Hangin’ in the darkroom. There was such a thing at RFH in the 1970s. And it had quite the opposite renegade purpose of smokin’ in the boys room, as the ’73 Brownsville Station song mused.

Yes, in the dark, pre-memory card ages, there was such a thing as a dark room. The darkroom was … dark. And it was in the darkroom where images of our RFH youth came to light. At RFH, as with any other place where pictures back in time were developed into black-and-white artworks and printed memories, student photographers snapped shots, strutted up to the third floor and, well, developed in the darkroom.

It was a creative club of sorts. Friendships were forged over tubs full of chemicals, rolls of film, enlargers and loops that saw the whole picture up close. And it was quite a picture. It was a picture of good times among friends who captured the moments.

One of those boys RFH darkroom days passed away recently — Cliff Greene, of the Class of ’76.

Throughout his life, Cliff was a people person, known for his great sense of humor and ability to spin a story. He loved traveling and meeting people, and the people he touched remembered him fondly. He was fortunate to have traveled across much of this country, but his lifelong love of the shore always drew him back to the water’s edge. 

News of Cliff’s passing at age 61 on Dec. 26 only recently reached RFH friends and prompted a flood of messages of condolence and RFH memories. The man, who is described in his obituary as a lover of traveling and people, was also known for his keen ability to spin a story with humor. He was an RFH grad who, until the end, his obituary told, had a “lifelong love of the shore (that) always drew him back to the water’s edge.”

He died in Sarasota, FL. He is remembered by hometown high school friends from the place where he “enjoyed the beach and boating with his family and the many friends he met through school and scouting,” his obituary added. Then there were those times, still close enough to the shore, on the RFH “third floor darkroom/office.”

One of those friends, another boy of the RFH darkroom days, Harris Goldstein, RFH Class of ’77 shared an image from that third-floor haven, likely developed in the darkroom, where it hung.

The picture of this picture of RFH photography camaraderie is our Retro Pic of the Day.

RIP, Cliff Greene. No need to strike a pose. Your images have been captured. You are remembered.

Cliff is survived by: his siblings, Barbara Greene Scheel, of Lake Forest Park, WA, Raymond Greene and his wife Stefanie Pluschkell, of Groton, CT, and Bruce Greene and his wife Nancy, of Sarasota, FL; his nephews, Ryan and Jason Greene; his uncle, Raymond B. Greene and wife Lynn, of Edmond, OK; cousins, Patty Overman and her husband Bill, of Red Bank, NJ, Garry Vom Lehn and his wife Nancy, of Frederick, MD, Marcia Downey and husband Jim of Yadkinville, NC, and Elizabeth Grubb and husband Jim of Frisco, TX.