Another year, more milestones, tradition and connection. That’s how went in the Rumson-Fair Haven community in 2025.

The usual. But always an unusually good ususal when Rumson and Fair Haven are home. This year brought with it some loss, some gain, some reuniting and traditions new and old taking hold — as usual. Yes, some things change. Yet, so many don’t — as usual.

The area’s people and places are hometown anchors. And if there’s any drifting away, the anchors pull back home where hearts belong. It’s that simple. So is the way things evolve in a year.

In 2025, the river and the beach still called the Rumson- and Fair Haven-raised like a homecoming Siren — the home embrace of river jaunts and beach daze. Yes. Some things never change. There was the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair — generations of familiar faces and reunions peppering the grounds. There was a 50th RFH reunion — a homecoming steeped in gratitude and smiles over childhood bonds unbroken.

There was a bridge from Rumson to Sea Bright and back completed — all the better to keep everyone beaching it and bonding. There was a protest next door in Red Bank, too — all the better to bond like minds and set voices free. There was an RFH sister’s love of a brother lost in a showing and sharing of his artwork — all the better for a creative spirit’s bond, forging more connections between worlds, keeping a soul alive.

Then there were those newer traditions that have taken hold — A Rumson St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Fair Haven Day. Each a celebration of community in its own way, spring and summer. Each a community’s way of connecting.

At Fair Haven Day 2025, I asked an adorable duo of girls if they were besties. They giggled, pressed their heads together and said, together, “We’re cousins!” I smiled wider than I had in a while and snapped their picture. They were me when I was there age with my cousins.

Then I remembered of all the de facto aunts and uncles I had in Fair Haven and thought, with an exhale and grin, “Aren’t we all cousins?” Yes, in fact, we truly are. Familial connection, no matter how, is what it’s all about, after all.

Take a look at our favorite snapshots of the year (click on one and scroll) and remember that, yes, you can always go home where you belong …

— Photos/Elaine Van Develde for R-FH Retro only, David Vilacoba (crabbing and river shots)

• Retro RFH Presidential Spirit of ’76
• In Memoriam: Rumson-Raised RFH ’96 Grad, Son, Husband, Father, John Sievers Ekdahl, 47
• FYI: On and Around the New Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge
• In Memoriam: Longtime Rumson Resident, Carolyn Ott, 95
• In Memoriam: Longtime Red Bank Resident, Cathleen Murray, 100