Editorials, letters to the editor and other articles reflecting on iconic people, places and traditions related to them in the area.
You could say this bunch of RFH boys was on track for success … and some fun along the way. Note: The poser with running shoes for eyes. The shoes have eyes? Or the eyes have shoes? Which came first?
We are gathered here today … in gratitude for a Fair Haven gadfly. Mic drop.
Gadfly. It’s a caricature of those governing body meeting regulars, the characters who persists in challenging authority or the status quo, holding officials accountable, prompting change or even self-reflection. Gadfly. It’s not the true menace it sounds like. In fact, there’s a lot of beauty in a gadfly. Call it a dragon gadfly — a colorful, principled mosquito eater, ridding the environment to which it always returns of welt-wielding pestilence.
Sing it! Row that boat ashore, Michael, Mary, Karen, Lynn, and whoever else has an oar. And, whatever you do, don’t rain on their parade! You couldn’t if you tried.
It’s Mother’s Day weekend.
And, we at Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect are thinking, the day should not just be one in which kids dutifully pay attention to the woman who pretty much, well, twisted her heart up and spit it out to ride a Big Wheel at 100 miles per hour with no helmet. OK, so that was a tad dramatic.
But, it’s not really just for all that jazz — though, it is important jazz. It should be about moms celebrating one another, especially to learn a little bit about one another’s roots in a tight-knit community such as the Rumson-Fair Haven area.
There are so many women in this area who served as unbreakable bricks in the foundation that is this community now. It goes back may generations. We are thankful for those women of all different motherly types — yes, different. Each unique and special in her own way. Each contributing in her own way. Each leaving her indelible fingerprint on many here, through generations.
You see, the strong community foundation that brought us all here is not about a number and a few borrowed phony promotional words — real estate value, flipping and the lingo concocted to make the sale.
The sale was made long ago and the value was tucked away in the hearts of some of these moms who were here when it all started, caring for one another through their community.
It’s about lifeblood — the lifeblood of, in this case, matriarchs who have bequested a legacy of true love.
They put the coffee on. Who’s bringing the crumb cake? Yes, crumb cake. When it comes to community, you can indulge in the simple a little to keep it very sweet.
Take a look at our slideshow and photos of some area moms from the past and present. Some are still with us. Some are not. But, they are remembered for their own contributions to one another and laying bricks in the foundation that is the Rumson-Fair Haven area. If you have a photo you’d like to add, of a mom from the past, email it to us at evd@rfhretro and we will include it in a gallery.
I could still see him. I believe everyone could. He was standing right up front in the far corner of the packed room. He could see it all from there. And, boy, was he smiling. Head tilted back a bit, to take it all in as best he could, his iconic smile spoke a thousand “How lucky we were” words. The rapturous sigh that emanated from his grin filled the room with his legacy of home-grown love.
I could see him add a wink this time as he read the room. The room, in a still-the-same Columbus Club corner nook on the street where we kids biked down the hill to school, was packed with those kids from his Fair Haven childhood.
Continue reading Celebrating Frankie’s Fair Haven Legacy of Luck and Smiles
Ahhhhh, the Easter Bunny … the tradition, the joy, the mystery, and, yes, the horror.
There’s a lot more to the symbolically giant fluffy rodent with cartoon eyes in a fixed freaky stare and a head the size of one of the small children he visits on Easter. For instance, his head pops off. It’s also a sweaty death trap. Those are facts, people. I know. I was the Easter Bunny quite a few times.
It’s basketball season these school days, and a particularly winning one at RFH. So, we’re bringing this up again …
It’s no secret that RFH has had some slam dunk success with the sport. So has Rumson’s Forrestdale School.
Continue reading Retro Forrestdale Basketball Slam DunkOur annual reprise honoring the inspiration for R-FH Retro — my mom, Sally Van Develde — on what would have been her 103rd birthday. A birthday wish … Happy Heavenly Birthday, Mom. You remain in the hearts of so many … Besides, I won’t let them forget.
“If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn’t there, I never really lost it to begin with! Is that right?” ~ Dorothy, The Wizard of Oz
For the love of home and a Fair Haven mom … that’s right.
Sometimes a birthday without her is about lighting the candles, making the wish, sustaining the simple legacy of going home, staying home with my mom, Sally Van Develde.
Today would have been her 102nd birthday. If she had lived to blow out all those candles on her cake, I wondered what she would have done. What her wish would have been.
Continue reading A Birthday Wish: Going Back Home with MomA Valentine’s Day reprise from last year …
Call it Valentine’s sustenance. Since Cupid’s arrow was first slung back in the dark ages, there have been hard hits, softer ones and total misses since. But there’s always been a little bit of sweet, sour and downright doughy satiation for the Valentine’s Day palate, with a little kooky sprinkled on top.
It was his smile that said it all — soft and clear. It whispered “hold each homegrown memory close for comfort.” It exhaled without letting go. His happy sigh said, “Everything is just fine, because we’ll always just be kids walking back home together.”
Continue reading Frankie Mazza: A Fair Haven-Raised Smile to Live By
A reprise of Santa trauma originally posted in 2021 … Classic!
We have a once, twice, teetering on three times the misery in this Santa pose.
Because Santa Claus is everywhere these days … our annual reprise …
By Elaine Van Develde
It’s that time of the year when a longstanding Fair Haven tradition comes to mind and heart — those classic kid photos at the firehouse with Santa. There’s the park. Then there’s the firehouse. That was today, Sunday.
I remember …
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