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A reprise from an original 2017 post all about The Hunt. It’s that time of the year, and we always need a little bit of retro cheer, so here’s to fond Hunt memories revisited! Happy Hunting in your dreams …
It takes a … bunch, yeah, a bunch of RFHers to get a Hunt party started.
Continue reading Retro RFH ‘Hunt’ Party Starters
Broody and blue-hued as the scene seems down by the river these days, there’s a toasty comfort in the fall breeze.
It whisks by and envelopes with a snug squeeze — one that whispers “You’re home.” Anyone who’s grown up with feet in wet sand on that Fair Haven beach slip, plucking shells that plop a time-honored magic into the palm of the hand, knows the spell cast.
The magic reminds — the sun always peer through the clouds offering that snuggle, that glow that lights the path back home.
— Photos/Elaine Van Develde (Click on one to enlarge and scroll. Enjoy!)
That sun is coming this week. Here’s how and when, according to the National Weather Service …
Fall was Hunt time. So, we take you back to The Hunt with this classic tailgating reprise Retro Pic of the Day. Have any Hunt photos? Send them over to us at evd@rfhretro.com for a new view feature.
Ahhhh, The Hunt. It was a fall tradition. It’s always remembered. And with that tradition came some elegant tailgating.
Continue reading Retro Hunt Wagon Tailgate
Photo/George Day
A reprise from Oct. 1, 2015 to give a little cheer on a dank day. A little tricks and treating among RFH loungers. Always an adventure of some sort at RFH …
There was nothing quite like becoming a senior at RFH and being able to hang out in a special lounge just for you and your classmates, especially on a dismal October day.
Nothing was getting anyone down if they were senior lounging in the cozy RFH indoors. Of course, there was always something seniors were up to. Call it mod. Literally.
Those were the days — in the 1970s.
The whole senior scene, in fact, was quite mod, or literally modular.
It’s high school football season. And what’s a game without a lot of cheering led by none other than cheerleaders, of course.
Continue reading Retro RFH Football Cheer
Well, COVID may have put off the sixth graders’ trip to Stokes State Forrest, but it didn’t quash it.
It just moved the tradition and fun to locals’ summer fall instead of spring/summer. And the week full of outdoor learning, pranks and bonding came to an end this week.
Continue reading Retro Stokes Mess Hall TrippingTwo Rumson Fair Haven Regional High School juniors have been chosen as 2022 Governor’s STEM (Science, Technology, Energy and Mathematics) Scholars.
Juniors Sophia Dengler and Annette Kersten join 98 other New Jersey students from across twenty counties in this competitive, selective program with a 15 percent acceptance rate.
Continue reading RFH Students Named Governor’s STEM Scholars
She’s that lady who taught guitar to many a Fair Haven kid. She rowed the musical boat ashore and marched, played and sang with them as Fair Haven Folk Singers in parades. She’s Barbara Leslie. Her iconic base of song and play? The Whistle Stop.
Continue reading Scene Around: Whistling & Stopping Home with Barbara Leslie
Svelte and coiffed and young and lovely, the girl from the Rumson Dock goes sunning … and when she suns … she gets her picture on a 1959 Rumson post card.
You’ve likely seen the card. It’s been in circulation for decades. But, that girl sitting on the dock has always been somewhat of a mystery — until now.
Continue reading Iconic Spot: The Girl From the Rumson DockThe reason has not been given, but a social media announcement by Fair Haven Borough Administrator Theresa Casagrande has made it clear that 12-year Mayor Ben Lucarelli has resigned “effective immediately.”
The administrator only said in the announcement at about 1 p.m. that the administration wanted to “thank him for his accomplishments” during his mayoral tenure and “wish him luck.”
R-FH Retro has reached out to Lucarelli with no immediate response.
Of the limited information surrounding the resignation, Fair Haven Borough Council President Christopher Rodriguez, alluding to a bit of an explosive moment at last night’s council meeting, said late Tuesday afternoon, “I am still digesting the past ten hours of it all. I am still coming to grips with it all … I have not spoke to the council or mayor yet.”
The governing body’s political composition has shifted in the past few years. It has been either all Republican or majority Republican over the past couple of decades at least. Lucarelli is a Republican. Last year’s election turned the majority to Democrat, 4-2.
Lucarelli, who grew up in Rumson, moved to Fair Haven to raise his family. He served on borough council and when former Mayor Mike Halfacre, an attorney, resigned in 2012 to accept a position with the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control division under the Gov. Chris Christie administration, as holding office would have posed a conflict. Lucarelli was chosen from three nominees to fill his unexpired term and then ran for full terms.
In Fair Haven’s form of government, weak mayor, strong council, the mayor is elected separately for four-year terms as opposed to borough council members’ three-year tenure. The mayor only has a vote in council matters if he is needed to break a tie. He presides over meetings and has veto power.
According to state statute, a replacement must be named from a pool of three nominees of the same party as Lucarelli. Council will then vote on who gets the appointment to fill Lucarelli’s term, which ends at the end of 2022.
This is a breaking story. As soon as Lucarelli responds, there will be a follow-up.
It’s locals’ summertime in the Rumson-Fair Haven area, where the livin’ is always easier down by the river.
Welcomed is how most any local wrapped up in the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers’ shoreline embrace feels. It’s a local’s terminal rite of passage. And when summer’s crowded rush of soaking it all up cools down, the deep inhale of the rivers’ endless solace warms — a reminder that home is where the river beckons. A roaring, quiet reminder. It hollers with the tide … until it soothes.
Can you hear it now?
— Photos/Elaine Van Develde (Click on one to enlarge and scroll. Enjoy!)
Locals’ summer days ahead are looking seasonably good. Check out the forecast for this week from the National Weather Service and head to your favorite locals’ summer river spot …
The Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair came back to town after a forced pandemic respite last year.
And it came back with gusto, even though the seafood was sorely missed by many. The Grab Bag Booth a/k/a Balloon Booth made its exit, fair grounds left, this year, too. It’s gone for good. No more buying prizes to compensate for losses at the games of chance. Waaaaaa! But, all was very well with the fair’s return.
Save for the twister threat that banished Firemen’s Night on Wednesday, thousands flocked to the fair just about every night.
Many of the sights have already been seen. But, here’s R-FH Retro’s glimpse into fairing well at the fair … (Click on one photo to enlarge and scroll! Enjoy!)
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