Rumson Boy Scouts at Memorial Day service circa early 1970s Photo/George Day
It’s been a Memorial Day of the traditional kind in the Rumson-Fair Haven area. The day, usually kicked off by parades in Rumson and Fair Haven and solemn services at Victory and Memorial parks, respectively, brings people in the communities together. Groups, standing shoulder-to-shoulder, honoring those who sacrificed their lives in service to the country, is the usual visual.
There’s nothing like chilling with the cool kids when you’re a middle schooler. And these Rumson boys knew just how to lead the coolness brigade back in the 1970s at Forrestdale School.
Lunch time for Halloween trick-or-treaters at RFH circa 1977 Photo/George Day
Well, rainy days like today and hangin’ in the Senior Commons at RFH were just about as cool as The Carpenters’ hit song in the 1970s. It didn’t have to be on Monday, though. And nothing got RFHers down when it came to Halloween fun and lounging. The fun just stayed inside and all RFH cozy-like.
It’s also not every day that you get the chance to “cop a squat” in the RFH senior lounge to ingest the spirit, or spirits, of the day in the company of Harpo and Groucho Marx.
Our annual RFH graduation reprise in honor of the RFH Class of 2023 … Congrats!
RFH graduation ’79
Photo/George Day
RFHers did the graduation walk on Friday. And it’s a walk that has veered off onto different paths over the years — but always to Pomp & Circumstance.
Wow. So much has changed, yet stayed the same. The venue has gone from the RFH Borden Stadium to the front lawn to the Borden Stadium and the football field again to the RFH auditorium and mixed up and around over the years. Now it’s at the Monmouth University. And two years ago, in pandemic times, the venue was outside, masked and virtual. Now it’s back to Monmouth again for the second year out of pandemic graduation times.
The way that spring has sprung into summer days and back these days could give a spring fevered kind of person whiplash. But, hey, if the weather fits, you just have to ride it out. And enjoy the ride.
Actress Natalie Schafer, Lovey on Gilligan’s Island, visits the RFH Freshman Follies circa 1975. Photo/George Day
We’re feeling that kind of a springtime fever when a little boat ride and escape to a deserted island, or one in the Shrewsbury River, makes for the perfect getaway not so far away — as long as there’s some mosquito netting.
A little RFH spring fever springing in the 1970s Photo/George Day
A reprise to warm hearts as the thaw ensues and spring officially hits the air …
Spring is officially here. The weather is warming up. Sort of. People are shedding coats for sweaters and getting out and about a little more each day.
The thaw has started. Call it classic spring fever. And it’s a more feverish fever than ever with the demise of COVID mask mandates and people pulling closer together again. Thoughts of sunny, warm, close spring-is-in-the-air antics are racing through minds, especially those of high schoolers.
RFH Senior Lounge days in the 1970s Photo/George Day
Rain, rain go away. Chill with the RFH seniors and everything be OK. It could have been a 1970s mantra, albeit a very corny one.
Let’s face it, though, those lounges at RFH made foul weather times just fine. And, lately, it’s been downright dank. That’s one of those words that just sounds like what it is. Yuck!
Juniors of the RFH Class of ’79 lounge in the Junior Lounge Photo/George Day
A little cheer in a reprise all about simple fun to be had in foul weather lounging and an antic or a few at RFH …
Some moments are meant for just lounging … like this persistent foul, frigid weather. Yes, lounging, even if those snippets of indoor time at RFH are inside a far less cozy, yet exclusive, special high school nook like the junior, as opposed to upper crust senior, lounge.
A look back at some RFH girls contemplating life on the beach in the 1970s Photo/George Day
While Rumson-Fair Haven area folks know better than anyone that there’s nothing quite like a good locals’ summer, there are always great days on the beach in any season in this area.
When you grow up nestled between the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers and the ocean is a short ride, walk or run away, beaching it is never solely a summer seasonal jaunt. It’s a rite of passage, no matter what time of year.
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