Tag Archives: Cottreall-Warner Post

Blue Star Mothers hosting annual Military Baby Shower

4 Apr

Calling all local military families!

The Blue Star Mothers NY8 Chapter of Rochester are making plans for this year’s Military Baby Shower, and they’re looking for more families to shower with gifts.

The event, scheduled for Sunday May 5 at the Cottreall-Warner American Legion Post on Ridge Rd., will shower up to 20 babies with “Baby Baskets of Loving Care,” each filled with gifts for moms and their babies including baby clothing, handmade outfits, homemade blankets, sweaters, booties and hats, diapers, wipes, baby supplies, toys, and more. The new mamas will also be offered chair massages and other pampering at the event.

Active duty, veterans and military spouses of active duty and veterans who are expecting or have children up to 6 months old are welcome to register for and attend the shower. (Must be a resident of Monroe or Wayne counties.)

The Mothers have been pulling together donations for many months, but they’d love to get a lot more. If you’d like to help out, you can donate to their baby gift registry through this Amazon.com link.

Blue Star Mothers president Amy VanDerwerken said, “We love how the local community comes together to support this event. They allow us to provide diapers, clothes, wipes, bibs, blankets, bottles, toys, books, etc.” Besides the many individuals who donate from the Amazon Baby Shower list, they also receive donations from several local businesses and community organizations.

Blue Star Mothers are mothers, stepmothers, grandmothers, foster mothers and female legal guardians who have children serving in the military, guard or reserves, or children who are veterans. The Baby Shower for Military is one of the group’s most important service projects. Each year BSM NY8 honors up to 20 local military families, and for some of these expectant mothers, it may be the only baby shower they get, since they’re usually stationed far away from their close relatives.

“We hope to continue growing and working with the community to be able to support our local military families,” VanDerwerken said. “We could not do this military baby shower event without that support.” 

The Military Baby Shower will be hosted by the Cottreall-Warner American Legion Post on Sunday May 5 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. It’s totally free for the first 20 women to register. To sign up, or for more information, contact one of the Baby Shower Committee Co-chairs, Amy VanDerwerken and Jill Harris, at 1VP.NY8@BlueStarMothers.US.

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

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(posted 4/4/2024)

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Vietnam-era armored car rolls into town

6 Dec

There’s a new military vehicle in town, and it’s a really big deal.

I say that not just because the M706 Commando armored car, recently acquired by the Cottreall-Warner American Legion Post, is not only really big (it weighs more than eight tons), but the simple fact that the Legion was able to get one is a big deal in itself.

The armored car arrived by flatbed trailer on November 17, after traveling more than 600 miles from the AAF Tank Museum in Danville, Va. The museum closed last month, at which time several of its exhibit pieces became available, and the American Legion post jumped at the chance to get one.

That’s about the only way organizations can acquire a display piece. Past Legion Commander Greg Cody explained that most decommissioned military vehicles are used for target practice, so you basically have to wait for a museum or Legion post or VFW post to close and their display pieces go up for grabs.

For our Webster American Legion, it’s been a long wait; Cody put in the post’s application a full nine years ago.

Considering the armored vehicle saw action in the Vietnam War in the early ’60s, it’s in pretty good shape. Still, Cody said, “When it showed up it was in worse shape than in the pictures we saw.” It was missing some windows, and the turret and the hatch had been removed and stuffed inside the vehicle.

Pretty much all that remains inside are the seats and the steering mechanism. “When they give you a tank or vehicle, they come completely stripped inside so no one can make it work,” Cody explained. Even the engine is removed. It had also clearly spent some time outside after the museum closed, because there were leaves and branches inside and some surface rust.

Getting a static display piece for our small-town Webster American Legion is, as I said, a big deal. Usually only the bigger Legion or VFW posts get them, or perhaps entire townships, because it’s a rather expensive proposition. The government doesn’t charge anything, but it does cost a lot of money to have the monster vehicles loaded up, trucked hundreds of miles, and then unloaded. You also have to have enough room to display it.

The vehicle’s under wraps right now, tucked under a tarp in a corner of the Legion’s parking lot. In the spring, Cody will crawl back inside to clean it up and do more repairs, give it a new paint job, and work with a local machine shop to fashion some mock gun barrels. That’s also when the Legion’s members will decide where on the property it will be permanently displayed. The plan is to put a fence around it, plant a garden and install a plaque.

It’s sure to be a fitting memorial to all those who served.

The Cottreall-Warner American Legion Post 942 is located at 818 Ridge Rd., at the corner of Five Mile Line Rd.

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

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(posted 12/6/2023)

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Memorial Day Parade details

18 May

I’m noticing that people are beginning to search for information about the Village of Webster’s annual Memorial Day Parade, so I thought it would be best to post all the details I know about it sooner rather than later.

Basically, everything will be running as it has in every other (non-COVID) year.

  • 9:00 a.m.:  All groups participating in the parade will assemble at Spry Middle School on Sanford Street. All active duty and ex-service men and women are invited to take part in the parade. Any veterans who would like to ride in the bed of an Army truck are asked to be at Spry by 9 a.m.
  • 9:30 a.m.:  Parade moves out from Spry, down South Avenue, turning west on Main Street and proceeding to Webster Rural Cemetery.
  • 9:50 a.m. (approx.): Parade arrives at Webster Rural Cemetery.
  • The Remembrance Ceremony will begin at approximately 10 a.m., or whenever everyone arrives and gets settled.

This is always a very nice parade, and the ceremony that follows it at Webster Rural Cemetery is always moving. I highly recommend bringing your children to see both the parade and the ceremony, so they might begin to understand the huge debt we owe our servicemen and women.

And don’t forget that after the parade, everyone is invited to lunch at the Cottreall-Warner American Legion Post #942, 818 Ridge Rd. There’ll be hot dogs, ice cream and drinks for everyone.

The parade is organized by the Cottreall-Warner American Legion Post. Click here for a gallery of photos from last year’s parade.

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

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(posted 5/18/2023)

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Blue Star mothers host Baby Shower for Military

9 May

A week ago Sunday, 15 expectant Blue Star moms and new mothers were showered with gifts at the Cottreall-Warner American Legion Post in Webster, at a special Baby Shower for Military.

Blue Star Mothers are mothers, stepmothers, grandmothers, foster mothers and female legal guardians who have children serving in the military, guard or reserves, or children who are veterans. 

The event is organized annually by the Blue Star Mothers Rochester Chapter NY8 (BSM NY8). The group’s members have been collecting items for nine months in preparation for this year’s event, held Sunday May 1. Fifteen “Baby Baskets of Loving Care” were prepared, each filled with gifts for moms and their babies including baby clothing, handmade outfits, homemade blankets, sweaters, booties and hats, diapers, wipes, baby supplies, toys, homemade boppies and more. Each family also received a Diaper Genie and bouncy seat.

The Baby Shower for Military is one of the most important service projects of the Blue Star Mothers Rochester Chapter. Each year BSM NY8 honors up to 20 local military families, and for some of these expectant mothers, it may be the only baby shower they get, since they’re usually stationed far away from their close relatives.

This year’s shower was co-chaired by BSM NY8 president Amy VanDerwerken and vice president Jill Harris. It was held at the Cottreall-Warner American Legion Post 942 (as it has been for the last several years) which donated the use of the hall. The Post’s Auxiliary Unit also donated $400 for diapers and baby wipes. Additional assistance was received from the American Red Cross, Chili Chain Gang, Greece American Legion (and Auxiliary), Francis Hibbard Post 4658 (and Auxiliary), Hegedorn’s Supermarket, the Monroe County Department of Disabled Veterans Chapter 15, Target, Walmart, Donuts Delite, Schutt’s Apple Mill, Tops Friendly Markets, BJ’s Wholesale Club and Kinecta.  

Thank you to Jill Harris and Gordon Clarke for the photos.

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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 5/9/2022)

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