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We couldn’t possibly feature the Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) teacher aides without also posting a Retro Pic of the Day featuring the library ladies.
Remember these women circa 1977 or so? That had it rough in that library. Yet, somehow they managed to keep enough noses in the books and paper airplanes and pranks at bay — sort of.
Remember their names?
Aides. They are the unofficial mentors of our school days.
In this photo are some special ladies who had the sometimes daunting task in the late 1970s of trying to assist, with patience, some annoyingly energetic, mischievous Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) students.
They were the RFH aides. In the center of the photo is Nancy Dexter, who passed away last year.
Those pictured around Mrs. Dexter, many of whom have passed, are: Mrs. Williams, Mrs. Cupples, Mrs. DiNicola, Mrs. Parker, Mrs. Blake, Mrs. Waldron.
Remember Mrs. Parker singing over the loud speaker around Christmas time? Did you ever hijack the mic from Mrs. Cupples to announce your party? And, I’m pretty sure one of these ladies, very kindly, told me to go play in traffic when I got busted sending messages via paper airplane (that never landed where it was supposed to) to my friends in English lab.
By Elaine Van Develde
It wasn’t long after Fair Haven acquired the long-sought-after Robards/Williams waterfront estate for passive recreation that the borough got another grant to upgrade more pocket spots along the Navesink River.
The 2014 Monmouth County Open Space Grant of up to $250,000 in matching funds was awarded only a few weeks ago.
What it’s been designated to do is to “polish the diamond” that is the Fair Haven open space on the waterfront, Mayor Ben Lucarelli said.
“Now that we’ve acquired DeNormandie, cleaning up and maintaining the rest of the open waterfront spaces we have is the next logical step. If we don’t do it now, we’ll have real headaches down the road.”
The “polishing” the mayor referred to is, more specifically, “resloping of two riverbank pocket parks at the end of Hance Road and Grange Avenue, so that people can access them easier and enjoy them more” and the refurbishment of bulkheads and passive recreation enhancements, such as benches.
Similar work, without resloping, is planned for the swath of land known as the home of the River Rats at the foot of Battin Road.
“It will make all those areas more user friendly,” he added. “The focus on these areas, I think, is a good use of this grant money. People I’ve spoken with who live on the west side of town have felt as if they haven’t gotten the total benefit of these projects. Now they’ll have it and the feedback I’ve gotten is that they’re very happy about that.”
The process for implementation of the county open space grant will soon begin.
Lucarelli said that the design drawings will first be completed. Then the project will be put out to bid; and “we’ll see where the cost comes in.”
Up to $250,000 will or can be funded by the matching grant money. In other words, if the cost of the project comes in at $300,000, then the county will pay $150,000 and the borough will pay the other half, and so on.
Sometimes bonding is necessary, or as a show of good faith to the funding entity, to fund such a matching grant project and set it in motion and pay contractors while waiting for the funded portion of the money to come in. In those instances, with such grants, the town bonds for the entire projected cost of the project and is then reimbursed by the county, or whichever agency is allocating the funding.
However, the mayor doesn’t think this project will require bonding. More likely, he said, “we’ll just bid and, if there’s enough (allocated) in the (capital improvements section of the) budget, pay as we go.”
All 53 municipalities in the county are eligible for the annual open space grant, which is designed to encourage open space acquisition and preservation as well as park enhancements and facilities by offsetting costs of such purchases.
In light of the cold snap and dusting of snow this week, our Retro Pic (or Pics today) of the Day gives a glance back at some warm sunset hues over a stark, cold, snow-peppered Sea Bright beach a couple of years ago.
Some of the photos, never before seen, also depict a post-Hurricane Sandy Donovan’s Reef.
Stay warm, friends and fans!
The following is an edited press release from Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School:
The recent fundraising efforts of Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School’s (RFH) Global Women Empowerment organization will facilitate the education of two girls in Uganda and empower others around the world in different ways.
The more than $2,000 raised will be funneled to Change A Life Uganda’s Tuition for Tots-to-Teens to help the girls, Daisy and Patricia, finish high school and Global Women Empowerment, a student organization at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School, recently completed a highly successful fundraiser in support of Change A Life Uganda’s Tuition for Tots-to-Teens.
Continue reading RFH Students Help to Empower Women Globally Via Fundraising
Our Retro Pic of the Day features a glimpse of what downtown Sea Bright looked like a couple of years ago about this time of the year.
Storefronts were torn and boarded up. Debris was knee-deep. Damage was being assessed.
And, among those assessing the damage was a Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School graduate.
Do you know which grad at work in the featured (never seen before) photo?
Hint: He’s in the party photo gallery above.
By Elaine Van Develde
Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) grads and friends gathered once again on Saturday for the annual Grady party.
The Gradys, Mike and Kathleen, both RFH grads from Rumson and Fair Haven, respectively, have been hosting the annual reunion-like event for many years now. In addition to the touching base with the extended Grady family itself, it’s pretty much an annual guarantee that this is the place and time to catch up with RFH alumni, their spouses and friends.
Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect caught up with RFH friends there, some dating back to kindergarten.
Take a look at the gallery above. Just click on any photo and scroll. Know anyone?
And many thanks to the Gradys for their generosity and a fabulously festive evening!
Our Retro Pic of the Day brings us back to shows at The Barn Theater, formerly on Avenue of Two Rivers in Rumson, in the late 1970s.
Pictured are a bunch of area high school students, from Rumson-Fair Haven Regional and other area high schools, performing a scene in Bye Bye Birdie.
It’s a bit blurry, due to the lack of focus, and perhaps unsteady hand, on the instamatic camera with the rotating flash cube, but it was one of many moments at the popular theater.
Do you know anyone in this picture? Check it out.
By Elaine Van Develde
Reorganization 2015 in Fair Haven brought a new council member to the dais — a lone Democrat — and new fire and first aid line officers.
In addition to Mayor Ben Lucarelli being sworn in to his first full four-year term, incumbent Susan Sorensen took the oath for her second council term. The newcomer to the governing body, Aimee Humphreys was sworn in to her first three-year and then took a seat at the dais for her first council meeting..
Fair Haven Fire Department and First Aid Squad members were sworn in as follows:
Fair Haven Fire Department line officers
• Chief, Scott Eskwitt
• Deputy Chief, Mike Weihl
• First Assistant Chief, Tim Morrissey
• Second Assistant Chief, Matt DePonti
Fair Haven First Aid Squad officers
• Captain, Joe Truex
• First Lieutenant, Kim Ambrose
• Second Lieutenant, Amanda Lynn
Fair Haven Fire Police Officers
• Captain, Lew Davison
• First Lieutenant, Frank Scalzo
• Second Lieutenant, Dan Chernavsky
Water Rescue/Dive Team
• Co-Captain/Sr. Administrator, John Felsmann
• Operations, James Cerruti and Robert Frank
• Training Officer, William Heath
Fair Haven Fire Department Ladies’ Auxiliary
• President, Trudy Wojciehowski
• Vice President, Amanda Lynn
By Elaine Van Develde
Rumson’s 2015 reorganization ceremony was a simple, reflective one.
There were no new Borough Council members to be sworn in. Re-elected incumbents Broderick and Ben Day took oaths for another term.
However, the coming year’s fire and first aid officers received their badges; and Mayor John Ekdahl gave his customary end-of-the-year speech.
The new fire and first aid officers are as follows:
• EMS Captain, Mary Nichols, who was also captain in 2014, took the oath for 2015;
• 2014 Fire Chief Robert Halligan was thanked for his service to the borough and 2015 Chief Kevin McCarthy was given his badge as was 2015 Assistant Chief Ronald Immesberger.
In his speech, the mayor called attention to:
• the deaths of three longtime firemen;
• the diligence and dedication of the officers in borough’s police department;
• the success of the Rumson Regatta;
• a nice Veterans Day ceremony in Victory Park;
• the success of the borough’s annual Christmas tree lighting;
• the annual DPW Toy Drive bringing in 520 toys for children in need;
• and DPW Director Mark Wellner’s recognition by the New Jersey Chapter of the American Public Works Association (NJ APWA) with a 2014 Superintendent/Director Award for his 28-year career with the borough.
The benediction was offered by Rev. Manning of Holy Cross Church.
Photos by Elaine Van Develde
By Elaine Van Develde
It was not that long ago when Monmouth County officials told people to brace themselves for a four-month West Front Street Bridge closing starting Jan. 2. Now, they’re saying it the closing will happen “on or about Jan. 5,” but they’re still promising it will reopen before Memorial Day.
In fact, the target reopening date has been set for May 17; and, the last phase of the bridge replacement project “is on schedule to open before Memorial Day weekend,” Freeholder Thomas Arnone, liaison to the county Department of Public Works and Engineering, said in a release.
While, according to the release, pedestrian access, including dismounted walking bicyclists, will be open throughout the closure, drivers will need to plan alternate routes.
Detours will funneling traffic from Red Bank “north on Rector Place to Route 35 and across Cooper’s Bridge and then onto Navesink River Road to Hubbard Avenue,” the release said.
Toward Red Bank, traveling east, detours will guide traffic “from West Front Street in Middletown will be directed north on Hubbard Avenue to Navesink River Road to Route 35 and across Coopers Bridge to Rector Place,” it added.
Traffic congestion and travel delays are anticipated.
What to expect with the new bridge …
• The new span over the Swimming River between Red Bank and Middletown will be 480 feet long and 44 feet wide with two 12-foot travel lanes, six-foot sidewalks on both sides and four-foot shoulders;
• There will be nine feet of vertical clearance above mean high water elevation and roughly 72 feet of horizontal clearance within the navigable channel of the Swimming River;
• Architectural enhancements include ornamental lights and a decorative recessed brick panel parapet with a decorative ball and cap railing, similar to Coopers Bridge;
• Additional improvements will include roadway widening at the bridge entrances, improved storm water drainage, ADA accessible route, highway lighting and new guide rail treatments.
The West Front Street Bridge, or Hubbard’s Bridge, was built in 1921. It was constructed as a six span, stringer structure with a steel open grid deck.
As the American Littoral Society sees it, New Year’s Day is the time to take a walk on the natural side.
That walk is a unique way to ring in the New Year, honor the memory of a local environmentalist, get some exercise and soak in some nature in a national park. It’s the Jan. 1 American Littoral Society’s 39th Annuual Dery Bennett Memorial Walk on Sandy Hook.
The longstanding traditional walk starts at 11 a.m. at the Littoral Society’s headquarters, 18 Hartshorne Drive, on the north end of Sandy Hook, or Fort Hancock.
Walkers, asked to bundle up and bring binoculars, will proceed to the end of the Hook where they will try to meet up, across the bay, with a group doing the same thing.
Upon completion of the walk, hot chocolate and lunch will be served at the Littoral Society’s office. Participants are also invited to bring a dessert. There will also be a rain barrel project presentation by a Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) student.
Derry Bennett, whom the walk has been named after since his death in 2009, was a Fair Haven resident and longtime director of the American Littoral Society (1968 to 2003).
The Littoral Society, founded in 1961 by scientists, fishermen and scuba divers, is a champion of marine environmental education and conservation.
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