Archive | June, 2024

Introducing the Women’s Club of Webster

25 Jun

Today I’d like to highlight a local organization in which I’ve become pretty involved, the Women’s Club of Webster.

The Women’s Club is a group of women of all ages and from many different backgrounds, all dedicated to supporting charitable, cultural and educational causes through volunteering.

I first attended a luncheon meeting of the Women’s Club of Webster last September. I was invited to be that month’s guest speaker, and made a presentation all about Webster on the Web. I learned a lot about the club that day, and made some new friends. I came away very impressed with the group and their mission, and joined the very next month.

Since then, I’ve continued to learn more and more about the club, their social activities, and the organizations which benefit from their donations. And there are a lot of them, including the Webster Comfort Care Home, Webster Library, Webster Museum, Challenger Miracle Field, NY Hope, scholarships including and MCC College of Nursing Scholarship and Webster High School Service Award, and a half dozen other causes.

There are three big fundraisers every year which you might have seen advertised: a card party in November, a Christmas Cookie Sale and the big Spring Fashion Show. The ladies gather socially at monthly card parties, make crafts to be sold at Rochester General Hospital, and do community service projects (if you’re a regular blood donor, you’ve probably enjoyed their cookies at a blood drive).

Clearly, WCW members are out in the community a lot, and announcements about their fundraisers and service projects hit the Webster Herald and social media regularly. Still, pretty much every time I mention to someone that I belong to the group, I’m almost always asked, “There’s a Women’s Club of Webster?” So that is why I titled this blog how I did. Because I want you all to know about it and all of the great things these ladies do.

I said earlier that I’ve become pretty involved with the Women’s Club recently. Not only have I been attending the meetings regularly, but I was also recently elected to the position of first vice president. At the June meeting last Thursday, several new officers were officially installed, and I was honored to accept the vice presidency alongside president Diana Holzwasser, second vice president Judy Gerew, Recording Secretary Peg Berry, Corresponding Secretary Marge Martellotta and Treasurer Susan Woodward.

I look forward to becoming an even more active member of the Women’s Club of Webster, contributing to the club’s mission of supporting local nonprofit organizations, and making Webster better.

Interested in finding out more about the Women’s Club of Webster? Check out the Facebook page here or call Nancy Melrose at 585-330-9928. I hope to see you at a meeting soon.

* * *

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Subscribe” link on the right side of this page (or all the way at the bottom of the page if you’re on your phone).

(posted 6/25/2024)

Tags: , ,

Local agencies collaborate for a summer food distribution event

24 Jun

They’re at it again.

Coming this July, Webster Community Chest, Webster HOPE and Gathering Place Webster will be teaming up once again for a Meal Distribution Event to help Webster families in need.

The groups’ first collaborative food distribution effort, which took place in late March, was very successful. More than 150 cars filed through the United Church of Christ parking lot, and volunteers handed each one a shopping bag packed with all the fixings for an Easter dinner. (Click here to read the blog I wrote about the event.)

On the heels of that success, the three agencies are collaborating again to host a Summer Food Distribution event, their goal this time to distribute 175 bags of food worth about $20-$25 each.

Some of the 150 bags of food distributed in March

But they can’t do it without community support.

Organizers are asking community members to contribute food items to help fill the bags. The specific items being requested can be found on this list. Individuals can certainly choose something from the list to provide all by themselves. But businesses, organizations, families and neighborhoods can also work together and pledge to purchase all of one of the requested items (like 175 cans of baked beans) or just a portion (25 cans). Cash donations will also be gratefully accepted, as a straight-up donation or to sponsor one of the food items.

This is especially a great opportunity for businesses; your pledge/donation will be mentioned on the groups’ Facebook pages and website, along with any photos you’d like to provide of your employees with the collected food items.

Your donations can be dropped off between June 24 and July 9 at Gathering Place Webster, located at the United Church of Christ, 570 Klem Rd. (west entrance). Please DO NOT DROP OFF YOUR ITEMS OUTSIDE. Instead, email Wendy Lesko at gatheringplacewebster@gmail.com, or call her at (585) 746-1965 to arrange a time.

The goal is to hold a food distribution event four times a year: Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas and sometime during the summer. With the community’s help, these regular distributions will really help our Webster neighbors who face food insecurity every day.

* * *

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Subscribe” link on the right side of this page (or all the way at the bottom of the page if you’re on your phone).

(posted 6/24/2024)

Tags: , , , ,

Webster Village Band’s summer concert series begins this week

23 Jun

The Webster Village Band concert season is off and running.

The band’s first FREE concert is this coming Thursday, June 27 beginning at 7 p.m. at the Village Band Shell at Harmony Park on Phillips Rd. It’s the first of three concerts this summer, the other two scheduled for Thursday July 25 and Thursday Aug. 22.

Directed by Andy Kittleson, the band will be performing a selection of genres at each concert, including pop, jazz, musicals, marches and some instrumental features for various sections of the band.

These concerts are always free and open to the public. They always begin at 7 p.m. and audience members are encouraged to bring a blanket, lawn chairs and a cooler, and stretch out on the spacious lawn area in front of the band shell to enjoy some beautiful music under the evening summer sky.

I’ve always thought of the Webster Village Band as a hidden gem in our community. These musicians have been performing and providing free concerts for our village for 57 years now. It’s exactly the kind of thing that makes small-town life so special.

* * *

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Subscribe” link on the right side of this page (or all the way at the bottom of the page if you’re on your phone).

(posted 6/23/2024)

Tags: , , ,

Chamberlain Septic & Sewer is Chamber’s Business of the Month

22 Jun

Congratulations to Chamberlain Septic & Sewer, honored as the June Business of the Month by the Webster Chamber of Commerce.

Chamberlain Septic & Sewer, located on Ridge Rd. Jct. east of Basket Rd., had its humble beginnings back in the early 1960s. In 1962, Gordon Beh was a dairy farmer who purchased a backhoe to do some drainage work around his dairy farm. Little did he know that his great work would capture the attention of his neighbors. By 1964, other farmers, friends and builders were asking him to do drainage work, install septic systems and install water services on their properties.

It didn’t take long for it to become clear that Gordon’s true calling was not milk, but mud. In 1966, he decided to leave the dairy business and concentrate exclusively on excavation work. In 1970 he officially incorporated his new business, Gordon Beh Excavating Contractors, Inc.

Gordon’s sons have been part of the business since the 1970s and lead the organization today. They expanded their service offerings with the use of state-of-the-art technology, power snaking equipment, video cameras, and confined space equipment, adding to their truck fleet and heavy machinery.

The Webster Chamber of Commerce Events and Honors Committee presents a Business of the Month award to one of their member businesses at each of their monthly breakfast meetings. It’s one way the Chamber helps keep their member businesses and organizations visible throughout the Webster community.

The next breakfast meeting is this Friday June 28, beginning at 7 a.m. at the Webster Golf Club. Network with as many as 90 business and organizational leaders before breakfast, enjoy an informative program and then take part in the “pass-the-mic” time, when everyone has an opportunity to be visible.

Visitors and members are welcome. Please register here.

Pictured above: Webster Chamber of Commerce Chair Chamber Chair Carolyn Montanaro, presenting the the plaque to Chamberlain Septic & Sewer owner Dean Beh.

* * *

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Subscribe” link on the right side of this page (or all the way at the bottom of the page if you’re on your phone).

(posted 6/22/2024)

Tags: , , , ,

Tale of the traveling pink poncho

21 Jun

Here’s a somewhat sad — but inspirational — story about four good friends, all State Rd. Elementary School teachers, and the kindness and unwavering support they’ve shown each other through some of life’s darkest times.

Our story begins last August, just before school started, when Lisa Babineau, a psychologist at State Rd. Elementary School, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She began her 4-week course of radiation at the Pluta Cancer Center in September.

Now, they have something really neat at Pluta, called the “Poncho Project.” At the very beginning of their course of radiation, every breast cancer patient is given a bright pink fleece poncho instead of a standard-issue hospital gown. The poncho serves two purposes: to keep the patient warm and comfortable and reduce the embarrassment often caused by the ill-fitting and revealing hospital gowns.

Each poncho is made by a volunteer and comes with a tag which reads,

This poncho was designed by one of Dr. Marilyn Ling’s patients who felt the standard-issue hospital gown was a poor choice for women undergoing daily radiation treatments. We hope that you will use this poncho as a daily reminder that you have warmth and support enveloping you.

Lisa, of course, wore it every day while she was undergoing treatment.

“I think it’s really comfortable, and it feels like a hug,” she said. “They didn’t want women feel like they have to get in a gown every day of radiation, so you get to wear this poncho, and you feel the support and love of all the women who have come before you.”

As it so happened, some months earlier, State Rd. 5th grade teacher Sandy Pray was also diagnosed with cancer. Hers was so invasive, however, that her treatment began with surgery and chemotherapy. She was going to the Lipson Cancer Institute, which doesn’t hand out ponchos to its patients. No worries, however. By the time Sandy had completed the first steps of her treatment, Lisa was done with her radiation. She handed the warm and wonderful poncho over to her good friend Sandy, who used it through her seven weeks of radiation.

It would be great if our story ended there, but it did not. During Sandy’s course of treatment, Pat Sweetland, a regular and well-beloved State Rd. Elementary School substitute, was also diagnosed with breast cancer.

Sandy remembered that Pat had messaged her to tell her what was going on. “(Pat) said, ‘We’re in a club that nobody wants to be in.'”

By now, all of the State Rd. friends had been supporting each other for so long that Pat knew in the back of her mind that she’d be inheriting the poncho. She remembers the day Sandy brought it to Plank Rd. North, where she was substituting.

“(The secretary) brought it right down to me,” Pat remembered. “She said ‘Open it up, we want to see what’s in it.’ … I said, ‘What is this?’ And then I realized.” It came with a sweet note from Sandy, which read, “We’re passing on the love that we shared.”

Pat Sweetland began her 4-week course of radiation in January. When she was done, she returned the poncho to Lisa Babineau for safekeeping, hoping it would never again see the light of day.

If would be great if our story ended there, but it did not.

“I thought, wouldn’t it be great if I’m the end of the chain,” Pat said. “But I know this is going to somebody, and that’s kind of depressing. But wonderful.”

She was right. This past March — exactly one year from the day that Sandy Pray was diagnosed with a rare cancer — Patti Feeley, a retired 4th grade State Rd. Elementary teacher, was diagnosed with the exact same cancer.

“I went to visit Lisa one day,” Patti said. “She went into the closet and came out with a bag, and said, here’s your poncho.” Patti began her radiation treatments this week.

It’s hard to believe that four teachers who work in the same school could all be diagnosed with breast cancer within one year. But it’s been a real blessing that these friends have been able to support each other in such a meaningful way.

Patti said, “The teachers just circle the wagons … current teachers and lot of the retired teachers that we’ve known for years. Your mailbox is just overflowing with notes and cards, (saying) you’ve got this. There’s nothing like our camaraderie.”

“It’s a club nobody wants to belong to,” she continued. “But if you have to belong to it, it’s a good thing to have each other.”

“There’s nothing like teacher love.”

* * *

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Subscribe” link on the right side of this page (or all the way at the bottom of the page if you’re on your phone).

(posted 6/18/2024)

Tags: , , , ,

Another local radio club will be at Field Day

21 Jun

Here’s a short, bonus blog today that will interest anyone who’s into ham radio operation.

About a week ago I posted a blog about the XRX Radio Club and how they’re participating in the annual ARRL Field Day competition, broadcasting from Kent Park. But I recently learned about another group which will also be participating, setting up in Webster Park.

The Rochester DX Association (RXDA) will be setting up in the Boy Scout commissary area near the Webster Park campground.

As described on the ARRL website, Field Day, held the fourth weekend in June, is the most popular on-the-air event held annually in the US and Canada. More than 40,000 radio amateurs gather with their clubs, groups or friends across North America to operate from remote locations.

It’s kind of like ham radio’s open house. Community members are encouraged to stop by to learn more about the hobby. It combines science, public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach and technical skills, and all are on display at Field Day.

The 24-hour exercise begins at 2 p.m. Saturday and runs through 2 p.m. Sunday. Visitors are more than welcome.

* * *

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Subscribe” link on the right side of this page (or all the way at the bottom of the page if you’re on your phone).

(posted 6/21/2024)

Tags: , ,

Webster Union Cemetery celebrates 200 years

20 Jun

Mark your calendars now for an amazing opportunity to “meet” some of Webster’s earliest settlers, at the 200th Anniversary Celebration for Webster Union Ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 17.

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., visitors are invited to stroll Webster Union Cemetery’s beautiful grounds and chat with some of the people who founded our town. Talk to a suffragette fighting for women’s right to vote, a 1918 Spanish flu victim, Civil War soldiers, shopkeepers, boardinghouse owners, and even a Revolutionary War spy. You’ll also have a chance to learn headstone cleaning and preservation.

Here’s a little about the cemetery’s history to whet your appetite:

Farmland was donated for the first known burial in 1817, when a Webster child needed a place to rest. It was originally called The Burial Ground, Lakeside, Union Cemetery of Webster. Since this caused some confusion between other areas near Webster, especially Union Hill Cemetery, the name was officially changed to Webster Union Cemetery in April 1954.

In 1859, Webster’s first settler, Abram Foster, was buried there at the age of 90. He was the first of many prominent families to come, including the Burnetts, Curtices, Fosters, Pelletts, Woodhulls, Whitings, and Wrights. Veterans from the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War are buried there as well.

So plan to take a stroll through history and see why this early burial ground continues to be a significant part of Webster’s past and future.

The 200th Anniversary Celebration will take place Saturday Aug. 17 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Webster Union Cemetery, 345 Webster Rd. (corner of Rt. 250 and Woodhull). Admission is free.

* * *

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Subscribe” link on the right side of this page (or all the way at the bottom of the page if you’re on your phone).

(posted 6/20/2024)

Tags: , ,

Get to know the Webster Chamber of Commerce at upcoming meetings

18 Jun

If you own a business and are not yet a member of the Webster Chamber of Commerce, you’re really missing out on a great way to help your business grow. Two events taking place in the next few weeks are your next opportunities to get to know the Chamber better and find out how the organization can support your business.

The first is the monthly Breakfast Before BUsiness Meeting on June 28 from 7 to 8:30 a.m. at the Webster Golf Club, 440 Salt Rd.

When you arrive, you’ll be greeted at the door by Chamber staff and members. Enjoy coffee, tea and juice while you network with dozens of other local business owners. (Anywhere from 70 to 90 companies are represented at these events.) A buffet breakfast will be served at 7:30, and you’ll sit at a table with seven other Chamber members to get to know them and their businesses even better. And there’s always an informative speaker — this month that will be Janine Sanger from the Webster Health and Education Network.

Before the end of breakfast, during pass-the-mic time, everyone attending gets to introduce themselves. Then there are DOOR PRIZES! (Bring a door prize when you come and you’ll get even more recognition at the meeting and on the Chamber website.)

The fee is $19, and reservations are required. Click here to reserve your spot.

The Chamber’s next Eat Drink & Connect event is Tuesday July 9 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Pultneyville Yacht Club, Hamilton St. Extension in Williamson.

Eat Drink & Connect events are opportunities to develop current business connections and start new ones. These are great social opportunities for visitors to get to know the Webster Chamber and its members. Don’t forget to bring your business cards for the raffle, and even donate a raffle prize to earn more visibility for you and your organization.

There’s no cost for this event, but reservations are required.

* * *

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Subscribe” link on the right side of this page (or all the way at the bottom of the page if you’re on your phone).

(posted 6/18/2024)

Tags: , ,

Radio Club Field Day will broadcast again from Kent Park

16 Jun

If you’re interested in amateur radio even a little bit, you’ll want to head out to Kent Park this weekend, June 22 to 23, to check out the annual XRX Amateur Radio Club Field Day. It’s a day when radio operators from all over the area come together to practice their skills totally “off the grid.”

Held on the fourth weekend in June every year, Field Day is an nationwide event, held simultaneously with 1000 similar stations across the US and Canada over a 24-hour period and involving more than 30,000 radio amateurs. Operators communicate via voice, Morse code and computers connected to transmitters.

On Field Day, operators are challenged to transport their equipment away from their homes, set up in a park or remote area, rebuild their stations, put up antennas and broadcast in quasi-emergency conditions, without drawing electricity from RG&E or using the internet or cell phones.

ARRL, the National Association for Amateur Radio, describes Field Day as the “single most popular on-the-air event held annually in the US and Canada.”

They add,

Field Day is a picnic, a camp out, practice for emergencies, an informal contest and, most of all, FUN! It is a time where many aspects of Amateur Radio come together to highlight our many roles. While some will treat it as a contest, other groups use the opportunity to practice their emergency response capabilities.

The challenge is simply to contact as many other stations as possible during the 24-hour window, which begins Saturday at 2 p.m. and continues overnight through Sunday at 2 p.m., overcoming any challenges thrown by weather or technical problems along the way.

This year’s Field Day will feature a brand new twist, called a “fox hunt.”  In this case, the “fox” is a hidden miniature radio transmitter, and the object is to use radio-location to find it. Field Day Chair Bob Karz explains that “the skills we develop (in the fox hunt) help us identify and track down interference, deliberate or otherwise, with our communications. Indeed, we used our fox hunting skills this past year to track down deliberate interference with some of our equipment.”  

Bob also said that, surprisingly, the intense solar activity that led to the spectacular auroras last month and temporarily disrupted radio communications world-wide actually improves radio communications the rest of the time. So they’re expecting make even more contacts this year than usual.

The XRX Radio Club will be operating from the lower soccer fields of Kent Park on Schlegel Rd. The club typically sets up several broadcast stations, complete with generators, computers, transmitters, and all manner of antennas. (Click here to check out the blog I wrote about 2021’s Field Day.)

Visitors are more than welcome to stop by. Equipment set-up will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday and the exercise begins at 2 p.m., running through 2 p.m. Sunday. These radio amateurs are always happy to share their passion with interested onlookers, and you may even get the chance to make an “on-the-air” contact yourself.

* * *

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Subscribe” link on the right side of this page (or all the way at the bottom of the page if you’re on your phone).

(posted 6/16/2024)

Tags: , ,

The 2024 grad parade was extra special for one former teacher

14 Jun

I’ve written many a time about the graduate parades that happen every June at the end of the school year. It’s a day when our Webster Thomas and Schroeder seniors hop on buses and return to the halls of the elementary schools where they began their Webster school careers. This year the parade took place on Thursday, June 13.

This is always a highly anticipated event, a meaningful way to celebrate our seniors and remind them how far they’ve come. There are always lots of hugs, and more than a few tears shed from teachers when they recognize their former elementary students, now adults.

But this year’s parade at State Rd. Elementary School was especially poignant.

Now-retired State Rd. Elementary first grade teacher AnnMarie Johansson brought this story to my attention. Among this year’s seniors are the first graders she had back in 2013. That year, Johansson also had a 20-year old student teacher, Joanne Krutchen, whom the students affectionately called “Miss K.”

That summer of 2013, Miss K was in a terrible accident. She and four of her friends — now known as the “Cal-Mum 5” — were driving along North Rd. in Wheatland when their car was broadsided by a tractor trailer. Joanne survived, but three of the young people died.

Johansson wrote,

I remember watching the news and seeing the report of the accident. I saw Joanne’s name and my heart sank. I immediately messaged the parents of my students in case word got back to them. All of our hearts were broken, but we were going to support Miss K. 

In the ensuing months, the students and their families came together to show that support. In September the kids held a lemonade stand at the Joe Obbie’s Farm Market and raised more than $2600 to help pay Miss K’s medical bills. (Complete with hand-made t-shirts and posters — check out the photo slideshow below.) And that Christmas, they devised a 12-days of Christmas theme gift for her, featuring a different hand-crafted gift for each day.

Arriving at State Rd.
Students lined the hallways to cheer for the graduates
Ryan Baker hugs Miss K

It’s been 11 years since Joanne Krutchen was the student teacher in Johansson’s classroom. But Miss K never forgot those students who were so kind to her. And on Thursday, she was one of the honored guests as those first graders, now Webster Schroeder High School seniors, returned to State Rd. Elementary.

Krutchen staked out a spot right by the school’s main office to greet the graduates as they filed by. There were a lot of hugs and, yes, some tears.

“These kids did a lot,” she said. “They made a huge impact on my life. And at that age to go above and beyond … It reminds me there’s still good in the world after such tragedy.”

By the way, Miss K is now Mrs. Hammond. She’s a special education teacher in the Le Roy Central School District. Less than a year and a half after her accident, she ran a half marathon. (Read the D&C story about that here.) She married her high school sweetheart, and has two little girls.

And she still tells people about when her former students gifted her with the 12 Days of Christmas so many years ago, when she really needed their love and support.

Here’s a slideshow of photos from the lemonade stand, and the class photo from 2013 (courtesy AnnMarie Johansson):

* * *

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Subscribe” link on the right side of this page (or all the way at the bottom of the page if you’re on your phone).

(posted 6/14/2024)

Tags: , , ,

← Older Entries