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Peter Kaulback remembered, 50 years after his death

3 Jun

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If you were driving along Ridge Road last Thursday evening around 6:00, you might have noticed a number of Patriot Guard riders leading a small convoy of cars to Webster Rural Cemetery.

The occasion was a remembrance ceremony in honor of former Village of Webster resident Peter Jon Kaulback.

Kaulback, a lance corporal in the Marines, was killed in Vietnam on May 31, 1968, and is buried at Webster Rural.

Peter lived on Fuller Ave. in the village, a short walk to the Spry building, which at that time was the town’s high school. He graduated there in 1962, a year before the Webster Thomas building was finished. 

To honor Kaulback’s memory on the 50th anniversary of his death, several friends and local officials gathered at Spry and processed to Webster Rural Cemetery, led by the Patriot Guard riders.

Quartermaster Sean Miller represented the Webster VFW, and Councilman Barry Deane was there for the Town of Webster. In his remarks, Dean remembered that he and Kaulback had gone deer hunting the day before he left for Vietnam. 

A member of Buglers Across America played a beautiful rendition of Taps, which made the ceremony even more meaningful.

There’s currently a display at the Webster Public Library in honor of Peter Kaulback with lots more information, including a copy of the letter he sent to his girlfriend after learning he was going to Vietnam. The display also features information about Don Holleder, another of the five young Webster men who died in Vietnam.

Thank you to Jim Lanson for coordinating the simple, yet beautiful ceremony.

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WFD hosts blood drive

30 May

CaptureYour next opportunity to be a blood donor is later this week, when our Webster Volunteer Fire Department hosts a donation drive this Thursday from 1 to 7 p.m. at the Community Meeting Room, 35 South Avenue.

The drive is being co-hosted by the North East Joint Fire District and is coordinated by Webster volunteer firefighter Jacky Ingrassio. She’s encouraging a friendly competition between Webster Fire Department and West Webster Fire Department to see which can donate the most units.

But of course they’re also hoping that all eligible donors in our community will come out and “answer the call,” and give blood in honor of our everyday heroes.

This drive is especially important as the Red Cross is experiencing an urgent need for blood, a situation which will only get worse as the summer progresses.

Zoom in on the poster to see how you can make an appointment, but of course walk-ins are always welcome.

Can’t make Thursday’s drive? Stay tuned for news about next week’s bi-annual Webster Community Blood Drive. (That’s the one with the raffles.) The big white signs should be going up this weekend.

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Webster community mailbag

29 May

mailbagGot a few unusual events for your reading pleasure today.

Rochester radio legend Jack Palvino and media scholar Tom Proietti will discuss the history of radio in Rochester in the “Rochester Radio Roadshow” on Thursday, May 31, from 2 to 3 p.m. at St. Ann’s Community at Cherry Ridge in Webster.

The “Roadshow” takes the form of a lively conversation between Jack and Tom on Rochester’s radio broadcasting history. It will also focus on Jack’s esteemed career in local radio including stations WBBF and WVOR and his role in shaping the media landscape in Rochester.

Jack Palvino is a legendary broadcaster known as both a beloved on-air personality and a successful station executive and owner. Tom Proietti is the Resident Scholar in Media at St. John Fisher College and Professor Emeritus of Communication at MCC. A commentator on media issues for WXXI, he is well known for his expertise and insights on mass media, broadcasting, and popular culture.

The event is FREE and open to the public. Reservations are requested. Call (585) 697-6701. For more information, check out the Facebook event here.

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The entire community is invited to Challenger Miracle Field’s Opening Celebration on Sunday June 3 from 1 to 4 p.m.

If you haven’t seen this field yet, you really have to make the time to do so. This brand new facility was specifically designed for individuals with physical and or cognitive challenges and fully wheelchair accessible. The idea was to give people 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.

This weekend’s celebration is even more special as it marks the first full year the field will be in play (so to speak).

Opening Day festivities will include lots of stuff for kids, including a glitter tattoo artist, face painter, balloon animal artist,  an appearance by Spikes (the Rochester Red Wings mascot), a bounce house, carnival games, a dunk tank, popcorn machine, sno cone machine, cotton candy, vendors, refreshments and a raffle.

And don’t worry about the sun; there’s going to be a huge tent with plenty of tables and seating.

Everything happens at Challenger Miracle Field, in Ridge Park, behind Town Hall on Ridge Road, rain or shine.

Click here to find out more about this great organization.

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Puppies and yoga. This appears to be a new thing, so it’s natural that Webster’s newest fitness studio will be trying it out.

ROC & Soul Fitness will be offering a Puppy Yoga class on Sunday, June 10 at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.  Adorable puppies will roam throughout the room as you practice an all level Vinyasa Flow class. Participants can hold and pet the puppies as they practice yoga. Many of the puppies will be available for purchase and are looking to go to a good home.

This from the press release I received:

We all know that yoga is good for the mind, body, and soul. Puppies & Yoga has added health benefits. Pet therapy combined with yoga can provide physical and mental benefits. It is widely known that positive interactions with gentle, friendly pets can lower blood pressure, release endorphins for an overall calming effect, lift spirts and lesson depression, decrease anxiety, reduce loneliness, and much more. Man’s best friend not only makes this class a delight, but can leave behind some positive health effects.

To reserve a spot in class, you can purchase a pass on the ROC & Soul Fitness website or on the MindBody APP for $18 to non-members and $9 to members.

ROC & Soul Fitness is located at 43 East Main Street, one of the new businesses which is helping to revitalize the village of Webster.  They offer barre, yoga, fusion classes, and more.

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This looks like fun.

On Wednesday June 13, three local craft breweries — WhichCraft Brews, Knucklehead Craft Brewing, and K2 Bros. Brewing — will come together to host a “Webfield Beer Crawl.”

A limo bus shuttle service will be provided from 5 to 1 p.m. on a 15-min loop between all three locations. Each brewery will be producing a special release one-off double dry hopped beer in a style of their choosing for the event.

Each brewery will have a passport package available for sale BEFORE the event. It costs $15 and gets you a commemorative pint glass with all three breweries printed on the glass as well as a free pour of the special release DDH beer from each location!

If you’re driving, parking is encouraged at Baytowne Plaza.

Check out the breweries’ websites for more information.

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Damascus Cruise Nights return

21 May

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Classic car enthusiasts will love this news:  the Damascus Center Cruise Nights are back for the summer.

There are lots of cruisin’ options around Rochester throughout the summer, but this one is historically one of the biggest — and I have to say one of the best. Run annually since 2008, it attracts up to 300 classic and vintage cars, kit cars, muscle cars, trucks and motorcycles every summer Friday night, and as many as 1,000 spectators.

There’s always plenty of parking, great food (the fish fry is legendary), raffles, indoor and outdoor seating, clean restrooms (always a plus), and an incredible view of Irondequoit Bay which no other cruise night can offer.

The family-friendly Damascus Shrine Cruise Nights take place at the Shrine Center, 979 Bay Road, beginning June 1. The fun starts at 5 p.m.

For more information, check out the event’s Facebook page 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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A surprise thank-you for a super volunteer

18 May

There was a happy event at the Webster Arboretum on Thursday.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend, but I got the lowdown and a few photos courtesy Julie Schilacci.

It was a surprise party for Bud Johnston, who is retiring as president from the Webster Recreation Center’s W.A.S.P.S. organization.

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Bud Johnston with Faith Bell. 

The not-for-profit Webster Association of Senior Program Supporters (W.A.S.P.S) provides transportation for residents 60 and over and/or disabled retirees who live within the Webster School District. Volunteers drive seniors to various appointments and health-related shopping errands. WASPS also provides wheelchair service if needed.

Bud, along with Faith Bell, began the organization 11 years ago.

He might be retiring, but as is often the case for long-time volunteers of any organization, Bud won’t be riding off quietly into the sunset; he’ll be staying on the board of directors as an adviser.

If you or someone you know could benefit from the services that W.A.S.P.S provides, call 585-216-7829, log onto http://websterwasps.com, or email websterwasp@gmail.com for more information.

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Back on the blogwagon and heading to a FIESTA!

17 May

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I knew that being Internet-less would not be easy. But being unable to log onto my home computer for five straight days (thank you Frontier) really messed with my mojo a whole lot more than I expected.

I was able to hobble through though, in large part by using my phone’s 4G and friendly Internet hotspots in the village, but it was hard keeping up on my email and blogging.

But I’m back, thanks to a sparkling new Spectrum modem and a higher-speed Internet cable feed. Good thing, because now that summer is approaching, the events are going to come fast and furious.

Let’s start today with a preview of the 64th annual St. Rita Festival, which hits town again Friday and Saturday June 1 and 2.

I love this festival. It’s like a harbinger of summer, and a great inexpensive night out, with the added benefit of supporting a good cause.

Festival highlights include live music by Ruby Shooz and the Breakfast Club, inflatable and adventure rides for the kids, carnival games, a food truck rodeo, gift basket raffles, a book sale, plant sale, and more. And of course you can get into the raffle for $10,000 cash or a one-year lease on a car from Vision Automotive.  Five second chance winners will also go home with Wegmans gift certificates.

Here are some details:

  • Ruby Shooz will play on Friday night from 7 to 10 p.m. and the Breakfast Club on Saturday from 6 to 10 p.m. Blankets and chairs are welcome.
  • The festival will introduce a new Car Show and Shine classic car show this year, from 3 to 6 p.m. There’s no charge to register a car or to attend the event.
  • In addition to the food truck rodeo, St. Rita’s famous Friday fish fry and Saturday chicken barbecue dinners will be back. They sell out every year, so get there early.

Admission to the Fiesta is free and parking is onsite, with handicap and shuttle options. For more information about the Fiesta, or to pre-order your discounted passes for unlimited access to the bounce houses, zip lines, and bungee trampoline, click here.

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Webster mailbag

9 May

mailbagA variety of events stuff today’s mailbag. A few of them I have mentioned before, but I want to shine some light on them again as they get very near.

This first event is extremely timely:

This Thursday (May 10), the Willink Eighth Grade Band, under the direction of Matt Osika, will perform alongside the Webster Village Band, under the direction of Thomas Indiano. Each band will perform some selections on their own before combing to perform some of John Williams’ most memorable themes in the Star Wars saga.

The concert begins at 7:00 p.m. in the Willink Middle School cafetorium, and admission is free.

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flowersThe Webster Arboretum’s 18th Annual Plant Sale happens this Saturday May 12, from 8 a.m. to noon at the Arboretum, 1700 Schlegel Road, Webster.

The sale features perennials from standard to uncommon, annuals, dwarf conifers, geraniums, dahlias, various garden club offerings and more. Nice thing about this sale is that these plants are locally grown, so you KNOW they’re going to work in your garden.

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The First Baptist Church of Penfield will hold their last Flapjack Community Breakfast of the season on Saturday  May 19 from 8 to 10 a.m.

Guests will enjoy pancakes, pure maple syrup, scrambled eggs, sausage, and more for just $5.00 per person. All are welcome, and the venue is handicapped accessible.

All May  proceeds will go directly to benefit the Penfield Ecumenical Food Shelf: a supplemental food relief organization serving the 14526 and 14625 areas and families of children in the Penfield school district since 1997.

Donations of non-perishable foods and paper products also gratefully accepted.

The First Baptist Church of Penfield is located at 1862 Penfield Rd. For more information, call 585-586-2876.

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Lady golfers, this one is for you.

The Webster Golf Club’s Ladies Association is inviting women golfers to join the fun and sign-up to play in their annual charity golf tournament on Monday June 25, to benefit the Webster Comfort Care Home.

The event will take place on the Webster Golf Course, and will be a non-handicapped, 18-hole shotgun fun scramble.

Registration is $90 per golfer or $360 per foursome, which includes a continental breakfast, box lunch, an hors d’oeuvres reception, gifts for every player, a raffle, win pull and more.

Deadline to sign up is June 1. For more information, to sponsor the event or donate to the silent auction, contact Janet Jones-Brower, Webster Comfort Care Home Executive Director at director@webstercomfortcare.org, or Linda Dorsey at  ddorsey2@rochester.rr.com.

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Town of Webster opens its doors next weekend

6 May

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Ever wonder what it looks like inside the police department? Have you ever wanted to check out the sewer treatment plant? And have you been at the Webster Library since they renovated it?

You can check out all these places and more when the Town of Webster hosts its annual open house on Saturday May 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The fun starts at Webster Town Hall, 1000 Ridge Road, where you can tour the newly remodeled Town Hall and police department, then head over to the court room and town board room in the Van Ingen Building. Buses will depart every 15 minutes to take people to the recreation center, sewer treatment plant, the library and the highway department.

Basically it’s one-stop shopping for anyone who has any questions about our town’s facilities and employees.

There’ll also be lots of other stuff going on at Town Hall for both kids and adults,  including picture IDs, emergency vehicles, community informational displays, refreshments and more.

There’s no charge for anything, so make sure to stop by for this informational, family-friendly event, Saturday May 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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Webster Library to host unique photography exhibit

30 Apr

Everybody has a story. That’s the intriguing premise behind a brand new photography exhibit opening Tuesday at the Webster Public Library.

Created by Linda Dow Hayes of Hayes Photography, the exhibit features portraits and personal narratives of 25 Webster Central School District faculty and staff members

Hayes, who works as a teaching assistant at Webster Thomas High School, has always been interested in creating insightful portraits. The project grew from remarks made by Webster CSD superintendent Carm Gumina on the opening day of school last year, when he talked about the fact that all faculty and staff members have stories to tell.

Hayes took that thought and ran with it, creating her very personal and meaningful “We All Have a Story” exhibit, where she takes a closer look at the lives and stories of more than two dozen staff members.

“The idea of connecting with interested faculty and staff members by taking their portraits was something that I felt might work to help me grow as an artist and connect with the community-at-large,” Hayes said.

The exhibit, which runs the entire month of May, will be open to the public during the library’s normal business hours, Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., friday from 10 to 6, and Saturday from 10 to 5.

The public is invited to an opening reception on Wednesday May 2 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The Webster Public Library is located at 980 Ridge Road.

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Webster’s volunteer fire departments need you

25 Apr
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A controlled burn on Ridge Road last November provided a valuable training opportunity.

Have you ever toyed with the idea of becoming a firefighter? (Since you were a kid, I mean.) Just because you’re all grown up with a family and working full time doesn’t mean you can’t still fulfill that dream.

Becoming a volunteer firefighter really isn’t as difficult or dangerous as you might think, and if you’ve ever considered it even for a moment, you owe it to yourself to drop by the fire house in the village of Webster (35 South Ave.) or in West Webster (1051 Gravel Road) this weekend for the annual RecruitNY event.

For four hours this Saturday April 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Webster and West Webster firefighters will be opening their fire houses for tours and to answer any questions you might have about joining their ranks. In the case of West Webster, it will also be a great chance to check out their brand new facility.

For more information, check out the WVFD Facebook page or the WWFD Facebook page.

Also, if you haven;t had a chance to read the column published last weekend about RecruitNY and our own WVFD, click here. It might answer some questions.

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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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