Retro RFH Smiley Cheerleading Pile-up

Image September 21, 2023 Elaine Van Develde

“Push ’em back. Push ’em back … waaaayyyy back!” We’re not talking football with that. We’re talking the year of that kind of cheer and its leaders — the RFH cheerleaders of the early 1970s.

It was likely 1972 when this RFH yearbook snapshot was taken. Call it falling for the cheer with this pile of girls giving all they had with smiles and cheers for the team. As we know, the look of the cheerleader, and even cheers, has evolved quite a bit over the decades.

Only a few years later, in 1978 and into the ’80s, the outfit was similar, yet with a houndstooth kilt skirt rather than purple and white wide pleated. These girls wore bobby socks, while a few years later, it knee socks went with those saddle shoes that were pretty status quo in cheerleader fashion for some time.

The big question, though, is “What’s with the RF?” The high school has been known in abbreviated form as RFH for a very long time. Yet, when you look back at some of these retro pics, the standard abbreviation on the sports uniforms was RF. It does make sense, as Fair Haven is one town. However, from another perspective, Fair Haven is often abbreviated as FH, as in FHFD, FH First Aid … You get the FH pic.

This passel of cheery girls recently celebrated 50 years since graduation from RFH. Now, that’s a lot of decades ago. The saddle shoes may be out. The skirts with purple under garments for those cartwheels may have been replaced with pants. The socks aren’t even visible anymore. And the hair? Well, that’s ornamented with a big bow now. These girls just let it fly solo or pony-tailed. And the top 10 cheers list has been replaced. The RFH spirit has always stayed the same, though.

What was your favorite old-time RFH cheer? No need to push back. We’ve already gone waaaayyyyyy back with this cheery pal pile.

Some of these girls are still in the area. Know which and who’s still friends? Who remembers the firecracker cheer? Ahem.

Cheers to the RFH girls of the past!