With the Monday demolition of the more than century-and-a-half-old Williams-Robards home on the Navesink River in Fair Haven, Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect is featuring the home in its Retro Pic of the Day.
The colonial was the last remaining one of its kind on the river in the borough and the surrounding area.
The home was demolished as part of an agreement with the state to procure grants to purchase the property.
It will be preserved as a passive recreation park.
It’s almost that time — to warm up with fun on the Navesink River.
So, the Retro Pic of the Day is dedicated to balmy evenings with friends on the river in Rumson.
These guys had their boat out for a little motoring.
Kayakers and paddle boarders love to take to the river, too. Then there are the water skiers, sailors and loungers.
What’s your favorite river activity?
There was a warm chill in the air on Saturday on the banks of the Navesink River in Rumson.
The water was still frozen from the cold snap and ducks made their way to a sunny spot on the street.
Take a look.
The snow started falling again on Saturday afternoon. And down at the Fair Haven Dock, the Navesink River had transformed into a blanket of snow against an white-out backdrop.
The scene was nothing but a big snow blanket to keep dock die-hards warm with some down-by-the-river serenity.
Take a look at our gallery for a glimpse into the snowy scene. Just click on any photo and scroll. Enjoy and stay warm!
Yes, the chilliest cold snap of the year has had people thinking more of warmer times — and counting the days.
Well, our Retro Pic of the Day is a toasty bounce back to the summer of 2013 and a fundraiser day that had participants languishing in the Navesink River waters ’til the end.
The event was dubbed Paddle with a Purpose. It was a fundraiser that had people paddle boarding and kayaking in part for Sea Bright Rising.
The participants paddled their way roughly five miles up and down the Navesink, ending at Victory Park in Rumson.
Time for that warm-up!
Do you kayak, paddle or just wade in the river water? What’s your favorite spot?
By Elaine Van Develde
As the weather outside in the Rumson-Fair Haven area started getting frightful, the view from the banks of the Navesink River was one filled with choppy waters and a blustery dusting of snow.
It all started Monday morning. As forecasts continue to promise piles of the white stuff, it was still stable enough to get out and capture a bit of the clam before the blizzard in the afternoon.
Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect hit the docks in Fair Haven and Rumson so people could get the picture.
Take a look at the photos above to get a glimpse into the beginning of the 2015 blizzard. Just click on any image to enlarge, and scroll.
In light of the impending nor’easter, our Retro Pic of the Day, once again, brings back memories of fun in the sun on the banks of the Navesink River.
This crew had a great time one day in 2013. The photo encapsulates a typical day for kids enjoying life down by the river.
Enjoy! It won’t be long before these sunny days return.
Former longtime Rumson resident Jeffrey David Buckley, 55, of Rutledge, PA, passed away at his home on Tuesday, Jan. 20, of complications from the flu.
Born in Teaneck, he grew up in Rumson, moved to Rye, NY, and Dorset, VT, before finally moving to Rutledge.
A 1977 graduate of Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School, he attended Saint Lawrence University and began his career at Kidder Peabody, moving onto Salomon Brothers and UBS as an equity block trader.
After a successful 20 year career on Wall Street, he shifted his focus to an alternative passion as a gardener at Sisters of Saint Francis of Philadelphia’s Our Lady of Angels Convent.
He was a member of Monmouth Beach Bath and Tennis Club and served as Vice Commodore of Rumson Country Club where he helped revive the youth sailing program.
Jeff was predeceased by his brother, Matthew Buckley.
He is survived by: his fiancée, Angela Kidder; his parents, David and Mary Buckley; his brother, Jonathan Buckley; sister, Katherine and husband Mark Hughes, and sister Sarah and husband Joe Richter; his children, Jeffrey David Jr. and wife Mary Pat, Grace, Peter, and Henry; and their mother Sara Henderson Buckley.
“Above all, Jeff sought an authentic life. He was charismatic, intelligent, and always curious,” his obituary from Thompson Memorial Home said. “A life-long intellect, he could recite a Wall Street stock symbol as quickly as he could identify a species of tree. He was a kind, gentle, and humble man.
“He often found solace on his sailboat on the Navesink River or hiking mountains in Vermont, but more than anything he loved spending time with his children. He had a boundless love for his family, and his contagious passion for life will be sorely missed.”
Visitation will take place from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. on Friday Jan. 23 at Thompson Memorial Home, 310 Broad Street, Red Bank.
A funeral mass will follow at noon on Saturday, Jan. 24 at the Church of the Nativity, 180 Ridge Road, Fair Haven.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to an educational fund for Jeff’s children. Please direct contributions to the Buckley Family Education Fund, P.O. Box 8097, Red Bank, NJ.
— Obituary, courtesy of Thompson Memorial Home.
It’s no secret that the Navesink River is a spot of solace for people who grew up in the Rumson-Fair Haven area or just have a sentimental spot for it.
No one knows that unsurpassed value better than this editor.
It was a nippy day along the river today, yet, somehow, a couple of spots still provided that usual dose of serenity.
Take a look at the photo gallery above for a glimpse into life on the Navesink. Just click on one photo and scroll. Enjoy!
Our Retro Pic of the Day is a warm look back on one of those seemingly perfect days down by the Navesink River.
It was just one of those days — a day that the picture there was worth about 5,000 words on why the Rumson-Fair Haven area is such a great place to live.
The sun was shining, the scene was serene and, a couple of best buds waded in the water, made friends with hermit crabs and shared the wealth of their elating experience.
There’s nothing quite like the happy faces of kids enjoying life down by the river.
— Elaine Van Develde
The sunset scene on the icy Navesink River from Rumson’s Victory Park was a warm one Thursday night.
Light reflected in the frozen still waters set a peaceful tone — a view of life in this riverfront suburb.
Click on any photo to enlarge and scroll. Enjoy!
By Elaine Van Develde
It wasn’t long after Fair Haven acquired the long-sought-after Robards/Williams waterfront estate for passive recreation that the borough got another grant to upgrade more pocket spots along the Navesink River.
The 2014 Monmouth County Open Space Grant of up to $250,000 in matching funds was awarded only a few weeks ago.
What it’s been designated to do is to “polish the diamond” that is the Fair Haven open space on the waterfront, Mayor Ben Lucarelli said.
“Now that we’ve acquired DeNormandie, cleaning up and maintaining the rest of the open waterfront spaces we have is the next logical step. If we don’t do it now, we’ll have real headaches down the road.”
The “polishing” the mayor referred to is, more specifically, “resloping of two riverbank pocket parks at the end of Hance Road and Grange Avenue, so that people can access them easier and enjoy them more” and the refurbishment of bulkheads and passive recreation enhancements, such as benches.
Similar work, without resloping, is planned for the swath of land known as the home of the River Rats at the foot of Battin Road.
“It will make all those areas more user friendly,” he added. “The focus on these areas, I think, is a good use of this grant money. People I’ve spoken with who live on the west side of town have felt as if they haven’t gotten the total benefit of these projects. Now they’ll have it and the feedback I’ve gotten is that they’re very happy about that.”
The process for implementation of the county open space grant will soon begin.
Lucarelli said that the design drawings will first be completed. Then the project will be put out to bid; and “we’ll see where the cost comes in.”
Up to $250,000 will or can be funded by the matching grant money. In other words, if the cost of the project comes in at $300,000, then the county will pay $150,000 and the borough will pay the other half, and so on.
Sometimes bonding is necessary, or as a show of good faith to the funding entity, to fund such a matching grant project and set it in motion and pay contractors while waiting for the funded portion of the money to come in. In those instances, with such grants, the town bonds for the entire projected cost of the project and is then reimbursed by the county, or whichever agency is allocating the funding.
However, the mayor doesn’t think this project will require bonding. More likely, he said, “we’ll just bid and, if there’s enough (allocated) in the (capital improvements section of the) budget, pay as we go.”
All 53 municipalities in the county are eligible for the annual open space grant, which is designed to encourage open space acquisition and preservation as well as park enhancements and facilities by offsetting costs of such purchases.
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