![](https://i0.wp.com/rumsonfairhavenretrospect.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/70E0AAA8-832F-4C2B-A8E0-26622CD7A40A_1_201_a.jpeg?resize=474%2C325&ssl=1)
Photo/RFH Class of ’75 reunion page, Kim Conley
A winter version reprise, by popular demand in the comments about where RFH students went on “frees,” from July 30, 2022 … This was a “free period” hot spot …
It’s all about being cool these winter days. It was in the 70s for RFHers, too.
![](https://i0.wp.com/rumsonfairhavenretrospect.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-12.24.18-PM.png?fit=986%2C1290&ssl=1)
And there was nothing cooler back in the ol’ day than RFHers congregating at a little cool kid niche near the high school called The Campus Luncheonette.
True confession: There are some nerds who actually never set foot in the place. Why? Well, for one, it was a nerd alert that the spot was reserved for the more daring. No idea why. But, yes, some were scared there was unsavory stuff going on at the Campus counter — like drinking soda and smoking cigarettes? It was all truly more innocent than the imagined unsavory goings on in the mind of the out-of-the-loop sissy nerd.
The RFH hot spot at 61 Carton Street expanded in 1976, too, to make more room for the coolest of RFH dwellers, no doubt. An Aug. 6, 1976 story in the Red Bank Register said the original 1,000 square-foot iconic spot was expanded by 800 square feet, though there was one restriction that came with the OK. There were to be no more than 45 seats. There were, up until then, 34.
And, yes, the story was that RFHers’ motives were pretty pristine for Campus times. “Students from RFH will soon have more room to drink cokes, munch hot dogs and otherwise hang out in the Campus Luncheonette,” the Register story with no byline said.
The cigarettes were left out. So was the fact that not only was smoking allowed in restaurants, there was no smoking section, per se, either. Never mind the fact that teens were smoking.
In case you need proof, younger ones, right over that counter along the wall was a big ol’ Marlboro sign with packs of butts piled around it. OK, so there was some candy, too. And a soda fountain. And, of course, those cool girls.
The Campus was a cool place to work, too. Check out the ad for a waitress from the 1960s … and tell us your campus story …
![](https://i0.wp.com/rumsonfairhavenretrospect.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/campus.jpg?resize=474%2C122&ssl=1)
Make a one-time donation
Make a monthly donation
Make a yearly donation
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
Donate Donate monthly Donate yearly
You must be logged in to post a comment.