I have lived in Rumson since I was 8 years old. I started at the old Lafayette Street School and went on to what was then Rumson High School for 7th Grade. My class was the first to graduate from the newly completed Forrestdale School, and we then went back to what had become Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School. I majored in English and History at Ursinus College and returned to the area to teach-first at Shore Regional HS, later at RFHRHS and then at Rumson Country Day School. I served on the Rumson Bd. of Ed, the RFHRHS Bd. of Ed. and the NJ State Board of Education for a total of 17 years.  Local activities have included time spent on the Boards of the Monmouth County SPCA, the Rumson Historical Society and the Monmouth County Branch of the English Speaking Union. My son, Allen Van Anda, Jr., is the brewmaster for Trapp Lager in Stowe, Vermont. He and Breanna are expecting their first child later this year.