First week of school, retirement style

7 Sep

Anybody who knows me — even just a little bit — knows that I’m having a hard time retiring.

After leaving the school district in June 2021, I decided I would sub for one, maybe two days a week. That turned into three or four some weeks, pretty much all year long. It’s gotten so people don’t ask me how I’m keeping busy, but, “So how much are you going to work THIS year?”

So it should be no surprise that just two days into the new school year, I had to stop by to visit the two schools where I spent the last five years of my teaching assistant career, Plank North and Schlegel Rd. elementary schools. I told myself that I wanted to meet the new librarian at Plank North and the new library teaching assistant at Schlegel Rd.

But we all know the REAL reason I made those visits.

I really wanted to see all those smiling, happy little faces again, walking through the halls with that first-week-of-school bounce in their steps.

It was especialy touching to see many of those happy little faces wave excitedly and call out my name as they walked past. It really reminded me how much I loved being there.

But not putting my feet on the floor until 7:30 every morning? I gotta say … I love that more.

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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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(posted 9/7/2022)

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Webster community mailbag

6 Sep

Get out your calendar, ’cause this mailbag is a packed one.

The annual Webster ROCKS Music Festival is back in town this weekend.

The festival is held to raise awareness for ALS in memory of Kacie Jones. Proceeds will benefit organizations that fight to change the standard of case and empower people with ALS. (Visit www.healingals.org or www.teamgleason.org for more information.)

The festival will be held on Saturday Sept. 10 at the Webster Firemen’s Field on Ridge Rd. There’ll be food trucks and plenty of liquid refreshment. Doors open at 2 p.m. and an incredible music line-up starts at 3 p.m., featuring State Line, Brass Taxi, Jumbo Shrimp, Judah and M80s. (Check the Facebook event page for more details about the schedule.)

Tickets are $20 in advance (available from the Coach Sports Bar, 19 W. Main in Webster) and at Eventbrite (but they charge fees, so stop by the Coach to save money). Cost is $25 the day of the festival. Admission is free for ages 12 and under.

The Village of Webster would like YOUR opinions on how the village can be improved.

The Webster Economic Development Alliance, in conjunction with the Webster Business Improvement District, is competing for a $4.5 million grant from the NY Forward community revitalization program. As part of the competition process, Webster must submit an application on how we intend to spend $4.5 million in our community.

So the coalition is asking for community input. They’ve put together a quick, 5-minute survey, hoping to gather thoughts about things like

• your vision for the downtown area
• where you’d like to see the money invested
• how projects should be prioritized

But if you’d like to present your ideas in person, stop in to the Main Street Revitalization Open House on Tuesday Sept. 13 in the Village Board Room, 29 South Ave. Representatives will be there from 6 to 8 p.m. to hear what you think!

Get your German on at the Challenger Miracle Field Oktoberfest, Friday and Saturday Sept. 16 and 17, also at Webster Firemen’s Field.

This two-day event will feature entertainment from the Auslanders, the Adlers Band, the Frankfurters, and yodeler Richard Brandt, who comes straight from Germany. Swan’s Market and Helmut’s Strudel of WNY will be serving up some authentic German food, along with Nancy’s Fried Dough and beer and wine from Cobblestone on Main.

The event will run from noon to 10 p.m. each day. Admission is $9, free for children 12 and under. Proceeds will benefit Challenger Miracle Field of Greater Rochester.

The next St. Martin Lutheran Church’s Drive Thru Chicken BBQ will be held Saturday, Sept. 17 beginning at 4:30 p.m. at the church, 813 Bay Road, Webster.

Dinners of a half chicken, salt potatoes, coleslaw, roll, and butter are available for $12.00 – cash or check only. The event is drive-through only, and there will be no advance sales.

Dinners will be served first come/first served. Cars will enter the parking lot, follow signs, and purchase dinners using exact payment. Cars will then proceed to the side entrance to pick up boxed dinners.

Proceeds will St. Martin’s Christmas Stocking Project reaching over 500 local youth in Monroe and Wayne counties.

Here’s a preview of a pile of Webster Rec programs that you and your family are going to love:

  • Saturday Sept. 17: Family Mud Run, from 10 a.m. to noon, a non-competitive run/walk through mud and obstacles, concluding with snacks and swag. Much fun guaranteed for all ages. Cost is $5 per person, which includes lunch. Registration is required. (Program #301202)
  • Saturday Oct. 29: The ever-popular Pumpkins on Parade returns from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Drop off a carved pumpkin and then come back to walk the trail of illuminated Jack-o-lanterns. Free cider and donuts at the end. No charge.
  • Friday Nov. 18: Pajama Party, from 6 to 8 p.m. Dress in your favorite jammies and come hang out for a night of games, music, dancing and more. Bring a blanket and a pillow and get ready for the weekend. No charge.
  • Saturday Dec. 10: An Evening with Santa, 6 to 8 p.m. Get your picture taken with Mr. Claus himself, enjoy a sweet treat and make a holiday craft. No charge.

More information to come about all of these family-friendly events.

Finally, this isn’t an event, but an FYI.

For a long time now, there’s been an pharmaceutical drop-box location at the Webster Police Department, a convenient place to dispose of unused or expired prescriptions, instead of flushing them down the drain.

The remote drop box was supported by CVS Pharmacies, but the conmpany has discontinued that support.

So as of Sept. 1, there’s no longer a drop box at the Police Department. However, the CVS store at 935 Ridge Rd. will have an in-store collection bin. So please, keep being good citizens and continue to dispose of your expired medications properly.

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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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(posted 9/6/2022)

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History Bit: Rules for teachers, circa 1872

4 Sep

So I got a new job recently.

Beginning this month, I’ve taken over the job of writing the monthly “Bit of Webster History,” a short feature produced by the Webster Museum highlighting interesting historical tidbits from around our town.

For the last six years, these “Bits” have been researched and written by Webster Museum volunteer Kathy Taddeo. She’s a great writer and I always enjoyed seeing what gems she came up with every month. Needless to say, I have some big shoes to fill.

Here’s my first stab at it:

A Bit of Webster History — Rules for Teachers

In honor of the first week of school and our hard-working teachers, this month’s History Bit takes us back to a time when school was held for all grades in one room heated by a wood stove, writing was done on slates, and the drinking fountain was a metal pail and cup. 

The first school recorded within the township of Webster was a log cabin at the corner of Salt and State roads in 1813. In those days the school year was typically divided into summer and winter terms. Usually a woman would teach girls and young children in the summer, and a man would teach the older boys in the winter after they were released from farm work. 

It was a tough job with some pretty strict rules – and not just with regards to classroom management. Consider this list of Rules for Teachers from 1872:  

  1. Teachers each day will fill lamps, clean chimneys
  2. Each teacher will bring a bucket of water and a scuttle of coal for the day’s session
  3. Make your pens carefully. You may whittle nibs to the individual taste of the pupils. 
  4. Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting purposes, or two evenings a week if they go to church regularly. 
  5. After ten hours in school, the teachers may spend the remaining time reading the Bible or other good books. 
  6. Women teachers who marry or engage in unseemly conduct will be dismissed. 
  7. Every teacher should lay aside from his pay a goodly sum of his earnings for his benefit during his declining years so that he will not become a burden on society. 
  8. Any teacher who smokes, uses liquor in any form, frequents pool or public halls, or gets shaved in a barber shop will give good reason to suspect his worth, intention, integrity and honesty.
  9. The teacher who performs his labor faithfully and without fault for five years will be given an increase of 25 cents per week in his pay, providing the Board of Education approves. 

See the list for yourself at the Webster Museum, where it’s posted just outside the museum’s classroom, which emulates how an actual one-room schoolhouse might have looked in the early 1900s.

The museum, located at 18 Lapham Park, is open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Visit the website for more historical tidbits about our town’s schools and teachers.

(P.S. The photo above pictures one of the district’s earliest schools, the District No. 7 school on Schlegel Rd., circa 1846.)

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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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(posted 9/4/2022)

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What does the PTSA actually DO, anyway?

3 Sep

I was chatting with a friend recently. She admitted that some time ago, the only things she knew about the PTSA was from watching Saved by the Bell and the movie Bad Moms, which pretty much depicted the organization as a cutthroat, no-holds-barred, Survivor-like clique.

In reality, of course, the Webster Central PTSA is nothing like that.

For starters, unlike in Bad Moms, the PTSA’s focus is not on the parents who run and volunteer for events; it’s squarely on the students, and the teachers and staff members who work so hard to support them.

PTSA parents help organize after-school clubs and school-wide activities like festivals and dances; they coordinate in-school events and class pictures, create the school yearbook and purchase school supplies. But PTSA members also have their fingers in dozens of other activities behind the scenes, supporting classroom teachers and administrators with their day-to-day responsibilities.

Those roles are pretty obvious to everyone, but the goals of our Webster Central PTSA go well beyond that, and provide more intangible benefits as well. For example, this year watch for a lot of new events encouraging not just student involvement, but also student leadership. The PTSA recognizes that today’s students are tomorrow’s future leaders, so we need to them to know that they have a voice, they have opinions, they have opportunities.

The Webster Central PTSA is also laser-focused this year on building a stronger school/community connection, which they’ll accomplish through supporting community events and collaborating with organizations and agencies that benefit Webster as a whole. Our schools have always been a One Webster community; the PTSA wants to make sure that everyone in the Town of Webster knows they’re an integral part of that community as well, whether they have children in the schools or not.

These are ambitious goals which will require many dedicated volunteers. But these efforts also need to be funded, and that’s where everybody can help out.

This year’s PTSA membership drive is in full swing. You can help support all of the PTSA’s ambitious goals by becoming a member. It costs just $10 for adults and $5 for students, and there’s no volunteering or meetings required.

Plus, members enjoy discounts all year at Nourished, Buffalo Wild Wings, The Waffle Factory, Color Me Mine, DQ Gill & Chill, Lala and Whimsies, Yolickity and more.

For more information and an on-line link to join, click here.

So, to answer that question I posed in the headline, our school PTSAs are more than book fairs and bake sales. They provide a vital link between school, students, families and the greater Webster community. They deserve — and need — our support.

That friend, by the way, who used to know so little about what the PTSA does? That was Jaime Richey, who is now the Webster Central PTSA co-president. The more she learned, the more she wanted to get involved. And now she hopes you will, too.

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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 9/3/2022)

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Photos from the Bridgerton Ball

31 Aug

I wanted to post a quick follow-up from last weekend’s Bridgerton Ball, hosted by the Country Dancers of Rochester at the Harmony House.

The ball attracted fans of English country dances in the style of the popular Bridgerton TV mini-series. The music was delightful, the costumes were beautiful, and the dancing was divine. There was a nice turnout, especially given this was a first-time event.

Ball organizer Lisa Brown of the Country Dancers of Rochester especially enjoyed the venue.

“Harmony House is a great resource for the Webster community,” she said. “It’s a wonderful venue for a dance event because it has a large ballroom with a wooden floor and air conditioning. We loved having our Bridgerton Ball there.”

Some RIT students who heard about the event attended and took some beautiful photos, several of which I’d like to share with you today.

If these photos pique your interest and you’d like to learn how to do this kind of dancing, you’re invited to join the Country Dancers of Rochester for their regular Sunday gatherings. They meet Sunday evenings at 6:30 p.m. in Brighton at the First Baptist Church, 175 Allens Creek Rd. Beginners are welcome, dancers wear modern clothing and no partner is necessary. Cost is $10.

Here are several other photos from the evening, taken by Evie Linantud:

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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 8/31/2022)

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Dancing With Denise’s “Happy Feet Dance Crew” spreads joy to nursing homes

30 Aug

Denise Baller of Dancing With Denise has found a charming way to introduce kids to the joy of dancing, while at the same time helping their community.

Denise calls the program “Happy Feet.” It originated several years ago when Denise’s mother, “Miss Tina,” was living at Atria assisted living facility in Penfield. Denise wanted to give the residents a fun and entertaining intergenerational activity, so one evening she invited some of her students to meet at the facility for a “date night” with the residents. The evening was a great success, and the Happy Feet Dance Crew was born.

Since that first outing, “Miss Denise” has taken her students out once a month to visit different local facilities and dance. At the end of the night, the children always share a sweet treat with the residents. In 2019, the Happy Feet Crew grew into an annual summer dance camp, with the students traveling to a different location every morning.

Some of the places the Dance Crew has visited include Webster Comfort Care, where they also spent some time weeding the gardens, and Creekstone Memory Care. They also took a tour of Heritage Christian Stables, where the children cleaned riding equipment, groomed the miniature horses and even cleaned the pasture.

Connecting with the community is Denise’s way of teaching her students how they, and their dancing, can spread love and joy, while learning valuable life lessons. She said,

It’s important to share with the children that life is not perfect and sometimes the jobs we undertake are not things that we love to do. But if you can push through and get to the other side, it makes your heart happy, you become a better person, and most importantly you spread love and joy to make others happy.

If you’d like to meet Denise, learn more about Dancing With Denise and try out a class, stop by her open house on Wednesday Aug. 31 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the studio, 1077 Gravel Rd. Click here for more information.

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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 8/30/2022)

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News from the museum: huge sale and shipwreck program redux

29 Aug

Two big museum-sponsored events are coming up in the next several weeks you’ll want to know about.

The first is the museum’s annual Barn Sale, scheduled for Sept. 15-17 at — well, a barn — at 394 Phillips Rd. It’s a huge barn, but already there have been so many donations that organizers know they’ll definitely be spilling out onto the lawns surrounding the barn, plus the carriage house and two additional adjacent barns.

Among the thousands of items you’ll find are glassware, crafts, ceramics, lamps, dolls and jewelry, holiday wares, outdoor and garden care, books, music, electronics, paintings, toys and games, sports equipment, furniture, bikes and trikes, auto, tools and hardware and more all at very low price points.

The sale will run Thursday and Friday Sept. 15 and 16 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday Sept. 17 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Please bring your own shopping bags!!!! All proceeds will benefit the all-volunteer Webster Museum.

Donations are still being accepted, by the way. You can just drop them off at the barn anytime before Labor Day.

Next month, the museum and Webster Public Library will feature a fascinating program by shipwreck explorer Jim Kennard, hosted at the library.

Kennard will take everyone along his personal journey and his underwater explorations of Lake Ontario, sharing stories he’s gathered while researching and locating the most historically significant shipwrecks of our Great Lakes. These include the 1780 British warship HMS Ontario and the sloop Washington lost in 1803.

Kennard has also authored a book, Shipwrecks of Lake Ontario: A Journey of Discovery, which can be borrowed from the library. He’s been featured in local publications as well as National Geographic, national and local news stations, the Discovery Channel and most recently National Geographic’s “Drain the Oceans” series on the American Revolution.

Kennard will share stories gathered over those 50 years while researching and locating the most historically significant shipwrecks in our Great Lakes. These include the 1780 British warship HMS Ontario and the sloop Washington lost in 1803.

The program will be held Saturday Sept. 24 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Webster Public Library, 980 Ridge Rd.   Attendees must register for this event by calling the library at 585-872-7075 or by using the library’s program registration link here.

This program was originally scheduled for May at the Harmony House but had to be postponed.

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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 8/29/2022)

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A perfect afternoon spent with friends on the trails

28 Aug

Every once in a while I’m reminded about how oustanding our local trail system is.

Sunday morning dawned so beautiful and cool, I thought it’d be a great day to go for a hike with my husband. And since it’s always more fun to hike with friends, I invited my friends Patty and Dave to join us. We met up at Whiting Rd. Nature Preserve.

For more than an hour, we explored several trails I’d never been on before, winding through grasslands and woodlands, across wooden bridges, up hills and down. We’d frequently stop to take a closer look at an unusual flower or plant, visit with a butterfly, or stare back at a deer who’d paused in the brush to stare at us. It was a delightful, peaceful afternoon filled with natural beauty and friendship.

Our experience was not unique. Thousands of people every year take advantage of our town’s beautiful trails. And there are plenty to choose from; almost four dozen distinct trails stretch from Rt. 104 north to the lake, and from Vosburg Rd. east to Salt Rd, each one well maintained and well marked with signs and trail maps.

We have the all-volunteer Friends of Webster Trails to thank for that. These volunteers put in thousands of hours every summer planning, creating and maintaining these trails. It’s really a thankless job, since only a small percentage of the people who use our trails actually sign up as members of the Friends.

If you’re not familiar with the trails, check out this map to see where they are. Then get out there with your family and friends and enjoy before the weather turns really nasty. And please consider becoming a member of the Friends of Webster Trails. (It really doesn’t cost much. Check out the membership page here.) Your donation will go a long way to helping these fine folks help US enjoy our town’s natural beauty for years to come.

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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 8/28/2022)

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Webster community mailbag

25 Aug

Don’t forget that Friday night Aug. 26 is the next Family Games Night!

This month’s event is brought to you in part by the Webster PTSA, who’ll have a table there with some stuff to help your kids get ready for the upcoming school year.

There’s always tons of fun things to do for both kids and adults at these FREE, family-friendly events including sidewalk chalking, giant street games like Giant Jenga, Giant Connect Four and cornhole. You can even grab dinner from Carl’s Pizza Kitchen while you’re there, plus there’ll be live music.

The Family Games Night happens on West Main St. in the Village of Webster from 6 to 9 p.m.

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UMC Webster, 169 East Main St., will be serving up a community pasta dinner on Saturday Aug. 27 in their Fellowship Center from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Children’s activities wil be provided.

There is no cost for the dinner, but donations will be accepted, and participants are being asked to bring a non-perishable food item for the church’s food pantry.

For more information, call 585-309-6510 or email pastorwendy@umcwebster.org.

The Webster Theatre Guild is holding auditions for thier upcoming production of Annie on Sunday Aug. 28 and Thursday Sept. 1.

Auditions will be held at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, 1130 Webster Rd. (Rt. 250) in Webster, from 5 to 7 pm for children, 7 to 9 p.m. for adults both days. You only have to attend one day of the auditions. Callbacks will be on Saturday Sept. 3 at 9 a.m.

Show dates are Oct. 14, 15, 21 and 22.

Click here for more information and to download your audition packet.

The Webster Hope, Inc. (formerly Hope Ministry) Garage Sale is back this year, scheduled for Wed. Sept. 14 through Sat. Sept. 17 at Holy Trinity Church, 1460 Ridge Rd. Webster.

Donations will be accepted on Sunday Sept. 11 from 11 am. to 3 p.m. and Monday Sept. 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Murphy Hall at the church. Please no large donations. Items that cannot be accepted are listed here on the website.

Hours for the sale will be:

  • Wednesday Sept. 14, 6-8 p.m. (sneak peek night), admission $5 per person
  • Thursday Sept. 15, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Friday, Sept. 16, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Saturday Sept. 17, 10 a.m. to noon (everything HALF PRICE)

For a preview of some of the items that will be for sale, check out the Webster Hope Facebook page. Proceeds from the sale will benefit low-income households in Webster.

Also coming up in September, the Schutts Apple Mill Fall Kickoff event on Saturday Sept. 10 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This is a great family event with bounce houses, a petting zoo, a magic show, photo booth, live music, wagon rides, a cider demonstration, fried-cake eating contest and much more. It’s free to attend. Click here for more information.

Schutts Apple Mill is located at 1063 Plank Rd.

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And make sure to put this one on your calendar.

The Village of Webster’s September 11 Memorial Ceremony will take place on Sunday Sept. 11 at 2 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park, North Ave. (Rt. 250).

This is always a very moving ceremony, and a great chance to remember those who lost their lives on this terrible day.

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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 8/25/2022)

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Wreaths Across America is coming to Webster

24 Aug

A terrific program honoring our fallen veterans — Wreaths Across America — is coming to Webster Union Cemetery this December.

Wreaths Across America is a nonprofit organization which began 30 years ago, its mission to place a wreath on the grave of every veteran in the country. They have a saying: “We die twice. Once when we take our last breath, and then when our name is said for the very last time.” The simple act of placing a wreath helps assure that these veterans are never forgotten.

Last year, 2.5 million wreaths were placed by volunteers, spread across 3,000 cemeteries in the U.S. and abroad. This year, Webster Union Cemetery will make that number 3,001.

But before that can happen, the wreaths have to be procured. That’s where you come in.

Webster Union Cemetery is the resting place for about 650 veterans, from the Revolutionary War to present day. So, decorating every one of the their graves will require about 650 wreaths. The Blue Star Mothers Rochester Chapter is taking the lead on this project and is reaching out to the entire Webster community for wreath sponsors.

Sponsoring a wreath only costs $15, and here’s one of the best parts: $5 from every wreath sponsorship will go directly to the Blue Star Mothers, who will use the funds to prepare and ship care packages to deployed servicemen and women who don’t have access to everyday supplies.

So your $15 will not only be sponsoring a wreath for a fallen veteran, but will also be providing some of the comforts of home to our deployed servicemen and women.

In December, Webster Union Cemetery’s 650 wreaths will be delivered by an 18-wheeler coming from Maine, which will receive a police escort through town. Then, at noon on on Saturday Dec. 17, family members of veterans who are buried at Webster Union Cemetery will be invited to place their loved ones’ wreaths first. Then, community members will be invited to help place the rest of them at veterans’ headstones.

What a meaningful day that will be.

There are about 3,000 veterans buried in Webster’s cemeteries. Our town’s Wreaths Across America effort has to begin somewhere, and Webster Union Cemetery was chosen because of the great number of veterans resting there. Hopefully, every year, more Webster cemeteries will be added to the list until every veteran receives a wreath.

If you’d like to sponsor a wreath for your veteran, or help veterans who no longer have families, click here, scan the QR code below, or email WebsterWreaths@icloud.com to request a form. Deadline is Monday, November 21.

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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 8/24/2022)

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