Aides. They are the unofficial mentors of our school days.

In this photo are some special ladies who had the sometimes daunting task in the late 1970s of trying to assist, with patience, some annoyingly energetic, mischievous Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) students.

They were the RFH aides. In the center of the photo is Nancy Dexter, who passed away last year.

Those pictured around Mrs. Dexter, many of whom have passed, are: Mrs. Williams, Mrs. Cupples, Mrs. DiNicola, Mrs. Parker, Mrs. Blake, Mrs. Waldron.

Remember Mrs. Parker singing over the loud speaker around Christmas time? Did you ever hijack the mic from Mrs. Cupples to announce your party? And, I’m pretty sure one of these ladies, very kindly, told me to go play in traffic when I got busted sending messages via paper airplane (that never landed where it was supposed to) to my friends in English lab.