Earlier this week, in each of Webster’s elementary schools, a celebration took place which has always been one of my favorite end-of-school-year festivities: the graduate parade. This is an annual (non-COVID-year) event when our Webster Thomas and Schroeder seniors hop on buses and go back to visit the elementary schools where they began their Webster Schools career.
It was June of 2015 when most of these seniors last walked the halls of their elementary schools. But this week, as the class of 2022, they walked proudly through them again, and judging from the reaction of the young students who lined the halls in welcome, you’d think they were conquering heroes.
Nodding to the fact that it’s sometimes difficult to recognize these tall, mature adults for the freckle-faced young people they once were, each senior wore a sign with his or her name and post-graduation plans. As they paraded down one hall, then another, they passed hundreds of cheering and applauding kindergarten through fifth grade students. Every so often the parade was slowed when a graduate stopped to take a photo or get a long hug from a favorite teacher.
I was one of many retirees invited back to enjoy the parade of Webster Schroeder seniors at Plank Rd. North. I started working there after these kids had already gone on to middle school. But it was a real treat to see the joy on the teachers’ faces as their former students paraded by. It was especially fun to watch their eyes light up as they put a name to a face they hadn’t seen in seven years.
And the seniors? Every single one of them was grinning from ear to ear.
What a wonderful way to celebrate our seniors, congratulate them on their success, and remind them how much they have accomplished.
You’re going to want to make some time to do some shopping this weekend, as more than a dozen Village merchants move their business outside for the Village of Webster Sidewalk Sale.
All day Friday and Saturday June 17 and 18, you’ll find tables set up along East and West Main St. and North Ave., offering super deals on super products, perhaps some handouts and maybe even some valuable store coupons. Details are still coming together, but so far at least 13 shops are participating, and the list keeps growing every day. Here’s who’s signed up so far:
Crafy Christy’s Boutique, 7 West Main (lower level)
Curated by JUSTINteriors, 44 E. Main (next to Village Bakery)
Lala’s, 36-38 East Main
Nest Things, 11 East Main
Ohhh, Lordee! Everything Sauce, 5 West Main (lower level)
Orville’s Home Appliances, 185 West Main
Performance Hobbies, 15 West Main
rSalon, 28 East Main
The Modified Collective, 5 West Main (upper level)
The North Bee, 27 North Ave.
The Village Quilt Shoppe, 21 East Main
Village Handworks, 19 East Main
Whimsies, 32 East Main
This is going to be a great chance to get to know a lot of our village merchants better, have some fun shopping and get some great deals!
A small, student-run cafe has sprung up at Schlegel Rd. Elementary School, and it’s providing a lot more than just coffee and snacks for both students and staff.
The “OWL Cafe, Coffee and More” is being operated by the students of the One Webster Learning (OWL) Center, a small program serving Webster Central School District students in grades K-12.
The cafe, which has been operating for about a month, was first proposed for Schlegel by OWL social worker Kelly Petzing, who saw a similar venture at another school. She immediately recognized that “it would be a good opportunity for the kids to plan something, work together, and use different skills,” she said. It’d be an especially good way to reinforce the mathematics and social skills they’ve been working on all year.
So she brought the idea to OWL teacher Brennan Leva, and together they presented it to the students.
“They were all super excited about it,” Petzing said. So they started planning, working with the students to come up with a name, figuring out what kinds of jobs were required, what services to provide and what products to sell.
The cafe launched about a month ago, and the students immediately proved they were up to the challenge of operating a new business. They rotate among three jobs, Leva said: set-up, cashier and barista. Each presents a different set of learning goals.
“For set-up, students need to learn what things they need to get ready each day, and how to make a list of items that might be missing,” Leva explained. “The cashier’s job is to greet customers, count money and give change.”
The job of barista, however, is probably the most popular. This student listens for the orders, makes the coffee in the Keurig or pours the tea, and hands the drink order to the customers.
The cafe is open for an hour every morning and a half hour in the afternoon. Its menu includes hot or iced coffee, hot or iced tea, seltzer water and a variety of cookies, chips, fresh fruit and other snacks.
It’s a very professionally run business. Every employee wears a crisp blue apron, complete with name tag. Customers are immediately greeted with a polite, “Welcome to OWL Cafe, Coffee and More. How can we help you?” Orders are filled quickly, change is made accurately (albeit with some adult help) and if you need creamer or sugar, you’ll find it at the well-stocked condiment bar. There are even regular specials like half-off hot tea, or buy a drink and get a hand-made bracelet for free. They offer loyalty cards. There’s even an “Employee of the Week,” his or her photo posted next to the condiment bar.
In the short time the cafe has been open, the students have already shown great strides in self-confidence and even leadership skills, Leva said She added,
At first it was a lot of adult help but I think they can pretty much run it self-sufficiently. They’ve really taken over ownership of it. We’ve had some of the younger kids start training. So it’s nice to see that they took complete control of training them, told them everything they need to know, gave them aprons so they’re ready to go.”
A few students have even said they might like to work at Starbucks someday.
Schlegel staff members have embraced the new cafe with open arms, keeping the staff busy with orders for coffee, tea and snacks.
Consultant teacher Bill Ambler is a regular customer.
“The OWL Cafe staff greet me every morning with a smile and a fresh iced coffee,” he said. “The students are always so eager to serve and offer their recommendations. It’s wonderful to see some friends who have been very shy in the past come out of their shells when talking to staff, and a noticeable increase in self-confidence.”
Webster Union Cemetery got some long-overdue recognition last Wednesday with the unveiling of a brand new historic roadside sign.
The history of Webster Union Cemetery, located at the corner of Rt. 250 and Woodhull Rd., can be traced back to March of 1817, when the Whiting family lost their very young child, and a caring neighbor donated some land for the burial. In the following years, the cemetery became the resting place of Abram Foster, one of Webster’s earliest settlers, and members from many prominent Webster families.
Wednesday’s ceremony and the new historical sign, however, especially recognized that the cemetery is also the burial place of many patriots who fought for our country, including more than 600 veterans from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, Civil War, World War I and II and the Korean War.
Cemetery president George Baker and Daughters of the American Revolution genealogist Cherie Wood led the ceremony, unveiling the sign before an audience of cemetery board members, local officials, business leaders, representatives from VFW Post 9483, active duty servicemen and others.
The sign is the result of almost two years of research by George Baker, Cherie Wood and Webster Town Historian Lynn Barton. It was made possible with support from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation, a Syracuse-based organization dedicated to helping communities celebrate local history and encourage historic preservation through the placement of historical markers.
With installation of the sign, Webster Union Cemetery will also be added to the National Registry of Historic Places.
On Saturday, July 30 at 10 a.m., community members are invited to participate in a Revolutionary War Patriot and Founding Fathers Celebration at the cemetery. Active servicemen, veterans and Webster first responders will be attending, and the the Towpath Fife and Drum Corp. will honor our Revolutionary War Patriots with popular and well-known songs.
Mark your calendars now; this will be an event the entire family will enjoy.
If you were disappointed that Jimmy Buffett Night at Lala of Webster was postponed last April, I have good news! It’s been rescheduled for Thursday night June 9, and it’s actually bigger and better than the original event was going to be.
From 5 to 7 p.m., Lala will be featuring Jimmy Buffett-themed music, food and drink. Everyone’s encouraged to come dressed in your favorite tropical attire and bright colors, and escape for some beach-time (or at least beach-like) fun.
The party continues next door at Jojo Bistro and Wine Bar, which will have live music and be serving up some tropical drink specials (like a Strawberry Margarita, Coconut Mojito and a non-alcoholic Strawberry Breeze) and snacks (including coconut shrimp).
Need dinner? Across the street, Webster Hots will be grilling up a Cheeseburger in Paradise combo, featuring a burger and fries for $8 or two burgers and a large fry for $13. It’s the same burger served in the actual Jimmy Buffet Restaurant.
So make sure to head into the village this Thursday night and kick your summer off in a fun way. (P.S. keep an eye out for parrots.)
Lala of Webster is located at 38 East Main Street.
Webster’s two spray parks are now open for the season, at Ridgecrest Park (off of Ebner Drive) and the beautiful, relatively new, First Responders Spray Park near the Webster Recreation Center on Chiyoda Dr.
The First Responders Park (pictured here) is especially fun for kids and families. It’s a firefighter-themed playground and splash pad, with a nearby pavilion. The splash pad has all sorts of water-fun features including a fire hydrant, a dalmatian fountain and fire truck slide.
The SECOND sign of summer to which I referred is the Joe Obbie Farmers’ Market, which returns to Wewbster Towne Plaza (Target Plaza) this Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m.
If you’ve never been to this market you should start making it a regular Saturday morning stop. Varying with the season, you’ll find baked goods, pies, meats, poultry, goat cheese and goat cheese products, flavored nuts, herbs, spice blends, honey, maple syrup, cider, soap and body care products, plants and cut flowers, jewelry, crafts and of course a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.
This year the market is introducing something new as well, “An Evening in the Park.” Every Wednesday from 4 to 8 p.m. in July and August the market will also set up at Charles Sexton Memorial Park (formerly North Ponds), between Rt. 250 and Holt Rd. The evenings will feature live music and food trucks as well as the vendors you’ve come to know and love.
Events at Cherry Ridge assisted living community have been rather limited the last two years, but — finally — the free summer concert series has returned.
The series kicks off on Tuesday June 14 with the always popular GateSwingers Big Band, an impressive 19-piece band featuring music from the 40s, 50s, 60s, and present day. On Tuesday July 19, Mr. Mustard makes its Cherry Ridge debut. This four-piece Beatles tribute band plays tunes that captivated an entire generation and you’re sure to know (if you’re cool and hip).
The concerts are held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Gates open at 5 p.m., and food concessions begin at 5:30. You’ll want to bring your own lawn chair or blankets.
Cherry Ridge is located at 900 Cherry Ridge Blvd., across the street from Webster Schroeder High School.
June programs at the Webster Public Library
On Tuesday June 7 from 2 to 3 p.m., join Christine Simons for a digital tour of various Normandy beaches on D-Day. The presentation will also feature some French memorial museums, an American cemetery and memorial, and the Island of Guernsey, comparing how it is now to when it was occupied by Germany in WWII.
This summer’s Webster Library reading program for adults is called “Oceans of Possibilities.” All summer long, participants will enjoy ocean-themed reading challenges, prizes, book discussions, crafts and movies. On Tuesday June 21, stop by the library from 1 to 4 p.m. for a preview of the program, and enjoy some tasty treats. No registration is required.
Here are two fun crafts for teens and tweens:
Monday June 13, 6 to 7 p.m., a yarn wall hanging. Teens grades 4-12 and adults are welcome. Register here.
Thursday June 30, 11 a.m. to noon, come paint an ocean scene! All materials and instruction are provided. Teens grades 4-12 are welcome. Register here.
Here’s some summer fun for children and families:
Tuesday June 14, 10 to 11:30 a.m., The Marina Drive-in! Start off the morning in the storyroom decorating personal boats, then take a drive over to the Boat Marina (community room) to watch a short movie. You can even bring your boat home to continue the fun. Children ages 2 to 5 are welcome. Register here.
Tuesday June 28, 2 to 3 p.m., bring the entire family to play Ocean BINGO and kick off the summer reading program. All ages are welcome. Register here.
This month’s make-and-take crafts:
Watermelon craft (for the kids)
Rainbow-beaded suncatcher (for teens)
DIY shelf decor (for adults)
Materials are available while supplies last.
The 2022 Tour de Cure, the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) premier cycling event, is returning to Webster on June 11.
This huge events draws cyclists from all over the area, riding courses ranging from 12 to 100 miles. It’s the ADA’s largest fundraising event of the year, and they could use your help.
Organizers are looking for cyclists to participate, and volunteers to help with the logistics. The event begins and ends at the Xerox campus in Webster, and is very well organized. Routes are available for all ages and abilities, and it’s not too late to sign up.
If you’d like more information about participating, click here. If you’re interested in volunteering, click here.
This notice from the school district:
All of Webster CSD’s students need to turn in their school-issued electronic devices by the end of this school year, and in August returning students will be provided a new device for the 2022-23 school year.
The district’s Transforming Learning through Technology (TLT) initiative puts a Chromebook in the hands of all One Webster students grades 3-12 and an iPad in the hands of all of our K-2 students, so they may take the devices back and forth from home to school to extend their learning beyond the traditional school day. As part of TLT, the devices are replaced every three years. All Webster CSD student devices will be replaced this year.
Elementary students should return their devices to their classroom teachers by the end of this school year. Secondary students are asked turn in their devices according to the following schedule:
Spry and Willink middle schools – June 16 and 17 during lunch and June 21 before the Checkpoint exam.
Webster Thomas High School – return devices to the WTI room:
June 8, 8:00-11:00 a.m.
June 9, noon-3:00 p.m.
June 10, 8:00-11:00 a.m.
June 13, all day
Webster Schroeder High School – return devices to the cafeteria:
June 8, noon-3:00 p.m.
June 9, 8:00-11:00 a.m.
June 10, noon-3:00 p.m.
June 13, all day
New Chromebooks are being made available for pickup August 22 to 24, from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and August 25 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Willink Middle School, 900 Publishers Parkway. For parents/guardians unable to attend one of these dates to pick up their child’s device, student devices will be delivered directly to the students during the first week of school.
Lots of fun family-friendly activities are coming up later this month, including a village-wide sidewalk sale, the first Family Games and Beer Night of the summer, and the start of the Movies in the Park. Stay tuned for more details about all of these events, and stay on top of everything going on in the village at www.websterbid.com.
The Webster Museum has come up with a very interesting and fun way to learn more about West Webster history, and some of the people who lived there … and are buried there.
On Sunday June 19, from 2 to 4 p.m., the museum will host an historical tour of the West Webster Cemetery, featuring a dozen reenactors portraying many of the former residents who now rest there. The characters will be hanging out by their gravestones, awaiting visitors to wander by and hear their stories.
What’s going to be really fun about this day is that I have volunteered to be one of the reenactors. I chose to portray Martha Cottreall, who died in 1934 at the age of 72. I’ll talk about my life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and especially about the accomplishments of my husband — who participated in a famous Arctic rescue operation — and son, who fought in WWI. (If you ever wanted to meet me, this would be a great chance!)
Tour visitors will also hear from Angelina Aldridge (wife of John O. Aldridge), Ebenezer Cook, Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Drake, and Sylvester Brewer (who will talk about the Civil War and the Army of the Grand Republic), among others.
It should be a fascinating way to learn more about our town’s oldest cemetery, and to hear some of the memories of West Webster’s past, spoken by voices of the present.
There’s no charge to attend the event, but donations are always gratefully accepted. Attendees are being asked to park at St. Rita’s Church, across Maple Dr. from the cemetery. NO PARKING signs will be posted along Old Ridge Rd. and Maple Dr.
If you’d like to learn more about the cemetery before Sunday’s tour, you’re invited to attend a presentation at the museum on Saturday, June 18 at 2 p.m. when Peter Elder will talk about the cemetery’s history.
The Webster Museum is located at 18 Lapham Park in the Village of Webster. It’s open 2 to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
The Village of Webster recently welcomed a new business to East Main Street, and it’s already become an enthusiastic supporter of the Webster community.
Curated officially opened its doors on May 20 at 44 East Main, in the lower parking lot between Village Bakery and ROC & Soul Fitness. Those who walk through the door will find themselves immersed in what feels like a beautifully-appointed home, a comfortable, welcoming space decorated with artfully-placed furniture, decorative and functional home items, and gifts.
Owner Justin Brown explains that, true to the meaning of the word “curated,” his shop features a collection of items gathered over time.
I’m a mix of vintage and new pieces. In my design aesthetic I always intermix the two. I like to have mixed metals, mixed woods. … We have a lot of items from upholstery to lighting, special order, case goods, all the way to gift items for the kitchen and women’s jewelry. It’s a collection of pieces that I personally love.
Justin brings with him extensive experience in retail and interior design, having worked for American Eagle, Anthropologie, MacKenzie Childs in New York City, and most recently the Windsor Cottage Store on Winton Place.
When the owner there decided to close up shop after 21 years, Justin thought to himself, “I always wanted a shop of my own. No time like the present.” So he started investigating available storefronts. Webster was the first place he considered, and despite looking at several other locations, he kept coming back to 44 East Main.
“I wanted to be in a village atmosphere,” he said. “I wanted people to be able to get out, walk store to store and have a local mentality, not necessarily be next to a big box retailer or franchises.”
“(This location) really does have a neighborhood feel. Having the bakery next door, ROC & Soul, Lalas, it really gave me a feel of a neighborhood but still has lots of options for clients and residents to come to park, walk around and enjoy a sense of neighborhood.”
Pulling the new shop together was a labor of love. It was “raw space,” Justin said, requiring a full build-out, including framing, insulating, drywall, floors, baseboards, a drop ceiling and more, even before painting could begin. Construction delays put him behind schedule, so that by the time everything was done, he had less than a week to move in, get all the merchandise delivered and set up before his already-planned grand opening on May 20. But with lots of help from his husband, parents, sisters and in-laws, it all came together in time.
Justin has already demonstrated that he wants to be a strong village and community partner. He’s joined the Business Improvement District and less than 48 hours after officially opening his doors, participated in the first Webster Wine Walk of the season.
“It’s the least that I can do as a small business owner,” Justin said. “If I’m asking the community to support me, I need to support the community.”
“I feel it’s only right.”
Curated is located at 44 East Main St., in the lower parking lot between Village Bakery and ROC & Soul Fitness. Read more about the shop on their website and Facebook page.
Anyone who happened to drive by Thomas High School Wednesday morning might have been alarmed to see dozens of firefighters, police officers, EMTs and their emergency vehicles swarming around what appeared to be a horrific accident that had just occured in front of the school.
But they needn’t have worried. The realistic accident scene was actually a very carefully arranged and pre-planned mock DWI scenario. It’s organized annually by our local emergency responders as a training exercise, and hosted by the school district during prom and graduation party season as a serious, real-life lesson for our students.
The scene imagined a two-car accident occurring just down the street from the high school, at the corner of Five Mile Line Rd. and Publisher’s Parkway. About 700 juniors and seniors watched from bleachers in the parking lot as School Resource Officer David Herrle described what happened.
It was prom night, and the young driver of one of the cars had had too much to drink. The other driver, distracted by the friends riding with him, didn’t see the drunk driver bearing down on him as he made the turn. He was t-boned.
Somebody called 911, and emergency vehicles started arriving. First a police car, and then a second. Finally, after what seemed like a very long time, an ambulance, two fire trucks from West Webster, and two more from the Webster Volunteer Fire Department pulled up.
As the officers and firefighters surveyed the scene, they found that the distracted driver, who was not wearing a seatbelt, had been ejected. He was lying on the sidewalk nearby, dead. Firefighters placed a sheet over him. Another student in the car suffered a broken ankle and, after getting out of the car, hobbled to the ambulance.
The drunk driver was unscathed, and with some assistance was able get out of her car. Her three passengers, however, had to be removed with the help of the Jaws of Life, an agonizingly long and fightening process if you’re trapped and hurt.
As the firefighters were removing doors and cutting the roof off the car, the young lady who was driving drunk was taken aside by a police officer, given a field sobriety test and arrested.
The whole scenario only took about 45 minutes, but for those who were taking it seriously, they might be among the most important 45 minutes of their lives.
Acerin Menough, a Thomas High junior, was especially surprised by how long it took to get everyone extracted. After the presentation, she told me,
It took a lot longer than I thought it was going to take. I thought it would take maybe like ten minutes for them to get everybody out of the cars but it took an entire block, like 45 minutes to an hour. That was pretty scary, knowing that I could be totally fine driving and then somebody could hit me, and I could end up dying because of it. But I also found it very interesting seeing how they opened the cars and how hard it was to get into the cars.
But Acerin was also bothered by how some of classmates were behaving. When I asked her if she thought everyone else would take it seriously, she said,
“Probably not. A lot of them weren’t paying attention or messing around on their phones, which is really upsetting, because this could save their lives. A lot of them just don’t care and they don’t understand the impact of that.”
Speaking as a mother, I hope the message being shared that day sunk in at least a little bit with everyone. But I know that’s wishful thinking. Young people these days tend to think they’re invincible. Bad stuff like that can happen to someone else, but never to me.
But I couldn’t help thinking back to one of these mock DWI presentations I watched many years ago when I was working at Thomas. In addition to the student actors, the school had brought in the mother of the driver who “died.” She was standing on the school’s front walk when a police officer told her that her son had not survived. As any mother would when given that news, she collapsed with grief. As I watched, I found it easy to imagine how devastated she was, to feel the searing pain of losing a child. I cried, too.
I don’t imagine many high school students read this blog. But if you have one, or know of one, perhaps you can present him or her with that perspective: you might think it’s OK to be cavalier with your life, cut corners and take chances. But think what the news of your hospitalization — or death — would do to your parents.
Thank you to all of the organizations who joined forces to stage this important demonstration: the Webster Police Department, Webster Volunteer Fire Department, West Webster Fire Department, Webster EMS, Northeast Quadrant ALS and Webster Central School District. Thanks also to Wilbert’s U-Pull It for donating the vehicles and Barth Towing for getting the vehicles to and from the accident scene.
The entire scenario will replayed at Webster Schroeder on Thursday June 2 in the back parking lot.
Here’s a slideshow of photos from the event:
About 700 juniors and seniors were gathered for the presentation
The scenario imagined a t-bone accident not far from the school.
The driver of one of the cars was ejected and did not survive
Firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to extract some of the passengers
This student had just broken his ankle. Others were more seriously injured
This young lady played the part of the drunk driver. Here she is given a field sobriety test.
The drunk driver is arrested
Another passenger is extracted
To get to the last passenger, firefighters had to remove the car’s roof
School Resource Office David Herrle narrated the presentation. Here he watches the firefighters work.
The last passenger is finally extracted and taken to a waiting ambulance.
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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