Even when the Rumson river view is obscured by the fog, a blanket of snow and empty Barnacle Bill’s chairs are vivid reminders that there’s always a seat for you at an iconic spot back home.
It sees you. You see it. The descending pea soup sky never takes away the view. It gives you a close-up of the little things that matter most, like a chair waiting for its townie.
Each piece of home is where the comfort embraces with a hushed, welcomed coddle in the disquiet of the cold air pangs. Its love blankets like the melting snow, sopping up the home earth beneath the feet that always seem to anchor there, tugging like quicksand at the heart. This is one piece of home. One iconic spot. The quiet, the starkness beckon. They call you back. Always.
You hear and return to take a big bite … of that burger, the memories and that home feeling, ingesting all that’s good. Yum.
The fog has lifted. Here’s what’s going on with the weather in the Rumson-Fair Haven area heading into the weekend, courtesy of the National Weather Service …
** Don’t forget to CLICK on one photo in the above gallery to enlarge and scroll! Enjoy! **
— Photos/Elaine Van Develde exclusively for R-FH Retro
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”
Confucius
“We will all meet again someday. Now get out there and live!“
Paul McGrade
That’s what Rumson-raised Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) Class of 1983 graduate Paul McGrade did. Known for his zest for life, the popular RFH guy, husband, dad, soccer and lacrosse coach, called by those who knew and loved him “one of the greatest, yet humble men to ever walk the Earth” departed peacefully from this life on Feb. 1 at 56. He was “surrounded by his loving and wonderful family.”
Middletown resident and former longtime Rumsonite and member of the Rumson Fire Department Ladies’ Auxiliary, Pamela Helen Shay, passed away on Jan, 22 at Riverview Medical Center. She was 80.
Native Rumsonite, Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) graduate, volunteer and area dental hygienist, Judy Hoyt Dorn, of Ocean Township, formerly of Little Silver, died peacefully at home on Jan. 11 after a long illness.
She is remembered in many capacities, from school to work to church to family and to animals.
Judy Hoyt Dorn Photo/family via Thompson Memorial Home
“Judy was known for her warm personality and giving heart, regularly putting herself before others. Over the years, she volunteered with the Little Silver First Aid Squad; at the Red Bank Salvation Army; and as a Reading Buddy at the Red Bank Primary School. A member of the First Presbyterian Church at Rumson for her entire life, Judy enjoyed the fellowship and faith the church community shared. Her hours of volunteer work with the church and its community reflect the strong faith she carried throughout her life. She loved tending her flower and vegetable gardens, and summer after summer she shared bushels of veggies with friends and family. She treasured time with her many friends, whether playing tennis, enjoying the beach in Sea Bright, or just sharing a cup of (black) coffee and breakfast … Whether caring for family pets, thrilling at the sight of a hummingbird at her deck feeder, or trying to pet every dog she met on a trip to Alaska, Judy’s heart embraced all creatures, especially those who needed love the most. She will be remembered for her contagious laugh, ready smile, and wonderful hugs.”
After graduating from RFH, Judy graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Dental Hygiene program.
Throughout her career as a hygienist, she worked for several local practices, most recently with Drs. Gardiner and DiTuri, formerly of Fair Haven, now in Shrewsbury.
“Judy’s greatest role was as a wife, mother, and grandmother,” family said in her obituary. “She was a Brownie troop leader, room mother, PTO president, and RBR booster. She rarely missed a chance to cheer on her daughters – and, later, grandchildren – at sporting events, recitals, school programs, or graduations. She and the warm home she created served as the hub for family events of all kinds, most notably her epic Thanksgivings for extended family. Judy adored her four grandchildren, who knew her as Pipsie, and they could always count on her for birthday parties, pool time, or simply having fun playing, baking, or reading.”
Judy was predeceased by: a sister, Sarah B. Robison; and a brother, Andrew Hoyt.
She is survived by: her loving and devoted husband of 55 years, Daniel W. Dorn, Jr.; three appreciative daughters, Cassandra Dorn (Donna Maerz), of West Long Branch; Nancy Smith (Michael), of Little Silver; and Sarah Wichilfil (Steven), of Ocean; four grandchildren, Avery and Hoyt Smith and Ada and Fin’ian Wichilfil; her sister, Cornelia Drew, of Mount Pleasant, SC; and eight nieces.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on March 5, 2022 at the First Presbyterian Church at Rumson, with a celebration of life to follow at The Raven and the Peach, Fair Haven.
Donations to commemorate Judy’s life can be made to the Associated Humane Society in Tinton Falls (ahsppz.org).
— Edited obituary provided by family via Thompson Memorial Home
Former longtime Rumsonite, Forrestdale School wood shop teacher and prominent area developer, Vincent J. Russo, passed away peacefully at his Oceanport home, “in the care of his faithful caregiver of eight years, Kofi Kubi,” on Jan. 3. He was 93.
Rumson Police Chief Scott Paterson at the A.J. Bruder Memorial Rumson Run. Photo/Elaine Van Develde
Photos/Rumson PD & Elaine Van Develde
Reprise in honor of Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. Appreciating Rumson police …
It wouldn’t be a true honoring of Law Enforcement Appreciation Day without taking a look back at Rumson police as well, belated as it may be. They call the area the Rumson-Fair Haven area for a reason — community.
While 2021 culminated in a lot of loss coupled with a pandemic surge, there have been some stories of ageless triumph through the birth of the new year.
Those stories are of three Rumson-Fair Haven area moms who reveled in their 90s birthdays unscathed, embracing their new age baking, creating, celebrating and emulating one another’s secrets of how old is renewed — gold.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again … Sometimes you just have to live a little … in the past.
That’s the purpose of R-FH Retro’s Retro Pic of the Day. It’s important to remember from whence we came, so to speak. Remembering our roots is an anchor. It offers sharp insight into who we are. Who we have become.
Like it or not, it’s a big part of us all. And most like it, as evidenced by the popularity of the Retro Pic of the Day. Renting that snippet of daily space as a transient in the hometown past has become a favorite pastime of sorts for area people.
A Rumson 1970s Christmas at the Hoey house Photo/Tom Hoey
Nothing says 70s quite like a first (or second) Christmas snapshot of a Rumson family rockin’ the look around the tree.
His birthday today, of let’s say decades later, prompted Tom Hoey to post this time warp shot. From the tinsel, to the ornaments, to the hair and outfits and, especially, that TV, nothing could be more “that 70s” of a holiday pose.
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