Here’s an interesting little tidbit I came across several days ago, courtesy my husband, who was looking up the local weather forecast on Weather.com.
We are not the only 14580 postal code in the world. Turns out that Guará, a municipality in São Paulo Brazil, AND Gyeonggi-do, a province in South Korea, share our 14580 postal code.
Guará is a small city of 21,000 people in south-central Brazil, known for its … well, Feira do Guara gift shop. In contrast, 13.4 million people live in Gyeonggi-do province, known for its ceramics, the Hwaseong Fortress, and the Royal Buddhist Temple. We can assume that 14580 is not the only postal code they use in the area.
So that’s kind of interesting, and of course I started wondering if there were other zip-code copycats out there. I first looked for Penfield’s 14526, without much luck. But after a few more minutes of digging, I discovered my old 14609 postal code in Las Tórtolas, Mexico.
But then I had to stop for lunch, so I leave you all to do more investigation should you so choose.
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The Webster Garlic Fest is returning to the Webster Recreation Center on Saturday and Sunday Sept. 7 to 8!
This is a great family festival for anyone who loves all things garlic, and it keeps getting bigger and better every year. Somehow, organizers have managed to squeeze 140 vendors into this year’s festival, including crafters, food vendors, distilleries, wineries, food trucks and of course lots and lots of garlic growers. There are so many vendors that they’ll fill the gymnasium and spill out onto the Rec Center grounds. Many of them provide tastings and samples. (Click here for a complete list of vendors.)
But even if you’re not a big fan of garlic, there’s still plenty to see and do. Like, you can cozy up to some baby goats and alpacas, and even a huge 70-year old tortoise — and they all love to take selfies. There will be demos, Mr. Wally the Balloon Man will be on site, plus a comedian and entertainers.
And here’s something new this year:
You probably know by now that part of the proceeds from this festival benefit Wreaths Across America, which is dedicated to placing a wreath on the grave of every veteran in the country. If you stop by the Wreaths Across America booth and sponsor a wreath for $17, and you’ll get a free 12 oz. bag of fair trade, freshly roasted coffee from Costa Rica, courtesy Mission Coffee.
The festival will also benefit Blue Star Mothers ROC NY 8 and their efforts to support local military families and send care packages to locally deployed service members; and Gold Star Mothers Rochester, who support veterans in our community.
The Webster Garlic Fest will be held Saturday Sept. 7 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday Sept. 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Webster Recreation Center, 1350 Chiyoda Dr. There’s plenty of parking in the Recreation Center lot, and even more across the street in the former Xerox parking lot, where a free shuttle will transport you back and forth.
Admission is only $5, and children Under 12 are free. Click here to buy your tickets, or you can get them at the door.
Click here for a gallery of photos from last year’s festival.
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One of my favorite 5K races of the year returns to Village of Webster streets next Friday night, and I will definitely be there, as I have for the past several years.
It’s the First Responders 5K, and I especially like this event for a few reasons. First, it’s in the Village of Webster, so I don’t have to travel very far to participate. For that matter, since it begins at the south end of Fireman’s Field, I can walk to the start line from my house. PLUS the course runs right by my house. And a lot of my friends run this race with me, which always makes it more fun.
I also like supporting 5K events that raise money for good causes. The First Responders 5K benefits the First Responders Special Treatment Agency (FRST Agency), which is dedicated to helping first responders and their families deal with mental trauma.
The race is scheduled for Friday Aug. 30 at 6:30 p.m. It will BEGIN AND END at the south side of Fireman’s Field on Sanford St., and take racers through east-side village neighborhoods. Cost is $43, or $19 for active first responders (advance registration required). Each racer will also receive a t-shirt, and food and drink after the race.
My family will once again be setting up our “refreshment” stop on Fuller Ave., with water — and beer — so watch for our signs!
To register for the race, and for more information including a course map, click here . They’re also looking for volunteers, which is an easy gig and nets you a t-shirt, too. You can also find out more about that opportunity on the website.
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Here’s a nice feature about some Webster musicians who recently earned some recognition at the International Drum Corps Competition, held earlier this month in Indianapolis. A thousand thanks to Kathy Taddeo, who wrote the following article for me, and her daughter Tracy Dennis, who was at the event watching her son, William Small, compete, who gathered all the details and took the photos.
Miguel OvandoDylan HickeyWill Small
WEBSTER STUDENTS TAKE HONORS IN INTERNATIONAL DRUM CORPS COMPETITIONS
This year’s World Championships of International Drum Corps included several students and alumnae from Webster.
Thomas graduate and Clarkson University student William Small and Schroeder graduate and Fredonia University student Dylan Hickey returned last weekend from World Championship Drum Corps International finals in Indiana. Their Spartans corps, organized out of New Hampshire, has been touring the eastern United States for the last seven weeks. Spartans’ beautifully written and choreographed pageant of music and movement, daily grueling training and fierce competitive spirit led them to victory. They are now 2024 DCI World Champions, Open Class; that’s William and Dylan and some 160 other young people ages 14-22.
Watch for the Spartans next Thanksgiving; in recognition of their achievement, they’ve been invited to march in the 2025 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Here are some details about the Webster students who participated:
The Spartans Drum Corps, is based in New Hampshire. In winning the distinction of Open Class World Champions, they won by only .5 point, beating out nine other bands. Its members include William Small (Aerospace major from Clarkson) and Dylan Hickey (Music Performance, SUNY Fredonia).
The Bluecoats Drum Corps, based in Ohio, was named Champions in the World Class. They beat 11 other bands by more than a full point. Performing with this band is Miguel Ovando (Music Education SUNY Fredonia).
Jersey Surf Drum Corps, based in New Jersey, also completed in the World Class. They didn’t make it past the semi-final round, but put on an outstanding show nonetheless. Band members include Rafael Ovando and Natalia Lopez.
The White Sabers Drum Corps, based in Rochester, came in 7th place in the All Ages Class. Webster students who perform with this band include Aaron Albert, Jason Auld, Molly Jaeger, Alex Munsuy, David Nilmeier and Bella Olschweski.
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Today I’d like to introduce you all to the Webster BlueFins competitive swim team. I’ve been considering a blog about the BlueFins for a long time; perhaps seeing all the swimming events in the recent Olympics finally motivated me to do that. But having one of the coaches hand me a brochure at the Webster Fireman’s Parade and saying “You should do a blog about us!” also helped.
So, with brochure in hand, I started doing my research and checked out the BlueFins website and Facebook page. Those sites will tell you pretty much everything you’d want to know about the club, like when and where they practice, the age groups, cost of registration and the like. That’s all well and good, but to really get a sense of what this club is all about, you have to go to one of their practices.
So I went down to the Webster Aquatic Center last week to meet head coach Donna Johnson (“Coach DJ”) and check things out for myself. Before heading into the pool, we sat outside for a bit, and Coach gave me some background about the club. But she also gave me a sense of the quality of the young people who swim with the BlueFins. She kept using words like “really great people” and “remarkable individuals” who have fun together and support one other.
When I finally went inside, I saw what she meant.
The pool was alive with activity, 18 lanes filled with swimmers of all ages, repeatedly propelling themselves from one side to the other and back again. I saw smiles … LOTS of smiles. I saw kids laughing and chatting with their friends as they did their warm-up laps. One group of young swimmers was having a blast playing water polo.
Those are the kinds of things you don’t see online or in a brochure; the joy of not just being part of a team, but being part of a community.
Young Pups and Sharks play water polo
Swimmers from the Performance and Seniors groups
Coach Emily Nicastro with Rashmit Saini and Ella Khan
Charlotte Smith
Coach Emily Nicastro with Emjay Mykins
The Webster BlueFins is a competitive swim team for children and young adults from age 7 to college age. Right now there are 209 members, split into six different age groups. Most are from Webster, but the team also draws swimmers from as far away as Honeoye Falls and Mexico (east of Oswego). Practice is held four to six days a week, depending on the age of the child. Swimmers are encouraged to participate in local, regional and national-level meets, which average about two per month during the 11-month season.
Established more than 50 years ago, the team has always focused as much on the swimmers’ character as on the swimmers’ training. It’s driven by a mission to “inspire and motivate our swimmers to become champions in and out of the water,” focusing on core values of inclusion, accountability, leadership, teamwork and perseverance. And you realize they’re sincere in those goals when you see that nowhere on the website or in the brochure is the emphasis placed on competition and winning. Instead, this is what you’ll read:
Our aim is to provide a competitive environment in which children experience the joy of self-improvement, physical conditioning, discipline, and being part of a team. Particularly with the younger age groups, the emphasis is not on winning, but rather on self-improvement.
Coach DJ is also committed to taking that focus on personal growth even further, encouraging her team members to go out into the Webster community and give back by working with charitable organizations. She’s even found a way to help build leadership skills.
She said,
I put it in the hands of a couple of the older kids this year to see what we could do to give back to the community. The kids are really into it. Maybe I’m biased, but swimmers in general are really great people. We’re dealing with 209 remarkable individuals. There’s not a day that I don’t look forward to coming here because of who these kids are. … So I’m 100% confident that once we unleash that, it’s going to take off.
Interested in checking out the team for yourself? Registration is now open for a FREE two-week trial program, running Sept. 16 to 26. The tryout is open to swimmers of all levels who want to experience competitive swimming. For more information, visit the BlueFins website.
By the way, I have to share this photo, which I took at the 2010 Fireman’s Parade. I didn’t even know what I had gotten until I was looking at the photos later. It kind of sums up everything I said about how this is a fun-loving group of kids and coaches.
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Remember the good ol’ days when every morning before school all of the neighbor kids would gather in front of one neighbor’s home to wait for the bus? It was like bonus friend time, a chance to talk and laugh, compare lunches, maybe even put the finishing touches on last night’s homework.
Well, that doesn’t happen anymore. These days it’s more common for the bus to stop in front of each child’s home individually, even if they live very close to one another. In one Webster neighborhood, however, the memory of those days is not lost forever, thanks to the efforts of Blaise Midnight.
Blaise lives at 950 Shoemaker Rd., almost exactly halfway between the road’s west end at Van Alstyne Rd. and east end at Holt Rd. He remembers that back in the early ’60’s, when he and his brothers were just starting school, there were still orchards across the street, and a lot fewer houses than there are now. But there were still plenty of kids in the neighborhood, and on school mornings, 15 or more of them would gather in front of his house, all waiting for school buses to take them to Thomas High School, St. Rita School or Klem North Elementary.
“We’d all congregate here and mess around in the morning play a game or something until the bus came,” Blaise remembered. But his house — and therefore the bus stop — is at the end of a very long driveway, so when it was raining, the kids didn’t have any protection from the weather. So around 1962, Blaise’s father Gene built what would become the Shoemaker Rd. bus stop, complete with a bench and generous overhang.
That simple shelter would serve the school children of Shoemaker Rd. for many years, seeing them off to kindergarten, seeing them graduate from high school. But eventually, as the schools changed their busing policies, the Shoemaker Rd. bus stop wasn’t needed as much, and began to fall into disrepair, despite occasional upgrades.
Blaise said,
Originally, it was brown inside, and I painted it green years ago. Over the years my father had put roof on top of roof, on top of roof. It was crooked and leaning and it looked pretty shabby. My wife said, “Just rip it down — it looks like an eyesore.”
Then we happened to run into (our neighbor) Mrs. Dugan in the store one day, and told her we were thinking about tearing it down. She said, “What? You can’t tear it down! It’s a landmark. All of our kids have stayed there.”
So last September, Blaise took it upon himself to refurbish the old bus stop … much to his wife’s surprise.
“My wife was out of town for about a month so I redid the whole outside,” he said. “I just decided to do it and surprise her when she came home.” Fortunately, Blaise reports, “she loves it now.”
It’s possible the Shoemaker Rd. bus stop will never be used by school kids again. For the time being, though, Blaise uses it as a landmark to help direct people to his driveway (“there’s a bus stop out front”). He’s thinking about maybe, somewhere inside, inscribing the names of all the kids who used the stop as shelter through the years.
After all, they might be older now, but many of them still live on the street and remember it fondly.
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Even if you’re not a regular Webster Public Library patron, I recommend you go back as often as you can, because you’ll almost ALWAYS come across some new decoration or display or special event that will pique your interest.
Case in point: the library’s month-long “tiny art” exhibit set up in the lobby, next door to the Community Room. The exhibit is the work of Colleen Hernandez, Teen and Family Experiences Librarian, who organized it earlier this summer to give kids a chance to get creative and be part of their very own art exhibit.
So actually, the exhibit is not really Colleen’s work; it’s the work of 60 young people of all ages, who read about the “tiny art” project and decided to strut their artistic stuff.
Colleen told me she started advertising the fun event earlier this summer, when participants were encouraged to pick up blank canvases at the library and, well, decorate them. Artists had all of July to perfect their work, and then bring them back to the library in August for display.
About 100 mini canvases went home, Colleen said, and 60 were returned, all of which are now on display. It’s pretty amazing the different ways the artists chose to decorate their canvases, using so many different materials and colors.
But this is where we all come in: all this month, library patrons are encouraged to stop by and vote for their favorite pieces. The display will be taken down the first week of September, so make sure to get there soon. The winning prize? “Fame and glory,” Colleen said with a smile.
Beware: it’s a difficult choice, and the photos below really do NOT do these tiny works of art justice.
The Webster Library is located at 980 Ridge Rd., at the back of Webster Plaza.
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Like Lillian Witmer, owner of Witmer’s General Store, which anchored Webster’s four corners for more than 60 years. And Robert Woodhull, a Revolutionary War spy originally from Setauket, Long Island. And Luther Curtice, a driving force behind the beautiful and historic cobblestone Webster Baptist Church.
They and several other of Webster’s founding fathers and notable citizens were hanging out near their grave sites at Webster Union Cemetery on Saturday afternoon, sharing their stories as part of the cemetery’s 200th anniversary celebration.
The event was the culmination of a year and a half of planning and effort on the part of a small, hard-working committee led by George Baker and Beverly Wallwork. They were supported by a few dozen more volunteers, who pulled together countless details from recruiting actors and collecting props to putting up tents and ordering lunch. That’s not to mention the men, women and children who played the parts of our former Webster residents; they were tasked with remembering very long scripts, which they performed flawlessly, and — as you can imagine — many, many times over as small clumps of visitors worked their way through the cemetery.
In addition to the actor portrayals, there were also opportunities to learn more about headstone cleaning and watch the fascinating process involved in etching new names and dates onto headstones. And along the Heroes’ Walk, you could read short biographies about lots more well-known Webster residents buried at Webster Union, like “Charlie” Riedel and Abram Foster, one of Webster’s earliest settlers.
It rained briefly during the four-hour event, but that didn’t stop hundreds of people from wandering through the cemetery’s beautiful grounds, meeting the actors, watching the demonstrations and enjoying popcorn and cookies. It was an outstanding way to enjoy the beauty of Webster Union Cemetery, and learn about Webster history from the people who started it all.
Congratulations to the Webster Union Cemetery 200th Anniversary committee for a job well done.
In case you’re interested, here’s who I met on Saturday:
Willie ConantRobert WoodhullJonas Whiting
Willie Conant (played by Samuel Torrez); Willie worked as a brakeman for the railroad, but died when he was just 21 years old when his foot got caught when he was on top of a rail car.
Robert Woodhull, (Richard Keefer); a Revolutionary War spy from Setauket, Long Island, and member of the Culper Spy ring (but he refused to fess up to that). His family owned a sawmill on Woodhull Rd.
Jonas Whiting (Robert Palmer) a Minuteman in the Revolutionary War, he fought at Lexington & Concord, and after the war was given land as payment for his service. He lived in what we now know as the White House on Lake Rd.
Dewey BurnettJulia PierceLillian Witmer
Dewey Burnett (Jayvon Davis); Dewey was in Buffalo preparing to ship out to serve in the Navy when he contracted the Spanish flu and died at just 18 years old.
Julia Pierce (Izabella Wigdzinski); Dewey’s cousin. A Webster High School teacher, Julia was a suffragette and met Susan B. Anthony.
Lillian Witmer (Heather Schmidt); Lillian was a lifelong Webster resident and owner of Witmer’s General Store, which stood for more than 60 years at the corner of East Main St. and South Ave. (the former Jeff’s Computer store).
Minerva (Foster) Strowger (Deanna Burrows); she and her husband owned Nine Mile Pt. Boarding House, which later became a resort. Legend has it that rum-runners would pass by the resort and hide their contraband cargo in the hedges, which might be one reason the business is now known as Hedges Nine Mile Point restaurant.
Ebenezer Curtice (Dave DiFranco); a Revolutionary War private who fought at Lexington & Concord, after the war he started an orchard on his land, which helped establish Webster as a leader in fruit production.
Luther Curtice (John Schmeelk); Ebenezer’s grandson, Luther was a driving force behind building the historic Webster Baptist Church from cobblestones. He came up with the method of making sure that cobblestones were all equally sized, by pushing them through a hole in a board.
Following are some other photos from the day. And be sure to check out this great feature put together by Fox Rochester about the celebration, which ran on Good Day Rochester and features Webster Union President George Baker.
See the rum hidden in the hedges?
Cherie Wood (in purple) explains the process of cleaning headstones
Willie Conant (played by Samuel Torrez) stands by his headstone.
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A few weeks ago Iposted a blog about the Village of Webster’s new online newsletter, View From Main Street. What I didn’t mention in that blog is that the Village has also recently updated its website.
Right from the get-go, website visitors are greeted with some photos highlighting the village’s summertime floral beauty. Below that, there’s an easy-to-navigate menu directing visitors to several of the most popular landing places on the site.
Also on that home page is basic information about where Village Hall is located, the office hours and phone numbers, plus a quick-view calendar of events.
And that’s all. That’s everything on the home page, which is great. It’s attractive, clear and clean. No trying to fumble through a lot of information you don’t need. Just choose the topic you have a question about — meetings, passports, residential services, what have you — and with one click, you’re there.
Combine the new website with the new bi-weekly newsletter, and Village of Webster residents have two great places to get Village news.
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Webster Union Cemetery, located at the corner of Rt. 250 and Woodhull Rd., is one of the richest historical sites in Webster.
Farmland was donated for the first known burial in 1817, when a Webster child needed a place to rest. It was originally called The Burial Ground, Lakeside, Union Cemetery of Webster. Since this caused some confusion between other areas near Webster, especially Union Hill Cemetery, the name was officially changed to Webster Union Cemetery in April 1954.
In 1859, Webster’s first settler, Abram Foster, was buried there at the age of 90. He was the first of many prominent families to come, including the Burnetts, Curtices, Fosters, Pelletts, Woodhulls, Whitings, and Wrights. Veterans from the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War are buried there as well.
The cemetery is also stunningly beautiful. In 2008 it was awarded the Historic Landscape Award from the Landmark Society of Western New York, and was listed on the National List of Historic Places in 2022.
This month, Webster Union Cemetery celebrates 200 years as an active burial ground, and community members are invited to the party.
On Saturday Aug. 17 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., visitors are invited to stroll Webster Union Cemetery’s beautiful grounds and “meet” some of Webster’s earliest settlers. Talk to a suffragette fighting for women’s right to vote, a 1918 Spanish flu victim, Civil War soldiers, shopkeepers, boardinghouse owners, and even a Revolutionary War spy. You’ll also have a chance to learn headstone cleaning and preservation. Admission is free.
Webster Union Cemetery is located at 345 Webster Rd. (corner of Rt. 250 and Woodhull). Find out more about all of Webster’s historic cemeteries at the Webster Museum, 18 Lapham Park in the Village of Webster. It’s open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Visit the website at webstermuseum.org.
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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
webster on the web 