Archive | May, 2022

Webster community mailbag

18 May

Webster Parks and Recreation has a great family-friendly event coming up this Friday, May 20 at Challenger Miracle Field, 1000 Ridge Rd.

It’s called the Family Fun Night. From 6 to 8 p.m., there’ll be food trucks, concessions, and tables set up by local community groups. It looks like it’s going to be a very nice night weather-wise, so bring the whole family! Registration is NOT required.

Speaking of Webster Parks and Recreation, I got some news a short time ago that the Rec Center’s awesome Mud Run will be back again this September.

Last year’s first-ever Mud Run was so well received, they started making plans almost immediately for this year’s event. They promise it’s going to be even bigger and better (that might mean messier) than the first. It’s scheduled for Saturday Sept. 17, with the first wave going off at 10 a.m.

Here are a few pictures from last year. Stay tuned for more details, but make sure to get this one on your calendar now!

Don’t forget about Saturday’s Webster Wine Walk, from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Village of Webster. Glass pickup will be at Webster Interiors, 975 Ebner Dr. from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Tickets are $15 (plus sales tax and fees) and are available here. For more information, visit the Webster BID website.

The Friends of Webster Trails invites concerned nature-lovers to join them for a Trail Work Day this Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at Four Mile Creek Preserve, at the corner of Phillips and Lake roads.

They’ll be working on creating a new trail in the preserve. If you have them, bring along a shovel, wheelbarrow, lopper and/or mattock. Make sure to wear gloves, long sleeves and long pants.

Also this Saturday, don’t forget about the second annual Duck Derby hosted by Webster Comfort Care Home.

You can read this blog for more details, but basically, participants purchase rubber duckies for $5 each, and each has a number on it. At the appointed time, the ducks are dumped into Mill Creek, where they leisurely float down towards the lake. The “owners” of the first three ducks to cross the finish line win cash prizes.

Because the ducks take a while to meander downstream, there will be other activities to keep everyone busy while you’re waiting.

The race will begin at the Webster Park Beeches Pavilion at 10 a.m. on Saturday May 21. There’s plenty of parking. Ducks can be purchased online here, by calling 585-872-5290, emailing Director@webstercomfortcare.org, or by stopping by the Webster Comfort Care Home at the corner of Holt and Klem. Payment is accepted by cash, check or credit card, and PayPal online. Tickets are available now.

Need pancakes? The Williamson Flying Club’s annual Pancake Breakfast takes place this Sunday, May 22 from 7 a.m. to noon at the club, 5502 Rt. 104, rain or shine.

In addition to a great breakfast, there’ll be airplane and helicopter rides. Cost for $6 for kids, $10 for adults. Presale tickets are available by clicking here.

You can fly in or drive in, but if you drive, please enter from Centenary Rd.

Godzilla has come to the Webster Museum.

You’ll want to enter the museum very cautiously for the next few months, because Godzilla is waiting to greet you in a BIG way.

He’ll glare at you (and perhaps even growl at you) from a striking poster provided to the museum by Lenny Schwartz, long-time manager of the much-missed Empire Drive-in theater. In the new exhibit, you’ll learn more about Lenny and the drive-in, and read memories of Webster residents who took their pajama-clad kids to the drive-in from March through December in years gone by. (Maybe you were one of them?)

Check out the impressive exhibit at the Webster Museum, 18 Lapham Park in the Village of Webster. The museum is open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 2 to 4:30 p.m.

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

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(posted 5/18/2022)

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The Memorial Day Parade is back!

17 May

For the first time in three years, Webster’s Memorial Day Parade will once again be winding its way down South and Main streets on Memorial Day, Monday May 30.

The parade is organized every (non-COVID) year by the Cottreall-Warner American Legion Post #942. Charlie Klauck, co-chairman of the Memorial Day Committee (and this year’s parade Grand Marshal) confirmed the details, which have not changed much from years past:

  • 9:00 a.m.:  All groups participating in the parade will assemble at Spry Middle School on Sanford Street. All active duty and ex-service men and women are invited to take part in the parade. Any veterans who would like to ride in the bed of an Army truck are asked to be at Spry by 9 a.m.
  • 9:30 a.m.:  Parade moves out from Spry, down South Avenue, turning west on Main Street and proceeding to Webster Rural Cemetery.
  • 9:50 a.m. (approx.): Parade arrives at Webster Rural Cemetery.
  • The Remembrance Ceremony will begin at approx. 10:15, or whenever everyone arrives and gets settled.

The parade is dedicated each year to a deserving group of people. This year, Charlie said, it’s being dedicated to the American people as a whole, “for what we’ve all been through these last two years.”

This is always a very nice parade, and the ceremony that follows it at Webster Rural Cemetery is always moving. I highly recommend bringing your children to see both the parade and the ceremony, so they might begin to understand the huge debt we owe our servicemen and women.

The Legion always dedicates the parade to a deserving group of people. This year, Charlie told me, the Legion has dedicated it to all of the American people, “for what we’ve been through for these last two years.”

This is always a very nice parade, and the ceremony that follows it at Webster Rural Cemetery is always moving. I highly recommend bringing your children to see both the parade and the ceremony, so they might begin to understand the huge debt we owe our servicemen and women. The last two years, the ceremony was necessarily smaller and more subdued due to COVID. This year it’s back to its full significance.

Click here for a gallery of photos from Memorial Day 2019, the last time we had a parade.

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

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.

(posted 5/17/2022)

Senior Luminary Walk honored the class of 2022

16 May

Last May, when we were still hip-deep in the pandemic, the Webster Thomas PTSA, Webster Schroeder PTSA and Webster Teachers’ Association (WTA) came up with a creative, socially-distanced way to celebrate out graduating seniors: the Senior Luminary Walk.

In a year when special events had to be canceled one after the other, the PTSAs and WTA wanted to do SOMETHING to make sure our seniors felt special and celebrated for their achievements. The Luminary Walk was perfect; a stroll along the one-mile long Chiyoda Trail behind the Webster Recreation Center, which volunteers had lined with white luminary bags, each one inscribed with a senior’s name and school. 

Organizers expected it to be a one-time event, replaced this year with more traditional end-of-year activities and celebrations. But the families who came last year had other ideas. Shortly after the event had concluded, families started asking the PTSA if there were plans to do it in 2022 for the next graduating class.

So the Senior Luminary Walk returned this year, even bigger and better than before.

Like in 2021, students and family members were greeted by the Webster Schroeder and Thomas mascots as they began their walk along the Chiyoda Trail, which almost completely encircles the Recreation Center property on Chiyoda Drive. Volunteers had placed luminary bags along the entire length of the trail, 580 in all (330 for Webster Thomas seniors, and 350 for Schroeder, including GOAL students). Twinkling lights strung along the bushes here and there made the scene even more spectacular as the sun set.

Enthusiastic teachers were stationed all along the path, cheering and congratulating the students as they passed. One family after another would pause periodically for photos, and sometimes the parents’ proud smiles were even bigger than the students’.

As the students returned to the Rec Center at the end of the walk, each was handed a lawn sign to display at their home — prompting even more proud-parent photos.

Many thanks to the volunteers who worked for hours Sunday afternoon placing the bags along the path and stringing the twinkly lights, who manned the tables, or who were just there to cheer on the students.

I think it was a pretty special night for the volunteers as well. Cathy Falbo, and 8th grade teacher at Spry Middle School, helped to hand out lawn signs with her son. She said,

I think it’s a nice opportunity for families to celebrate their seniors, a nice way for the community to come together. I feel like these special moments are important to celebrate and recognize and I think it’s important to bring the community together.

I’ve seen these kids grow, known them since kindergarten. It’s really special to see them come by. I’ve had some of them as students. For me, this is a really special opportunity to recognize them, congratulate them and greet them again after many years.  

What was especially neat about the evening is how it was really and truly a One Webster event. Webster Thomas and Schroeder PTSAs worked hand-in-hand since last fall to plan it. Both mascots were there, and Webster Schroeder Principal Paul Benz, Webster Thomas Principal Glenn Widor and GOAL Director Rebecca Saiff were on hand, passing out the lawn signs.

“That’s the nice thing about Schroeder and Thomas doing it together,” Webster Schroeder PTSA vice-chair Stacie Peters said. “A lot of families really truly enjoy that because a lot of people are friends, whether they are a Warrior or a Titan.”

Judging from the number of cars filling the Rec Center parking lot and overflowing onto the shoulders and parking lot across the street, this year’s Luminary Walk was as well received as last year’s. Families started arriving well before the scheduled 7:30 start and for almost two hours, the trail and Rec Center property were swarmed by thousands of happy students, parents, grandparents and friends.

I suspect that the Senior Luminary Walk will be back again next year.

Click here for a gallery of photos from the evening.

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

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(posted 5/16/2022)

Dessert trucks 

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The ReTree Nursery is up and running

15 May

Regular readers of my blog already know how much I love the Friends of Webster Trails. This is an amazing group of volunteers who create and maintain the many miles of beautiful trails that snake through our town.

But their commitment to our town’s natural beauty does not stop there, evidenced by the group’s most recent project, which they call ReTree Webster.

Basically, ReTree Webster is a program born from recognition that Webster’s forests are under attack from insects and disease. As thousands of ash, hemlock, oak and beech die, they’re replaced by invasive and, usually, non-native trees.   

The Friends of Webster Trails has come up with a plan to fight back. They first completed tree surveys along many of the trails to record the kinds of trees present and how many of them there are. Then, after removing some of the invasive species, new trees will be purchased or grown from seedlings and planted.  

Plans are continuing apace. The Friends recently completed their new ReTree Nursery, located adjacent to the Webster Parks and Recreation maintenance building on Webster Rd. A few weeks ago, volunteers planted 100 Sweet Gum, Red Pine, White Spruce and Nine Bark seedlings in the nursery, many purchased from New York State and Monroe County, and others raised from locally collected native plants.

When these baby trees grow to a healthy height, they’ll be planted in Open Space areas throughout the town to replace trees lost to insects and disease.

To find out more about this amazing ReTree Webster project, to volunteer or donate to the effort, send a message through the Friends of Webster Trails’ website contact page.

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

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.

(posted 5/16/2022)

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The tale of the Wandering Box Spring

15 May

I bring you a short modern fairy tale today about loss, but ultimate redemption.

Our story begins last summer, when a lone box spring appeared in the wooded area along the pleasantly shady and tree-lined path known to local residents as the Trail of Bike. It rested comfortably along the north side of the Trail, only several feet from where cyclists and walkers would pass. It probably would have found its way deeper into the brush had a metal chain-link obstruction not halted its progress.

Clearly, the poor box spring had lost its way ‘twixt the small brick village nearby and Ye Olde Dumpstre.

One day, as I took a stroll along the Trail of Bike, I noticed that someone (a Box Spring Fairy?) had taken pity and extracted the wayward box from the wooded area, placing it on the grassy yard near the small village’s courts of tennis. Surely someone would notice it lying there and return it to its home — or at least help it finally find ye olde dumpstre.

Alas, the poor box lay there through the rest of the summer, through the cold winds of autumn and blustery snows of winter, still lost and alone. And three weeks ago, as the spring flowers returned to the trees, it lay there still, filled with water from the melting snows.

One day, the Box Spring Fairy apparently took note, pushing it closer yet to the the courts of tennis. Perhaps finally some administrator from the small village would see it and take pity.

Huzzah! It did get moved one day! The laborers assigned to trim the grassy yard moved it aside … then moved it back.

Last week, the Box Spring Fairy tried once again, flipping the box head over heels several times until it came to rest standing against the fence surrounding the courts of tennis.

Today, it is gone. A happy ending.

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

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.

(posted 5/15/2022)

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Oak Tree Award winners announced

13 May

Congratulations to this year’s Webster Central School District Oak Tree Award recipients, announced earlier this week.

This year’s winners were Michele Parry, a fourth grade teacher at Plank South Elementary School, and Denise Warren, a special education teacher at Webster Thomas High School.

Parry and Warren were greeted by representatives of the Oak Tree Committee, teaching colleagues, and others with flowers and a cookie cake. Each recipient will receive a $500 stipend, a hand-lathed pen, and an acorn pin. The honorees were also congratulated by the Webster CSD Board of Education at its May 3 meeting. 

Thirty-eight educators were nominated by students, teachers, and community members for this year’s award.

The Oak Tree Award spotlights excellence in teaching at the elementary and the secondary levels and is jointly sponsored by the Webster Teachers Association and the Webster PTSA. The first Oak Tree Award was presented in 2000 and is a once-in-a-career honor.

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

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.

(posted 5/13/2022)

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EMS Week: your chance to learn more about our local first responders

12 May

Next week is National EMS Week, an annual opportunity for community members to learn more about our local first responders — who they are, what they do, what kind of training they require, and more.

National EMS Week, this year scheduled from May 15 to 21, celebrates our area’s EMTs, paramedics and other staff members. As part of the week-long observance, Northeast Quadrant Advanced Life Support and Webster Emergency Medical Services are hosting a variety of community events at their EMS base, 1030 Jackson Road in Webster.  

It all begins Saturday May 14, when local artists Music of the Stars will hold a concert at the EMS facility. Moondance will open the show from 4 to 7 p.m. and Music of the Stars will play from 7:30 to 10 p.m. There’ll be food and adult beverage trucks beginning at 4 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance (click here to purchase) and $25 at the door.

On Sunday May 15, NEQALS will host a Community Health Fair and Open House from noon to 4 p.m. More than 20 area organizations will be at the fair including local law enforcement, University of Rochester’s Mobile Stroke Unit and a variety of health and wellness businesses. Attendees can get hands-on experience with EMS equipment, see EMS demonstrations from professionals, register for the bone marrow donor list, take photos with Doc McStuffins and tour the state-of-the-art EMS base and ambulances. 

Other events this coming week include:

  • Monday May 16: WHEN’s Narcan/Naloxone Training, 7 to 8:30 p.m.
  • Tuesday May 17: Stroke Recognition Training, 6 to 8 p.m.
  • Wednesday May 18: Community CPR Training, 7 to 9 p.m.
  • Thurday May 19: Stop the Bleed Training, 6 to 8 p.m.

All of the training sessions will be held at the EMS Base, 1030 Jackson Rd. They’re free of charge, and all require registration EXCEPT the Stroke Recognition Training. To register, email community.education@neqals.org and include your name, address, email address, phone number, the event and date.

Parking will be at the EMS Base. If necessary, overflow parking will be at the Ukrainian Cultural Center (1040 Jackson) and the Elks Club Lodge (1066 Jackson).  

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

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.

(posted 5/12/2022)

 

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Can you see dead people? Or maybe ACT like one?

11 May

The fine folks at the Webster Museum are looking for some people who can help bring the West Webster Cemetery to life.

The museum has set its sights this month and next on exploring the history of West Webster. In addition to new exhibits and a series of events at which current and former West Webster residents are sharing their memories, the museum is hosting a West Webster Cemetery Tour on Sunday June 19.

This is where you come in.

Interested community members are being invited to help bring the cemetery to life by “becoming” one of the former residents buried there. There’s no shortage of interesting people to portray, either. For example, there’s

  • 4 Revolutionary War veterans
  • 36 Civil War veterans
  • 29 WWI veterans
  • 137 WWII veterans
  • 52 West Webster FD members
  • a Webster PD officer

… and lots more interesting men and women.

The cemetery has a pretty interesting history itself. It’s the oldest in Webster, established in 1790 on a half acre of land in what was then the vast township of Northfield, which included what is now Webster, Perinton, Penfield, Irondequoit, Brighton, Pittsford, and part of Rochester. The first person buried there was a child. It’s located at the corner of Ridge Rd. and Maple Dr. (formerly called Cemetery Rd.).

The Cemetery Tour will be a two-hour long event the afternoon of Sunday June 19. Costumed actors will be stationed all around the cemetery, near the grave sites of their chosen people, and chat with visitors about their personal history.

The Webster Museum would be more than happy to help with costumes and choosing a character. So all you’ll need to do is read up a bit, and get to know your historical figure. Men, women and children are all invited to participate. The more the merrier. Wouldn’t it be fun to see a couple dozen old-tyme figures standing all around the cemetery that afternoon?

I’ll be there, in costume. I gave you a clue to who I’ll be portraying up at the start of this blog. When you chat with me, you’ll be hearing from Martha A. Cottreall. I’ll tell you about my kids; my husband William, who participated in a famous rescue mission; and about my son Joseph, who has (literally) made a name for himself in our town.

If you’d like to learn more or to sign up, contact the museum through their website form here.

It should be tons of fun. And don’t worry, you don’t have to be a good actor. (I’m surely not.)

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

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.

(posted 5/10/2022)

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Webster community mailbag

10 May

I was going to put this mailbag off for a couple more days, but I just heard news of a great fundraiser happening on Friday night, and I don’t want anyone to miss out.

It’s a big kickball game hosted by Spry Middle School on Friday night May 13 at Rochester Challenger Miracle Field, located on Ridge Rd. behind Town Hall. (Parking is off of Van Ingen Drive.) Three dozen Spry students will be playing, representing the school’s three houses (red, white and blue). Each house team will also include two Challenger players.

The kickball game is the culminating event of this year’s Spirit Week at Spry. Each year the school’s Student Council chooses a charity to benefit from a Spirit Week competition. Usually the game is basketball, but Challenger Miracle Field was chosen this year, so kickball seemed more appropriate.

The game will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Admission is $5 per person, and concessions will be available for just $1. There’s plenty of free parking. All proceeds from admission and concessions will benefit Challenger Miracle Field.

Make plans to stay around after the game. That’s when the Spirit Stick will be awarded to the house which has accumulated the most spirit points all week — including extra points for winning kickball!

I found out about ALL of the following events in the Webster This Week newsletter, published weekly by the Town of Webster. If you haven’t signed up for this great source of information yet, you should.

Remember that the Webster Public Library’s spring used book sale happens this Thursday through Saturday, May 12-14. Nothing is priced more than $1, and all paperbacks are just 50 cents.

Hours are Thursday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to noon. The Webster Public Library is located at 980 Ridge Rd. at the back of the plaza, off of Van Ingen Drive.

Got stuff to shred?

Reliant Federal Credit Union is holding a free shredding event at their Webster branch, 870 Holt Rd., on Saturday May 14 from 9 a.m. to noon.

There are no quantity limits, but everyone is asked to remove file folders, binders and plastic bags. And plan on taking your empty boxes back home with you.

While you’re there, you can take advantage of raffles and giveaways, and enjoy refreshments and entertainment.

Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church, 131 W. Main Street in the Village of Webster, is holding a food drive this Saturday May 14 from 10 a.m. to noon.

Donations of non-perishable food, cleaning supplies and personal hygiene items will be used to support the Weekend Food Backpack Program and the church’s Little Free Pantry.

Also on Saturday May 14, the Ukrainian Cultural Center of Rochester, 1040 Jackson Rd., will hold a Sunflowers for Ukraine paint and sip fundraiser event.

Artist Deanna Derhak will guide participants in painting an original sunflower composition using acrylic paint on a 12″ x 12″ canvas. All supplies are included, and yes, there will be wine available.

The event will be held from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Cost is $40. Click here for tickets.

The Webster Volunteer Fire Department is hosting a Vendor Fair and Craft Event on Sunday May 15 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Firemen’s Exempt building, 172 Sanford St. (on the south side of Firemen’s Field).

In addition to the great items for sale, there’ll be crafts, a raffle, 50/50 ticket sales, and a door prize of $100 worth of scratch-off tickets.

Admission is free and there’s lots of parking.

On the other side of town, the West Webster Fire Department is holding a Bike Helmet and Safety Rodeo on Saturday May 21 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The event, designed for children ages 4 to 14, will feature a bike safety course, helmet fittings and bike safety checks. There’ll be lots of activities, and of course lots of fire trucks! Helmets will be provided on loan for anyone who needs one.

Registration is free. The West Webster Fire Dept. is located at 1051 Gravel Rd.

The Wine Walks are back!

The Village of Webster’s first Wine Walk of the season has been scheduled for Saturday May 21 from 4 to 7 p.m.

Glass pickup will be at Webster Interiors, 975 Ebner Dr. from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Tickets are $15 (plus sales tax and fees) and are available here. For more information, visit the Webster BID website.

The Webster Lions Club will host a Sticky Lips BBQ fundraiser on Thursday May 26 from 3 to 6 p.m. at 1175 Ridge Rd.

Meals will be $15 each, and include a quarter charcoal-cooked chicken, smoked St. Louis ribs, mac salad, BBQ beans and cornbread. You can pay at the event of get pre-sale tickets online at www.StickyLipsBBQFundraisers.com.

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

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.

(posted 5/10/2022)

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West Webster shines at the Webster Museum this month

9 May

The Webster Museum is highlighting West Webster this month! Here are some quick details about what’s coming up.

There are five brand new exhibits focusing exclusively on the hamlet, with lots of photographs, maps and artifacts. The exhibits can be seen during the museum’s normal operating hours, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 2 to 4:30.

Several additional programs have been scheduled through the next few weeks featuring speakers recalling their memories of growing up in West Webster.

On Wednesday May 11 at noon, Todd cousins Steve Van Buren and Pat Todd Milne will speak. On Sunday May 15, the museum will open at 2 p.m. for visitors to see the exhibits, then at 3 p.m. will host a panel of memory-sharers: Deb Oakley, Peter Burkhardt, Karen McDade, Valerie Fisk Kazarro and Steve Van Buren. Attendees are encouraged to share their memories as well.

Finally, on Wednesday May 18 at noon, the final installment of the History and a Cup series will feature the memories of David Davis and Robert Ryan.

The Webster Museum is located at 18 Lapham Park in the Village of Webster.

Check back Wednesday for news of a fun and educational West Webster Cemetery tour coming up in June, and how you can be a part of it.

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

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.

(posted 5/9/2022)

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