The year was 1977. It was an RFH Halloween.
Seniors of the Class of ’78 were geared up for some ghostly fun. They gathered in the Senior Commons and paraded around, and, yes, out of the confines of the RFH campus.
There was no tricking and a lot of treating going on Sunday when Rumson and Fair Haven both hosted their annual Halloween festivities.
It all started with a parade in Fair Haven that culminated with costume prizes, some socializing and snacks at the firehouse. Then, in Rumson kids of all ages paraded a short route from the front to the back of Forrestdale School where some costume judging and prizes ensued along with some carnival-type fun and games.
Take a look at Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect’s slideshow for a peek-a-BOO into the day. Enjoy!
We will be posting the photos in a separate gallery for purchase if you’d like your own copies.
— Elaine Van Develde
The marquee on the Fair Haven Firehouse is once again blanketed in memorial buntings. Borough firemen and longtime residents are in mourning.
Sixty-year fire company member and deep-rooted resident Thomas Vetterl “passed away peacefully” on Oct. 19 in Florida where he had relocated in his retirement years, according to his obituary in the Palm Beach Post. He was 93.
Born in Paterson, he spent most of his life in Red Bank and Fair Haven, where he was a member of the Church of the Nativity.
A graduate of Red Bank High School in 1941, Thomas was a star athlete, playing football, basketball and baseball.
A U.S. Army World War II veteran, Thomas Vetterl served as a staff sergeant in the 112th Field Artillery Division of the New Jersey National Guard, according to his obituary.
After being honorably discharged, he became a civil service employee — a motor vehicle foreman in the HISA, CECOM section of Fort Monmouth, retiring in 1985 after a 35-year career.
He was an exempt member of the Fair Haven Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 until his death.
Formerly, he was an active member of B.P.O.E. Lodge #233 in Red Bank, and the American Legion in Tequesta, FL.
He was known to love softball and was a member of Val’s Pal Softball Club in Rumson, and in Florida was a member of Jupiter Men’s Softball Association and Staying Alive Fitness Club, Palm Beach Gardens, FL.
He was predeceased by his wife, the late Doris G. Vetterl, in 1987.
He is survived by: two sons, Thomas J., of Gilbert, AZ, and Robert D., of Wakefield, RI; and six grandchildren, Alison, Thomas, Robert, Kristen, Victoria and Justin.
A memorial celebration will be held Nov. 7 at John E. Day Funeral Home, Red Bank. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Wounded Warriors Fund.
The following recent criminal incidents and arrests were reported by Red Bank police. An arrest does not constitute a conviction.
Criminal Incidents
• A theft was reported to have occurred sometime between Oct. 17 and 18 on Shrewsbury Avenue. The victim reported that someone stole a GPS and iPhone charger from their parked vehicle.
Patrolman Tanner Shea took the report.
• An incident of criminal mischief was reported to have occurred on Oct. 19 at a Broad Street office building. The owner reported that someone damaged the stone retaining wall around the sign.
Patrolman Gary Watson took the report.
Arrests
Continue reading Police Report Child Endangerment, DWI, Drug Arrests & More
The Halloween spirit is in the air and festivities to conjure it up into a hearty haunt abound this weekend.
There are parades, parties, costume contests, a haunted theater a regional run, and an egg hunt — yes, an egg hunt.
It all starts on Friday night with …
• Brookdale Community College’s Haunted Theater:
Adult tours are held Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 7 to 10:30 p.m. at the college’s Performing Arts Center.
General admission is $12, senior admission is $10 (age 62 and up, college staff and alumni), high school students pay $8, and Brookdale students are admitted for $5 (two-ticket limit).
Saturday …
• Fair Haven’s Halloween Egg Hunt starts at 5:30 p.m. at Fair Haven Fields near the concession stand.
It’s a play on the Easter Egg Hunt with a Halloween twist. The fields will be peppered with black and orange candy-filled eggs. Be there 15 minutes early and bring a bag for eggs.
The hunt is free.
• After the hunt, borough boy scout troops are hosting their Haunted Hike at 6:15 p.m.
The hike will take participants through the Fair Haven Fields Nature Area. Admission is a canned food item for donation.
Sunday …
• The regional 22nd Annual Trick or Trot 5K Race and Pet Walk, hosted by the Jersey Shore Running Club (JSRC) and the Deal Fire Company No. 2, will take place at 11 a.m. at the Deal Casino in Deal.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the homeless animals at the Monmouth County SPCA and the Deal Fire Company. Over the past 21 years, the Trick or Trot has attracted nearly 50,000 participants and raised more than $25,000 for its beneficiaries. Formerly held in Long Branch, the large, regional run is now in Deal.
Race-day registration in person begins at the Deal Casino at 9:30 a.m. The Trick or Trot Kids Dash starts at 10:30 a.m., followed by the 5K Race at 11 a.m., with the Pet Walk at 11:05 a.m.
The People and Pet Costume Parades will take place at 11:45 a.m., followed by awards and prizes! Deal Fire Company will host a post-race party on site with hot dogs, beverages and music.
Registration costs for the 5K and Pet Walk are $25. Registration for the Kids Dashes is $15. Long-sleeved t-shirts are provided to all who pre-register.
• The Fair Haven Halloween Parade/Costume Contest lines up at Knollwood School on Hance Road at 1:30 p.m. and makes its way down Hance and River roads and to the Fair Haven Firehouse at 2 p.m.
Prizes will be given out at the firehouse.
Children of all ages are welcome.
• The Rumson Halloween Parade and Party runs at Forrestdale School from 3:30 to 5 p.m.
Line-up is at the school’s main entrance at 3:15 p.m. There will be a costume contest and prizes, thematic games and activities, hot dogs and beverages and a trick-or-treat.
Middletown police are investigating an early Friday morning school bus accident and asking witnesses for assistance in gleaning facts.
So far, what they know is that at 6:39 a.m. they responded to a motor vehicle crash on Route 35, just south of New Monmouth Road, a release from the department said.
At the scene, a Helfrich bus, driven by Beverly Cerbone, 65, of the Port Monmouth section of Middletown had been traveling, without passengers, south on the highway when it struck a tractor trailer parked on the road shoulder, police said.
Cerbone was flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, for treatment of “non-life threatening injuries,” police added.
“The driver of the tractor trailer was not inside his vehicle at the time of the crash and left the scene on foot prior to police arrival,” the release said. “Video footage of the driver was obtained from a local store.”
Police identified the driver from the video footage and are in the process of working with the trucking company to find him.
In the meantime, they are asking that anyone who may have witnessed the accident contact the department’s Traffic Bureau at 732-615-2045.
The investigation is being led by Corporal Darrin Simon.
The New Jersey State Police, the Leonardo and Middletown First Aids squads, the Old Village and Middletown fire companies, and Monoc Paramedics assisted at the scene.
Parents of Fair Haven students recently discovered How Google Apps for Education Is Improving Schools.
A series of events, hosted by Fair Haven School District EdTech Coach Chris Aviles on Oct. 5, featured a video presentation by Knollwood School fifth-grader Andon Milouchev.
Continue reading Getting Google App-Educated in Fair Haven Schools
Few words are needed, if any, when taking in the view of the river from the banks of the Navesink in Rumson and Fair Haven.
Soaked in the sun of a warm fall day, the scene just doesn’t get any more comforting. It seems to smile back and embrace. And it never gets old.
Get a glimpse. Take it in.
— Elaine Van Develde
It’s not downright nuts, but it’s also not common to sight a black squirrel in the Rumson-Fair Haven area.
Yet, scampering around William Street in Fair Haven, there one was — bolting across the street, darting up a tree and copping a squat to snack on his harvested nut.
They’re not indigenous to the area like the preppie. In fact, the black squirrel is as uncommon here as high hair.
No one seems squirrelly about their rather rare sightings lately. And where the handsome(ish) rodents are known to settle — like Washington, D.C. and the campus of Princeton University, among other places — residents tend to take pride in the fact that they’ve nested in their hometowns.
Evolving from the same species of squirrel as their Eastern gray descendants, black squirrels originally hailed from Canada and can comprise as much as 25 percent of the total usual grey squirrel population, or one in 10,000.
Check out this Washington Post column about them by John Kelly.
Have you seen this guy or any others in the area? Where?
— Elaine Van Develde
Bag it.
That’s what members of the Chinese, French and Spanish National Honor societies at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) recently asked students to do — to “bag a lunch and help a bunch,” as the slogan for the Table to Table charitable initiative goes.
Table to Table provides meals to New Jersey families in need. RFH put $430 in its coffers when students on Oct. 14 brought home brown paper lunch bags and returned them to Bag a Lunch team captains at school filled with the amount of cash they would typically spend on a single lunch.
“I am very pleased with the participation of the RFH students, and the work of our team captains,” RFH French Teacher Christine Berg said. “And I am happy that the money raised will be used to help our fellow New Jersey residents.”
— Edited press release from Rumson-Fair Haven Regional School District
By Elaine Van Develde
It’s as good as it gets for anyone in the area and beyond — that classic lobster pizza at Val’s Tavern in Rumson.
The pie, as they call it, is pretty simple, yet has been a deluxe gourmet sort of pizza treat for many for decades.
It’s a thin-crust pizza flush with all the normal pizza stuff, but great quality, like the good sauce and cheese. Add to that some Brazilian lobster and, if you so choose, some hot sauce.
The following recent criminal incidents and arrests were reported by Shrewsbury police. An arrest does not constitute a conviction.
Criminal incidents
• There was a report of a theft in the area of Job Lots on Newman Springs Road on Oct. 10. The victim reported that property valued at $150 was stolen.
Patrolman Mary Ellen Rumola is investigating.
• There was a report of a theft in the area of the Monmouth County Library on Broad Street on Oct. 13. The victim reported that property valued at $300 was stolen.
Patrolman Angel Marrero is investigating.
Arrests
• Stephen Deleo Jr., 22, of South Amboy, was arrested on Oct. 11 and charged with theft in the area of Broad Street by Detective Sgt. James Ramsey.
• Eric Sterling, 25, of Moorestown, was arrested on Oct. 12 and charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI) in the area of Broad Street by Patrolman Joseph Barnicle.
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