And there’s nothing quite like a costume party full of festive, fun fiends who take full advantage of the season to say the devil made them do it when it comes to tricks and the sometimes questionable treat of their disguises.
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.
Fair Haven Fire Department Old Timers’ Day circa 1960s Photo/FHFD
What a ride!
Indeed. It’s been quite a ride in many ways for the Fair Haven Fire Department, which just celebrated its 120th anniversary on June 1. Still in service to the community. Always celebrating another year of service and camaraderie. And when you pair some classic Fair Haven Fire Department old timers — actually one then new-timer, now a real old timer — with an old classic of a car on a fun day back in the 1960s, you get a classic snapshot begging for a caption.
“Where’s your father?” my Fair Haven neighbor shouted to me from across the street some years ago a bit before Memorial Day.
“Uh, whaaat??” I answered with a chuckle. “Um, he’s in the cemetery?”
“Which one?” he asked.
A bit befuddled and more focused on taking the garbage out than my long-deceased dad’s whereabouts, I shook my head and laughed as he continued with “We can’t find him.”
Dr. John Movelle and wife Betty circa 2001 Photo/Kathy Robbins
With the new year’s reorganizations of governing bodies and fire company and first aid line officers, it’s about that time for what follows — the Fair Haven Fire Department’s longstanding traditional Installation Dinner.
It’s a time to thank the outgoing line officers and welcome the incoming, dance, eat and offer a few cheers for the coming year.
So, the Retro Pic of the Day, contributed by Kathy Robbins (and originally published in 2016), offers a look back at a popular Fair Haven doctor and his wife at the dinner.
A reprise Retro Pic of the Day in honor of Fair Haven Fire Department’s Old Timers’ Day on Sunday. Now, back to the 1960s with the annual FHFD tradition, now that new back then has turned into old …
Nothing says community spirit like a face full of dirt and smashed eggs on your Sunday casual best. Well, nothing like Fair Haven Fire Department’s (FHFD) Old Timers’ Day, anyway. Add to that the fact that the young ones from back in the day are now the old timers and the losers … of the traditional baseball game that is the day’s focal point.
It’s not every day that you ask for selfies of post-Rumson St. Patrick’s Day Parade fun and get one single solitary photo and it’s replete with a couple of former Fair Haven councilwomen.
Sad as that is, just add a Fair Haven Fire Department affiliation or two and a Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School Performing Arts Society parent and you get a good mix for a great time at Columbus Club’s Sunday St. Pat’s fete. Now that’s a recipe for Fair Haven fun. That’s the idea.
The two former councilwomen are, of course, Susan Sorensen and Jacquie Rice. We spy at least two fire company relations: Wendy Kane and former chief, Wade Davis. And the selfie-taker, well, that’s none other than RFH PAS parent extraordinaire, Joanne Formisano.
Now, who’s cut off here — in the pic, that is? The masks are dropped and close encounters are close once again. The parade passed by thousands and the Columbus Club party was packed, so we see and heard.
Now, how would you caption this official(ish) photo? The fun started on Sunday. Look out for more fun times among green attire and beer spied this week, for St. Pat’s sake! Yours? Send your best St. Pat’s inspired selfies to [email protected].
Here stays the neighborhood. Yes. For the love of home, we’re always steeping in it.
Even though another forever Fair Haven neighbor is now gone, the neighborhood stays, as always — right in that hometown heart. The one that swells with a different kind of pride and comfort that some unlucky souls will never understand.
That neighbor, the latest who has left the block, is Jane Croft. Born in Fair Haven, she lived her entire life there, always with that easy-going smile and soothing, welcoming cadence in her voice.
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