Archive | January, 2022

It’s Girl Scout cookie time!

13 Jan

Hooo boy, this is going to be dangerous.

The Girl Scouts are going all-in with their online sales this year, thanks in large part (I’m sure) to this never-ending pandemic. I don’t know about you, but I’m going to find it much easier to pull out a credit card for my cookie order than try to scrounge up cash. Which, of course, facilitates the purchase of more Girl Scout cookies than a normal body needs. (AND you can get them delivered right to your house in just about a week.)

I’ve had a regular cookie connection for many years, ever since we lived in North Penfield across the street from Annalise, who sold us cookies every year before we moved to the village.

But even though we weren’t neighbors anymore, I knew where she lived, so I still tracked her down when cookie time rolled around. This year it’s so much easier — all I have to do is visit her personal cookie-selling website to get my fix of Thin Mints and Shortbreads. Anna’s little sister Adelia is a Brownie now as well, so I’m going to have to split my order … or maybe just buy more.

The Scouts are being encouraged to record promotional videos this year as well. I think that’s pretty neat in that it gives these young ladies a little public speaking experience. If you’re at all interested, here’s Anna’s video, and here’s Adelia’s.

I hope you also have a regular Girl Scout cookie connection. Or perhaps you wait until you can grab some boxes in March when they’ve set up tables outside local businesses. But if you can’t wait and really need a source, feel free to visit Adelia’s or Anna’s cookie ordering sites.

And if you really DON’T like Girl Scout cookies, there’s still a way you can support the organization’s goals and the opportunities they provide for the girls. It’s a program called “Cookie Share,” where you can purchase some boxes to be donated. Usually these go to local military organizations.

Thin Mint fan or not, I encourage everyone to support the Girl Scouts. They do so many neat things with these young ladies. Adelia’s mom Jess told me the trips her daughter’s been on already include visits to the Planetarium, Ginna and the George Eastman Museum. Plus, she’s taken an engineering class at the U or R and sampled karate and yoga.

I don’t remember having anywhere near that much fun when I was a Camp Fire Girls Bluebird back in the day.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram (@missyblog)

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

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Happy birthday Daniel Webster!

12 Jan

Daniel Webster, the man after whom our town was named, turns 240 years old on January 18. It’s a benchmark that should be noted (if not celebrated with a 240-candle cake). He’s pictured above, in a photo provided by the Webster Museum along with news of his fast-approaching birthday. Looking at the photo, I’m not sure he would consider celebrating the occasion a valuable use of our time, however.

The Museum folks also remind us that Daniel Webster never actually visited Webster during his 70 years on Earth. However, he did speak in Rochester at a fortuitous time, around 1840, just when North Penfield was looking for a new name. Several North Penfield residents attended the speech, and were so inspired by his message and eloquence that they decided to propose his name for the new town. The Town of Webster was born and named in 1840.

A year later, Daniel resigned as a U.S. Senator and became Secretary of State for the first time, resolving some long-standing disputes with England that facilitated westward expansion. He would continue this work as well as domestic and trade issues through a second term as Secretary of State.

Webster died in office in 1852. Our town, his namesake, continues to grow and thrive bearing his name.

The Webster Museum will actually be open on January 18, Daniel Webster’s birthday, so that would be a great day to visit. While you’re there, check out the museum’s winter exhibit, which highlights many of the fun ways we’ve found to actually enjoy the cold winter months.

I remember stories being told by some of our told-timers about sledding on the village streets east of four corners, and even on North Ave. itself. I’m looking forward to hopefully learning more about that on my next visit to the museum.

The Webster Museum is located at 18 Lapham Park in the Village of Webster, and is open Tuedays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Admission is free but donations are always greratly appreciated.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram (@missyblog)

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

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The ice rink is open! (And other Rec news)

11 Jan

For all of you ice skating fans out there, here’s a phone number you’ll want to put up on your fridge:

585-872-7103 (option 3)

That’s the number to call for an update on the conditions at the Webster Parks and Recreation ice rink. I checked it yesterday and the good news is, thanks to the recent cold weather, the rink is finally open!

The community ice rink is located in front of the Webster Recreation Center, 1350 Chiyoda Drive, off of Phillips Rd. just north of the village. It’s a nice size, 52 ft. by 104 ft., fully lined, and is totally FREE for anyone to use. You don’t even have to be a member of the Rec Center. There’s even a warming shed where you can sit to put on your skates. You’ll want to bring your own skates, though, because there rentals are not available.

Make sure you call that number before you go, however, to make sure that our capricious winter weather hasn’t turned the ice surface into mush.

Since we’re talking about Webster Parks and Recreation, here are a few other fun events they’re running which I wanted to pass along.

The first is the Four by Four Community Art Project. Basically this is a fun way to get your whole family crafting, and help decorate the Rec Center at the same time.

Here’s the deal: for $2 each, you pick up a 4×4″ canvas square anytime between Jan. 1 and Feb. 1. Take it home and design it any way you’d like. Once it’s complete, return your square to the Rec Center by Tuesday March 1, and all the squares will be hung side-by-side to create one huge art piece.

For more information and a few more instructions, visit the Webster Parks and Recreration Center website.

And this looks like something I’m going to want to try myself: the Clovers and Clues Scavenger Hunt.

From March 1 through March 17, families are encouraged to participate in a self-guided scavenger hunt, co-sponsored by the Webster Heath and Education Network (WHEN). Visit the WHEN website beginning March 1, and from there you’ll visit multiple spots throughout the Town of Webster, gathering letters at each location which will ultimately decode a final message promoting healthy choices.

Once decoded, the message can be submitted to Webster Parks and Recreation for a chance to win a prize.

Good luck!

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram (@missyblog)

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

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Fairport, Ohio? Webster, Mass.?

10 Jan

Today I invite you all to check out the latest installment of my East Extra Afterthoughts blog.

Afterthoughts is a new, completely separate blog, where I’m reposting some of my favorite columns from when I was the Our Towns East Extra columnist for the Democrat and Chronicle.

The column I’ve chosen today was one I came up with in desperation. I had no idea what I was going to write that week, so I had to get creative. It was a fun little research project which I hoped would interest my readers no matter where they lived.

Game with town names yields results

Have you ever searched the Internet for your name? It’s fun to see how many of you there are in the world.

I did that for our towns. I wondered if there are more Brightons in the United States (lots). If Irondequoit, with its Iroquois-inspired name, is the only one in existence (yes).

It was an entertaining exercise. Here (with help from Google, Mapquest and Wikipedia) is what I found out.

Click here to go to Afterthoughts and read the rest of the post.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram (@missyblog)

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

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Woodland Silkscreen & Embroidery a spicy addition to Webster business scene

9 Jan

One of the Village of Webster’s newest businesses is also one of its oldest.

Woodland Silkscreen & Embroidery joined the village’s West Main St. business corridor less than a year ago, but the shop at 5 West Main (lower level) is only the newest location for a business which has been around for more than 70 years.

You might recognize the Woodland name from its many years on Rt. 104 in Ontario. Owner Laurie Read operated the business there — in three separate locations near the Ontario Animal Hospital — for 30 years. But Woodland Printing was founded well before that, when her father Arnie started the business in his home on Shoemaker Rd. more than 70 years ago.

Laurie took over part of the business when she left Kodak, and got even more involved when Arnie decided to retire. She built the business through the years, including moving it out of the house to Ontario 20 years ago.

Her most recent relocation into Webster last March wasn’t her decision (her landlord in Ontario decided he needed the space for something else), but the move has turned out to be one of the best she’s made to date. Not only did it mean coming back to her hometown, but her highly visible, smack-dab-in-the-middle-of-the-village location facing Gazebo Park has been great for business.

“I love it here,” she said.  “I was mad that I was being booted from my other place. I had fears, but since I’ve been here, it’s been great. Everyone is so nice and friendly, I love being part of the BID, I’m part of the Chamber now. I love being back here.”

The spicy side of Woodland

Visitors to Woodland will also discover a surprising, spicy side to the shop. When Laurie moved to her new location, she brought her OHHH, LORDEE! Everything Sauces with her.

Laurie can also thank her father Arnie for introducing her to homemade hot sauce — it’s his original recipe, which she’s been making on her own for years. But for a while now, Laurie and her best friend Denise Jones have been bottling the sauces, following a chance phone conversation they had one day when Laurie was cooking up a batch. Denise was immediately intrigued. When she eventually had a chance to try the sauce, she fell in love.

“She immediately said, ‘Oh my god, we’re bottling it,'” Laurie remembered. “We’re doing it, nothing’s stopping us.” With that, OHHH, LORDEE! was born.

The friends currently have five sauce varieties, ranging from mild (“Cloud 9”) to killer hot (“Devil’s Ecstasy”). Laurie describes the sauces as “different from anything out there,” with flavors that complement everything from chili and scrambled eggs to macaroni and cheese and Hawaiian pizza.

The sauces are available at Woodland Silkscreen, but also can be purchased at several locations in the area, including Hegedorn’s, Costanzas, Joe’s Meat Market in Ontario, Breens in Palmyra and Williamson, and others. To see a whole list and find out more, click here.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram (@missyblog)

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

Revisiting the old neighborhood

6 Jan

Since Facebook began, it’s been a place where people can reconnect with old friends, old classmates and extended relatives. For those who long ago moved away from the towns where they grew up, as I have, there are plenty of Facebook groups to join where you can reminisce about old times.

My main “memories” group is called “Growing up OWEGO.” I don’t visit it too often, since I’ve found that most of the discussions involve people I never knew and years I was never there.

That definitely was not the case last week, however, when — thanks to Facebook — I reconnected with almost a dozen old friends and neighbors from the street where I grew up, and relived countless memories of the fun we had and friendships we shared.

It all began when my old neighbor and friend Ann Hartman Buckley posted on her Facebook page a blog I had written. It’s titled “We All Have a Story — This is Mine,” and it recalls how one of my high school English teachers, Linda Yanchus, said four simple words one day which changed the direction of my life.

That one post prompted more than 70 comments, just about every one of them from old friends and neighbors who lived on my street in Owego, NY back in the 1970s.

It was a delightful walk through memory lane — or down McMaster Street, I should say. Here are some of the memories we shared (I’m sure many are much like the things you remember growing up in simpler times):

  • “Remember making Laurie puke?”
  • “Your parents always let me take care of your pets when you went away on vacation. That $10 bought me a lot of candy at Mullens!”
  • “I do remember the night you, Janie, and I snuck out to watch the Pumelly house burn down. Your Dad ripped us a new one! We deserved it.”
  • To Mindy, my sister: “I have countless fond memories of you guys. The first time I met you, I walked by your house and you and Missy were using magnifying glass and the sunlight to burn holes through newspaper. I knew then that I was gonna hang out there more.”

We remembered playing “Go Go Go,” dodgeball, football and baseball in the neighbor’s spacious back yards, watching the Joie Chitwood Thrill Show at the fair, the community pool and sledding at the high school.

My brother Greg summed up a lot of it with one of his posts:

Our parents divorced just before we came to Owego and you guys and the neighborhood crew were a needed constant in our lives. I remember basketball in Richie, Ricky and little sis Mary Dee’s driveway, my first girlfriend, Karen, yard games behind Little Richie’s barn, cross country (Wayne), our bike gang, causing mischief each Halloween, baseball at Nick Raftis Park, adventures in the fire department’s hook and ladder company with Chris, fishing for suckers and anything else that would bite at the “crick” and Susquehanna River, Joie Chitwood at the fair, swimming at the pool, watching the Chiefs handle the Vikings with big Richie, Super Bowl 1970, and tackle football at Stackmore’s lot. (I thought I was tough until faced with tackling my good friend Paul).

A few people even remembered my mother fondly, and also recalled also taking English from Ms.Yanchus.

I lived in a handful of towns when I was young: Cedar Rapids, IA; Raytown, MO; Lake Zurich, IL. But when people ask me “Where did you grow up?” the answer is simple: I grew up on McMaster Street in Owego, NY, and I have the friends and memories to prove it.

Click here to read that original blog post.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram (@missyblog)

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

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There are fairies among us!

4 Jan

Bet you didn’t know … the field behind State Rd. Elementary School is home to more than two dozen fairies.  

It’s true! They live in 26 miniature fairy houses installed along a more than 3/4-mile path that begins near the school’s back door and stretches all along the wooded area that rings the rear of the property. And to be clear, we THINK fairies live in the houses, because no one’s ever seen them. But lots of folks — families and students — still walk the path regularly in hopes of catching a glimpse of the secretive sprites.

The idea to make the fairy trail came from State Rd. kindergarten teacher Jacquie Smith, who for the last eight years has created a very magical “Fairy Day” for her students. It’s part of an entire fairytale unit, and Smith finds ways to work in science, literacy, mathematics, art, even music. Then on one very special day, she transforms her kindergarten classroom into a magical wonderland, complete with twinkly lights, fairy jars, fairy dust, fairy music, fairy wands and fairy stories.

Smith would also take her students to Tinker Nature Park every year to hike the park’s fairy trail and complete a scavenger hunt. It was a highlight for students and parents alike, so when the park’s staff decided to remove the houses in March 2019, everyone was upset.  

That’s when Smith came up with the idea to make their own fairy trail, using the alphabet trail that already existed behind the school. The trail already had 26 lettered posts; all they needed were fairy houses. 

With full support from the administration, Smith got to work. First, an amazing parent, Brian Roode, built 26 creative and whimsical fairy houses. Then on one extra special day, during the lunch hours, every student in the school had a chance to help decorate the houses by painting them or adding decorations. 

The houses were installed on the posts in June 2019, and Smith organized a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the new fairy trail. It was a big deal. Former WCSD Superintendent Carm Gumina even donned a pair of fairy wings for the event. Still, Smith wasn’t sure anyone aside from the other kindergarten classes would come.    

“I offered it to the whole school as an optional activity,” she said. “I didn’t want to throw too much more on their plate at the end of the year.” So she was rather surprised when, at the appointed time, every single class came out to watch the ceremony.

It was “the most overwhelming thing,” she remembered.

Two and a half years later, the State Rd. Elementary School Fairy Trail is still there, although a few of the posts need occasional repair due to wind and heavy rains. It’s still an enchanted place, especially for all the innocent new kindergarteners who walk through the school’s front doors every September.

“I love teaching kindergarten because of the magic in here,” Smith said. “They bring the magic into the classroom. They believe and it makes everything else go away.”

One story in particular is a perfect illustration.

“I had one student come in the day after they took their fairy gardens home, and he looked absolutely exhausted,” she said. “He said, ‘Mrs. Smith, I stayed up watching my fairy garden outside to see if there was a fairy.’ And he starts crying. ‘I tried to watch all night and the fairy never came.'”

“I asked him, Buddy, you know the magic of fairies. Did you ever see the tooth fairy? No? That’s because they only come when we’re away or asleep and they leave us hints of magic. So you need to go home and see if you find any hints of the magic.”

When the little boy returned to school the next day, he looked much more rested and cheerful. He reported that he’d found a small speckled stone by the fairy garden. He was convinced it was a hint of magic.

Like that little boy, we should all look for those hints of magic in our lives every day.

Here are photos of a few more of the fairy houses on the trail:

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram (@missyblog)

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Webster community mailbag

3 Jan

Today’s community mailbag is brought to you by the Webster Museum and the Webster Public Library.

The folks at the museum have announced the 2021 Festival of Trees winners. The two trees receiving the most votes (which were tallied in person and online) were for Saunders family’s Lego creations in the children’s division, and the Webster Quilt Guild’s handmade fabric creations in the adult division.

Saunders family
Webster Quilt Guild

While we’re talking trees, don’t throw out that small artificial tree that you don’t want anymore. Several of the museum’s Festival of Trees trees are showing their age and need to be replaced. If you have a 3.5 or 4-foot tree which you can donate, email Kathy at ktaddeo5@icloud.com.

So many things happening at the library

A huge Webster welcome to Adam Traub, the Webster Public Library’s new director, who began his tenure this week. It’s actually a homecoming for Adam, who’s a Webster native with a lot of library experience. I chatted with him several weeks ago and came away very impressed by his enthusiasm and passion. Read that blog here.

Remember when I got to display a bunch of my blog photos on the library’s Artist’s Wall? (You can see them all here, by the way.) Well, now here’s YOUR chance.

The Webster Public Library is looking for artists to exhibit their work on the wall. Each artist — painter, illustrator, photographer, quilter, whomever — gets an entire month for their exhibit. If you’re interested in applying, click here to read the Artist’s Wall policy and here for the application.

The creative ways the library finds to encourage learning continue to amaze me.

Here’s their latest: they’re called “experience kits,” and like everything else, you can borrow them. Each kit is a collection of items — including books, DVDs and/or supplies — which help you learn a new skill. There are LOTS of kits, encompassing crafts, science, sports, and lots more.

For example, the Cake Decorating Kit has The Complete Guide to Cake Decorating book, a turntable, decorating tips, spatulas, icing smoothers and a pastry bag; the Ghost Hunting Kit has two books, Ghost Hunting for Beginners and Chilling Tales of Rochester’s Past, plus an EMF meter, flashlight and dousing rods; and the Microscope Kit has a microscope and carrying case, plus blank slides and prepared slides.

Click here to see the entire list of kits.

Here are this month’s special events at the library:

  • Make a felt gnome at January’s monthly craft night, Monday Jan. 10 from 6 to 7 p.m. (in person). All materials will be provided. Teens in grades 4-12 and adults are welcome. There’s no cost, but registration is required. Click here to register.
  • Learn how to make a bullet journal. A bullet journal is a cross between a planner, to-do list, a diary, and anything in between. Sarah Dennison will host a Zoom-based class Tuesday Jan. 11 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. to tell you all about it and get you started. Adults and teens are welcome. Registration is required.
  • The library will provide the supplies, you bring the creativity to Bad Art Night and make some crazy art on Friday Jan. 28 from 6 to 7 p.m. (in person). Teens grade 4-12 are welcome. Click here to register.

January’s make-and-take crafts look like a ton of fun, too.

For kids, there’s a fortune cookie craft. For teens, paper spinners, and for adults, a puzzle piece picture frame. All materials are provided. You just gotta stop by the library to pick them up!

The Webster Public Library is located at 980 Ridge Rd., at the back of Webster Plaza.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram (@missyblog)

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

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Everyone has a story — this is mine

1 Jan

Today, I invite all my readers once again to check out my brand new, completely separate blog which I call East Extra Afterthoughts, where I’ll be reprinting some of my favorite columns from when I was the Our Towns East Extra columnist for the Democrat and Chronicle.

Today’s entry was not actually one of my columns. Instead, it was from a blog I wrote in December 2019. But it does have a nice follow-up story — or as I’m calling it, an afterthought. And for those of you who are new to my blog, it’s kind of a nice introduction to me and why I do what I do.

The power of words

I was a junior in high school when my English teacher said four words that changed my life.

She told me, “You’re a good writer.”

I still remember exactly where I was standing after class that day, and how proud those simple words made me feel. But I didn’t realize then how powerful they were, how much they would shape my future. Because from that day forward, I knew what I wanted to do with my life: I wanted to write. …

Click here to go to Afterthoughts and read the rest of the post.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram (@missyblog)

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

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