Without a doubt, the highlights of the Webster summer event schedule are the Firemen’s Carnival and the parade that heralds its arrival. And after two very boring, Carnival-less summers, I’m pleased to see that this very popular event is back this year, Wednesday July 13 through Saturday July 16.
The excitement is already beginning. The rides are being set up at Firemen’s Field, and the water barrels staged for the parking lots.
You can check out all the details about what will be happening, and when, at the NEJFD website, but here are some of the highlights:
Wednesday July 13:
Craft beer expo
The Breakfast Club plays in the Beer Tent
games, food, rides
Thursday July 14:
Fireman’s Parade begins at 6:30 p.m.
North of Forty plays in the Beer Tent
Games, food, rides
Friday July 15:
State Line plays in the Beer Tent
Games, food, rides
Saturday July 16:
Kiddie Parade at noon, beginning at Spry Middle School
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.”
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.
This is the latest in my on-again, off-again series of Bygone Blogs, in which I am re-posting some of my favorite blogs from the last eight years. This one was originally published on December 18, 2011.
The psychology of dinner dishes
As we were clearing the table after dinner last night, my husband, son and I got into a discussion about loading the dishwasher. (All families talk about stuff like this, right?) It wasn’t one of our more in-depth discussions like we’ve had about things like the proper way to hang the toilet paper, or why there are grease spots on the kitchen ceiling. No, this was simply an exploratory discussion about why on earth my husband chooses to stack the glasses on the inside rows of the upper rack rather than filling the outside rows first. That’s just weird.
From that discussion, we came up with an interesting idea: how a person loads a dishwasher can tell you a lot about their personality.
Let’s say, for example, that you always insist on loading the dishwasher yourself, and when someone else does it, you go back to correct their work when no one’s looking. That means you have control issues.
Do you make sure all the knives, spoons and forks are separated into their own individual compartments? You’re OCD.
Do you put your knives in point-up? That’s sadistic.
Do you methodically fill every square inch of the top racks with cups, glasses and serving utensils; stack bowls, dinner plates and pots and pans two layers deep in the bottom rack; shoe-horn in six more cake plates, and THEN turn it on and expect the appliance to deal with it? Totally passive-aggressive.
Think about that when you’re hanging around in the kitchen with your extended family this holiday season. You never know what you might discover.
Recently, when I was hanging out my American flag for Flag Day, I noticed that it wasn’t looking too great. It wasn’t tattered or torn, but it was stained and very faded, the result of years of use in bright sunshine. I knew it had to go.
I also knew that, once I had replaced it, the old Old Glory needed to be disposed of properly, and certainly NOT thrown in the garbage. I knew of one flag collection box in Irondequoit, but was very pleased to find out recently that Webster has one as well.
It’s located in the main reception area of Town Hall on Ridge Rd., and is accessible during normal office hours. It’s basically a recycled mailbox where community members can deposit their old, worn-out flags.
The box was placed at Town Hall in the summer of 2019, thanks to the efforts of former supervisor Ron Nesbitt and his staff. It was donated by the Webster Post Office and painted by Vital Signs, who transformed it from what was an average blue mailbox to the bright, patriotic box it is now.
Whenever the bin is full, a Town Hall staff member empties it and takes all of the flags to Webster American Legion Cottreall-Warner Post 942, where they are properly disposed of.
This is a great resource to know about, especially at this time of year when we tend to fly our flags more often. It’s such an easy way to make sure our old American flags are shown the respect and dignity they deserve.
Serenity Life is at 98 North Ave. in WebsterMattye McKibben next to a painting she did when she was younger
In this day and age when we too often hear about businesses having to close up shop, it’s nice to hear about one which is actually expanding.
Serenity Life Creative Arts Therapy, located at 98 North Ave. in the Village of Webster, has recently added two new counseling rooms/offices, doubling the practice’s original space, just as the business celebrates its first anniversary.
Serenity Life specializes in counseling services and creative arts therapy for anxiety, life stressors, addiction, healing trauma and more. The office’s 13 service providers are trained in traditional talk therapy AND art therapy. What that means is you don’t have to be artistic to seek out their help, but art, music and even dance can be incorporated into sessions when appropriate.
Serenity Life is directed by Webster Schroeder graduate Mattye McKibben, herself an experienced art therapy clinician. Mattye first learned about the discipline in her Advanced Placement art class, and after graduation pursued degrees in art therapy and creative arts therapy. She worked in the local hospital system for 11 years before opening her own counseling office — Serenity Life — last July.
“We take a person-centered, solution-focused approach to counseling where clients feel partnered with, heard, like they have choices in the services they receive,” Mattye said. “Our goal is for folks to feel they are making progress right away. We pride ourselves on finding a great therapeutic match with the counselor because this is one of the biggest indicators that therapy will be successful.”
Mattye says she’s still working on decorating the new offices, striving to furnish them “in a fun way,” with a “mid-century vibe,” using lots of vintage furniture. The walls are filled with artwork painted by Mattye herself, or one of her very talented family members.
The results are immediately obvious when you step through the door. The rooms are bright, welcoming, calming and comforting … just as they should be in a counseling office.
Even though Serenity Life only joined the Village of Webster business scene a short time ago, it’s already become a strong community supporter. During the Fall in Love With Webster event last February, for example, they hosted a free “Love Yourself” virtual group therapy class. In April they stuffed 100 plastic eggs for the Village of Webster’s Easter Egg Hunt, and coming up next month, keep an eye out for them in the Firemen’s Parade.
Community involvement is an important part of their mission, Mattye said.
“We’re part of the community. We want to be your friendly neighborhood counselor that’s trustworthy, relatable and inclusive, creating a safe environment for everyone.”
Click here to find out more about Serenity Life Creative Arts Therapy. Here’s a peek at the offices:
One of the newest rooms is a dedicated children’s roomA small patio area invites more informal discussions
One of East Main Street’s most charming shops will soon be closing its doors.
Village HandWorks opened last September at 19 E. Main, right next door to the Village Quilt Shoppe. Owner Jenn Ratcliffe, an avid spinner, weaver and knitter herself, was hoping it would become a favorite stop for anyone interested in practicing and learning more about those and other handicrafts. She began by offering classes and in-store demonstrations, but before long branched out into retail, selling yarns and other locally-produced handcrafted items.
But interest and sales never quite got very robust.
“I saved money for a long time to be able to pay rent in a shop for a year,” Jenn said. “Hopefully in that year I’d be able to get the sales to where they needed to be to at least make a decent dent in the rent and utilities. But it’s just not doing it.”
As a result of the slow sales and other rental property issues, Jenn has given up on her dream … but don’t count her out completely just yet.
“The people are fantastic here in the village,” she said. “I love them. I’m considering keeping the shop in the village, but right now there’s no place available with decent rent.”
So for now, Jenn said, she’s going to “bring her business home.” Much of her inventory will go into a storage unit, and her 15 local artisans will retrieve their products. Then, she says, she’ll take her yarns and her looms and teach weaving and knitting out of her house for now.
“And then kind of figure out where I want to be. Where I need to be.”
Village HandWorks is located at 19 E. Main Street in the Village of Webster. The shop will be open through Thursday June 30.
I’m going to lead today’s mailbag with a fun event especially for baseball fans, but also anyone else who would like to support a great local organization.
The Rochester Ridgemen will be playing one of this season’s games at Frontier Field in just a few weeks.
On Tuesday July 5, beginning at 6 p.m., the Ridgemen will take the field against the Cortland Crush. Best news of all is that admission is free, parking is free, and you can just walk into the stadium without a ticket. There will even be some concessions open so you can get dinner and a snack. What a great way to spend the night at the ballpark!
The Rochester Ridgemen are part of Athletes in Action Baseball and compete in the New York Collegiate Baseball League. The NYCBL, founded in 1978, is a summer wood bat league sanctioned by the NCAA and partially funded by Major League Baseball.
Five Webster players are part of this year’s team: James Bolton, Daniel McAliney, Braden Pumputis, Matthew Sanfilippo, and Ian McNabb. They play at Webster’s Basket Road field. (Their full schedule is below.)
The Ridgemen is a great local organization whose members are not only skilled, but committed to their community. Recently they helped out at Miracle Field of Greater Rochester’s Disability Dream & Do Clinic, sharing their love of baseball with children and young adults with disabilities.
The Village of Webster’s first Tuesday Night Movie at the Gazebo will take place next week, Tues. June 28, beginning at dusk, probably around 9:30.
The first movie this summer will be Trolls, brought to you by the Webster BID and sponsored by the Webster Health and Education Network (WHEN). They’ll be handing out free snacks, so stop by early to get yours, and remember to bring lawn chairs and blankets to sit on.
This is WHEN’s first village-sponsored event, and the organization is looking forward to playing a regular part in this summer’s activities. Registration is not required for the movie, but if you let WHEN know you’re coming, they’ll send you a reminder the day before. Click here to sign up!
If you ask me, I think the folks at the Webster Recreation Center are a little excited about the second annual Mud Run coming up in September.
Last year’s first-ever Mud Run was so well received, they started making plans almost immediately for this year’s event. They promise it’s going to be even bigger and better (that might mean messier) than the first. It’s scheduled for Saturday Sept. 17, with the first wave going off at 10 a.m.
It’s only $5 per person and you can register for it here.
The Village of Webster’s Historic Preservation Committee has begun a new initiative, recognizing “Sites of the Month” throughout the village.
This month’s site is the home of Al and Michelle Abraham at 57 Lapham Park.
Known as the Knight House, it’s a three-story Victorian built in 1900 and purchased by the Knight siblings. According to the Abrahams,
In 2000, we had the great luck of moving in right next door to then Webster Town Historian Richard Batzing, who gave us a very different picture of what the house looked like before going through its many updates.
Slowly and deliberately, we have rehabilitated every room and added a 600-square-foot addition to the back of the house to include a new kitchen, entryway, and a four season room within the Victorian style. Plaster and lathe has been replaced and new windows put in with the exception of one in the front hall which still has the original glass. The trim throughout the downstairs, which had been removed and/or changed when remodeled previously, was replaced with the help of a craftsman from Newark who milled all new trim to match the original. In 2003, a red brick patio was done and a pergola built to support an existing Wisteria which has been growing there for over 50 years.
The house was sided with Hardie Board, again in keeping with the original style of the house. The original front porch was removed in the 1960s due to structural issues. In 2020 a new one was added and finished this past January.
There is still some work to be done here and there but it has been our greatest pleasure to bring this beautiful old home back to its original glory.
If you’re interested in amateur radio even a little bit, you’ll want to head out to Kent Park this weekend to check out the annual XRX Amateur Radio ClubField Day. It’s a day when radio operators from all over the area come together to practice their skills totally “off the grid.”
Held on the fourth weekend in June every year, Field Day is an nationwide event, held simultaneously with 1000 similar stations across the US and Canada over a 24-hour period and involving more than 30,000 radio amateurs. Operators communicate via voice, Morse code and computers connected to transmitters.
On Field Day, operators are challenged to transport their equipment away from their homes, set up in a park or remote area, rebuild their stations, put up antennaes and broadcast in quasi-emergency conditions, without drawing electricity from RG&E, or using the internet or cell phones.
ARRL, the National Association for Amateur Radio, describes Field Day as the “single most popular on-the-air event held annually in the US and Canada.”
Field Day is a picnic, a campout, practice for emergencies, an informal contest and, most of all, FUN! It is a time where many aspects of Amateur Radio come together to highlight our many roles. While some will treat it as a contest, other groups use the opportunity to practice their emergency response capabilities.
The contest part of the weekend is simply to contact as many other stations as possible during the 24-hour window, which begins Saturday and continues overnight through Sunday, overcoming any challenges thrown by weather or technical problems along the way.
The XRX Radio Club will set up again this year in the parking lot past the playing fields at the very north end of Kent Park on Schlegel Rd. Last year the club had five separate broadcast stations, complete with generators, computers, transmitters, and all manner of antennas. (Click here to check out the blog I wrote about last year’s Field Day.)
Visitors are more than welcome to stop by. These guys are always happy to share their passion with interested onlookers.
I feature the people and places and events that make Webster the wonderful community it is — and throw in some totally-not-Webster-related personal ramblings every once in a while as well.
I love it when readers send me news about the great things happening in their schools or the community, so please email me anytime at missyblog@gmail.com
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