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Local Life

Old News: All’s Fair in the Secret of a Clam Chowder Recipe

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Fair Haven Firemen's Fair's chowder recipe in the Asbury Park Press circa 1965 Clipping Photo/courtesy of Dave Luker
Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair’s chowder recipe in the Asbury Park Press circa 1965
Clipping Photo/courtesy of Dave Luker

The following story was first published on Sept. 7, 2016. In honor of the upcoming Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair on Friday and all its tradition, including that famous clam chowder, here it is again … 

The recipe for the famous Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair Manhattan clam chowder was considered a highly-guarded secret. People flocked to get their fill at the fair, because they could only get it once a year. It was a secret taken to the grave with former Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair Chairman James Acker.

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Local Life

Retro Sea Bright Beach Clubbing

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Sometimes ya just have to go clubbing … in Sea Bright … before the age of 10.

After all, what good Rumson kid didn’t? Not many, if any. And back in the summer of ’69, little Claire Hurd was one who went clubbing … to Sea Bright Beach Club, of course, with the best of them. It was just the way Rumsonites rolled in the summer. Still do.

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Local Life

Retro RFHers’ Donovan’s Reuniting

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RFH Class of ’78 reunited for the 25th reunion
Photo/Lisa Mazurek D’Amato

Yes, it’s reunion season. So, we’re taking you back again to a hoot of a 25th for that RFH Class of ’78 at an iconic spot in its original little-shack- on-the-beach form — Donovan’s Reef.

Before Sandy, a “DO” at Donovan’s meant something entirely different for RFHers reuniting. Rather than a symbol of “We can do it. We can rebuild.” it was more like a simple “Let’s do the Donovan’s thing!”

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Local Life, Opinion

Retro RFH Bridge to a Reunion Invite

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A bridge RFH reunion invite
Photo/Doug Borden

Well, it’s a summer of revived RFH reunions and RFHers love a good reunion and embrace them by reuniting however and whenever they can.

As far as getting the word out, though, things have changed quite a bit since those first 10-year reunions for the classes of the 60s, 70s and even 80s and 90s and before. But, there’s one iconic mode of invite that has been missing for quite some time. The painting of the bridge!

There was a time when communication was limited to phone books, landline phones, snail mail and word of mouth. Of course, there were paper invites. But, there was nothing better than getting the word out by just reverting to old school days and painting that bridge.

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Local Life

Retro Rumson Island Mooring Improv

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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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Local Life

Retro Fair Haven Gals’ Fair Show Boating

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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.

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Local Life

Retro Fair Haven Summer Dock Daze

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Summer days down by the Fair Haven Dock Photo/Elaine Van Develde
Summer days down by the Fair Haven Dock
Photo/Elaine Van Develde

A reprise in honor of the heat of summer, the warmest of times and freedom and fun times at the Fair Haven Dock among kid friends …

Summer fun in Fair Haven doesn’t get any simpler or more treasured than ending the day down by the Fair Haven Dock, sand between the toes, a few antics up the sleeve, a little seaweed in the shorts, and a crab or 20. Dock time has been a time-honored tradition for kids since, well, the dawn of time.

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Local Life

Retro Keepin’ it Cool with RFH Teens

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A summer day at Great Adventure with RFHers of the late 1970s/early '80s. Photo/Marc Edelman
A summer day at Great Adventure with RFHers of the late 1970s/early ’80s.
Photo/Marc Edelman

Reprise, because it’s a scorcher of a summer …

The scorching summer heat lately has made taking a flying leap into a fountain, or any body of water, a goal to which many aspire — and attain as the need to cool down beckons.

In fact, summer days, for RFHers, weren’t always all about beach clubbing it and keeping cool, fun times local.

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Local Life

Retro Rumson Island Ploppers

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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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Local Life

Retro Neighborhood Bathing Beauty Besties

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Bathing beauties of a Fair Haven neighborhood in 1965
Photo/Elaine Van Develde

A reprise in honor of beating the heat of summer days with a little backyard pool dip, dressing for the occasion, and those first, best neighborhood friends …

Back in the summer of ’65 …  the heat was on, and some pint-sized bathing beauties were set to walk the walk, if the suit and the bathing cap fit.

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