It’s been a bit dreary and rainy today.
So, to show everyone how the skies can brighten so quickly after the rain, the Retro Pic of the Day shows a sunset over the Shrewsbury River looking toward Rumson and Gunning Island after rainy weather two years ago.
Gunning Island is owned by the borough of Rumson. It is roughly 30 acres and is earmarked as preserved open space/ecosystem to never be developed.
We at Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect continue with our ode to good neighbors in the Retro Pic of the Day.
Today we honor Paul Hughes (and family). It’s pretty simple why we are honoring Paul and family.
Not only has Hughes been a good friend since our days at RFH, he remains one.
Most recently, we attended the Rumson Memorial Day Parade and ceremony.
Our camera lost battery power. Well, just as we took the last shot on the camera, we heard a hearty and always positive “Hey!” from Paul and his family.
It only took one second to explain the situation before Paul quickly handed over his smart phone and told me to just go ahead and snap away any pics I needed to take.
I did, and so gratefully, and he emailed the photos to me so that Rumson could have a nice slideshow of its Memorial Day.
There are so many other things the Hughes family has done for me. But I digress to just say a simple “Thank you. You are appreciated.”
Now, that’s a good neighbor. And, I know, not just to me.
Ray Miller, the owner of the former Fair Haven Esso/Exxon passed away recently.
So, Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect is honoring him as the Retro Pic (Slideshow) of the Day honoring good neighbors.
While he was known for his iconic caring curmudgeon-like personality, when Ray Miller smiled, it was real and he meant it.
Today would be former Fair Havenite and Fair Haven Fire Company member Al Robbins’ 96th birthday, so his daughter Kathy tells Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect.
So, to honor the longtime Fair Havenite and volunteer, we honor him in our Retro Pic of the Day.
According to his daughter, Kathy, the retro pic above is of Al delivering gas to Ray Miller’s Esso station on River Road back in the 1950s.
Al had a nickname: Baggie. Know why? Well, daughter Kathy says it’s because he was a kid, about 7 years old, when he started caddying at Rumson Country Club. Of course, he was tiny, so, she says, “all you could see when he caddied was the bag.”
This editor remembers Al from time with her family. The whole family was lots of fun. And, true to form in remembrance of Memorial Days past, a bunch of us, including the Robbins family, used to go camping every Memorial Day weekend in Pennsylvania Dutch Country at Oak Creek Camp.
Precious memories! Thanks for all you did for the community and this one child’s life memories. You were a good friend to all, Al Robbins! Oh, and Happy Birthday!
She won!
Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School senior Julia Mosby on Wednesday night won as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama at the 10th Annual Basie Awards.
The awards celebrate the talent of Monmouth County high school students in various categories.
RFH was nominated for a total of 11 awards. Mosby was nominated for two: Outstanding Supporting Actress in both the Drama and Musical categories.
She won for her supporting role in the high school’s fall production of Miracle on 34th Street.
So, in our Retro Pic of the Day, we take you back to the closing day performance of that show with a photo of Mosby and friend Ben Ley, also an RFH grad, after the final performance.
Congrats, Julia!
Well, once we published our first in a series of good (old) neighbors and asked for nominations, it didn’t take long to get an onslaught of nominations to feature Fair Haven’s Chum Chandler as a shining example of neighborliness.
So, Chum is our Retro Pic of the Day good neighbor.
Chandler, who passed away not long ago, was a native Fair Havenite, RFH grad, local businessman, Fair Haven Fire Company lifetime member and just all-around quirky, personable character. Anyone who knew him would tell you that he embodied all that’s good in this slice of suburbia.
He was known as a tall order of tough pull-yourself-up-by-the- bootstraps love always ready to lend a hand, share a good joke, poke a little fun and spread his zest for life and, yes, the town that he loved.
The man who was known as a good neighbor to the entire borough also believed in paying it forward; and he did just that.
Thank you to neighbor Chum Chandler. People are paying your message forward.
It’s spring. Block party time has come.
And, with the advent of that sort of celebration of a neighborhood, we at Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect are taking a look back at good neighbors.
So, we’re kicking off what will be a daily ode with our Retro Pic of the Day honoring Ken Lockwood.
Lockwood lived in Fair Haven for 88 years, nearly as long as the borough’s existence. He moved to Fair Haven at the age of 2 and is now 93.
By Elaine Van Develde
Another Fair Haven icon has passed.
Ray Miller, a pioneer of Fair Haven small business and longtime community friend, died at 92 on Sunday.
So, we honor him today in our Retro Pic of the Day, courtesy of his daughter Peggy.
This day-in-a-life shot gives a focused picture of the Ray Miller so many knew back in the day. Gravelly voice curmudgeon-like manner always at a “high test” premium, there were countless memorable visits made by many a youngster and their parents to Ray Miller’s Exxon at the corner of River Road and Smith Street — even if you knew you might get a scolding.
By Elaine Van Develde
He was known as a very cool dude and great teacher. He was Dewey Robinson.
He taught Social Studies at RFH and he coached.
By popular demand, Dewey Robinson is our Retro Pic of the Day in ode to deceased RFH teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week.
Boy, was he popular — and rightly so.
The man was just so totally cool, interesting and knowledgeable and he spread that wealth of good attitude and lessons to be learned on with finesse.
He died suddenly at 58 in 2008.
I did not have the pleasure of having Dewey Robinson as a teacher or coach (because I was always way too uncoordinated to play any sport). But I do remember him well. No RFH student could miss all that coolness in one teacher.
He just had a profound look of compassion in his eyes at all times — an empathetic one. He cared and it showed. He had a real relatable demeanor. Dewey Robinson had no trouble connecting with anyone. You didn’t have to know him to know that.
The evidence was always there, in the students he taught and coached, passing a bit of himself on to them always.
Dewey’s mom, Jeanetter Crowell, died not too long ago, him having pre-deceased her, regrettably.
She, too, was remembered for her sweetness and compassion.
“What a great teacher Dewey was and there is always a strong and wonderful woman behind every great and wonderful man,” Tamera Partington Dinklage said on the Fair Haven Facebook page when the death of Dewey’s mom was announced.
RIP, Dewey Robinson. You were appreciated. Thanks for paying your coolness forward.
By Elaine Van Develde
Today is the first day of Teacher Appreciation Week.
So, the Retro Pic of the Day all week will randomly highlight fondly remembered RFH teachers who have passed.
The first pick brought to the attention of Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect was RFH math teacher Bill Kern, a former longtime Fair Haven resident.
Continue reading Retro Appreciation of RFH Teacher Bill Kern
It all just seemed so simple then. Going to school and living in Fair Haven.
We were neighbors and friends. We walked and rode our bikes to school. And we couldn’t wait to find out who our teacher would be. We always found out in time to talk about it at the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair.
So, back in 1966, a class of familiar community faces found out that they had Mrs. Kamin for first grade at Knollwood School.
That year was the beginning of a lot of longstanding friendships and neighborhood bonds. Treasured time.
Treasured time that warrants a look back in our Retro Pic of the Day and an anecdote about remembrance and gratitude. Remember where and how it all started and how lucky we all were to have had one another in our lives, many for a long time.
Mrs. Kamin still lives in Fair Haven. Some of these kids are grownups still living in town. Some have, sadly, passed. Some still have family here. Some are running businesses here and live one or a few towns away.
Recognize anyone? What did you learn from them or your time in that first grade class in Rumson or Fair Haven? What stuck with you most?
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