Retro Cheesy Class Pic Posers — Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect

It’s time to say “Cheese!” for those cheesy class pictures.

The era, along with its hair and clothing styles, may be bygone, aas are some since dumped picture day prep traditions, but the freeze framed sentiment is the same — straighten up and smile right, even if your bangs and teeth are both crooked. Never mind the sudden blemish pop-up, scratch or missing tooth. It all amounts to classic picture day pomp and circumstance. Classic.

This class cluster comes from Fair Haven’s Knollwood School in the 1969-70 school year. It’s a second grade class from the era when grades K-4 were not attended strictly at Sickles School (then Willow Street), but rather according to where you lived in the small district.

Robert Chartier was the superintendent back then. He was likely the most popular superintendent in the district for a very long time. And guess what? He’s still alive and going strong in West Long Branch.

Aside from all that, the posing for those classic shots was all the stressor. How to preserve those little faces for posterity?

The outfit picking was quite the process in households across the borough the night before. And kids definitely had their own ideas at that age about what they thought was the perfect fit for the pic. Of course, that didn’t always jibe with parents’ ideas, which is par for the kid course at the age of 7 or so. It’s not so elementary, really.

Back in this day, class by class, kids assembled in the auditorium where the photographer and his big flash were set up on the stage. One by one, they filed onto the stage, grabbed a plastic comb out of a box and the photographer suddenly turned hair stylist. That went awry many times. And those combs? Where’d they all go at the end of the day?

The real tragedy: There was no memory card, no cell phone magic, so no preview. One snap and the result was a mystery to both photographer subjects until the film was developed and the proofs, or really one click’s result and option to buy or not, were shown weeks, sometimes months, later.

So, there was a lot of breath holding going on. And everyone ran home to show their parents how they smiled, just as it was rehearsed, or not. The candid aspect of the posed photo back in the day was really what put the fun and anticipation in the experience.

Who remembers their outfit? The practice pose? What was the most popular hair style of 1969-70? Which kid’s pose went most awry? Remember who the kid was? Your worst pic year? And who remembers this teacher?

Ready? Set? Smile! The picture is worth a few thousand class act memories.

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