Tag Archives: Rumson

Retro Rumson Island Mooring Improv

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.

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Retro Rumson Island Ploppers

A reprise of a real classic because it’s summertime and that means it’s island cruising time in the Rumson-Fair Haven area …

It’s a case of summer island plopping. Yes, that’s right. Island plopping.

That would be the more accurate term when telling the pretty common story of some Fair Haven and Rumson kids taking their own eight-hour tour of the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers and ending up settling down for some adventure on Starvation Island in Rumson on pretty much any summer day.

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Retro Rumson Renegades in the Park

Kid congregation at Victory Park in the 1960s
Photo/courtesy of Ed Pomphrey, Rumson historical archives

It’s just plain campy! There’s nothing like a nice summer day replete with some bubble-blowing, power-posing, bathing suited, short-sporting kids on a mission to make some summer fun — at camp … or something like it.

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Retro Rumson Dock Cat-Eyed Coolness

Rumson Dock summer days with a Rumson family and friends
Photo/courtesy of Paul Karinja.

Reprise from Aug. 23, 2022, because we’re coming out of heat wave and some crazy July weather …

There’s nothing quite like sitting on the dock of the … river in Rumson. Though this was never seen as wasting time. Savoring it was more like it. Still is.

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Retro Rumson Pier Summer Sunning Daze

Sunning with the Oceanic Bridge as a backdrop Photo/courtesy of Jo Ann Slocum Mazzucca
Sunning with the Oceanic Bridge as a backdrop
Photo/courtesy of Jo Ann Slocum Mazzucca

A classic reprise in honor of those summer days down by the river. Some things never change, except maybe swimwear …

Yes, summertime is here. And the livin’ is always easy down by the river. The sunning outfits may have changed over time, but the daydreaming state of mind has always stayed the same. After all, some Rumson river time is something to dream about. The reality is even more dreamy. And it shows in this snapshot back in time to about 85 years ago.

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Retro Rumson Cheers from Frank’s

Cheers to Friday, a Rumson icon and his iconic River Road spot!

That would be Tony Mellaci and his father’s bar, Frank’s. The door was always open at the place, welcoming Rumson friends for a cold one, a Mellaci sausage sandwich, a little camaraderie and good conversation among locals. The senior Mellaci, Frank, owned it and ran it with his son, Tony. The proprietors, they were.

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Getting the Clear Retro RFH Graduation Picture

Sometimes those ’70s RFH graduation memories are not all a blur. They’re crystal clear. In focus. Like this Pomp and Circumstance walk snapshot back in time. It’s been almost a week since the RFH Class of 2026 did their graduation walk. So, we’re taking you back to a walk of the dinosaur kind — that of the RFH Class of ’78.

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