Retro RFH Snow Day Drive — Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect

To go along with the second snowfall and the first snow day for R-FH area schools … A snowy reprise and musing about snow days at RFH …

Well, they’re calling it a snow day. It seems like these days it doesn’t take much of the fluffy white stuff to blow the snow day whistle — broadcast it on social media is more like it nowadays.

Everyone knew last night that today would be the start of a three-day weekend in the name of the threat of a few inches of snow. The snow hadn’t even started falling yet when the snow day began. Back in the day of the RFH dinosaur, though, there was no such forecasting. Predicting a snow day was about as effective as using that Magic 8 Ball. Remember those doozies? You get the picture. Waiting for school administrations to call it a snow day was like waiting for Godot. The wait was a giddy game of irritation.

Back to the 1960s, ’70s and even ’80s, kids never slept when the prospect of a snow day was looming. For them, it was all about waiting for dawn and the very early morning firehouse whistle sound. There was a code. Three blares, pause, then two? Something like that. Who remembers now what it actually was? But back then, kids and parents were military-like trained to know and listen.

There was no phone chain or text alerts, not to mention social media blasts like last night’s. The fire whistle was the bingo caller. And you had to be already snowed in with no prospect of getting out and some element of danger laced in that prospective trek to school — uphill, of course.

That little bit of snow lace that fell this morning wouldn’t have sounded the firehouse alarm. There were major snow days, though.

Back in the 1970s, in fact, on one wintry day, it snowed … snowed everyone in and out of school — RFH, to be exact.

So, the Retro Pic of the (George) Day honors the snow day of yesteryear with a glimpse back at a true snowed-in day at the high school.

Looks like someone left their bike behind.

I recall going out to Hook, Line and Sinker, now Undici, for lunch on many an RFH snow day with a daring friend who drove a little Toyota Corolla and did doughnuts all the way down the street. I distinctly recall jumping in the car, no fear, and hearing my dad yell as we skidded all the way to Hook Line. Yes, you could hear him from Fair Haven.

There were jaunts to Tower Hill or Holmdel Park to sled, too. And, there were always those times when some dumb kid wore plastic white go-go boots instead of appropriate snow boots. Hey, it was the era of the go-go boot. Remember that one? Frostbite, anyone? Hmmmm … Driving when you really shouldn’t have, and hardly anyone was on the road, was just too rebelliously tempting.

As far as riding bikes in the snow, I don’t remember trying that one. Anyone? And, take a look. What kind of bike was the one in the pic? What was the most popular bike of the era?

What was your favorite snow day activity as a kid? Teen?

Many thanks, once again, to George Day for this great glimpse back in time!