Category Archives: Opinion

Editorials, letters to the editor and other articles reflecting on iconic people, places and traditions related to them in the area.

Local Life, Opinion

Celebrating Frankie’s Fair Haven Legacy of Luck and Smiles

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 →
Local Life, Opinion

Old News: The Truth About Being the Easter Bunny

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.

Continue reading Old News: The Truth About Being the Easter Bunny →
Local Life, Opinion

Retro Forrestdale Basketball Slam Dunk

Image
A 1970s RFH basketball moment Photo/George Day
A 1970s RFH basketball moment
Photo/George Day

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 Dunk →
Local Life, Opinion

A Birthday Wish: Going Back Home with Mom

Image
  • Sally Van Develde at the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair in 1969.
  • Sally Van Develde and Mary Farley

Our 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.

Keep Local News homegrown in Sally’s HONOR. Donate coffee.
Continue reading A Birthday Wish: Going Back Home with Mom →
Local Life, Opinion

Old News: Valentine’s Day Sweet, Sour and Doughy Deeds

A 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.

Continue reading Old News: Valentine’s Day Sweet, Sour and Doughy Deeds →
Local Life, Opinion

A Tale of Firehouse Santa Tradition

Image Leave a comment
Santa and Elaine Van Develde circa 1961

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 …

Continue reading A Tale of Firehouse Santa Tradition →
Local Life, Opinion

Retro RFH Cheer for the Boys

Image
The boy cheerleaders of RFH Powder Puff Football 1977 Photo/George Day
The boy cheerleaders of RFH Powder Puff Football 1977
Photo/George Day
The boy cheerleaders of RFH Powder Puff Football 1977
Photo/George Day

Cheers to sunny fall days and classic looks back! The sun is out and, despite the fall sting in the air, it’s something to cheer about. So, we’re taking you back, once again, to a special crew of RFH cheerleaders — the boys of RFH’s Class of ’78 in an encore of this Oct. 8, 2015 Retro Pic of the (George) Day from two views! Cheers!

The 1977 RFH Powder Puff Football game was a good one that made for some great photo ops.

Continue reading Retro RFH Cheer for the Boys →
Opinion

Old News: Giving Thanks for Missing Spouses, Turkeys, Butts, Beer and a Banshee of a Doctor

To have or have not on Turkey Day …

There were things that were a focal part of tradition on Thanksgiving Day decades ago — in the 1948 Red Bank Register archives, to be exact. Those things are traditions rarely shared, much less championed and advertised now. But, hey, everyone has to live a little … in the past. So, come along with us, again …

That in mind, we take you back to some headlines and ads of that Thanksgiving of 1948. Why? Well, it just seemed like a banner of a microcosm of a year. And then there’s the mind-boggling aspect of the era — what made the top news, the prices, the habits, the must-haves and better-off-withouts. But, who knew?

Continue reading Old News: Giving Thanks for Missing Spouses, Turkeys, Butts, Beer and a Banshee of a Doctor →
Local Life, Opinion

Retro RFH Class in Gym

Image
RFH gym teachers of the 1970s Photo/RFH yearbook
RFH gym teachers of the 1970s
Photo/RFH yearbook

A reprise (originally posted on March 15, 2017, in honor of RFH gym teacher Lynn Broten, who recently passed away …

With the sting of the first fall frost and longing for that breath of warm fresh air, thoughts turn to days spent in the young teen sweat-infused gym at RFH. Oh, the ritual of that mandatory indoor exercise.

Ahhh, memories. More like a little PTSD remembrance of the torture the class was for some — especially when stuck inside. When you’re not an athlete and, for that matter, can barely volley a ball (and I mean barely), gym class day was the day of trying to get some sort of note of excuse from your mom to get you out of the embarrassment. Forgery became a talent. Though some moms could feel the uncoordinated kids’ pain and easily relented with prompt penning.

Continue reading Retro RFH Class in Gym →
Local Life, Opinion

Old News: Political Street Fight, Drunk on ‘Hootch,’ Hallowe’en Hoopla, Hay, Dunking & Fiery Mischief

Woolworth’s Halloween costume ad of 1975/Red Bank Register

Living in the past. Sometimes you just have to live a little … in the past. It’s an eye-opening, or -stabbing, thing. Nothing wrong with a clearer view or jab.

Yet, when someone is told they’re living in the past, it’s usually considered somewhat of an insult. It implies that the person is paralyzed, incapable of moving forward. Not always true, especially when it comes to old news.

Continue reading Old News: Political Street Fight, Drunk on ‘Hootch,’ Hallowe’en Hoopla, Hay, Dunking & Fiery Mischief →