Tag Archives: Retro Pic of the Day

Local Life, Opinion

Steeping in Fair Memories: Cooking Up Firemen’s Fair Goodness

Image

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.

Mike Connor and John Riley get ready to start another fair night 2024
Photo/Elaine Van Develde
Continue reading Steeping in Fair Memories: Cooking Up Firemen’s Fair Goodness →
Local Life

Remembering My Fair Daddy

Image

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 …

Retro Fair Haven Firemen's Fair stock room days in the 1970s Photo/FHFD booklet
Retro Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair stock room days in the 1970s
Photo/FHFD booklet

By Elaine Van Develde

It’s been 43 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 →
Local Life

Cooking Up ’50s-Style Fun on Starvation Island

Image

It’s all fun and island-hopping games until they have to start a fire.

Yes, there comes a time when 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 →
Local Life

Retro Fair Haven Gals’ Fair Show Boating

Image
The FHFD girls on the boat to be raffled at the fair circa 1960s
Photo/.FHFD

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.

Continue reading Retro Fair Haven Gals’ Fair Show Boating →
Local Life

Retro Rumson Island Mooring Improv

Image

Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale … about an eight-hour tour, or hundreds, on the river in Rumson.

The part about this typical eight-hour tour in Rumson that doesn’t jibe with the three-hour tour Gilligan’s Island folks is that the kids on these “tours” sailed right into a marooning of their own making on what’s known as Starvation Island, just minutes from home. Who knew or cared, though? No one except the jolly river adventurers.

Continue reading Retro Rumson Island Mooring Improv →
Local Life

Retro RFH Pre-Prom Fun

Image
RFHers striking a casual pre-prom pose in 1975
Photo/Kathy Richardson Golden

A reprise originally posted in June of 2019 just because … it’s prom season!

It’s half past RFH Senior Prom time. And we know that some prom traditions have been upheld through generations while others have not — and sometimes that’s a good thing, depending on the trend.

One thing’s for sure, though, and that’s the prom fact that all good prom-goers gather before they set out for their quality prom time.

Continue reading Retro RFH Pre-Prom Fun →
Local Life

Retro RFH Sunny Daze Stoop Squatters

Image

Let the sun shine! Bring it back! There have been some sun shiny spring days lately; but, today is an exception. The sun will return by Friday, though, because spring has really sprung. And back in the 1970s at RFH, busting out of the hallowed halls was the thing to do when the fiery orb reared its rays in the sky.

Continue reading Retro RFH Sunny Daze Stoop Squatters →
Local Life

Retro RFH Baseball Tackle Time

Image

In an effort to pay homage to baseball season, these RFH baseball of a more casual kind retro pics, originally posted on April 10, 2019 are being reprised. Have you ever had a tackle strategy like this in your ball game?

Isn’t football the tackle sport? Well, that may be, but by the looks of things in this 1970s home run classic in the outfield, these RFH baseball players paid no mind to standard sports protocol. It was really all about the fun and laughs for them.

Continue reading Retro RFH Baseball Tackle Time →