The Charleston, flying trapeze artists, the Zipper or not, the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair has been an end-of-summer tradition since its inception in 1921. That’s 105 years ago. Yes, some things never change — like the fair’s core of community legacy.
Yes, legacy. It’s a concept that those lacking a sense of community and connection in their souls just don’t get. Their loss. And it’s a big one.
Reprise, because the countdown to Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair time has begun! Yes, there are games of chance at the fair, but most would agree that everyone’s a winner with the fair and its cache of memories for any area-raised kid. Spin …
“Round and round she goes; and, where she stops, nobody knows.”
That usual was the sing-song mantra echoed through the grounds of the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair back in the day. It was emanating from the guys manning the game of chance booths that still line the grounds — the loud ticking of the wheel with the spin, numbers going round and round, fingers crossed, breath held … until they stopped on that winning number. “Aaaaaand we have a WINNER!” Woohoo!
Longtime Fair Havenite, Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) graduate, photographer, musician and passionate preserver of local and family history, Edward “Ed” Lester Brett, passed away on July 20. He was 71. A memorial service is now set for Aug. 30.
It’s all fun and island-hopping games until they have to start a fire.
Yes, there comes a time when summer Rumson island-hopping coolness sets in, parents rang the unheard dinner bell and a bunch of hungry, wayward, marooned kids try to cook that fish they caught and toast their own little buns.
The heat is on and the countdown has already begun to the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair.
And, back in the day, the 1960s day, the fire department, rather than raffling off a car, SUV or a big chunk of cash (as in Super 50/50), decided to make a boat the prized prize of the fair. And they advertised that with the help of some fire department-affiliated bathing beauties.
Longtime Fair Haven-based, family-owned marine construction firm, Rice Associates, was recently recognized by River Rats, the borough’s 71-year-old non-profit educational sailing club, with what has been dubbed the Beacon of Light Award.
Fair Haven native, Trish Connor DePonti passed away peacefully after a long-fought illness on Aug. 4, surrounded by loved ones. She was 73.
As tradition of decades has had it across the country, last night was National Night Out.
Reprise … in honor of the best of National Night Out times …
Every year there’s a Fair Haven National Night Out. Tonight’s that night.
It’s a night, celebrated on the national level, designed to familiarize residents, from kids to seniors, with police and other emergency responders in town. That Night Out is always the first Tuesday in August. So, Tuesday it is in Fair Haven. There are plenty of Night Out memories to recall, but this featured one is a classic from 13 years ago.
There are games, demonstrations, looks at emergency equipment, food, smiles and handshakes — and a dunk tank.
A little bit of sun shone through overcast skies when a couple of Fair Haven River Rats were reunited as youth sailors sailed through fair winds and choppy waters recently to participate in the longtime borough maritime tradition, the Mayor’s Cup.
Fair Haven-raised Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH)_ graduate, Ellen Golembeski Davis, more recently of the Belford section of Middletown, passed away peacefully on June 23, surrounded by her family. She was 59.
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