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New music festival will benefit ALS awareness

2 Sep

One thing I’ve learned about Webster in the years I’ve lived here is that when someone needs help, this community rallies around them, big time.

OK, make that TWO things: Webster loves its music.

Both of those truths will be on full display on Saturday, Sept. 11 at a brand new music festival called Webster Rocks for ALS Awareness. The event is being held in part to benefit Kacie Jones, a former Coach Sports Bar employee who was diagnosed with ALS two years ago.

The event website explains,

Kacie is a 30-year Rochester/Webster young man who has ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). He is in a fight for his life; a day-to-day battle to do even the simplest of tasks that most of us take for granted. On Saturday, Sept 11, we will come together for Kacie and others struggling to live with and fight ALS. Let’s help Kacie and his family raise awareness for ALS, provide alternative treatments, and bring about a possible cure for this disease.

Funds raised will also benefit Healing ALS, an organization dedicated to supporting awareness, research and care for those suffering from ALS.

The festival will be held on Saturday Sept. 11 beginning at 2 p.m. at the Webster Firemen’s Field on Ridge Rd. Food trucks will be on hand from 3 to 8 p.m., and alcohol sales will be provided by the Coach Sports Bar.

An incredible music line-up starts at 3 p.m., featuring Anthony Blood and Brody Schenk, State Line, Brass Taxi, Dial Up, and M80s. (Check the website for more details about the schedule.)

Tickets are $20 in advance (available from the Coach Sports Bar, 19 W. Main in Webster) and Eventbrite (but they charge fees, so stop by the Coach to save money). They’re still looking for volunteers, too, so ask about that when you’re picking up your tickets.

To read more about Kacie and his brave battle with this disease, check out this great story posted on WHEC-TV in March.

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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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Do you know anyone in these photos?

31 Aug

I know, that really sounds like clickbait, doesn’t it? But I really am trying to find some good homes for these photos which were part of my Webster on the Web photo exhibit at the Webster Public Library in August.

I chose 24 photos for the exhibit, representing kids, community and events. It was fun having them up, but alas, a few days ago they had to be taken down to make room for September’s installation, featuring the awesome Webster-based nonprofot, Bella’s Bumbas (more on that in another blog).

(P.S., if you didn’t get to visit the library and see it, I’ve posted all the photos on a link you’ll find at the right side of this page.)

So now I have all these photos, most of them 8″ x 8″ or 10″ x 10″, which are going to get tossed if no one wants them. I’ve already delivered a handful of them to some proud parents and grandparents, but there are many more really cute ones that have gone unclaimed.

So, please take a moment and take a close look at all of the following photos and see if you can help me give them good homes. There are even a few which have no human subjects in them, but if you like ’em, they’re yours. If knowing the dates will help identify the children, you’ll find them in the photo link to the right.

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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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The gardens on my walk

24 Aug

Several weeks ago I devoted an entire blog to the beautiful gardens crafted by Maria Blanco all around her home at the corner of Phillips and Ridge Rd.

It struck me recently that Maria’s gardens, while spectacular, are not the only ones I admire on my daily walks. One of my regular walking routes takes me into the village, up North Ave. to the bike path, to Phillips, back into the village, and through neighborhood streets home. And all along the way, Rose of Sharon bushes, bursts of flowers and flowering shrubs, annuals and perennials, sunflowers, black-eyed Susans and whimsical signs cheer me and help quicken my step.

Yesterday, however, I slowed my step long enough to take photos of many of the gardens I see along the way. Perhaps yours is among them. If so, thank you for all your hard work and for brightening my mornings.

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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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Village lemonade entrepreneur raised funds for St. Jude

17 Aug

I make it a habit to stop at every lemonade stand I encounter when I’m walking or biking, or even driving. I like encouraging young entrepreneurs, and adding to the thrill they get from earning a few dollars. If you feel the same, then you’re going to enjoy hearing about this very special lemonade stand.

It was set up at the corner of South Ave. and Park Ave. in the Village of Webster, at the home of Doug and Patty Pucci.

It was no ordinary lemonade stand, however. Not only was it about the most official-looking stand you’ll ever see — complete with an American flag, pinwheel, umbrella for shade and an “open/closed” sign — it also raised almost $500 for St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

Nixie-Blu and a thirsty customer

The proprietor was 6-year old Nixie-Blu Howes, who was in town this summer with her mother, visiting her grandparents. Like any kid, Nixie-Blu loves the idea of making money, even though she said, “I don’t know what I want to spend it on.” But it was also her idea to donate half of her lemonade stand proceeds to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, in part because her aunt works there.

Just setting up shop in a highly visible location wasn’t enough, however. Nixie-Blu also made her own signs and posted them on trees throughout the neighborhood, pointing patrons to the stand.

Nixie-Blu first set up her lemonade concession when she was visiting in April. You may have noticed the stand and advertisements back then, and perhaps you even stopped by. This summer, however, she was really able to up her sales game when her grandpa Doug surprised her with the fancy new wooden stand.

The lemonade concession was open pretty much every day for the few weeks that Nixie-Blu and her mother were visiting. Business was steady; the stand attracted walkers and motorists nearly nonstop, paying what they wanted for their cup of lemonade. Nixie-Blu never set a price, instead asking her patrons to donate any amount they want to give. If they didn’t happen to have any money, she’d even give you some for free

Because kindness always begets kidness. And that’s the sweetest deal there is.

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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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So who WAS Jon S. Gerling?

4 Aug

You might think you’re totally unfamiliar with the name “Jon S. Gerling.” But it may surprise you to learn that you’ve very likely passed by this name countless times, especially if you’ve lived in Webster a long time and have children.

That was the case for me. Despite having lived in the area for almost 20 years, and having visited the Ridge Park playground and pavilion dozens of times, it took me that long to notice the small memorial that stands at the south end of the park, easily visible from Ridge Rd.

It announces that the baseball field next to you is the Jon S. Gerling Memorial Field.

The first time I noticed the memorial, I did a little online research to find out what I could about Mr. Gerling. Which was not much. I did find out that he died in 1977 at age 35 after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. And clearly he was a huge supporter of Webster baseball, since the obituary invited people to donate to the Webster Athletic Association in his memory.

Ridge Park, which is adjacent to Town Hall, is now home to Challenger Miracle Field of Greater Rochester, an outstanding adaptive playing field. So that kind of overshadows the Jon S. Gerling Memorial Field.

But let us not forget Jon S. Gerling. Perhaps next time you’re in the park, you can wander on over and take a closer look at the memorial and give a silent thank-you to Jon’s efforts to promote sports in our town.

If anyone has any more information about Jon Gerling, please email me!

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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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My photos are up at the library!

3 Aug

In the 13 years I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve taken a LOT of photos.

I mean, they easily number into the tens of thousands. You know me; I can take 150 at one parade alone. Through the years, they’ve captured adults and children, chronicled events both happy and sad, helped announce new businesses and shined a spotlight on unsung heroes and hidden gems in the community. They are sometimes whimsical, sometimes very serious.

In a sense, the photos have become a historical record of Webster people, places and events.

One of the 24 photos I chose for the display

It’s probably partly for that reason that Laureen Anthony-Palmer at the Webster Public Library invited me to put together a display of my photos for the library’s Artist’s Wall. It took me a while to warm up to the idea, but eventually I decided it would be kind of fun, and I started digging into a dozen years’ worth of backed-up photo files and Facebook galleries.

Choosing just a small percentage of those photos, as you might imagine, was rather difficult. But it was indeed fun to look back through the years at all the events I’ve been to and people I’ve met. Eventually I selected 24 of my favorites for the display, wrote captions, mounted them and — with my husband’s help — hung them at the library a few days ago. They’re organized into three sections representing the main things I like to highlight in the blog: kids, community and events.

The photos will be on display through August, so I invite you to stop by any time during normal library hours and take a look. You might even see yourself or someone you know in one of them.

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

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

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Adorable new book is based on a local farmer

2 Aug

If you’ve ever driven down Lake Road in Ontario, perhaps you’ve occasionally seen a farmer standing by his fence giving you a huge smile and wave. If so, then you’ve “met” Bob, the main character of a brand new children’s book written by Pultneyville resident Keith Herman called Baby Donkeys for Sale.

Bob and his wife Karen own Wychmere Farms, a large, picturesque farm about a half mile east of Ontario Center Rd. For years, whenever Bob’s been out tending to his land and donkeys, he’s tossed a friendly wave to each passing car. For folks who frequently travel along Lake Road, Farmer Bob has become kind of a local hero. His friendliness has brightened the day for thousands of travelers, usually eliciting smiles and hearty waves in return.

Keith Herman is one of those thousands whose life Farmer Bob has touched. He has smiled and waved back along with everyone else. But he also decided to write a book about the farmer’s kindness.

Herman remembers when he started seeing the friendly farmer.

I would drive from Pultneyville to my office in Webster on a daily basis. After a while I started noticing a couple of things. There’s this majestic farm, cobblestone with silos, barns, split rail fences and some livestock. On occasion I’d see this sign out by the road in front of their house that said “baby donkeys for sale.”

But then something slowly started happening over time. If the farmer was out he would give me a wave. He didn’t know me. He would just give me a wave. And not just a wave. A kind of big wave.

It was hit and miss, but I would look forward to seeing him again.

One day, Herman decided to stop, pull into the farmer’s driveway and thank him for taking the time to wave. It was the beginning of a long friendship.

The more Herman got to know the farmer, the more stories he’d hear about others who stopped to say thank you. Like the neighbors who tucked a note into his mailbox which read, “You don’t know us, but know how grateful we are that you keep waving to people.” Or the woman who stopped and handed him an apple pie, telling him how much his waves made her day.

It was about three years ago that Herman decided to turn the heartwarming story into a children’s book. The idea came to him when he and his daughter Emily were doing some offshore sailing, working toward a goal of sailing around the world. It’s a sport which Herman characterizes as “99% boredom and 1% sheer terror.” It was during one of those exceedingly boring spells when he decided that writing a series of children’s books would help pass the time and give more purpose to their sailing quest.

Oliver visiting with a donkey

Baby Donkeys for Sale draws on Herman’s experiences and the stories Farmer Bob told him. It’s told through the eyes of Grampy (Herman himself) and his real-life grandson Oliver. (Oliver, naturally, is more interested in the donkeys than chatting with the farmer.) It’s beautifully illustrated by one of Herman’s Pultneyville neighbors, nationally-known watercolor artist Roland “Chip” Stevens.

It’s a simple story about how a small kindness can make a big impact, even though it might be subtle.

“I think the message would be … if you extend yourself and show kindness to people, it comes back to you in unexpected ways and you’re going to have a better life,” Herman said.

Herman says he’ll probably wait until he’s back on the sailboat, “bored out of my mind,” before he starts working on his next book in earnest. In the meantime, however, you might see him walking with his golden retriever around his Pultneyville neighborhood, waving at everyone who passes by.

Baby Donkeys for Sale can be purchased on Amazon.com and Bookbaby.com.

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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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Family game night: happy children, happy meeting

1 Aug

Friday night’s first-ever Family Game Night seemed to be a popular event. When I joined it about an hour into the evening’s festivities, a few hundred people were milling around or seated at the tables. Many were enjoying their beverages or having dinner, others were listening to the musician, or chatting with friends, or playing games and chalking the street with their children.

Basically, everyone who attended was having a good time doing SOMETHING, appreciating the excuse to get out of the house again and spend some time with friends and neighbors on a beautiful summer evening.

The best part of the evening, however, was the opportunity for kids to have some fun in a safe environment while their parents socialized. The organizers — the Webster Business Improvement District — had put out giant games for the kids to play with, like Jenga, Connect Four and Cornhole. There was also plenty of sidewalk chalk to be had, and by the time I got there, West Main Street was already filled with artwork.

It was all a very pleasant ending to the village’s Christas in July Week.

Here’s a gallery of photos from the evening:

The happy meeting which I mentioned in the headline referred to the chance I had to meet and share a pint with Colin Minster, the new editor of the Webster Herald.

Colin replaces Anna Hubbel, who has been with the paper for the last seven years. Colin brings with him experience as a writer and researcher for the Finger Lakes Times, but this is his first full-time editing position. He’s fairly new to Webster, but in the short time he’s been here, he seems to have fallen in love with the town, and is looking forward to telling everyone more about it.

“I like Webster a lot,” he said. “There are so many cool, fun things that Webster does. It’s such a cool town.”

So you can expect the Herald to continue to cover hard news stories, like the recent sewer consolidation discussions, but also lots of community news, like Colin’s reflections on the recent Waterfront Arts Festival. Both stories ran on the front page of last week’s edition. He also hopes to fire up a few columns of his own.

Colin currently lives in Penn Yan but is looking to buy a house in Webster.

Welcome to Webster, Colin. I think you’re really going to like it here.

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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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Eagle Scout project enhances Miracle Field

21 Jul

Challenger Miracle Field of Greater Rochester has a brand new, very handsome three-rail fence, thanks to the leadership and efforts of Eagle Scout candidate Joshua Ramph.

The 250-foot long, 4-1/2-foot tall fence stands atop a small hill on the north side of the Karpus Family Playground, separating it from Miracle Field. Joshua, a Life Scout from Troop 108, chose to tackle the project after consulting with a couple of local agencies. He wrote,

I contacted Friends of Webster Trails to see if they had any projects they needed done. They did not, but they put me in contact with Webster Parks and Rec, who had some projects available. One was a kiosk, and another was the fence.

A few years ago, Joshua helped his brother build a kiosk for his Eagle Scout project, so he wanted to do something different. After meeting with Parks Director Glenn Morrell and discussing available projects, he decided on the fence.

This was a pretty major project, too. Even before construction could begin, it took two months to plan and get approval, funding, and order materials. Finally, over the weekend of July 12, Joshua and almost two dozen friends, family members and Scouts from Troops 108, 163 and 363 came together to erect the fence.

Joshua and his team also received funding from L3Harris Technologies and fencing materials from Miracle Field co-chair Ron Kampff. Altra Rental and Supply brought in excavation equipment and Rhino’s Pizzeria and Deli supplied lunch for the work party.

The project wasn’t without its challenges, either. Joshua’s mother Rhonda wrote that the hill they were working on used to be a landfill for the highway department. So the grounds were littered with hidden rocks, concrete slabs and car parts. Hence the bucket excavator needed to dig through it all.

The new fence is a beautiful addition to an already beautiful park. Ever since the installation of the completely accessible Karpus Family Playground, the park’s original chain-link fence looked shabby. The new split-rail fence, Josh wrote, “is not only eye appealing, but it should help keep kids in the playground from running down the hill and sustaining injury.”

Miracle Field is located on Ridge Road behind Town Hall. This beautiful facility was specifically designed for individuals with physical and/or cognitive challenges and is fully wheelchair accessible. It offers those with developmental, physical or intellectual disabilities a barrier-free, safe, accessible place to experience the health benefits and joy of play through baseball, other team sports, and adaptive recreational equipment.

The fence was also installed just in time for this Saturday’s Heroes Helping Heroes Day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Challenger Miracle Field. It’s a whole morning of baseball games pitting Challenger athletes against first responders, and will also feature food trucks, a dunk tank, carnival games, police vehicles, a fire truck, the mounted patrol, a visit from Spikes the Red Wings mascot, and more. Click here to read more about that event.

Here’s a slideshow of photos from Joshua’s project, courtesy Rhonda:

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

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A Park Ave. welcome to summer

28 Jun

Just a quick post today to thank the young people who chalked these messages last week on the sidewalk in front of their Park Ave. house.

They appeared, not coincidentally, on the afternoon of the last day of school, and they made me smile. ‘Cause it was the last day of school for me too. 🙂

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

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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