There’s nothing like playing dress-up and drive-by for Halloween at RFH.
In the 1970s, students really got ghostly and festive with it all. Costumes were creative. Though, given the era, it was hard to tell if a few were actually costumes or just the outfit of the day. Ah, but, of course these girls were “disguised” as those ’60s, not ’70s, hippies.
Continue reading Retro RFH Preppie Hippie Halloweening
A reprise from 2017, just because … BOO!
Scary season has set in … in more ways than one.
People in the Rumson-Fair Haven area have been haunting up their homes, crafting costumes and getting into the spirit. So, why not add a little extra retro spooking from RFH students of the past?
BOO who or what? It was all in the haunt for RFHers back in the 1970s. They started getting the Halloween party going early on and ended up with a pretty festive feast of ghouls on the grounds of the high school and, yes, beyond.
Continue reading Retro RFH Ghostly Gathering 
Yes, it’s soccer season at RFH.
The calendar is flush with practice and games.
Continue reading Retro RFH Soccer Kicks 
Yes, football season has kicked into high gear at RFH, so let’s take a moment to tackle this handsome team of players of an unknown year as well as the issue of name and uniform style.
Is it all in a name or uniform? Certainly not. It’s all about the game and how it’s played, of course. But, there are some quirks worth taking the ball and running with for a bit. No harm, no fumble. Just fun.
Continue reading Retro RFH Football Touchdown 
Fall is in the air … with a hint and hope of a little more sun and leftover locals’ summer weather after the recent rain.
Continue reading Retro RFH Fall for a Locals’ Summer Bug 
Call it skating into fall and falling for a good skateboarding trick.
Continue reading Retro RFHers’ Fall for a Skate 
A reprise Retro Pic of the Day, originally posted on Sept. 14, 2016 in the spirit of a balmy locals’ summer day, knowing that the summer spirit never truly ends for the Rumson-Fair Haven area young and forever young at heart …
With locals’ summer and school (in or out of the classroom) in full swing, students’ thoughts naturally turn to warmth and freedom. They start to daydream.
Continue reading Retro RFH Caribbean Spirits 
A classic reprise originally posted in 2017 and now reprised every year in celebration of that ever so priceless school picture day. This one takes us back to a Fair Haven kindergarten class of 1955 at Knollwood School. At one time or another, three different schools housed kindergarten classes in Fair Haven. The pictures? Well, there was always that group shot, no matter where, that captured some priceless looks, fashion and hairdos.
School bells are ringing. Class is in session. Back-to-school mode is still kicking in. Back-to-school nights have welcomed parents back to the school halls. And, for some, it’s about taking a walk back to their own school days in the same place — like Knollwood School.
Continue reading Retro 1950s Fair Haven Kindergarten Class Act The following piece was originally published on Aug. 31, 2015. It is being re-run, with changes only in the amount of years that have passed, in memory of my father, Bill Van Develde, former longtime Fair Haven Fire Company member, president and captain of the Fire Police and chairman of the Stock Room at the fair, on the anniversary of his death on Aug. 30, 1983. RIP, Dad. You are missed. Thank you for all the embarrassing moments that I didn’t appreciate enough. Thank you for making Fair Haven my home. Thank you for being a real dad. See you on the fair grounds …
By Elaine Van Develde
It’s been 41 years, but I can still see his face and that kooky Brylcreemed hairdo. I can still hear his crazy belly laugh and that signature “Take ‘er easy, buddy!” I can still see him slapping kids on the back, forever clutching his trusty clipboard, pencil perched behind his ear, sweat on the brow and finger wagging.
Continue reading Remembering My Fair Daddy
The following piece was originally published on Aug. 27, 2015. It’s fair time again, so it’s time to take a look back at how things were and are done a pivotal place at the fair — the kitchen and dining room.
By Elaine Van Develde
Someone’s in the kitchen at Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair grounds.
And while they may have, at one point another been with someone named Dinah, as the old ditty goes, it’s a definite they’ve been with someone named Mike, Dale, Sue (x2), Raquel, Ethel (x2), Mary, Anne, Amanda, Skippy, Hodgie, Mary Ellen, Joe, Evie, and, oh, yeah, Andy and a few others.
And they certainly haven’t been strummin’ on any ol’ banjo. They’ve been way too busy — cutting, peeling, filling, flouring, husking and just plain cooking.
Except there’s nothing plain about what’s cooking in the fair kitchen, who’s cooking it, when, where, why or how.
It’s all fun and island-hopping games until they have to start a fire.
Yes, there comes a time when end-of-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.
Continue reading Cooking Up ’50s-Style Fun on Starvation Island 
They made a splash! That’s for sure! There’s nothing cooler than chillin’ RFH dudes taking a summer-mandatory dive, or 1,000, into the ocean and making a little mischief in Sea Bright.
Continue reading Retro RFH Cool Boys’ Summer Splash 
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