The South We dge Quarterly summer 2016 - volume iv issue iv FREE hello The South Wedge Quarterly A PUBLICATION OF THE BUSINESS ASSOCIATION OF THE SOUTH WEDGE AREA | BASWA Editorial Board Chris Jones bird & bees Karrie Laughton welcome, Katie Libby Rose O’Keefe Paula Frumusa Early July marked 40 years on Gregory Street for my husband and me. When we first moved here all I Bridgette Pendleton-Snyder knew about Rochester had come from Ripley’s “Believe It or Not” about the Finger Lakes being shaped Lori Bryce Toni Beth Weasner by the handprint of the Almighty. That’s it. Our move was around the time of the Bicentennial and I recall Deb Zakrzewski watching the Tall Ships sailing near the Statue of Liberty on our small black and white TV. [email protected] One of the biggest surprises of moving into our 1860s fixer-upper cottage was that there was a big ‘pine’ Art Production tree in the back yard and it shed its needles in the fall. I was sure I had killed it. Ends up it was a larch (a de- Chris Jones ciduous conifer) that had been planted at the same time as the beauties in Highland Park. I was so relieved neighbor. Brittany Statt that first spring when soft-as-silk, shimmering green needles emerged. Advertising Sales Manager Maybe the reason I’ve got a green thumb is because I’ve kept a compost pile for over 40 years. The truth? Nancy Daley | [email protected] Anyplace where I lived that had a yard had hard, dry soil in desperate need of help. That’s where free leaves Printed By and regular kitchen scraps came in handy. It took 10 years of compost to bring back that yard and after 16 PrintRoc | printroc.com years there, I was finally pleased with the results. Contributing Writers Philip Duquette-Saville Maybe a little bird sitting in the larch tree told me to study local history. I did get glimpses of it during 13 Rose O’Keefe years at The Wedge newspaper. What? This was an Erie Canal village? I was prompted by SWPC volunteer Paula Frumusa Dave Halter to write my first local history book and then decided to have a Regional History Fair at the Lori Bryce German House in 2005. Yes, I did get a bee in my bonnet to find out everything I could of what life was Rachel Leavy Bridgette Pendleton-Snyder like for Frederick and Anna Douglass and their kids on “Douglass Hill” as their homestead was once called. Don Alcott Leslie Zinck Ward Working on this issue of the quarterly started with interviewing Monroe County Parks exec Larry Staub Katie Libby which led to a sidebar on the Children’s Pavilion, an article on Mount Hope Cemetery and finally these Toni Beth Weasner Deb Zakrzewski words. Contributing Photographers While writing about the cemetery, I remembered two things: 1 – that I had borrowed Richard Reisem’s Stephen S. Reardon book, “Buried Treasure in Mount Hope Cemetery” so many times from the library, that last fall I finally Karrie Laughton Chris Jones shamed myself into buying it. 2 – back in the days when the city did not enforce leash laws, we often let Living Styled our dogs run loose there. But I learned my lesson; our second dog would make a beeline for Sylvan Pond Dave Burnet and if I didn’t get her back on the leash in time, we drove home with a happy, wet, and stinky dog. Argh! Gerry Szymanski Plus, I got poison ivy from our dogs for years before I figured out that keeping them on the leash avoided that problem. Double Argh! From the first summer in our second house on Gregory street, I’ve worked BASWA Board on replacing the front lawn with a few flowers and now a butterfly garden. Life isn’t perfect in the gar- your neighborhood health center Bob Criddle den, but it is good. As for those birds and bees, surrounded as we are in the Chris Jones friendly, affordable, accessible health care services – just down the road. Karrie Laughton South Wedge by the Genesee River, Mount Hope and Highland Park, I never Rose O’Keefe expected to see so much wildlife in a city neighborhood. For better and John Roth for worse we have squirrels, skunks, possums, voles, bats, occasional fox, Jim Wolff deer and wild turkeys, and my summer time favorite – blue heron! What being a good neighbor means to us: It’s doctors and nurses who listen and understand your needs. It’s Deb Zakrzewski care you can afford, and help when you can’t. It’s free parking and extended hours. It’s a bus stop out front, Rose and working with you when that’s not enough. It’s help getting you insurance, food on the table, and temporary © 2016 BASWA All Rights Reserved. The South Wedge Quarterly is published 5 times annually and is available at locations throughout the South Wedge housing assistance. It’s a pharmacy, lab services, and day programs all in one spot. It’s caring for all of your and City of Rochester or by subscription for $12 per one-year or $22 per two-year period. Produced and needs, like a good neighbor should. printed in the South Wedge. Content is also available at southwedgequarterly.com. contributors primary medical care COVER PHOTO OF LISA MEYER BY please view all of our contributors’ bios on our website at STEPHEN S. REARDON southwedgequarterly.com LGBTQ affirming care specialists in PrEP, Hep C & HIV and much more! PRINT ROC AD 259 Monroe Ave at Monroe Square 585.545.7200 | trilliumhealth.org engage: facebook.com/TrilliumHealth Now accepting new patients! 2 summer 2016 southwedgequarterly.com 3 people people by katie libby SWQ ASKS LISA lisa meyer photos by stephen s. reardon What is the last picture that you took on your phone? My floral center- piece from my last wedding at the Wadsworth Homestead in Geneseo Totaling the company car other wedding creatives like Meyer lives in Irondequoit and What is your perfect pizza? Anything vegetarian & wood fired. doesn’t usually translate into photographers and videogra- plans on “bonding with my If you could be any age for a week, what age would that be? an opportunity for growth, but phers. house again” after weddings 21, because I always liked getting proofed when I was younger. Wegmans in the case of Lisa Meyer, it Meyer operated her business season draws to a close. Some doesn’t count. did just that. Meyer was living in the St. Paul Quarter for five destination weddings to warmer The Beatles or The Rolling Stones? Definitely Beatles and attending college as an Art years before deciding to move locales may also be in her future. If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich? major in New Jersey when she the operation to the South If you’d like to make an appoint- I actually have to say its what I do now as a wedding florist. Its an amazing got a job delivering flowers for Wedge. “I love this neighbor- ment with Meyer, you can do feeling to know your art is part of someone’s lifelong memory. a local florist. After the crash, hood,” she says, “it has such so through the website, www. Are you glass half-empty or half-full? I surprise myself all the time that I her boss took the keys away, but a quirky, eclectic, vibe and I flowerpowerdecor.com, or by am glass half-full decided to teach Meyer floral thought what I could bring to calling 585-201-1866. What do you do to get rid of stress? Nicole’s Turbokick class at the RAC design. Some thirty years later, the table would be a good fit.” What’s your favorite way to waste time? Catching up on social media Meyer has opened up her own She’s a big fan of her neighbor, What musician/band would play the soundtrack to your life? Sigur Ros, wedding and event floral design Solera Wine Bar and Cheshire, for my dramatic theme music company, Flower Power Décor and when she’s not in her shop Where is the most beautiful place near where you live? Durand East- (653 South Avenue), in the you can find her enjoying a glass man Park What is the best room in your house? Why? I have always joked that my South Wedge. of wine next door. Meyer also favorite room in my house is my backyard. Its the reason I bought it. Its my Meyer loves the creative and provides some arrangements for little garden oasis. personal elements that go into the wine and cocktail bars. Where is the best place in Rochester or South Wedge to take a date? wedding floral design. “I like She keeps up with what is new Solera to be part of something that and trending in the industry What TV show do you want your life to be like? My all time favorite, Sex is creating a lifelong memory,” through Pinterest. “Everything & the City. she says. In addition to wed- is Pinterest driven,” she says, What book has had the most impact on your life? “The Food Pusher’s dings, Meyer also does corporate “my clients come in with Pinter- Cookbook” written by my brother, Chef Rick Melfi. Its a poignant homage to my events, engagement parties, est boards they have already family’s Italian heritage through my mother’s & grandmother’s recipes. It brings bridal and baby showers, and created.” Pinterest also offers to back so many memories.