The Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair got off to a rousing start on Friday and Saturday nights with mighty fair weather and friends reunited in the name of community tradition.
Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect was there to grab some snapshots capturing the moments. Take a look … (And don’t forget to click to enlarge!)
— Elaine Van Develde
It’s that time. They’re setting up for the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair. And before you know it, Majestic Midways will come rolling into town with the rides.
Some have been fair staples for decades — like the Zipper and the ferris wheel. Some are still terrifying to adults — never mind the childhood chicken terrors from the thought of being dared to ride anything but the stationary chair on the merry go ’round.
OK, so that’s a little pathetic. Hey, sometimes you just want to spare onlookers from some scenes that just wouldn’t be pretty — like a full-grown middle-aged person ill, in tears and hanging upside down at the top of a ride.
But we digress …
The Retro Pic of the Day hones in on two classic fair rides from the 1990s. We know one is the ferris wheel. And it looks like the same one. What about the other?
Know what ride that is? What’s your favorite? Least favorite.
We vote Zipper on least. Still, it’s some sort of odd comfort to see it again every year.
— Elaine Van Develde
It’s one of those Mega Millions drawing nights, so it seems appropriate to take a look back at picking another winner — a 50/50 Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair winner.
So, the Retro Pic of the Day honors the picking of a winner … a fair winner … in a fair way.
In this shot, the guys are giving the tickets a tumble, poised to dig in, fetch and announce the number that will match up with the person holding the stub.
The set-up of the 50/50 Booth was similar yet a bit different back in the day. That would be Jim Butler doing something there to help and a bunch of onlookers drinking beers and hoping to get lucky … with their numbers.
Can anyone wager a guess as to how high the 50/50 has gone or did go in those days, which were likely the early 1970s? And who was the biggest winner — before the days of the Super 50/50?
Round and round she goes … Do we have a winner?
All good Fair Haven Firemen’s Fairs come to an end … until next year.
Take a look at Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect’s glimpse into closing night.
Thank you to the Fair Haven Fire Department and all the fair volunteers for yet another year of the fair!
— Elaine Van Develde
Not only is Wednesday night Firemen’s Night at the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair, it’s also Olympian night this year.
Connor Jaeger, who recently won the silver medal in the 1,500-meter freestyle swim in the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, is back home and set to meet, greet and do some selfies with hometown friends and fans. He will be appearing at the fair, in front of the firehouse, from 7 to 9 p.m..
He said it himself on Instagram …
“This Wednesday 8/31 from 7-9pm please come and meet me at Fair Haven’s Fireman’s Fair for a selfie booth. Please come to meet me and give me an opportunity to thank you all for the unbelievable support you have shown me.”
There was talk of a parade, which is what transpired when Jaeger came in sixth in the same Olympic event in 2012. However, officials decided to wait and see what was most amenable to Jaeger.
So, selfies and socializing at the fair it is.
“We hope to see you tomorrow night,” Councilwoman Susan Sorensen said in a Facebook post after thanking officials, including Connor Jaeger’s father, Eric, a fellow councilman, for coordinating the “meet-and-greet.”
The scents, sights and sounds of the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair are in the air.
The end-of-summer tradition in the Rumson-Fair Haven area, the largest community fair in the state, started on Friday night.
Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect did the usual stroll of the grounds on Saturday.
Here’s a glimpse into the night …
— Elaine Van Develde
Sometimes I can still smell the lingering scent of funnel cake in my mother’s hair. I can still see her blue-striped Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair apron draped over the kitchen chair. I can see her tying those apron strings. I can see her checking her hair and lipstick in the mirror by the door. I can hear her voice calling to me upstairs to hurry up as I tried to get my pigtails even and the puffy yarn bows tied just right. I’m always late.
And sometimes I can still see us walking down the street, her scurrying, brushing her hair to the side, still yelling back to me to hurry up.
Continue reading Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair: An Opening Night Remembrance
The following is an opinion piece, a tribute, about the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair by Fair Haven resident, Rumson native and 1983 RFH grad Chris Brenner …
In late August of 1965, I came into the world at Riverview Hospital. We lived in Rumson; and, no doubt, on my first ride home in our blue VW Beetle, I went right by the Fair Haven firehouse, which surely was hosting the annual Fireman’s Fair at the time. I sadly didn’t make that ’65 fair. Too busy learning to breathe and see, and all of that.
Continue reading Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair: 50 Hot Dog Salute
Yup, it’s Friday night. It’ll soon be time for that Mega Millions drawing.
Yes, of course, everyone wants to be a winner!
So, in honor of those lucky winners and the idea that the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair is coming soon, the Retro Pic of the Day honors both with a shot from last year of one of the first, very surprised and elated, 50/50 winners at the fair.
Cheers to the winners! The look on his face just says it all!
The Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair may be over, but there are always remnants of it stowed away either in memory or in print somewhere.
We unearthed a 1983 ad for the fair from the archives of the Red Bank Register.
So, the Retro Pic of the Day is an image of that ad.
It was 50/50 announcing business as usual for John Riley on the last night of the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair. It was also his 69th birthday.
Someone got a hold of the mic that’s usually always in Riley’s hands and announced that the birthday on Saturday.
So, Monday’s Retro Pic(s) of the Day is dedicated to Riley.
Riley is pretty modest. And he looks exactly the same as he did back in the early 1970s when this editor first met him during her childhood.
Riley has been a lifetime Fair Havenite and a decades-long member of the Fair Haven Fire Department. He also worked in the borough’s Department of Public Works seemingly forever.
He always has a smile on his face. He wears his modest, gentle demeanor and love of hometown on his sleeve and in his eyes.
Happy Birthday, John Riley! Thank you for all you’ve done for the love of Fair Haven!
— Elaine Van Develde
As Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”
That’s sort of how it goes when the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair ends after it’s traditional end-of-summer week-long stint — because it’s never really over.
The fair never really ends. And most of the people running it are still around year-round.
So are the fairgoers in the area. It’s called community. And it’s something that may culminate annually at the fair, but is a mainstay of life in the Rumson-Fair Haven area.
But there is that annual closing night. There are also some fair traditions that have not ensued over the years. Do you know what they are?
We do.
Did you know? …
• that there used to be a high wire act on closing night? It dates back to the mid- to late- 60s and early 70s. I think Batman may have actually been there, too.
• There also used to be a band playing nightly on the front balcony of the firehouse. The bands King James and His Court and Pete Galatro’s Orchestra were staples. And, in later years, there was carnival music piped onto the grounds. Notice that there is no longer any music?
• Candy apples, a longtime fair treat, are no longer made and sold at the fair.
• There used to be a booth where you could win Kewpie dolls and many of them served as toilet paper covers, with embroidered skirts to cover the roll.
• There was also a booth where television sets and other smaller appliances were prizes.
• There was no super 50/50. There was a car raffle.
• There was a carousel ride.
• The Zipper has been a fair ride since the dawn of time.
Generations of Fair Haven Fire Department people have worked the fair for decades. Tradition. Some things never change. It ain’t over.
— Elaine Van Develde
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