By Elaine Van Develde
Not all that long ago, the sun was shiningly brightly on Sea Bright Beach.
Now, as winter closes in and the sun starts to hide, take a minute, like this seagull, to reflect on summer days in the surf.
By Elaine Van Develde
The Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) Class of ’78 has a problem.
Classmates have no concept of the passage of time — ahem … their age. They partied for three days without skipping a beat. The party started on a Friday night in August of last year with some cocktails and dancing at Woody’s then Even Tide in Sea Bright.
What 70s dance do you think this trio was doing? What song were they dancing to? Was there even a song?
As the cold sets in, the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair and the end of summer seem like a distant memory.
But it always warms the heart to take a look back and forward to the next one.
Most people reappear manning the same booths from year to year. Tom Kirman is always at this one. Do you remember the name of it?
Maypole? Well, it’s either block-long try at one or a prime example of good ol’ Mischief Night toilet papering.
The guess is the latter. Fair Haven Road really looked like a giant maypole on Halloween day.
The police had issued a warning against using such “materials” to wreak a little traditional, yet, illegal havoc. But, in this case, the culprits eluded them.
Take a look at the close-up portion of the TP in the photo. One ply or two?
By Elaine Van Develde
Generosity was overwhelming in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
When the call for help was sent out by the newly-created Sea Bright Rising, surrounding community organizations and just plain nice people, supply and clothing bins’ contents were almost spilling into the streets.
At one stop in Fair Haven, organizers had to ask people to stop giving.
Remember this?
By Elaine Van Develde
When the Atlantic Ocean met the Shrewsbury River two years ago and obliterated Sea Bright, remnants of the superstorm named Sandy included everything from cars and torn up homes to furniture and jewelry.
On a side street in Sea Bright, among the debris, a flag was anchored in front of a devastated home, truck still in the driveway.
Remember?
By Elaine Van Develde
Hurricane Sandy’s waters rushed into Rumson’s West Park section, pushing residents out and leaving lots of devastation behind.
The U.S. Army National Guard’s soldiers were posted at its entrances. There was no passing through for some time.
When the downed wires and felled trees were fixed enough and the floodwaters had subsided, there was a sense of calm, yet eerie stillness in the neighborhood.
This is what it looked like at sunset at the foot of Washington Avenue by the Shrewsbury River’s inlet.
Remember?
By Elaine Van Develde
When the storm’s rage subsided, the Rumson-Fair Haven area was left literally powerless for nearly two weeks. Then the guys from Alabama Power rolled in to the rescue, quickly being dubbed Hurricane Sandy heroes.
In what seemed like effortless work to them, sorely needed electricity was on and humming away within a couple of days.
Area residents flocked to Fair Haven Fields to feed the crew and heap on the accolades. The Alabama guys met them with smiles and a great service that has gone unforgotten.
Remember these warm smiles?
By Elaine Van Develde
Two years ago, voting in a presidential election in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy became historic for many reasons.
One of those reasons was just the logistics of where displaced people whose towns and selves were handicapped by the storm were voting.
Then there was the notion of getting people out from under their Sandy-plagued circumstances to vote at all.
Well, the turnout was much higher than anticipated. This is how it looked at one polling place in Fair Haven — the firehouse — that took in its Sea Bright neighbors to vote.
Remember?
By Elaine Van Develde
It was about this time two years ago that Woody’s Ocean Grille Owner Chris Wood and Head Chef Onofrio Muscato saw an immediate need to help the hungry, cold and displaced in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.
So, they just pulled out the grill and started flipping burgers, eggs and anything else they could to serve up some comfort to the superstorm’s victim. Before long, the U.S. Army National Guard was sent to set up camp and help. Word spread and soon there was a parking lot full of mess tents, food trucks, clothing bins and more.
Sea Bright Rising was born.
Two years later, Sea Bright Rising has brought in $1.3 million and distributed $1 million of it, Wood said recently. And the organization is not done yet. Many more of Sandy’s victims are still displaced and Sea Bright Rising wants to help.
Check out the non-profit’s website at seabrightrising.org.
By Elaine Van Develde
Fair Haven was a luckier victim of Hurricane Sandy’s penchant for whipping up the floodwaters. But neither the dock nor the marina and little beach at the end of DeNormandie Avenue quite stood up to it.
The water level rose above decks and it’s stormy strength ripped up chunks of the borough’s iconic landmarks while it tossed debris all over the place in both spots.
It’s all been put back together since. But, this is what the area at the end of DeNormandie looked like then. Today’s weather brings a hint of it all back.
By Elaine Van Develde
Remember what things looked like around town two years ago?
While the low-lying areas of Rumson were smacked the hardest by Hurricane Sandy, trees were felled all over town.
They brought wires down with them as they crashed onto various mainstay structures. Piping Rock Park, near the high school, was no exception.
Meanwhile, in the West Park section, no one could get in or out. But, from a distance one could see that the water and wind parked all sorts of debris from Sea Bright on Rumson land along the Shrewsbury River.
There were boats, cabanas and more. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Retro Pic of the Day devoted to looking back on Sandy.
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