There has long been a debate in the Rumson-Fair Haven area about the merits and menaces inherent in skateboarding as a sport.

In the late 1990s and 2000, a contingent of parents and teens rallied for a skate park in Fair Haven. And there was also a group as enthusiastically opposed as supporters were supportive.

Police supported it, contending that the skateboarders were there to stay and they may as well have a safe, enclosed space in which to skate. Then Chief Richard Towler and Captain Paul McCue supported a skate park in Fair Haven Fields with a camera for monitoring.

That, and the fact that many kids resorted to parking lots and streets to skate, weren’t enough to hold muster for the pro-park argument.

After a lot of quibbling at Borough Council meetings, the proposal ended up falling flat and never coming to fruition.

There was a resolution denying the park, citing “community concern and opposition …”

Since then, a small skate park opened in the Port Monmouth section of Middletown in 2003 and has since closed due to safety issues and vandalism, officials have said. That park took 10 years to come to fruition.

There is a county skate park in Long Branch which is now closed for reconstruction.

The reality is that skaters have always skated and found places to do so, whether or not there were parks to accommodate the sport. Decades ago, plenty of RFH skaters made their way down paved, albeit less traveled, streets in all sorts of ways, and without protective gear.

So the Retro Pic of the (George) Day takes a look back to the 1970s at what some may call taking a stand — a handstand — on skateboarding through the streets of Rumson.

Kids, don’t try this one at home!

This guy, whom we can’t seem to identify, was exceptionally adroit and resilient. Yes, he made it down the hill!

Yes, the gear is a good requirement to have put in place since then, we’re thinking.

The question: How was the view?

Many thanks to George Day for yet another great Retro Pic of the Day contribution from his photo files of the 1970s!