The sun did not shine brightly this year, as it usually does, on the Village of Webster’s annual Memorial Day Parade. For that matter, this was the first year in recent memory that the weather has been anything other than hot, with clear blue skies.
Perhaps due to the threat of rain, this year’s crowds along South Ave. and Main St. seemed rather light, and the parade itself even shorter than before (and it seems that ever since COVID, the parade has been attracting fewer marchers). But that was probably a good thing, given the weather; the last of the marchers had just reached Webster Rural Cemetery as it started to sprinkle, so everyone had a chance to pull out their rain gear and umbrellas before it got too heavy.
The post-parade memorial ceremony was held as scheduled, albeit a bit dampened by the rain. All of the honored veterans and dignitaries huddled under one pop-up canopy, or by the side of the building to stay dry. The marching band members and Scouts weathered the storm, but in smaller numbers. And none of the Scouts chose to place flowers at the base of the crosses when given the opportunity, which is always one of my favorite parts of the ceremony.
It was a very nice ceremony as usual. It’s always the same every year, but the solemn prayers and speeches always manage to remind the assembled crowd what this day is really all about — not barbecues and family gatherings and a three-day weekend, but to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.
Thank you to all who organized and participated in today’s events.
Click here to see pictures from the parade and memorial ceremony.
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Are you a guy who loves to sing, or do you know a guy who loves to sing? Webster’s very own Chorus of the Genesee is hosting a Guest Night on Tuesday, June 4 at 7 p.m. at the Harmony House, 58 E. Main St. in the Village of Webster.
Learn more about the Chorus, who they are and what they do. There’ll be singing, snacking and socializing. Click here to find out more.
Yoga at the Gazebo
Molly Flaherty, owner of M/Body Webster, is hosting FREE outdoor community yoga classes in Veterans Memorial Park on North Ave. every Sunday morning from 10 to 11 a.m. through Sept. 8.
While there’s no charge, registration is required. Click here to register. This event is being held in conjunction with the Webster BID and Webster Chamber of Commerce.
Day of Caring at The Webster Arboretum
Thursday May 23 was the annual Day of Caring, and the Webster Arboretum sent along this report on what their volunteers got accomplished:
“The Day of Caring, sponsored by United Way, is the community’s single largest volunteer effort, helping local nonprofits with projects, or ‘needs’, that they may not otherwise have resources for. We would like to thank Carestream Health, TRSS, Rockwell Automation, Hillside Children Center, Excellus, Paychex and Bond, Schoennay & King for supporting the Webster Arboretum. (Thursday) these groups came out in force to weed, mulch and beautify the Webster Arboretum. Thanks to their hard work we look better than ever. Stop by and enjoy the benefits of their labor.”
And don’t forget about these upcoming June Events at the Arboretum:
Composting workshops, Wednesday June 5 from 10 to 11 a.m. or Tuesday June 25 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The presenter will be Barbara Cummings from the Wayne County Master Gardener Program. No registration is required.
Program about peonies, the “queen of flowers,” Sunday June 9 at 6:30 p.m. Arboretum board member George Riehle will give a tour and present the program, focusing on the care and cultivation of peonies and tree peonies. Please register at theWebster Arboretum website.
The Music at the Arb series continues this summer when Jazz Generation performs at the Arboretum gazebo on Thursday June 20 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The performance is weather-dependent. Bring your chairs, blankets, snacks and beverages. There’s no cost and registration is not necessary.
The Webster Arboretum is located at 1700 Schlegel Rd.
Miracle Field announces inaugural golf tournament
This is exciting news from our friends at Challenger Miracle Field. They’ve just announced they’ll be hosting their first-ever golf tournament on Monday Sept. 9 at Irondequoit Country Club.
The Early Bird Golf Package will go for $1,000 a team if purchased before June 30, when the price will go up to $1,100. Packages include a round of golf for four people, golf carts, lunch and dinner.
Sponsorships are available for individuals and businesses beginning at $200.
Click here to register for the tournament and click here for more information about sponsorships.
Special Olympics Returns to Schroeder Campus
This notice from the Webster CSD:
Webster Central School District will once again host the Northeast Monroe County Special Olympics Track and Field Day.
Student athletes from nine area schools will compete throughout the day on Wednesday, May 29 at the Webster Schroeder High School track. Opening ceremonies will begin at 9:45 a.m. with the New York State Police Torch Relay slated to arrive around 10:15 a.m. Competitions will begin immediately following. Webster Schroeder, Webster Thomas, East Irondequoit, West Irondequoit, Penfield, Creekside, Mary Cariola, Greece Athena, and Fairport high schools will all be represented, competing in a variety of track, field, and adaptive events.
New this year will be several unified events. Unified Sports joins people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team. It was inspired by a simple principle: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding. In Unified Sports, teams are made up of people of similar age and ability.
Additionally, Special Olympics NY will again offer more opportunity for age-appropriate sport activities for younger children. Their Young Athletes program, for ages 2-7, offers a variety of motor learning stations that introduces athletes to play and develops skills that lead to sport-specific movements and activities. Developmental Sports, for ages 8-11, is a step up from Young Athletes and focuses on skill development in sport activities. Both of these Special Olympics programs are designed to prepare younger athletes for authentic Special Olympics competition.
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After more than three years of TLC, including planting new grass, trees and flowers, and installing a new stone and memorial plaque, Edna Struck Memorial Park is looking beautiful again. On Thursday May 9, a dozen local officials gathered to officially rededicate the 130-year old park in honor of the village’s “neighborhood gardener.”
Edna Struck Park is the little grassy median on the east side of the village where Lapham Park makes a slight jog at the corner of Elm St. Those of us who live in the village and walk those streets have come to take the pleasant little green space for granted. But not everyone knows the park’s rather interesting history, or that at one point many years ago, it was almost eliminated altogether.
Back in the 1890s, where the park now stands was actually part of a baseball field. Russell Lapham owned the property, which he rented to local businessmen for a baseball diamond, complete with a grandstand and ticket office. Home plate was located about where Edna Struck Park is now, and the pitcher’s mound was in the front yard of the home at the southeast corner of Lapham Park and Elm.
The Town of Webster team used the village field for four years, hosting teams from all around the county, until the Lapham family decided to convert the tract into building lots.
As the neighborhood grew, so did the little traffic island park. Early photos show a peaceful green space shaded by stately elms, with a sign warning drivers to “go to the right.”
Even with that warning in place, the island has been known to befuddle drivers. In the late 1960s, Curt Gerling, then editor of the Webster Herald, wrote an article suggesting the island be removed after he had trouble negotiating the curves one night. Concerned about the article, several neighbors came together and decided the best way to save the park was to make it more attractive, planting crabapple trees and petunias.
One of those neighbors was Edna Struck, who lived on Park Ave. and became known as the “First Lady of Lapham Park.” For years, Edna carefully tended to the trees and flowers. She also took care of many gardens on Park Ave. and Lapham Park and the flowers at the United Methodist Church. After she passed in 1991, her neighbors erected a marker in her honor, identifying Edna as the “Neighborhood Gardener.”
The unpretentious little green space quietly beautified the Lapham Park neighborhood for more than 25 years, and in 2005 was designated an official local landmark. Then, in 2019, it once again befuddled a driver.
In February of that year, someone was driving down Lapham Park much too fast and, instead of navigating the jog in the road, plowed right through the park, mowing down the trees and plants, and inflicting significant other damage.
Once everything got cleaned up, efforts began to bring the island back to its original beauty, led by the village’s Historic Preservation Committee. It was slow going, but eventually a new design was drawn up, trees and shrubs were planted, and the stone and memorial plaques replaced.
And on May 9, Edna Struck Memorial Park was officially rededicated in honor of “our neighborhood gardener.” So next time you stroll by, pause a moment to appreciate this little park’s long history, and remember Edna.
Assembled local officials at the dedication
Many thanks to Karen Buck and Webster Town Historian Lynn Barton for the photos and background information for this blog.
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Webster’s Memorial Day Parade, kind of the unofficial kick-off to the summer season, takes place on Memorial Day, Monday May 27.
Here are the details:
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.
9:50 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.
9:30 a.m.: Parade moves out from Spry, down South Avenue, turning west on Main Street and proceeding to Webster Rural Cemetery.
In addition to honored active military members, auxiliary members and veterans, also expected to march in this year’s parade are the Webster High School Marching Band, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, firefighters and more. Click here to see a gallery of photos from last year.
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.
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All of your favorite special events are coming back to the Village of Webster this summer, thanks to the efforts of the village’s Business Improvement District (BID).
The official summer schedule was recently announced, with events planned pretty much every month beginning in June, through the end of the year.
Wine Walk fans will be pleased to hear that the next Wine Walk will be held on Saturday June 15 from 4 to 7 p.m. The logistical problems which caused the last Wine Walk to be unexpectedly canceled have been worked out, so put this date on your calendar now. Tickets will be available soon; keep an eye on the Webster BID website for when they do, because it always sells out.
Family Game Night and Beer Garden (Saturday July 27 from 4 to 7 p.m.)
Webster Jazz Festival (Aug. 9-10), featuring the New Prime Time Funk, Judah Sealy and more.
Health Fairand Shredding Event (Saturday Oct. 12)
Trick or Treat Trail (Saturday Oct. 26)
Bourbon Bash (Saturday Nov. 2)
Winter Wonderland (Saturday Dec. 7)
As we work our way through the spring and summer, more events will be added (I hope the Bed Races will be rescheduled), so stay tuned. The BID website will be updated regularly, so be sure to bookmark that, and “like” the Webster BID Facebook page. And of course, as I find out more, I’ll pass along the information.
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email me at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Instagram and Threads (@missyblog)
You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Subscribe” link on the right side of this page (or all the way at the bottom of the page if you’re on your phone).
Got a lot of sensitive documents that need shredding?
The Village of Webster is hosting a free shredding event on Saturday May 18 from 9 a.m. to noon in the parking lot behind Village Hall and the Webster Fire Department.
This is a drive-through event; volunteers will be on hand to unload your car. Paper only will be accepted, and staples DO NOT need to be removed. Paper needs to be placed in cardboard boxes or paper bags (not plastic). Limit is five boxes per vehicle.
This notice from the Webster Central School District:
The Webster CSD Annual Budget Vote and Board of Education election takes place Tuesday, May 21 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Webster Schroeder High School gym, 875 Ridge Road.
Good food is on tap at Heritage Square Museum on Friday May 31 when the museum hosts a chicken barbecue, from 4 p.m. until they’re sold out.
On Sunday June 2, the museum will be hosting an ice cream social. I don’t know many details about this, but I DO know that there will be live music between 2 and 4 p.m. featuring oldies and pop favorites from Cheap Datez.
Never heard of this wonderful living history museum just minutes from our village? Click here to read the blog I wrote about it.
June is shaping up to be a busy month at the Webster Arboretum, 1700 Schlegel Rd.
Learn the ins and outs of composting at one of two workshops, on Wednesday June 5 from 10 to 11 a.m. or Tuesday June 25 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Each workshop will provide instruction on how to be successful with home composting, including what can be composted, container types and troubleshooting. Once your scraps have been composted, you’ll receive ideas on how to best use this valuable resource. Plenty of time will be allotted for questions.
The presenter is Barbara Cummings from the Wayne County Master Gardener Program, an expert on the topic. Both presentations will take place at the Curry Building located in The Webster Arboretum at 1700 Schlegel Road. No registration or fee is required. Come early because “a rind is a terrible thing to waste.”
On Sunday June 9 at 6:30 p.m., join Arboretum board member George Riehle when he gives a tour and program about peonies, the “queen of flowers.”
George’s presentation will discuss the care and cultivation of peonies and tree peonies. Learn how to grow and care for this elegant flower to ensure beautiful blooms year after year. This is a talk and walk, and will be held rain or shine. Go to theWebster Arboretum website to register.
The Music at the Arb series continues this summer when Jazz Generation performs at the Arboretum gazebo on Thursday June 20 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Jazz Generation is Eli Behlok and Jim Allchin, an acoustic duo featuring the warm sounds of nylon string guitars. Eli and Jim create a welcoming ambiance with a unique mix of world jazz music, including popular American jazz standards, melodic Brazilian bossa novas, fiery Spanish guitars, bluesy French gypsy jazz and some surprising originals.
Because the performance is outdoors in the gazebo, it is weather-dependent. Snacks are available for purchase, but you can bring your own, and remember your chairs, blankets and beverages. There’s no cost for admission, and all are invited.
Finally, this nice story about how our local Girl Scouts came through AGAIN to support our deployed service members.
For those of us who ordered Girl Scout cookies this year, we stopped thinking about them when they FINALLY arrived on our doorstep. But the 13 third graders from Brownie Troop 60344 (based at Klem North) were just getting started.
All through April, whenever they set up shop at Walmart or Lowe’s, the young ladies would not just sell cookies to all of us who didn’t get enough thin mints. They also took orders for cookies to be included in care packages being put together by the Blue Star Mothers for our locally deployed troops, which will be mailed out in June. Service members love Girl Scout cookies, as you can imagine. And even after they’ve been bounced around the world, and even if they arrive in crumbs, they’re still treasured.
The troop has done this for several years, collecting donations for the care packages. But this year they went over and above, getting 263 boxes donated!
So thank you to the Brownies, and to all of the community members who stopped by the troop’s cookie tables this season and dropped some extra cash.
By the way, the same evening when we took the photo of the donated cookies, the Brownies were holding their regular meeting, where they worked with Mary Ann O’Mara to make 45 greeting cards for the troops, which will also be included in the care packages.
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May is National Historic Preservation Month, so it’s only fitting that for this month’s History Bit, we take a closer look at one of the Village of Webster’s most historic and stately buildings: the Harmony House at 58 East Main St., which celebrates its 125th birthday this year.
The Harmony House earned its musical nickname from its best-known tenants, the Chorus of the Genesee. However, the building is officially known as the Webster Grange Hall, and was built in 1899 as a meeting place for Webster Grange #436. The lot was purchased for $450, chosen for its location near the heart of the business district, where it had direct access to the railroad via Kircher Park.
The Webster Grange was one of the largest and most important local organizations in the history of the town and village of Webster. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Webster was primarily an agricultural community, the Grange served an important role in bringing farm families together for education, entertainment, and social gatherings. It was said to have been the largest Grange in the country; by 1930 the organization had 1,046 members (out of a town population of 4,778) and was said to have been the largest local Grange in the world.
In addition to the regular Grange meetings, the Hall was rented out for a wide variety of community events through the years including dances, movie nights, minstrel shows, festivals and a flea market. In June 1952, the Church of the Good Shepherd also started holding services there.
The Chorus of the Genesee entered the picture in March 1974 when the Rochester Chapter of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America purchased the building for $45,000. The Chorus has continued to call the Grange – Harmony House – home for the last 50 years. The building also still functions as headquarters for the Webster Grange.
The Grange Hall’s design and layout remain virtually unchanged in the last 125 years, and it’s recently been placed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. But it is definitely showing its age, and funds are being raised right now to begin much-needed renovations.
You can help by attending the annual Harmony in the House joint performance by the Chorus of the Genesee and Rochester Rhapsody, Saturday May 18 at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. For more information, visit the Harmony House on Facebook or call 585-259-3094.
Discover more fascinating bits of local history 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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email me at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Instagram and Threads (@missyblog)
You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Subscribe” link on the right side of this page (or all the way at the bottom of the page if you’re on your phone).
Two of Rochester’s premier a cappella choruses (which both hail from little ol’ Webster) — the Chorus of the Genesee and Rochester Rhapsody — will join forces (and voices) on Saturday May 18 for “Harmony in the House,” a musical treat featuring both choruses and seven different a cappella ensembles. The choruses will perform two 90-minute shows, singing together and separately, and quartets from both groups will fill your heart with a variety of musical favorites.
In addition to the beautiful music, there’ll be door prizes, raffles, a bar, snacks, and plenty of free parking.
It’s a harmony-filled musical treat which all happens at the beautiful, historic Harmony House, 58 East Main St. in the Village of Webster, home to the Chorus of the Genesee for 50 years. Shows will be held at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., and tickets are just $20. Click here for tickets, and feel free to add an extra donation (please and thank you) to benefit the Harmony House Renovation Project.
email me at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Instagram and Threads (@missyblog)
You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Subscribe” link on the right side of this page (or all the way at the bottom of the page if you’re on your phone).
The Village of Webster recently welcomed a new salon to town, and it’s a little different in a few big ways.
Shear Inspiration, owned and operated by Jessica Warren, held its grand opening last Friday, complete with balloons, lots of food, games, prizes and a photo booth. It’s located at 33 North Ave., which many will recognize as the address for Beyond Cuts Salon, owned by Robyn Whittaker. Jessica has actually been working with Robyn for five years, and has a dedicated client list all her own. So Shear Inspiration is not really a “new” salon.
The change in name (and signage over the front door) reflects more of an administrative shift. Jessica has bought Robyn’s equipment and responsibility for the building and retail side of things. It’s the next business step for Jessica, and a step closer to retirement for Robyn (who still plans to be around for a few years).
So there’s nothing much different at 33 North Ave. … at least on the outside, anyway. On the inside, Jessica has created a business model which you’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere else.
At Shear Inspiration, Jessica serves adults and children of all ages and abilities, but has also created an inclusive community space that specializes in serving the deaf and neurodivergent communities. She brings to her business many years of working with clients on the autism spectrum, and is committed to creating a safe space for them, including having an entirely separate sensory room which they can use at any time.
Jessica, whose youngest daughter is deaf, is also fluent in American Sign Language (ASL), which facilitates direct communication with the deaf community.
Jessica writes,
I’ve been involved with the deaf community since we learned my daughter was deaf at 1 year old. … I’ve been cutting the hair of my daughter’s friends since they were all little, some of whom also are on the spectrum. So through consistency, and patience, I’ve also learned a great deal about autism, the different ways it presents itself in children, and how to work with those children to build a relationship of trust and confidence so that they allow me to cut their hair. I have different methods for each and every child, as they are all different. The fun is trying to discover what works, and when it does, the joy we both feel!
I have many kiddos who come see me for their hair that are on the spectrum, so I felt having a safe space for them (for all children) when they come to the salon was important. With my own research, and trial and error through the years, I have found some great sensory friendly toys and learning tools and wanted to implement them into my kid space. I also wanted the feel of the whole salon to be calming, or “chill” as you walk in the door.
Thank you, Jessica, for providing a valuable service to an under-served population.
Shear Inspiration is located at 33 North Ave. in the Village of Webster.
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email me at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Instagram and Threads (@missyblog)
You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Subscribe” link on the right side of this page (or all the way at the bottom of the page if you’re on your phone).
The community is invited this Friday evening to welcome the village’s newest salon, Shear Inspiration, to 33 North Ave.
Jessica Warren, who has worked for Robyn Whittaker at Beyond Cuts Salon for five years, will be introducing her new salon to the community at her grand opening celebration, Friday April 19 from 5 to 8 p.m.
The event will have food, drinks, a photo booth, door prize raffles, giant Jenga, giant connect four, tabletop cornhole, goodie bags (first-come, first-served) and more. If the weather’s nice, look for some of the games outside. There will also be some ASL interpreters from RIT there to bridge the communication gap for deaf visitors if needed. The door will be open, so stop in anytime between 5 and 8 p.m., and stay as long as you want.
Don’t fear!!! This does not mean that Robyn is leaving the business. This is more of an administrative move. Even though the Beyond Cuts name is no longer over the door, rest assured that Robyn will still be there to serve her own faithful clients under the Shear Inspiration roof. So stop by and say hi to both Jessica and Robyn Friday night.
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email me at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Instagram and Threads (@missyblog)
You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Subscribe” link on the right side of this page (or all the way at the bottom of the page if you’re on your phone).
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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