The following press release from Rumson police was issued in response to an inaccurate social media post and resulting comments concerning an attempted auto theft at 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 25, 2022 in the area of Sailers Way, Rumson.
Continue reading Rumson Police Set Record Straight on Christmas Day Attempted Auto TheftTag Archives: Rumson
Focus: Scenes Through the Seasons of 2022
Winter, spring, summer or fall … you’ve got a friend, as the Carole King song goes. Your tried and true friend? Places that anchor us all in the Rumson-Fair Haven area.
Continue reading Focus: Scenes Through the Seasons of 2022Focus: New Year River Daze Imprint

Photo/Doug Borden
Sometimes it seems as if a river view is a window to heaven … on Earth.
And as the sunny late December view ushers in a new year, it offers clarity. The clarity of the beauty of home — where you can feel infinite peace emanating from a living Rumson landscape. A landscape that breathes a sigh of contentment. A landscape that beckons you at low tide into its rising tide of tranquility. The comfort of quiet solitude in its good company.
It’s always good company — the river, its inlets and marshland. It’s where all the gentlest elements meet for a nurturing hug and reflection. This time it’s the sun, the blue sky, traveled clouds mirroring in a small looking glass pool of water. The way it all looks back, casting the most golden of glows on wet sand that holds each mark of where many walks of life have been, gone and settled.
It’s a new year. Time to set out to leave more footprints, make your marks — marks of walking toward the satiety of that clear, peaceful view in your own back yard. Marks that stay. Marks emblazoned, emboldened by the sun. Marks in that sand that go out with the tide to wash up on another’s shore, leaving the grains of goodness that were once imprints.
Happy New Year.

Photo/Doug Borden
Warmer days are ahead for the first week of 2023, albeit with a bit of dampness …

**Thanks to RFH alum Doug Borden for these spectacular river views!**
- Retro RFH Graduation Traditions
- Prosecutor: 33-Year-Old Area Man Gets Life in Prison for 2023 Murder
- Scene Around: Fair Haven Graduation Walk Talk
- In Memoriam: Former Fair Havenite Maura Hickey McCarthy, 61
- Retro Knollwood Grads Walking the Walk

Scene Around: Clamming Down in Rumson



Clam down! Dig it! A new year is coming!
In so many puns, that’s what’s going on with at least one family of Rumsonites and Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School grads. They’ve been clamming down for some time now. But, the sun came out the other day and RFH Class of ’78 grad Doug Borden and daughter Devon, also an RFH grad … were at it again. This has become a family affair habit of the bivalve kind. This father-daughter duo hit the sand by the river and dug themselves up some more clams yesterday. There have been other Borden duo digs recently, too, involving the other kids.
No, they haven’t considered the profession, which can be quite lucrative, yet arduous, raking away in the sea with a high capsizing risk on a bad day. Still, their new pastime rakes in a lot of clams.
They’re sticking with the river banks. They family clam diggity diggers have done it before and, well, gotten quite clammy over the whole idea. Dig that. And they did. They just hit the sand and dig. Dinner. River bank to table.
No doubt, the scenery is great, but the bivalves are fresh and homegrown — perfect for the holiday palate. Nothing like dinner from the back yard, especially when it’s down by the river.
Dig that, clammy! Clam down on it!
- Retro RFH Graduation Traditions
- Prosecutor: 33-Year-Old Area Man Gets Life in Prison for 2023 Murder
- Scene Around: Fair Haven Graduation Walk Talk
- In Memoriam: Former Fair Havenite Maura Hickey McCarthy, 61
- Retro Knollwood Grads Walking the Walk

In Memoriam: Rumson-Raised RFH Alum, David John Kondrup, 67

Rumson-raised Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) alumnus, David John Kondrup, passed away, surrounded by his loved ones, on Dec. 26. He was 67.
Continue reading In Memoriam: Rumson-Raised RFH Alum, David John Kondrup, 67Scene Around: A Bridge to Frosty?

Photo/John Lembeck
Where’s Frosty? Well, he and his family have apparently decided to take a stand, celebrate the holidays, bridge tend a bit and soak up the view of the Shrewsbury River.
Continue reading Scene Around: A Bridge to Frosty?Retro RFH Guys’ Auld Acquaintance

Photo/courtesy of Doug Borden
Should auld acquaintance be forgot? The words of the 18th century Scottish ballad gone New Year’s Eve classic really means, “Should we forget old friends?” Of course not.
Continue reading Retro RFH Guys’ Auld AcquaintanceIn Memoriam: Former Longtime Rumsonite, Holy Cross Secretary, Ann Campanella, 95
Former longtime Rumsonite, Ann T. Campanella, more recently of Red Bank, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Dec. 25, surrounded by loved ones. She was 95.
Continue reading In Memoriam: Former Longtime Rumsonite, Holy Cross Secretary, Ann Campanella, 95In Memoriam: Rumsonite Henry Raemsch, 93
Rumsonite Henry A. Raemsch passed away peacefully on Tuesday, Dec. 20, surrounded by his loving family. He was 93.
Continue reading In Memoriam: Rumsonite Henry Raemsch, 93In Memoriam: Rumson Resident, Jack Morris Jr., 65
Rumson resident John Robert “Jack” Morris Jr. passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by family, on Dec. 19. He was 65.
Continue reading In Memoriam: Rumson Resident, Jack Morris Jr., 65Focus: Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge Close-Up & Travel Advisory
The Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge replacement is well underway. Here’s a photo gallery from a bit earlier in the fall and the latest update on construction directly from Monmouth County officials, including a travel advisory for Rumson-Fair Haven and Sea Bright area residents …
(Click on one of the photos in the above gallery to enlarge and scroll for an interesting close-up view of the activity and the original bridge.)
The following is bridge replacement activity, by area, for the week of Dec. 19. All work is scheduled for Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., weather permitting.
In Rumson and Sea Bright …
- Two bridge pile deliveries are scheduled per day, Monday through Thursday.
- Uniformed police will assist with traffic control during the deliveries.
- Deliveries may now be scheduled between 8:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. and will continue to avoid school drop off and pick up times. If the schedule changes based on field conditions, delivery may occur after 3:30 p.m..
- For safe passage of all, the traffic delivery pattern involves temporary disruption of vehicle and pedestrian movement over the bridge and may affect traffic flow on Ocean Avenue (Route 36) in Sea Bright and Rumson Road (CR 520) in Rumson.
- During staging of the pile deliveries, vehicle traffic across the bridge will be alternated in the westbound lane and the eastbound sidewalk will be closed.
- During lifting and moving of the bridge pile to the trestle in the river, both travel lanes and sidewalks will be closed for approximately 10 minutes.
- Additional bridge pile deliveries are anticipated every week, weather permitting. With each delivery, vehicles and pedestrians may expect temporary lane and sidewalk closures as noted above.
- Bridge openings for marine traffic will not be affected by the pile deliveries.
In Rumson …
- Rumson Road will continue with one lane in each direction until further notice.
- Flaggers or police officers may assist with traffic control during movement of construction equipment.
On the Shrewsbury River …
- Work activity will continue in the water south of the bridge on both sides of the river.
- The navigational channel width has been reduced from 75 to 65 feet. The reduction is expected to remain in effect until the fall of 2023.
- Retro RFH Graduation Traditions
- Prosecutor: 33-Year-Old Area Man Gets Life in Prison for 2023 Murder
- Scene Around: Fair Haven Graduation Walk Talk
- In Memoriam: Former Fair Havenite Maura Hickey McCarthy, 61
- Retro Knollwood Grads Walking the Walk

Scene Around: Christmas Crawling for Cheer & Warmth
There’s a Santa in every crowd.
Well, there was at least an elf- or Santa-hatted, ugly sweatered, light and garland-draped bunch of festive fiends on a holiday cheer-missioned pub crawl on Thursday afternoon into the night.
Yes, the cheer-filled crew of revelers in all things holiday set out on a their 19-year traditional 12 Bars of Christmas crawl for a good cause — the sub-title, Caroling for Coats. Revelers were asked to bring a coat and join in. Christmas trees were donated to Lunch Break, too.
The crawling, though, that’s another Christmas story …
The crawl started and ended at Val’s in Rumson with a finale of song by Jerry Hat Trick and the Flatliners. All showed up with their selves, not halls, appropriately decked and hopped on the trolley from Val’s to the first stop at Bahr’s Landing in Highlands.
With an invite to all to catch up with them at whichever stop you wanted, the die hard crawlers went, after Bahr’s, to Chubby Pickle, Off the Hook, Rum Runner, Rory’s Pub, Woody’s, Ocean House, Tommy’s Tavern & Tap, Barnacle Bill’s, Victory Park Tavern, Salt Creek Grille, Murphy’s, and, again, Val’s.
We’re not sure exactly how many coats were collected this year, but the group boasts a 19-year tradition of “spreading Christmas cheer and the warmth of over 10,000 coats …”
Cheers!
** Thanks to RFH grad and longtime Rumsonite Doug Borden for the glimpse into the evening with the photos! **
- Retro RFH Graduation Traditions
- Prosecutor: 33-Year-Old Area Man Gets Life in Prison for 2023 Murder
- Scene Around: Fair Haven Graduation Walk Talk
- In Memoriam: Former Fair Havenite Maura Hickey McCarthy, 61
- Retro Knollwood Grads Walking the Walk















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