, 2015 Elaine Van Develde

First graders at Fair Haven’s Sickles School were recently taught a potentially life-saving lesson, thanks to the efforts of three community volunteers.

On Sept. 17, Beverly Cochrane-Maguire and Richard Eisenbeis, both of the Volunteers In Sheriff’s Community Programs (VISCOMP) at the Monmouth County Police Academy, visited the elementary school classrooms along with county Sheriff’s Office intern Chris Wolcott to instruct students in what’s dubbed Seek 911 protocol.

The students were taught:

• how to decide if a situation warrants a 911 emergency call;
• different types of emergencies (fire, medical, and police);
• types of phones that can be used to call 911;
• and the questions that will be asked by a 911 operator.

The students viewed a short video and then placed practice 911 calls with the assistance of the volunteers.

— Edited release from the Fair Haven School District

Local Life

Retro Yogi Berra in the Area

Image September 23, 2015 Elaine Van Develde

Ball players Bill Skowron and Yogi Berra show for dedication of lights at a field in Middletown in 1962 Photo/screenshot of Red Bank Register archives — Ball players Bill Skowron and Yogi Berra show for dedication of lights at a field in Middletown in 1962
Photo/screenshot of Red Bank Register archives

Since the announcement of New York Yankees icon Yogi Berra, it’s been all about Yogi. And, why not?

The athlete who had that special penchant for those kooky quotes dubbed Yogisms, such as “It ain’t over ’til it’s over” and “When you come to a fork in the road, take it,” died on Sept. 22 at the age of 90.

Continue reading Retro Yogi Berra in the Area →

Local Life, Opinion

Retro Stand for Skateboarding

Image September 21, 2015 Elaine Van Develde

Skateboarding in the late 1970s in Rumson Photo/George Day — Skateboarding in the late 1970s in Rumson
Photo/George Day

There has long been a debate in the Rumson-Fair Haven area about the merits and menaces inherent in skateboarding as a sport.

In the late 1990s and 2000, a contingent of parents and teens rallied for a skate park in Fair Haven. And there was also a group as enthusiastically opposed as supporters were supportive.

Continue reading Retro Stand for Skateboarding →

Local Life

Sunday Water Sporting Off The Hook

September 20, 2015 Elaine Van Develde

The sun was out on Sunday and so were water sports enthusiasts.

It was day for windsurfing, paddle boarding and some local summer sunning and lounging on the bay side of Sandy Hook.

Kayak rentals and windsurfing lessons were in full swing.

Take a look to get a glimpse into the day and mood. Enjoy!

And don’t forget to click the lower right icon on the slideshow to enlarge.

— Elaine Van Develde

Local Life, News

Time for Holy Cross Dedication

September 18, 2015 Elaine Van Develde

Here’s the new Holy Cross Church, here’s the steeple. Pretty soon the doors will be open and there will be people, as a Rumson twist on the classic rhyme goes.

If you drive by the revamped Holy Cross Church in Rumson, you’ll see that it’s ready for parishioners.

However, as Catholic church discipline dictates, there must first be a dedication before a Mass is celebrated in a new or rehabilitated house of worship.

That dedication will take place on Saturday at 4 p.m. A reception will follow in the gym of the school on the campus.

Read more about the church’s revamp and see old photos by clicking here. (For history, click on each of the links.)

For more about the dedication tradition, click here.

— Elaine Van Develde/photos and story

Local Life, Opinion

Retro ‘Register’ RFH Walkout Moment

Image September 18, 2015 Elaine Van Develde

RFH students staged a walkout in 1979 protesting three teachers' terminations. Photo/screenshot of Red Bank Register negative archives, Monmouth County Library exhibit — RFH students staged a walkout in 1979 protesting three teachers’ terminations.
Photo/screenshot of Red Bank Register negative archives, Monmouth County Library exhibit

Fall is here and school is in full swing.

At Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School students are back in class, in the halls, in the cafeteria, in study hall … somewhere in that building on Ridge Road with the tower.

You get the drift.

However, on March 13, 1979, they were outside — in force.

They had staged a walkout “in protest of the Board of Education’s decision to terminate three teachers in order to stay within its state-mandated spending limit,” according to the archives of the Red Bank Register.

So, the Retro Pic of the Day takes us back to that day with a photo of an unpublished Register photo of that day that appeared in the 2011 Monmouth County Library exhibit entitled Red Bank Register: 40 Photographs, 1976-1985.

While the records did not indicate which photographer took the RFH shot, it’s a classic, so we’re sharing it in our look back for the day. Carl Andrews was a Rumson resident. Though it’s not clear if he took the photo.

While I was in my first year of college when the photo was taken, I do recall hearing about this walkout. RFH students were always very proactive with school politics.

“The students, who said the Board‘s decision showed ‘callousness and disdain for teachers as individuals,’ argued that the school should have waited for older teachers to retire instead of firing younger ones with less seniority,” the photo description for the exhibit said. “Tora Doremus, Board president, stated that the quality of education at Rumson-Fair Haven would be maintained and that ‘I don‘t think this walkout served the students‘ purpose.’ More than 300 students participated in the demonstration on Friday morning, March 13, 1979.”

Hey, I think that’s Erin Bell, daughter of RFH English teacher Marilyn Bell, right in the front.

The Red Bank Register Negative Collection is in the Monmouth County Archives and the exhibit featuring the 40 photos was at Monmouth County Library Headquarters in Manalapan in October of 2011.