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Webster community mailbag

9 Mar

Two opportunities to help our neighbors in today’s mailbag, and some reader memories from the ice storm of ’91.

Immanuel Lutheran Church at 131 West Main St., in the Village of Webster will hold a food and underwear drive on Saturday March 20 from from 10 a.m. to noon.

The food collected will be shared with needy families via Immanuel’s Weekend Backpack Food program and their Little Free Pantry.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Weekend Backpack Food program. It began with 16 students at one elementary school, and was just a 6-week commitment. It currently supports more than 70 students across all seven Webster elementary buildings.

In his recent email, Ed Huehn from Immanuel explained,

A referral from a teacher, school nurse or social worker and consent from a guardian/parent makes (a student) a part of the program. The food provides support to the student on the weekend. Some, but not all of the kids receive free or reduced breakfast and lunch during the week. The foods included are kid-friendly and easy to prepare. Each bag contains 4-6 food items for meals or snack. They are a supplement for the weekend and easy to prepare. …The Webster School District transports the food from the church to each building and a coordinator there distributes the bags! Many thanks to all involved in this program and their support over 10 years.

Immanuel also maintains one of the many little free pantries in the Webster area, located in the parking lot. The concept is “take what you need and leave what you can.” Some of the donations collected on the 20th will be used to restock the pantry. If you choose to bring donations at other times, please limit them to commercially prepared, non-perishable goods.

Oh, yeah! And remember they need underwear, too. Underwear is one of the most needed and least donated items in community programs. Pleease bring only new underwear and socks, in orginal packaging.

If you happen to be closer to Penfield’s four corners on that Saturday, Penfield First Baptist Church is also holding a drive-up, drop-ff food drive that day, also from 10 a.m. to noon. They’ll be set up in the church parking lot, 1862 Penfield Rd. Donations will support the Penfield Ecumenical Food Shelf “feed the kids” program.

The Webster Public Library has a Puzzle Swap Shelf!

I’m actually bouncing in my chair as I write that, because I am an off-again on-again jigsaw-puzzler (when I can find the time and space) and have burned through all the ones I own. And I fear my good friend Patty will get tired of loaning me ones from her expansive collection.

So when I heard that I can take some of my old standbys (some of which I have done several times) and swap them out for new ones, I was delighted. So grab your ond ones and stop by the library for some new ones. I might just see you there!

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

Finally, I would like to share with you a few reader responses I got after my blog on the 30th anniversary of the 1991 ice storm. I invited everyone to send in their memories from that day, and I received a few. Thank you for sharing!

At that time we lived in Country Manor apartments. And we were lucky because power was restored to that complex quickly. (Xerox was busy back then and I think that our close proximity to the plant helped get the power back later that day on the 4th) But it was one heck of a night listening to the branches cracking and falling in a nearby wooded area and also seeing the flashes of the transformers blowing up. I would rate this storm as probably the worst storm that I have experienced in this area in my life. The blizzard of ’66 was wild, but we did not have the loss of power or the outright destruction that the ice storm of ’91 had. Our county looked like a war zone for sure ! — Bob B.

We were living in the Maplewood area of the city. A branch in our backyard took out our power but we were able to run a large extension cord from our neighbor’s garage for minimal power. We were low priority for the power company so didn’t get power back for a week. My sons wanted to take a walk so I made them wear football helmets because of the ice falling from trees. It was beautiful! — Karen T.

We had moved to Irondequoit by 1991. … Our ice storm experience in Irondequoit similar to yours. Had power, so Greece family moved in. Crowded but fun. Lost some trees, no house damage. Beautiful wind-chime sound of ice-laden branches moving in wind until wind picked up and turned into crashing sounds as branches and limbs fell. — Kathy T.

On a side note, it was fun to discover through these memories that Kathy and I were apparently neighbors back in the late ’80s and early ’90s, living perhaps 10 houses away from each other on the same city street.

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My updated Webster bucket list. How many can you check off?

26 Feb

A few weeks ago, I introduced you all to my Webster Bucket List. As I explained in that first blog, I first developed the list more than 10 years ago, shortly after I began this blog, and was just getting to really know Webster.

That orginal list included more than 80 items from Webster and near-Webster (Penfield). It was pretty comprehensive list, but very out of date. It decided that it desperately needed an overhaul.

I started by throwing out some of the items which were no longer possible (businesses were closed, or events no longer happen, for example). Then I added several new ones, including many reader suggestions and others I came up with myself.

The final list still includes about 80 items, three pages of Webster and near-Penfield places you really should visit, or events that you really should attend. I toyed with the idea of including some more businesses on there (like the Waffle House and the new Cobblestone on Main restaurant), but if I started doing that, it would be tough to leave any one out. And of course the list can never be complete — there’s just too much to see and do in Webster. So if you think of something I should add, drop me an email.

You can download a .pdf of the list blow. Print it off and see how many things you can check off!

2021-webster-bucket-listDownload

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

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Webster community mailbag

24 Feb

I’d like to start today’s mailbag with a few items from our friends to the south.

Penfield Girl Scout Troop 60060 is holding a drive-through food drive for the Penfield Ecumenical Food Shelf on March 6 from 9 a.m. to noon at 1618 Jackson Rd. Click on the image to the left to see the items they can and cannot accept.

And I received this note from the First Baptist Church of Penfield, whose monthly Flapjack Community Breakfasts I promote regularly in my blog.

Thanks to the pandemic, these events have been shelved for the time being, but the church itself is still open.

They write,

Our doors are open, and we are holding worship services via Zoom, and in person (with Covid protocols in place.) We miss seeing our community at our monthly flapjack breakfast, but we will be back in the kitchen as soon as we are able! Think of us as you flip your own pancakes, and remember our local charities. Join us Sunday mornings at 9:30, and we hope to see you soon!

First Baptist Church of Penfield is located at 1862 Penfield Rd. Call 585-586-2876.

Now here’s something fun. If you missed the Webster Public Library’s Egg Drop Challenge, which the library live-streamed last Saturday, you might want to check out the video, which has been posted to the library’s Facebook page.

Earlier this month the library challenged families to build a structure from a set of provided materials (including straws, string, twist ties, rubber bands and the like) which would protect an egg when it was dropped from the roof of the library. (Thanks to the weather, the event had to be moved inside to a tall ladder, but it all worked out.)

The final video is less than 30 minutes long, and it’s quite interesting to see all the different designs the competitors used to create their protective packaging. I’m not going to spoil the result, but I can tell you the competition came down to three designs, none of which cracked at all in the first two rounds. When they were dropped from the highest level, however, only one emerged victorious.

Click here to see all the excitement for yourself.

In other news from the library, their Seed Library will be opening again on March 1. We know everyone is looking forward to spring, so this is an excellent opportunity to get a head start by perusing the selection and borrowing some vegetable, herb and flower seeds.

Also available that day will be “take ‘n make” projects for adults and children, a table of garden books for sale selected from the Lobby Sale area, and information about local garden clubs. Feel free to bring your own seeds that you’ve been saving to donate to the Seed Library.

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

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More about the Thomas radio play, and a preview of the upcoming school musicals

11 Feb

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of being in the very small audience for The Webster Thomas Radio Hour, a collection of short, very humorous plays written and acted by students.

Given the restrictions caused by the pandemic, not a whole lot of people could see the play live. But DO NOT DESPAIR. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, you too can now enjoy this very clever walk back through memory lane.

The Webster Thomas Radio Hour is now on YouTube, and you can access it by clicking on this link.

If you love live theater, then you’ll be excited to know that all four of our secondary schools are preparing right now to stage plays this spring. Here are the details:

Students in the Spry Drama Club rehearsing Pajama Party

Spry Drama Club will be presenting its first-ever One Act Play Festival from March 18 to 20. Four plays will be performed, including “Pajama Party,” “Four Little Words,” “Goldilocks on Trial” and “Not so Grimm Tales.” Each play features between 10 and 14 cast members and accommodating them all for rehearsals has been quite a trick.

Artistic director Bill Ambler explained, “Rehearsal days coincide with the students’ cohort days. Each play has its own rehearsal day during the week. The kids have been amazing about social distancing and wearing masks while rehearsing.” Several soloists and small group ensembles will entertain the audience during the intermission.

Each play will give two performances for a intimate audience. The plays will also be streamed on the internet. More details to come about that.

  • Claudia B. and Kaci V.
  • (L-R) Ben H., Jennifer F. and Julia F.

Willink Middle School is preparing a Disney musical review, featuring selections from many of the shows the school has performed in previous years, with a mix of singing, acting and dancing. Shows will be scheduled for May 14 and 15. They’re hoping they can host small audiences, but even if not, the production will be shared online.

Webster Schroeder High School is currently rehearsing for their spring production of The Addams Family. They’re planning two shows, on April 23 and April 24.

They’re hoping to accommodate small audiences at these performances, but most patrons will be able to see the production live through a professional streaming service. Details about that haven’t been hammered out yet, but I’ll let you know when they do.

Some of the accommodations Schroeder Drama has made for their musical this year include a smaller cast; having no permanent on-stage set, which will allow for social distancing; and having the orchestra perform from the band room. More adjustments may have to be made if the currect restrictions aren’t lifted soon. .

The Webster Thomas Players have come up a creative way to beat the Covid: they’re taking their musical outdoors.

Webster Thomas will be presenting Cabaret at the Penfield Amphitheatre from June 17 to 19, with June 20 as a rain date. All shows will begin at 7:30 and tickets will be $12. Tickets will go on sale the beginning of May.

Director Brenda Nitsch writes,

The show will be more about the issues surrounding racism and political fanaticism and less around the unorthodox liberal lifestyles of the time. The show will be appropriate for all ages. The music is by the amazing John Kander and includes such greats as “Cabaret,” “Money Makes the World Go Around,” “Perfectly Marvelous” and “Tomorrow Belongs to Me.”

Stay tuned for more information about each one of these productions as it becomes available.

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Webster community mailbag

6 Feb

Blood drives coming up

Three local blood drives are coming up in the next two weeks. The first is Monday Feb. 8 from 1 to 7 p.m. at Holy Trinity Church, 1460 Ridge Rd., and the second on Tuesday Feb. 9 from 1 to 6 p.m. at St. Martin Lutheran Church. 813 Bay Rd.

If you can’t make it to either one of those, a third one will be held on Tuesday Feb. 16 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the American Legion, 818 Ridge Rd.

You’ll want to make an appointement so that the Red Cross can keep everyone safe, and so you’ll be in and out quicker. Click here to do that.

Aside from saving up to three lives with your donation, here’s another reason to take the time: The Red Cross is currently testing all blood donations for Covid19 antibodies, providing donors insight into whether they have been exposed to the coronavirus.

Important information from the school district

The Webster Central School District has expanded this year’s parent/teacher conference days, which will now take place over four days, March 11, 12, 18 and 19.

On Thursdays March 11 and 18, AM students will attend school during their regularly scheduled class time, while PM students will not meet for class and that time will be set aside for conferences. And on Fridays March 12 and 19, the PM students will have class, while the AM time will be set aside for conferences. This schedule also applies to remote learners.

Transportation will run as usual when class is in session.

If you have children entering kindergarten this September, you should know that kindergarten orientation and registration are open and have gone remote.

If you have a child who will be 5 years old on or before December 1, 2021, that child is eligible for kindergarten enrollment for the 2021-22 school year. In lieu of traditional in-person orientation, Student Registration has a video for parents/guardians of incoming kindergarteners to watch at their leisure, which explaines the registration and entrance process. You can see it at websterschools.org/registration.

The district is also now accepting completed kindergarten registration packets for the 2021-22 school year. Go to websterschools.org/registration to follow the link enabling parents/guardians to complete a 100% online registration process. If you’d like to print out and fill in the registration packet by hand, you’ll also print off the packet from that site. School registration is based on residency. Webster students attend the school assigned to their home address. Use the School Locater Tool on the Student Registration website for placement information.

The safest method to submit registration paperwork is online, but the district understands this is not possible for all parents/guardians. Packets are available for pick-up and drop-off at the Student Registration Office at Spry Middle School, 119 South Avenue, Webster, Door 2 (next to the main entrance). A secure drop box is located in the vestibule from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please do not drop off any original documentation; only copies will be accepted.

Call or email Carla Watkins with any questions: 585-216-0029 or carla_watkins@webstercsd.org.

February Break magic show

It’s time to start thinking ahead to February Break and how to keep the kids entertained. Here’s a good start.

The Webster Recreation Center will host Rich the Magic Man on Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. for a Valentine’s Day Virtual Magic Show. Cost is $10 per family. Visit the Recreation Center website and search for program #101207A.

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Building snowmen, dropping eggs. Lots of library fun ahead

24 Jan

If you haven’t popped by the Webster Public Library’s Facebook page recently, you’re missing out on a lot of fun events. Here are just a few of the ones I found when I visited recently:

Snow Building Contest

We got measureable snow just in time for the library’s latest celebration of winter, a Snow Building Contest.

From now until the end of February, everyone is invited to get bundled up, get out in the snow and build something spectacular! It can be a person, an animal, a castle, a Baby Yoda, a Pikachu, whatever. When your masterpiece is finished, take a photo and email it to sarah.brown@libraryweb.org. All of the creations will be posted on Facebook so people can vote on which is the best.

How to Recycle

If you’ve ever been even a little bit confused about what materials can be put in the recycle bin — like plastic mailing envelopes and packing materials, for example — this Zoom-based program is for you.

On January 26 the library will host Tina Stevens, Monroe County’s Waste Diversion and Education Coordinator, for an informative program via Zoom where you can learn the dos and don’ts of recycling and ask your questions.

Register here to be sure that you receive the Zoom invitation.

The Egg Drop Challenge

You’ve heard about these challenges before. Here’s your chance to try it out for yourself and impress everyone with your engineering skills.

The challenge is to build a structure to protect an egg as it’s dropped from a very great height and plummets to the ground. Each group will pick up their mystery supplies from the library and build their contraption using only those mystery supplies (plus tape).

Once your contraption is finished, return it to the library. They’re going to live-stream the challenge on Facebook, when everyone can see which groups built the best structures, and which ones failed miserably (or at least messily).

Adults and children are invited to participate. Click here to register. Only 10 spots are available. Groups can pick up their mystery supplies between Feb. 1 and 12, and return their finished structure to the library by Feb. 19. The climactic event will be live streamed on Feb. 20 at 10:30 a.m. (weather permitting).

Let’s Explore Webster

Finally, here’s a link to Doreen and Laureen’s most recent addition to their excellent Let’s Explore Webster video series. This month they return to the Webster Arboretum to highlight its extraordinary winter beauty.

There’s so much going on all the time at the Webster Public Library. You definitely want to make the time to stop by in person or online.

The Webster Public Library is located at 980 Ridge Rd.

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Webster community mailbag

16 Jan

Here’s a great socially-distanced, outdoor activity that everyone in the family will love.

It’s a Scavenger Hunt hosted by the Webster Recreation Center on Saturday Jan. 23. Children and their adults are invited to participate in a fun morning of searching, exploring and discovering one of our local parks.

The event, held at the Rec Center at 1350 Chiyoda Dr., is designed for children of all ages, with three different levels of scavenger hunts (under 5 yrs old, 5-8 yr olds, and 8-12 yr olds). You can sign in anytime between 9 and 11 a.m., work together to find the clues around the park, and record your answers in the special scavenger hunt answer key. When you’re all done, return your answers to earn a fun prize.

Cost is $5 per child or $20 per family. Pre-registration is requested (register the children only), but payment will be taken at the event. To register, visit the Webster Parks and Recreation website and search for program #101205-A. All proceeds will be donated to the Friends of Webster Trails for maintenance and improvements of trails in Webster.

So bundle up and have some fun!

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The Webster Public Library will host a Webster Area Preschools “Open House” from January 25 to 29.

During that entire week, during their regular hours, the library will have a special display set up in front of the community room with information about Webster area preschools, including brochures, registration information, and virtual events. If you have any questions, contact Jason at (585) 872-7075 x6119 or jason.poole@libraryweb.org.

The library is also offering several adult programs via Zoom this month. Still coming up are Meditation and Self Love on Jan. 20 and Recycling 101 on Jan 26. Registration is required. For class descriptions and registration links, visit the library’s website, choose Events and Classes and find the class you’re interested in on the calendar.

February will also be a busy month at the library. Here’s a visual gallery of some the programs that are coming down the pike:

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Finally, here’s an opportunity to show off your inner photographer.

The Webster Museum is putting together a gallery of “favorite spots in Webster.” This is a follow-up to the museum’s popular holiday photo gallery last month.

This time, they’d like you to take a photo of your favorite Webster spot, then email it to photos@webstermuseum.org to be included in the gallery.

Check back at the website often, because they’ll be updating the gallery as submissions come in.

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The village sparkles this time of year

21 Dec

It was a beautiful night for a walk last night, so in between football games, my husband and I extracted ourselves from the couch and wandered down into the village to check out the sights.

I love how Webster looks at holiday time. It just sparkles from end to end, making an already charming village look even more so. If you haven’t walked along Main Street after dark recently, you owe it to yourself to do so; it will help brighten what for most of us is a pretty bleak holiday season.

But there’s also another reason to make the trip: many of the local merchants are participating in a Christmas Decorating Contest. Community members are invited to drive or walk through the village to check out all the decorations, then go online to the BID website to vote for the most colorful, the most creative and the one which most embraces the spirit of the season. You can also see photos of the entries on the BID website.

Here are several photos I took on our walk.

And here’s a quick note about a Webster Public Library program which the whole family will enjoy.

It’s a “Holiday Storytime Extravaganza,” a staff-wide holiday storytime special. It premieres Monday night at 7 p.m. on YouTube. Click here to join the fun.

This is the first time the library has done anything like this, so it should be filled with a lot of surprises. Get your kids in their PJs, boot up the laptop, and tune in.

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Village of Webster hosts three fun holiday contests

9 Dec

The Village of Webster is doing its best to put some sparkle and fun into this very unusual holiday season.

In the next few weeks, the Webster Business Improvement District (BID) will host three contests designed to get community members out and about and exploring the village.

The first, a Gingerbread House Contest, is going on right now through Dec. 12. Six village businesses have created some very fanciful gingerbread houses. Community members can see each one at the participating business or online at websterbid.com and vote for their favorites. Three prizes will be awarded for Most Creative, Best Decorated and Most Traditional.

The participating businesses include:

  • Bernardi & Company CPAs, 40 Barrett Dr.
  • Beyond Cuts Salon, 33 North Ave.
  • Finn’s Automotive, 45 E. Main
  • Martino’s Pizza, 160 W. Main
  • Xceed Credit Union, 189 W. Main
  • Maplewood Nursing Home (must be viewed online)

This contest ends on Dec. 12, so get your votes in soon.

And by the way, get together with your family and come up with your own gingerbread house creation. Take a photo and email it to Elena@websterbid.com, and you could win a prize, too!

Next is the Snowman Scavenger Hunt, which runs for one week from Dec. 13 to 19.

The kids are especially going to like this one. Each participating businesses will hang a snowman poster inside the store or in the window, and each poster will have a different word on it. Players need to collect all the words to reveal a secret phrase. There will be 15 snowmen in all, and hints for where to find them will be posted on the BID website. Participants are also encouraged to take a creative picture with each snowman.

The top two puzzle solvers and the most creative photo with a snowman will each win a prize.

Finally, the week before Christmas, make sure to get downtown to see the village sparkle as shop owners decorate their windows and doors for the BID’s Window Display Contest. Community members can vote online for the Most Creative, the Most Colorful and the best Spirit of the Season.

For more information about all these upcoming holiday events, visit the BID website.

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Parade of Lights recap (photos and video!)

6 Dec

Click these links for more photos:

I’ve also posted several videos at the end of this blog.

The Village of Webster tried something new last night: a reimagined Holiday Parade of Lights to replace the very popular parade which winds down Main Street during the village’s White Christmas celebration every (non-COVID) year.

It most respects, it was very successful. Most would say too successful, actually.

While organizers expected only 4,100 cars to weave through the 1/2-mile long “parade,” many more unexpectedly showed up, creating very long wait times.

It was an unfortunate and aggravating situation for everyone, to be sure. But those who endured the invonvenience were rewarded with a magical and spectacular display courtesy more than 50 first responder agencies, community groups and local businesses who came out in force and endured the weather, their bodies and vehicles covered in twinkling lights.

People waiting their turn in the staging parking lot might have been grumpy, but when they saw what awaited them in the main lot, their frowns disappeared.

What I saw during my time there were kids and parents beaming, leaning out the windows waving back at the exhibitors. One girl yelled “This is AMAZING!” As they finally came to the end of the parade, the children positively exploded with delight upon seeing Santa wishing them a “Merry Christmas,” and many parents took the time to honk their horns, show a thumbs-up or yell “thank you!”

There’s been a lot of grousing on various social networks by families disappointed with the event. The criticisms are legitimate. But I’m sure the organizers and exhibitors would love to hear from folks who enjoyed themselves, despite the aggravations. These are people who spent hundreds of hours pulling together miriad details to create a much-needed holiday event, some of whom were outside in the cold and rain and snow for more than 12 hours.

So I would ask that comments here be positive and supportive. Because despite everything, The Holiday Parade of Lights gave everyone who waited in those long lines one magical night when we could forget about COVID and life seemed a little bit more normal.

Here are some videos from the event:

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

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