The Town of Webster has several beautiful cemeteries, most very familiar to us. But the smallest of our town’s cemeteries is often forgotten, even though many of us pass by it almost every day.
Robb Cemetery is an 8700-square foot parcel of land on East Main Street in the village of Webster, just west of Phillips Road. It is a true pioneer burial ground, with at least eight known burial sites dating back to 1823.
The land was originally set aside from the farm of Andrew Robb as a family burial ground – the only one in Webster – but other friends and relatives were also buried there.
For many years there was no indication the land held a cemetery – no signage, not even any gravestones. At one point, interestingly, one of the neighboring homeowners decided to just lay claim to it and paved it over for a parking lot.
In 2013, though, the Village of Webster officially took possession of the property, cleaned it up, and erected a handsome sign naming all of the pioneers known to have been buried there.
A fascinating little piece of that cemetery’s history now resides at the Webster Museum. It’s the headstone for Nelly Wood, who died in 1838 at age 84. It was found many years ago in the basement of the house just west of the cemetery. No one really knows how long it was there, or Nelly’s connection with the Robb Family. But it is a nice reminder of the significance of Webster’s very own pioneer cemetery.
Stop by the museum to see it for yourself any Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday from 2 to 4:30 p.m. The Webster Museum is located at 18 Lapham Park in the Village of Webster.
The Village of Webster’s very own Irish pub, Barry’s Old School Irish, is closing.
Danny and Jessica Barry announced the news this morning on their Facebook page, and it’s already spreading like wildfire. For those like me, who consider Danny and Jess extended family, the news came as a kick in the gut. Since Barry’s opened almost 12 years ago, the pub has become kind of like village’s living room, where families and friends came to gather for a pint, parties, live traditional Irish music … it’s been like a second home.
But while the news comes as a shock for us all, it’s an exciting development for the Barrys. It’s just the next big step in their journey which began with opening their pub and is now expanding with the production of their Barry’s Irish Cream.
The Barrys have been working on their Irish Cream brand for a good year now, and most of us know they’ve arranged to have it produced in Ireland. But they’ve been struggling with finding enough time and space to both run the pub and start marketing their Irish Cream full-time here in the states. The only way to do that is to expand.
So the good news is, Barry’s Old School Irish is not closing forever. It’s just going to be moving, to a bigger location where Danny and Jess can work together to continue to fulfill their original dream — running a traditional, family-oriented Irish pub — while also building their new dream of selling their original Irish cream. Even better news is they’re looking to find a place in Webster, and that is, Danny said, “100% guaranteed.”
The timeline for the move is still up in the air, but we do know that the last day for Barry’s Old School Irish as we now know it will be in September, so stay tuned for more about the big party planned that day. In the meantime, visit the Barry’s Old School Irish Facebook page, where Danny and Jess will tell you more about their exciting news.
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Here’s another nice story about how a local business is doing great things to help the community — in this case the global community.
On the third Tuesday of every month, Vanetta Parshall and Monique Liberti, owners of the Village Quilt Shoppe, host a “charity day.” For four hours, a handful of crafters sit around the tables at the back of the shop, carefully cutting and sorting hundreds of small fabric squares. The squares are then assembled into individual quilting kits, which are packaged up and shipped to Honduras.
Their destination is an foundation called One Common Thread, whose mission is to help Honduran women make quilts, which they can then sell to support their families.
Monique explained that the lap-sized quilts are created by English Paper Piecing, a method especially designed for hand-sewing, a necessary requirement for Honduran women who often don’t have a sewing machine, let alone electricity. The Quilt Shoppe volunteers work from patterns specifying how many of each color piece are required for each quilt, cut them all, separate them by color, then sort them into individual quilt kits.
Depending on how many helpers show up, Monique said, she can assemble and ship as many as six kits every month.
Monique and Vanetta began holding their charity days about two and a half years ago, after one of their former employees brought One Common Thread to their attention. They’ve adapted their efforts along the way as they’ve learned the most efficient ways to help.
“At first we had people drop off fabric, and we would just send fabric,” Monique said. “But upon talking with them we found it was more beneficial to cut the fabric up. So then we would send them squares. Then we realized we could print the patterns out and make kits.”
She estimates that the first year they shipped more than 50 yards of fabric. Then, thousands of pre-cut squares the following year, and about 30 kits since then. And they’re not planning to slow down anytime soon.
“Being a small business owned by two women, we want to help other women have a better life,” Monique said. “We try to look for charities where we help women empower their lives.”
Vanetta and Monique welcome anyone to stop in on Charity Tuesdays to help out. You don’t need any quilting or even crafting experience, since most of the work involves sorting squares into kits. The next one is on Aug. 15, beginning at 10:30. If you’d like to help out at home, you can pop in and pick up a bag of fabric, complete with instructions, to cut into squares.
They also take donations of thread and hand-sewing needles, and monetary donations to help with shipping. (No fabric donations, thanks — they have plenty of fabric!)
The Village Quilt Shoppe is located at 21 East Main St. in the Village of Webster. To learn more, check out their website here or call (585) 626-6916. And definitely log onto the One Common Thread website to see some of the beautiful finished quilts and the women who are benefiting from them. You’ll also read about other ways you can help this wonderful organization.
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I don’t usually post two blogs in the same day, but I found out some exciting news yesterday.
I happened upon the Uncle Buck’s food truck serving up dinners at the Joe Obbie Farmers’ Market at Charles Sexton Park, where Geoff and Carrie Buckert told me that they’re finally ready to open the doors of their new scratch kitchen to the public.
Well, kind of.
They’re starting out slow, for now opening just one day a week, for their Fish Fry Fridays(and more)! Every Friday (starting this week, July 21), you can get a battered or broiled fish fry, their famous boardwalk fries (or baked potato) and coleslaw for $17. Or if fish isn’t your thing, there will be several other items on the menu each week. Check out this week’s menu below.
The fish fries will be served from 4:30 to 8:30, and I have a feeling they’re going to be very popular, so you might want to call ahead.
Uncle Buck’s is located at 9 South Ave., in the former Carl’s Pizza Kitchen location. For more information, check out their website or Facebook page.
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The Webster Business Improvement District (BID) has a few great events on the schedule this weekend, and has just announced the exciting return in September of the Bed Race!
First up is the next Friday Night Concert at the gazebo on North Ave. This week’s concert features Tom Keefer and Celtic Cross, a Celtic rock band playing music from Ireland and Scotland. Celtic Cross is a regular visitor to Barry’s Old School Irish, so you may have seen them there and already know that they pack a lot of energy.
Next Friday, the Friday night concert will feature the Beatles tribute band 8 Days a Week. Visit the Webster BID website for additional dates.
This Saturday night July 22, mark your calendar for the BID’s first Family Games Night. In the past, these very popular family fun nights took place on Main Street, but this one has moved to Gazebo Park, where the Friday night concerts happen.
There will be plenty for both kids and adults to enjoy, including Zumba for the kids (and adults), some fun activities from Roc Dance, sidewalk chalk, giant Jenga, giant Connect Four, Cornhole and more.
It all happens Saturday from 4 to 7 p.m. at Gazebo Park.
AND THIS JUST IN!
Details have just been announced for the Bed Race, which is returning to East Main Street on Sept. 16. Here’s the announcement from the BID website:
The Bed Race is back!! Grab 4 friends or family members as runners and one “sleeper”(5 people total) and construct a bed to race an obstacle course on East Main St in the Village of Webster. Hosted by the Business Improvement District along with Webster Rotary, Webster Lions Club and Webster Kiwanis, this event is to help raise money for the Webster Community Chest. Merchants on Main St will also be celebrating with a Sidewalk Sale on the day of the event. The Junior event is for ages 14-19 years and will be run separately from the senior event.
I’ll post more details soon, but in the meantime, visit the BID website for rules and registration information.
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Despite a heavy downpour earlier in the day and some rather threatening clouds in the west around parade time, the weather was pretty spectacular for this year’s Firemen’s Parade Thursday night. Thousands of people lined Main Street to watch the annual spectacle.
The parade, which lasted about 75 minutes, was heavy on fire trucks and emergency vehicles, much to the delight of the children in the audience. Several local businesses and community agencies also took part, throwing candy by the handful along the way — much to the delight of the children in the audience.
As usual, I took a few photos. Click here for a full gallery.
The Village of Webster is charming pretty much all year, but it’s particularly beautiful during the summer months.
This time of year the flower beds are in full bloom, the big planters lining the streets have grown tall, and the hanging baskets on the light poles are overflowing with color. The Village Hall gardens are looking spectacular, as are the flowering shrubs and gardens down at the little pocket park at North Ave. and Rt. 104, welcoming visitors to the village.
Maintaining all of these plantings takes a lot of time and effort. On my morning walks I often see the watering guy puttering around town in his golf cart, diligently poking a watering wand up into each and every planter and hanging basket.
So thank you, Village employees for keeping our little corner of the world so beautiful. Your efforts are appreciated.
I heard some news the other day about one of our village’s newest businesses, Revelle’s Home Decor, and it’s kind of a good news/bad news situation.
The GOOD news is that business is good for Revelle’s. The BAD news is that means they’ve already outgrown their new place on East Main Street.
Revelle’s Home Decor only opened two months ago at 5 East Main, right next to the (also brand new) M.O. Pasta. I stopped in there several times and always had a wonderful chat with owner Peggy Revelle, who clearly was looking forward to becoming an integral part of the local business scene and participating in Village events.
So the loss of Revelle’s is really a loss for the village. But, as I said, this is good news for the family-owned business. Clearly, business has been so good that they’ve already realized they need more space for all the things they want to do, including featuring more new furniture and local crafters and vendors. Peggy also said their paint parties have really taken off, and they need a lot more space for them.
Revelle’s has already found a new space in Ontario at 1864 Rt. 104 East, less than a mile east of Ontario Center Rd.
In anticipation of the move, Revelle’s Home Decor’s Webster Village store is now closed. But in just a few weeks — sometime in August — you can visit their much bigger shop in Ontario, just 10 minutes down Rt. 104.
In the meantime, another business is already planning to move into the empty Revelle’s space, so stay tuned for news about that.
The Village of Webster summer season officially kicks off this Friday July 7 with the first in the Friday Night Gazebo Concert series, featuring the Red Hot and Blue Band.
RHB plays Americana, Roots, and Blues Rock music that will get you dancing and bring back a lot of great memories.
The concerts begin at 7 p.m. at the gazebo on North Ave. and admission is free. Bring the whole family, some folding chairs and a blanket, and a cooler if you’d like, then enjoy some beautiful music.
Here’s a quick look at what else is being planned in the village this summer. For more information about all of these events and more, visit websterbid.com.
We are seeing more Webster households in need of assistance with food and hygiene items. Therefore, we are having a food and garage sale donation drive-up on Saturday, July 22 from 10-noon.
Hope volunteers will be collecting items behind Holy Trinity Church, 1460 Ridge Road, near the Knights of Columbus building. Tax receipts available on request. We suggest entering from Phillips Road, and drop-off for garage sale and food donations will be on your right. You don’t even need to leave your car.
Garage sale is scheduled for Sept. 13 to 16. More to come about that.
That same evening, Saturday July 22, Hope is holding a fundraiser at the Panera restaurant in Towne Center Plaza, from 4 to 8 p.m. Just mention Webster Hope as you order and Hope will receive a donation to help low-income Webster residents.
Covid couldn’t deter the Class of ’71
Thanks to the pandemic, the RL Thomas Class of ’71 had to postpone their 50th reunion. But undeterred, they they decided to throw themselves a 70th birthday party instead.
The event was held on Saturday June 24 at Schutt’s Apple Mill, and featured food trucks, two alumni bands, a cornhole tournament, foosball tables, horseshoes, hay rides, and a memorabilia table. More than 160 folks attended, and for six hours played games and did a lot of talking and reminiscing.
Thanks to Dave Eckler for the report and photos!
The R.L. Thomas Class of ’71 will be holding a 70th Birthday Bash on Saturday June 24 at Schutt’s Apple Mill from 5 to 7 p.m. Thanks to COVID, the class was unable to hold its 50th reunion, so they’ve decided to celebrate their 70 birthdays together instead.
These concerts benefit local nonprofit organizations. The first one, scheduled for Wednesday July 12, will feature Allegro, and proceeds will benefit the Webster Hope Food Pantry. (See the flier below for the whole schedule.)
There’s no admission, but each week the church collects a free-will offering benefiting that week’s chosen non-profit organization.
The concerts all begin at 6:30 p.m., and food concessions begin at 6. The concerts are held on the United Church of Christ front lawn, at 570 Klem Rd. (In case of rain it’s moved indoors.)
For more information about the concerts, click here.
More concerts, more concerts, more concerts
The Summer Concert Series at Cherry Ridge is in full swing. The next concert is scheduled for Tuesday July 11, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., featuring Eight Days a Week. The concerts are held outside, and the grounds open up at 5 p.m. with food available for purchase. So bring your lawn chair and enjoy some beautiful music.
On August 8, the GateSwingers Big Band will perform, also beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Did you see those two massive tanks that were creeping through town last night?
They came through Four Corners about 6:45, heading west down Main Street accompanied by a huge escort, including state troopers. The first tank to come through actually clipped the traffic light, causing the whole procession to come to a stop until a support crew with a cherry-picker could get up there and physically lift the wire up so the trucks could fit under.
When I posted this on my Facebook page last night, the theories as to what they might be and where they were going ranged from the serious to the farcical, including wind turbine parts, grain silos, submarines or the new Elon Musk rides for the Carnival.
But a few people were able to find out the real answer, including my friend George Baker, who spoke to one of the escort drivers. Apparently the tanks were destined for a downtown brewery.
Which means my friend Andrew actually came pretty close when he said to me, “I told my wife I would only have one drink tonight. I’m glad it finally arrived.”
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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