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A little bit of Santa’s magic to brighten your day

6 Jul

I think we need to be reminded every once in a while that even during difficult times — and we’ve had a lot of difficult times recently — simple, magical moments can still happen to brighten our lives.

Such is the case with the following story, which I picked up from Facebook. It was recalled by my friend Jim Lockwood, “Webster’s Santa.” You’ve no doubt seen Jim in the village’s annual Parade of Lights at White Christmas, or maybe your kids visited him at the gazebo last year before the parade.

If you’ve ever had the good fortune to meet Jim, you know as I do that he actually is the real Santa Claus. There’s just something … magical about him and the effect he has on everyone he meets. I think this story which he shared a few days ago illustrates that.

He titled his story “Never Too Old.”

A few years ago I did a Christmas in July gig in one of the small towns in our area. It was a local Farmer’s Market set up in a large municipal parking lot.

It was a warm Saturday afternoon in July, not too busy, moms magically juggling bags of fruits and vegetables, going from stand to stand with children in tow, checking everything out. Children were asking, “Where are your reindeer?”, “How many elves do you have?” and “Why are you here in the middle of summer?” All good questions needing carefully-worded answers.

A young woman waited until the line dwindled, then came over to my chair and whispered that her elderly grandmother had never seen or talked with Santa. She asked if I would talk with her, if I had the time. Of course Santa has the time. I told her, I would love to talk with her grandmother. During a lull of a thousand questions she brought her beautiful grandmother over to visit with Santa. I think they were vendors at the market.

This young woman gave me one of the most memorable moments I’ve had portraying Santa Claus by bringing this wonderful soul to visit with Santa.

They say Santa is the spirt of Christmas, that he brings happiness and hope. I think they got it right!

Yes, she did tell me her Christmas wishes…

When I asked Jim if I could share his story in my blog, he wrote, “I was so humbled and honored to be the first Santa that she had ever visited.”

“She brought the joy and happiness that day. She was the Spirit of Christmas! I think her face tells the whole story.”

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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 7/6/2022)

Who WAS Jon S. Gerling? I’ve found out more about him

3 Jul

Last August, I posted a blog about a small memorial located in Ridge Park, just steps from busy Ridge Rd., and next to Challenger Miracle Field. It was erected decades ago, but I had only just noticed it recently.

The memorial was created in honor of Jon S. Gerling. After discovering it, I tried to do a little research into Mr. Gerling, with limited success. So I tossed the blog out there reporting what I had discovered, and ended it by asking for anyone with more information to contact me.

It took several months, but earlier this year I heard from Rob Gerling, Jon’s son, who filled me in a little more about his father’s background and why the memorial was placed there.

He wrote,

You are correct my father is Jon S. Gerling, and you are correct he was very active in the Webster Athletic Association. Prior to his death my brother and I played baseball in WAA and my father was both a coach of teams and commissioner of the league. After his death the baseball field by the Town Hall was dedicated in my father’s name.  

Rob added that Jon was the son of Curt Gerling, who at the time owned Empire State Weeklies, which published many weekly newspapers in the area including the Webster Herald. Curt was also an author (having written three books on Rochester society and an autobiography), and an early WXXI-TV personality.

In a follow-up email, Rob provided even more background about his family and life in 1960s Webster, writing,

(My father) grew up in the Rochester area, went to Brighton High School, and graduated in 1959. He attended Furman University in Greenville, SC, although only went for a couple of years.  He married my mother, Sheila Siede, in December 1961. Myself and my brother Jim, followed in 1962 and 1965. 

My father and his brother Bill both worked for my grandfather at Empire State Weeklies in Webster (now owned by Dave Young). Dave was there when I worked a few afternoons when they printed the papers on Tuesday afternoons.

My father was active in local sports, the Webster Athletic Association, with my brother and myself, up until his passing. My father along with his father was an avid outdoorsman. He enjoyed duck and pheasant hunting and fishing on Sodus Bay, where Curt Gerling (his father) had a hunting cabin. The place on Sodus Bay has since been sold.  While at Empire State Weeklies, my father sold advertising space in the various papers to local businesses where the paper was distributed.

His Brother Bill passed away in the early 2000’s and he also worked at the paper. He, like Curt, was very active in local Rochester politics. My father, not so much. 

Webster was a different place in the 60s and 70s growing up. We would go to Wegmans, Al’s Pizza, Musclow’s, Charlie Riedel’s and GoldenWest for a big night out on the town. There was a drive-in and a bowling alley. The town has changed in the last 50 years. 

My father is buried at West Webster Cemetery … He is buried with my father’s family, while his father Curt, and brother Bill are buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Rochester.

Many thanks to Rob for helping us know more about Jon Gerling and how he — and his family — made their mark in our town.

Click here to read the original blog I posted about the memorial.

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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 7/3/2022)

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Annual Webster High School Alumni Dinner hosted 52 graduates

19 Jun

If you were a student of Latin at the old Webster High School (now Spry Middle School) back in the mid-1940s, you might remember the day that Miss Marie Stone wore a set of wax teeth to teach her Latin III class. It was her response to some good-natured shenanigans perpetrated by her students the previous day.

Unfortunately, that happened to be the same day the superintendent decided to visit the class for a surprise observation.

That was just one of many memories shared on Sunday June 12 at the Webster High School Annual Alumni Dinner. The dinner has been held every (non-COVID) year for more than 20 years, and this year was attended by more 52 graduates (and their guests) representing 12 classes from 1948 through 1962, the school’s last graduating year.

The event has been held at several different locations, including Casey Park, Webster Park and the Knights of Columbus Hall. This year’s dinner was graciously hosted by the Webster Golf Club.

The program began with greetings from Alumni Committee Vice President Jude Beh Lancy (class of 1959) and President Linda Briggs Auer (class of 1959), followed by dinner, a short business meeting and a centerpiece raffle. Recitation of the school’s Alma Mater concluded the official event, but there was plenty of socializing before everyone left for the evening.

After the dinner concluded, Lancy also acknowledged the many people and businesses who helped make it a success, including Dave Tiberio at Webster Golf, who carved out some Sunday afternoon hours for the dinner to be held; Kittelberger Florist for donating the centerpieces; Hegedorns and Lala of Webster for donating raffle prizes; and Dave Eckler at the Weekend Printer for printing the invitations and program.

It sounds like it was a great evening, and I’m sure everyone is already looking forward to next year.

Here are a few photos, courtesy Linda Auer:

Jude Beh Lancy (’59) and Roy Elk (’59)
Roy and Karen Elk

I thought you might be interested in reading the entire story about Miss Stone and her wax teeth. It came from a scrapbook which Mary “Pappy” Pantas (class of 1946) put together about her years at Webster High, and donated to the Webster Museum.

She wrote,

Anyone who has taught school knows the last period of the day is the hardest to deal with. Such was the case of Miss Stone’s Latin III class. The subject is dull, the students are restless, etc. Those of us (who haven’t always done our assigned translations) loved getting Miss Stone off the subject and often got the class laughing by cutting up.

One day Miss Stone had had enough and she said to our little circle of class clowns, “Tomorrow if you kids say anything to get the class laughing and off the subject you will suffer the consequences.” This was seen by all of us as a challenge.

Putting our impish heads together, we thought about it. “She said if we SAY anything. What if we DO SOMETHING and SAY NOTHING?” A trip to Bowman’s the next day during our lunch hour and a purchase of several sets of wax false teeth was all that was needed for our perfect prank. Eighth period came and at a pre-designed time, those of us perpetrators turned around to look at the clock and inserted our wax “CHOPPERS.” LAUGHTER ERUPTED! Miss Stone could not follow through with her threat because we did not SAY anything!

The following day we filed through the glass window-paned door. Miss Stone was seated at her desk with a hanky covering her nose and mouth. After taking our seats, she arose and, lo and behold, she had a set of wax teeth in her mouth. She proceeded to teach the class!

But that wasn’t the end of it. A figure of a rotund, bald-headed man appeared at the glass door and entered our classroom. It was none other than Mr. Rayfield, the Superintendent of Monroe County Schools who had come unannounced to observe Miss Stone and her class!

Miss Stone was flabbergasted and frantically worked at removing her teeth. We learned later that she had spent much of her free period before our class working hard to mold her “teeth” so she could speak without losing them. What an ending to our “perfect prank.”

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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 6/19/2022)

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A sad farewell to the Special Police

24 May

In the years I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve met countless wonderful people; business owners, residents, special event chairpeople, grass-roots organizers. Together, they comprise the fabric of our community.

Through those years, and all those people, there’s always been one constant: the Special Police.

At every one of our town’s special events, I’d invariably see these dedicated volunteers helping with crowds and traffic control, and directing traffic at accident scenes. I’ve always appreciated their expertise, professionalism and good nature.

That’s why I was saddened to hear that Webster’s Special Police Department was being eliminated.

I heard rumors a while ago that such a decision was in the works, but I guess I was hoping I’d heard wrong, or at least something could be worked out with the Town to salvage this important service. But then, a few days ago, I got an email from Michael Charland, the most recent Chief of Special Police, confirming that the department is truly gone.

Michael gave me some background about how the whole thing went down. I’m not going to get into detail about that and the politics that were involved. (To read more of the story, check out the letter to the editor in last week’s Webster Herald.) But he did include some history which I thought was interesting.

He wrote,

Our unit began as the Webster Auxiliary Police under NYS Civil Defense guidelines back in 1953, and evolved into a Special Police organization in 1997 when the NYS Town Laws were changed. We generally had about 25 volunteer officers that served the Webster Police Department in law enforcement roles whenever called upon to do so. All of our officers were trained at the Monroe County Public Safety Training Facility and certified as NYS Peace Officers.

The town never fully utilized all of the powers that NY State granted to us over the years. Typically they utilized our members to do more routine duties such as traffic control, some patrol details, or provide security at large public gatherings, which we were happy to do. Other duties included providing court security to the town justice court, and 24/7 emergency response to fatal MVAs, storms, crime scenes, etc. where we generally provided a secure perimeter for the WPD to conduct their work. 

I’m going to miss not seeing Special Police officers at our special events. Like the upcoming Memorial Day Parade; they’d always be there in force, on bike and on foot, and they were always happy to smile for my camera.

Thank you for your service, Special Police officers.

Here are some of my photos from previous blogs, and a few provided by Michael.

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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 5/24/2022)

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Local organization shares Moonshadow’s Spirit to help those with eating disorders

23 May

I learned something the other day, a fact that just blew me away: eating disorders — specifically Anorexia Nervosa — are the second leading cause of death for mental illnesses.

That was just one of the many eye-opening things I found out last week when I sat down for a conversation with Sharon Mathiason to talk about Moonshadow’s Spirit, the Webster-based nonprofit organization she and her husband David created to honor the memory of their daughter Jennifer.

Jennifer struggled with an eating disorder for 10 years, which began when she was just a teenager. She eventually recovered, but she also suffered from extreme depression, which often accompanies eating disorders, and passed away in February, 2009 at the age of 26.

Jennifer was very proud of her recovery, and had become committed to sharing her story. She spoke to junior high school classes and through online forums — using the pseudonym “Moonshadow’s Spirit” — encouraged other sufferers to seek out treatment and fight the tough fight.

After Jennifer passed, one of Jennifer’s closest friends told Sharon and David that their daughter was worried people couldn’t get treatment because they didn’t have insurance or couldn’t pay for it. After hearing that, figuring out a way to honor Jennifer’s memory wasn’t a huge leap. Moonshadow’s Spirit, Inc. was born, its mission to offer financial assistance to individuals with eating disorder diagnoses who are seeking treatment.

Just one year later, in March 2010, Moonshadow’s Spirit presented its first financial award, and has continued to hand out awards every year since. (They actually just celebrated their 100th donation.) The checks have gone to treatment centers all over the country, helping patients as young as 11 and as old as 60.

The awards, handed out quarterly, have ranged from $500 to $7,000 depending on need and how much money the organization has on hand. They’d like to hand out even larger checks, but raising funds, Sharon said, is slow going.

“Raising money is not easy for a nonprofit,” she said. “If we were helping dogs and cats we’d raise ten times more money than we do trying to help people. That’s kind of blunt but it’s true…. It’s hard to get people interested in eating disorders.” 

Sharon has recently expanded the organization’s mission to include education. She speaks at schools as far away as Hamburg (near Buffalo) and LeRoy, and twice every year visits the health classes at Webster Schroeder and Thomas high schools, accompanied by young people who are in recovery. They share their stories and some frightening facts about a disease which is too often hidden from view.

That fact I led my blog with? That was just the tip of the iceberg of the surprising things I’ve learned in the last few days. For example:

  • 11 million people in the United States have an eating disorder.
  • Almost half of all Americans know someone with an eating disorder.
  • 11% of high school students have been diagnosed with an eating disorder.
  • About 30% of diagnosed eating disorders are in males. Most males are probably undiagnosed; they tend to over-exercise, which is a form of bulimia, but not all doctors see it.
  • Only 30% of medical schools offer eating disorders as an elective.

Visit the Moonshadow’s Spirit website for more information about this surprisingly common and deadly disease. You’ll also find a link there where you can donate to help fund the fight. And if you’d like someone to come to your meeting or organization to talk about eating disorders, email Sharon at info@moonshadowsspirit.org.

It’s a party!

Sharon and David and the Moonshadow’s Spirit team would like to hold a small party to celebrate handing out their 100th check. They want to get a cake and share it with everyone at some community event. If you have any ideas on where they might be able to do that (without having to jump through too many hoops), please email Sharon at info@moonshadowsspirit.org.

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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 5/23/2022)

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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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A small slice of Webster’s musical history

28 Apr

Over the last several weeks I’ve been having a very interesting email conversation with one of my readers, a gentleman who lives in San Diego.

Mark Peacox is a former Webster resident who first wrote to me back in early March in response to a blog I wrote about all of the live music available in the Village of Webster. The email began,

It’s great to hear about the growing musical scene in Webster, although I’m saddened that I can’t partake in it as I’m living in San Diego. You may not be familiar with some of Webster’s musical history, so I’ll tune you in.

Mark then proceeded to share with me some of the wonderful memories he had of Webster’s music scene when he was a teenager. In the following weeks, Mark followed that original email with several others, all long and well-written, painting a detailed and very entertaining picture of what village life was like for kids back in the 1950s and 60s.

With Mark’s permission, I’d like to share some of his stories with you today. I think you’ll be as fascinated as I was. He began with his memories of musical Webster:

When the Beatles made their first appearance on the Sunday evening Ed Sullivan Show, America was transformed. My friends and I raided our newspaper route money and bought guitars and started to teach ourselves how to play. Our first few gigs were house parties. Eventually, the town started to warm to the idea of long-haired teens playing loud rock music and soon, we were playing at all the churches: Webster First Methodist, Webster Baptist, Holy Trinity, Webster Lutheran, and more. The churches would sponsor weekend dances. We expanded to the Teen Canteen at the Webster Town Hall, the basement of Empire Lanes, the golf course on Salt Rd. and other venues in Fairport, Penfield, Ontario and Sodus.

A young man convinced the village to allow him to develop a center for teens to hang out. Somehow, the village was convinced that teens needed their own place away from home and school, and the “Rec Center” or “Rec Hall” was born. They converted the town’s maintenence and vehicle repair center (site of today’s Webster Museum) on Lapham Park into the Webster Recreation Center, and held concerts and dances for the local teens. The Rec Hall became THE PLACE to go. Later, the Rathskeller and other teen musical venues popped up on Main St. and Commercial St.

One of the more amazing events to ever occur during my early teen years was when the village shut down the four corners of Main St. and Route 250 to sponsor a musical streetfest. The band, “Wale” (with lead guitarist Mike Marconi of East Rochester – years later he played for the Billion Dollar Babies, Alice Cooper’s band) were setup on a large stage in front of the Marine Midland Bank (formerly the Webster Hotel) and entertained a packed crowd on Main St. with music from the Beatles and other British Invasion groups.

Mark was born in 1950, in a house on Doran St. in the city of Rochester. His family moved to Iroquois St. in the Village of Webster before he turned 1.

In Webster, I lived the bucolic life, playing with my neighborhood friends in the Cape Brothers’ (farmers) field behind the house. We helped to bale hay, feed pigs and cows on occassion, build tree houses and snow forts for snowball fights, and sled down the hill in the farmers’ field. We swung from vines in the woods at the end of the street, playing Tarzan, and we caught tadpoles in the creek. If we weren’t climbing or hiking and exploring, we were riding our bicycles everywhere. We would camp out in a tent in our backyard during the summer and gaze in awe at the twinkling stars. …

I think one of the things I miss most is the Firemens Carnival. Its arrival always brought so much anticipation and excitement every year. From the Kiddies Parade to the Firemens Parade, the rides (the Round-Up was a terrifying rite of passage) to the steamed clans and ultimately, coming of age to pass through the gates of the Beer Tent.

Mark served as an air traffic controller during the Vietnam conflict and three years in Korea. Afterwards, he spent a short stint at Kodak before landing a job as an air traffic controller in Newport Beach, CA. He and his wife moved there in 1981. He remembers when he came back for a visit and showed his kids around his old home town.

Around twenty years ago, my wife and I were on another annual (or more) visit with family in Webster (she is from Webster, too) while our sons were somewhere between 8-10 years old. I took them on a tour of my old neighborhood and into the deep, dark woods at the end of the street.

These two California boys were terrified of the woods. The trees blotted out most of the sunlight and they had never seen such dense foliage. But what most impressed me was that NOTHING HAD CHANGED since the ’50s. So many features of Webster were still the same, which stood in great contrast to Southern California where every patch of dirt is quickly developed in a tract of homes or an industrial park or a strip mall. For me, it was refreshing and reaffirming that Webster was Where Life Is Worth Living.

Mark’s emails brought me back to my own youth, growing up in small-town Owego, and all of the simple fun we had riding our bikes, going to the community pool, sneaking into the County Fair. They’ve helped me picture what life must have been like growing up here. I long for the simple days we had back then.

It’s so neat to hear that folks are using my blog to keep in touch with their hometown. One day I hope to meet up with Mark when he comes back into town, so I can spend a whole afternoon reliving the old days.

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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.

Penfield’s Good Neighbor Day returns in May

11 Apr

As many of you know, when I started writing this blog (and until a few years ago, actually), I was a Penfield resident. So this annual event from our friends to the south has always been on my radar.

It’s the 8th annual Terry Rothfuss Memorial Good Neighbor Day, scheduled this year for Saturday May 7 from 8:30 a.m. to noon. The event gathers volunteers to help Penfield seniors, veterans and those who are disabled do light yard work and spring cleaning.

Projects require no more than a three-hour commitment, and volunteers of all ages are encouraged to sign up, so it’s a great family activity.

Volunteers meet at the Rothfuss Farm the morning of the event for refreshments and to receive assignments, and then spread out around the town to complete their projects.

The event honors the memory of Terry Rothfuss, who was a farmer in East Penfield and a friend to all. He was always ready and willing to help anyone at any time. His passing in 2014 left a huge hole in the community. His friends and family wanted to carry on Terry’s legacy of friendship by continuing to help their community and inspire others to do the same.

To sign up to help or receive help, please call Sabrina at 585-340-8651, or email srenner@penfield.org.

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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 “lost” memory album is going home!

6 Apr

Another “lost” cause has ended happily.

Several weeks ago, I posted a blog about a memory album filled with mementos and photos which a friend of mine had found at a local Goodwill.

The album itself was nothing special; your basic sticky-paged photo album we’ve all used for years for our family photos. Its 19 pages were filled with photos dating back to the early 1900s, picturing relatives and special events. Several more pages were filled with cards and letters, many of them apparently made by children and grandchildren.

My friend turned sleuth and was able to determine the album was probably owned by a woman named Caroline Kolupski, who used live in North Greece. He reached out to me for help in locating Caroline’s family so it could be returned. Perhaps, he thought, if I wrote a blog about the album, someone might recognize the photos or names.

My readers came through.

Within just a few days of posting the blog, I was contacted by not just one, but two of Caroline’s relatives who still live in the area and who were excited about the prospect of getting the album back. After that, it was just a matter of arranging a time for the hand-off.

That happened earlier this week when my friend and I met Marilyn Kolupski Kraitsik and Sandy LaDonna Kolupski for breakfast at The Original Steve’s Diner in Penfield. Marilyn is one of Caroline’s daughters, Sandy a niece by marriage.

We had a delightful time, getting to know each other and revisiting the details of the photo album’s journey from Goodwill to breakfast table. The album lying between them on the table, Marilyn and Sandy paged through it, pointing out Caroline and all the aunts, uncles and grandparents pictured in the old, fading photos. We were introduced to so many people and so many wonderful memories.

It was especially delightful to learn more about Caroline, who passed away in 2000, and the Kolupski clan.

Caroline had nine brothers and sisters, and her husband Lou had ten siblings. They raised four children of their own, three girls and a boy. A strikingly beautiful woman, Sandy remembers that her Aunt Caroline, “one of our sweet aunts,” was “as beautiful inside as well as outside.”

The ladies were also able to fill in some blanks. For starters, I’d theorized that the album had been assembled for Caroline because she was going into a nursing home or was in the hospital. Instead, Marilyn believes it was one of many photo albums her mother had put together, and the cards and letters tucked in the back had been added later, perhaps as part of a group Christmas gift.

As for how it ended up at Goodwill? Marilyn thinks when her sister was clearing out some of their mom’s old things, the album got mixed into the bags and boxes and not noticed.

When breakfast was over, Marilyn tucked the album under her arm and both she and Sandy thanked us — again — for finding and returning it. They were clearly thrilled to have it back, and we were equally pleased to have followed the story to its happy ending.

In hindsight, we shouldn’t have worried that we wouldn’t be able to find the photo album’s owner. There are still a LOT of Kolupskis in the Rochester area, and they’re all related. So it was really only a matter of time before “Grama” Kolupski’s album would find its way back home.

Thank you to everyone who shared the blog and have followed the story. (Click here to read the original blog I posted about the album.)

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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.

Webster has a Women’s Hall of Fame?

15 Mar

I really never know where my next blog idea will come from. In this case, it was an email from my friend Kathy Taddeo at the Webster Museum. She was writing about an unrelated topic but happened to mention something that really piqued my interest: the “Webster Women’s Hall of Fame.”

A Webster Women’s Hall of Fame? I’d never heard of this before, and I immediately wondered whether it still existed, where it could be found, and who’s been inducted. I clearly needed to do some research.

My first stop, of course, was the Webster Museum, as it always is when I need to find out something about our town’s history. Town Historian Lynn Barton was able to tell me a few things right away: the Hall of Fame was a program run by the Webster Business and Professional Women’s Club (BPW), and it no longer exists. Mostly because the club itself no longer exists.

Lynn had a box of records and papers from the BPW, and the museum had several other boxes filled with materials tucked in their back room. After about an hour poking through them, and with additional help from museum volunteers and my friend (and 2000 inductee) Shirley Humphrey, I was able to pull together a pretty good picture of what the Women’s Hall of Fame was/is.

The Webster BPW was established in 1964, but the Women’s Hall of Fame wasn’t created until 1975, which was officially designated by the United Nations as International Women’s Year. Its purpose was to “honor and perpetuate the memory of women in Webster, past or present, who have significantly affected the lives of those around them.”

Nominations were open to all Webster women and were solicited through notices in the Webster papers and forms posted at the library and at Town Hall. 

The first inductee was Marie Stone, who taught history and Latin at Webster High School for 40 years, and was instrumental in establishing the Webster Historical Society. She was the best friend and colleague of Esther Dunn (author of Webster…Through the Years) and was part of the organizing committee which formed the Webster Museum at Town Hall in 1976.

The last woman to be inducted was Carroll Manning, in 2004. Carroll moved to Webster in 1973, where her husband Rob established the Webster Veterinary Clinic. She was very involved in the Webster Arboretum, and was also known for knitting hundreds of pairs of mittens to donate to those in need. Carroll passed away in September, 2021 at 90 years old.

The Webster BPW continued to meet regularly until 2014 when it was finally dissolved due to declining membership.

Below, you’ll find a list of all of the Women’s Hall of Fame inductees. (No one seems to know why there five honorees in 1999.) The Webster Museum has photos of them all, and hope to some day soon put together an exhibit honoring these amazing women. There’s a good chance you’ll recognize some of the names.

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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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Shirley Humphrey

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