Tag Archives: feature

Retro RFH Rainy Day Tricks & Treats

Lounging in the RFH Senior Lounge on a "free" with Jim Scanlon and Mark Cardwell Photo/George Day
Lounging in the RFH Senior Lounge on a “free” with Jim Scanlon and Mark Cardwell
Photo/George Day

A reprise from Oct. 1, 2015 to give a little cheer on a dank day. A little tricks and treating among RFH loungers. Always an adventure of some sort at RFH … 

There was nothing quite like becoming a senior at RFH and being able to hang out in a special lounge just for you and your classmates, especially on a dismal October day.

Nothing was getting anyone down if they were senior lounging in the cozy RFH indoors. Of course, there was always something seniors were up to. Call it mod. Literally. 

Those were the days — in the 1970s.

The whole senior scene, in fact, was quite mod, or literally modular.

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Retro Stokes Mess Hall Tripping

Hanging at the Stokes dining hall in ’78
Photo/courtesy of Jill Sorrentino

Well, COVID may have put off the sixth graders’ trip to Stokes State Forrest, but it didn’t quash it.

It just moved the tradition and fun to locals’ summer fall instead of spring/summer. And the week full of outdoor learning, pranks and bonding came to an end this week.

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In Memoriam: Longtime Rumsonite Phyliss Amses, 89

Longtime Rumsonite Phyliss Amses died on Sept. 25 at Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank from an undetermined cause. She was 89.

Phyliss Amses
Photo/family via Thompson Memorial Home

“Phyliss married musician Richard Amses on September 8, 1954 and they had a truly long and loving marriage until his death in 2018. She was no less a truly loving and deeply devoted mother to her
two children Denise and Matthew.
Always happy to entertain her beloved family and friends, Phyliss was a gracious and charming hostess, and an accomplished cook and baker. She brought joy to all who knew her … She will be remembered and missed by the legions of family, friends and neighbors whose lives she touched.”

Loved ones of Phyliss Amses in her obituary

Born on Nov. 6, 1931 in Bayonne, to Irvin and Sophie Gershman, Phyliss graduated from Bayonne High School in1948. After that she worked as a supply clerk for the U.S. Army, a switchboard operator, and then as a seamstress at Flora’s Dress Shop after she moved to Rumson to raise her family.

Phyliss is survived by: her daughter, Denise Amses (husband Christopher Cosma) of Brooklyn; her son, Matthew Amses (wife Kathryn Cordes), of Manhattan; and her two grandsons, Julian and Gabriel Cosma.

Visitation was held at Thompson Memorial Home, Red Bank, on Oct. 1, followed by a graveside service at Mount Lebanon Cemetery in Iselin.

For information as to how to make a donation in Phyliss’ memory, please check back at Thompson Memorial Home here.

RFH Students Named Governor’s STEM Scholars

Two Rumson Fair Haven Regional High School juniors have been chosen as 2022 Governor’s STEM (Science, Technology, Energy and Mathematics) Scholars.

Juniors Sophia Dengler and Annette Kersten join 98 other New Jersey students from across twenty counties in this competitive, selective program with a 15 percent acceptance rate.  

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Scene Around: Whistling & Stopping Home with Barbara Leslie

She’s that lady who taught guitar to many a Fair Haven kid. She rowed the musical boat ashore and marched, played and sang with them as Fair Haven Folk Singers in parades. She’s Barbara Leslie. Her iconic base of song and play? The Whistle Stop.

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Iconic Spot: The Girl From the Rumson Dock

Svelte and coiffed and young and lovely, the girl from the Rumson Dock goes sunning … and when she suns … she gets her picture on a 1959 Rumson post card.

You’ve likely seen the card. It’s been in circulation for decades. But, that girl sitting on the dock has always been somewhat of a mystery — until now.

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Fair Haven Mayor Ben Lucarelli Resigns

The reason has not been given, but a social media announcement by Fair Haven Borough Administrator Theresa Casagrande has made it clear that 12-year Mayor Ben Lucarelli has resigned “effective immediately.”

The administrator only said in the announcement at about 1 p.m. that the administration wanted to “thank him for his accomplishments” during his mayoral tenure and “wish him luck.”

R-FH Retro has reached out to Lucarelli with no immediate response.

Of the limited information surrounding the resignation, Fair Haven Borough Council President Christopher Rodriguez, alluding to a bit of an explosive moment at last night’s council meeting, said late Tuesday afternoon, “I am still digesting the past ten hours of it all. I am still coming to grips with it all … I have not spoke to the council or mayor yet.”

The governing body’s political composition has shifted in the past few years. It has been either all Republican or majority Republican over the past couple of decades at least. Lucarelli is a Republican. Last year’s election turned the majority to Democrat, 4-2.

Lucarelli, who grew up in Rumson, moved to Fair Haven to raise his family. He served on borough council and when former Mayor Mike Halfacre, an attorney, resigned in 2012 to accept a position with the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control division under the Gov. Chris Christie administration, as holding office would have posed a conflict. Lucarelli was chosen from three nominees to fill his unexpired term and then ran for full terms.

In Fair Haven’s form of government, weak mayor, strong council, the mayor is elected separately for four-year terms as opposed to borough council members’ three-year tenure. The mayor only has a vote in council matters if he is needed to break a tie. He presides over meetings and has veto power.

According to state statute, a replacement must be named from a pool of three nominees of the same party as Lucarelli. Council will then vote on who gets the appointment to fill Lucarelli’s term, which ends at the end of 2022.

This is a breaking story. As soon as Lucarelli responds, there will be a follow-up.