Photo by Ginny Kropf: Bill Dunn and Kathie McMoil are longtime members of the Grove United Methodist Church, where they work together on fundraising dinners for the church. Dunn is the chief cook in the kitchen, while McMoil oversees the dining room. They will be heading up the church’s first turkey dinner since before Covid on Oct. 26.

MEDINA – Turkey dinners were a major fundraiser for the former Medina United Methodist Church, now the Grove United Methodist Church, until Covid hit in March 2022. And every meal for several decades always found Bill Dunn in the kitchen and Kathie McMoil taking care of business in the dining room as events coordinator.

The church is resuming its turkey dinner on Oct. 26, and Dunn and McMoil are already busy making plans.

Dunn got interested in cooking while in college in Kentucky and he worked at several restaurants there, including one at Churchill Downs, to pay his way through college.

When he returned to Medina intending to teach, he found he needed several more credits, and not wanting to go back to college, he went to work at Kodak. That lasted about a year and a half and he decided it wasn’t for him.

“I was in the dark room and I never knew if it was day or night,” Dunn said. “I liked to cook got a job at a restaurant in Clarence, and I also worked at the Basket Factory in Middleport.”

Then his parents told him there was an opening at the Apple Grove Inn, and he applied. He would work as an assistant chef for four owners of the Apple Grove Inn, including Walt Hilger.

When he started attending the Methodist Church, he stepped right in to cook for their dinners, which are major fundraisers for the church. Proceeds of this year’s dinner will help to pay off their debt, particularly the mortgage on the church, McMoil said.

The church had drive-through pulled pork and brisket dinners during the summer, but the turkey dinner will be the first to include sit-down dining since before Covid. The date is five years to the day since the last one. A spaghetti dinner is in the works for November.

Dunn and McMoil are thankful for the support they get from church members and the community. The congregation donated half the bread for the turkey dressing, while another 30 loaves of bread and 27 dozen dinner rolls was donated by Tim Oswald and Son, a neighbor who works for a bread distributing company.

The turkey dinner will be available for takeout from 3:30 to 7 p.m., while dine-in will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children under 12. They can be purchased at the church office from 8 a.m. to noon Tuesday through Thursday or by calling (585) 798-2142.

Photo and information form Medina Mustang Boosters

VICTOR – The Medina Mustang Marching Band competed on Saturday for the fifth time this season in Victor, where 13 bands performed in 6 classifications.

In SS1, East Irondequoit earned 1st place with a score of 86.35 and Medina in 2nd place at 81.60. Medina’s next competition is Oct.19 at Orchard Park and the championships are Oct. 27.

Photos by Tom Rivers

KNOWLESVILLE – Shea Hill of Albion and her granddaughter Lily, 4, work on a scarecrow today at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds. They named their scarecrow “Sally.”

The scarecrow festival is an annual event put on the Medina Lion’s Club. The festival started at 10 a.m. and by noon about 170 scarecrows were made. The club expect to top 200 by the 3 p.m. end of the festival.

People paid $12 to make a scarecrow which included clothes, straw, and face on a pillowcase decorated by Medina art students.

Matt Kreutz, a member of the Medina Lions Club, served as one of the “surgeons” and tied the scarecrow together. Stephanie Corke of Barre made the scarecrow named “Wall-Eye” with her daughter, Lily.

Students in Jen Scott’s art classes at Medina High School painted many creative faces on hundreds of “scarecrow heads.”

Kim McAdoo of Medina and her son Mason Rodden, 5, worked together to make their scarecrow. McAdoo said she is getting her Halloween decorations ready and the scarecrow will help them celebrate the spooky holiday.

There was also a painting station set up by the Master Gardeners. From left include brothers Mason and Carson Bale of Medina, and their friends Evan and Cooper Kyle of Medina.

Many of the pumpkins were donated by Panek Farms.

The kids were able to paint on the pumpkins using acrylic paint pens.

Toni Bradshaw entered these pumpkins – Freddy Krueger at left and E.T. at right – in a pumpkin-carving contest. She won first place with E.T.

Richard Gudgel of Hilton did a pumpkin-carving demonstration as part of the day’s events.

Gavin Mosher, 11, of Holley won first place for best decorated pumpkins. He painted these pumpkins to look like doughnuts.

Anne Moyer of Lyndonville carved a pumpkin to look like a house, and decorated pumpkins to look like the Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs. She is shown with her daughters, Josie and Addison. They received second place for best carved pumpkin in a contest run by the Master Gardeners.

The Three Little Pigs are shown inside the pumpkin house created by Anne Moyer and her daughters.

Medina native Adam Wakefield will debut his first book at 1 p.m. Oct. 19 at Author’s Note, 519 Main St.

MEDINA – A Medina native with a career in marketing is testing the waters as a first-time novelist.

Adam Wakefield grew up in Medina, a son of Mike Wakefield and Jackie Lundgard and grandson of the late Donald “Doc” and Janet Wakefield. He graduated from Medina High School in 2001, plays drums and considers himself a local history buff.

He has always been a horror enthusiast and admirer, and always wanted to write books.

Encouraged by his wife Megg, Wakefield wrote his first book, The Usher, which he will debut and sign copies at 1 p.m. Oct. 19 at Author’s Note, Medina’s independent book store.

The Usher is a cosmic horror set in nostalgic small-town America. While carding for his grandparents, Wakefield said he was inspired by stories his grandma told him about the theater in Medina.

“There has never been a better time than now to write a horror book,” Wakefield said. “There is a big appetite for it now. People like to be scared.”

He took seven years to write his first book, often getting up at 5 a.m. to write before going to work. His second book is in the works and on schedule to be completed in seven months total.

 “The next book is going to be very different,” he said.

The Usher appears at first to reminisce about an affectionate view of the Americana of yesteryear, but soon introduces a supernatural and thrilling twist. The novel follows the main character John Bradford, a lost soul at the end of his rope struggling to find his place in the world. Amidst his difficulties, a chance encounter with an impossible visitor from the past changes everything and sets John on a journey to save everyone dear to him.

“Inspired by Wakefield’s upbringing in Western New York and his personal experiences, this love letter to a bygone era blends cosmic horror with nightmarish sense of paranoid psychedelia and existentialism,” said Author’s Note owner and best-selling author Julie Berry. “A haunting tale of small-town America addiction and redemption, Wakefield’s debut is a twisting, dreamlike quest to set the wrong things right.”

The Usher is perfect for lovers of horror, fans of comebacks against insurmountable odds and Western New York locals who want to see their home brought to life on the page, Berry added.

The Saturday afternoon event at Author’s Note is free and open the public. Pre-ordering copies is recommended. For those unable to attend, signed books can be ordered at www.authorsnote.com.

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Brody Hoffmeister and his wife Jenna Pangrazio stand behind the counter in Rudy’s Soda Bar and Cafe. The business will be honored by the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce as the Small Business of the Year.

MEDINA – When Brody Hoffmeister and his wife Jenna Pangrazio took over his family’s business in 2020, they knew they would have big shoes to fill, but didn’t realize what a challenge they faced.

Now, with Rudy’s Soda Bar and Café being recognized by the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce as their Small Business of the Year, Hoffmeister hopes things are looking up.

Rudy’s was first started in 1988 by Hoffmeister’s grandparents, Joseph and Debra Russo. Then his mother Kelly Duffield stepped in and ran it until she died of cancer in October 2019, and Hoffmeister was thrust into running the establishment much sooner than he expected.

As if that wasn’t enough, soon after he took over, Covid hit and the restaurant was forced to close in March 2020. When they did reopen, it was for take-out only, and unfortunately, they lost employees and customers, many of whom have not come back.

The couple, however, is determine to turn the restaurant around from surviving to thriving.

“Winning the Chamber award was a surprise and humbling, and a much-needed boost,” Hoffmeister said. “We want to do what people want. I’ve spent a lot of time making sure this place survives.”

Earlier in the year Hoffmeister was on a path to change. Personally, he has lost 100 pounds. On the business side, he thought a change in the menu and décor might be welcome and he teamed up with a branding and graphic design firm to implement a change, a decision that didn’t pay off.

At their suggestion, he revamped the menu and began renovations to create a 1950s diner look.

He soon discovered, however, the new menu was not catching on.

“Sometimes you have to look through the forest to see the trees,” Hoffmeister said. “Our customers weren’t coming back. So we are going back to our old menu. Daily specials and homemade soups. Turkey dinners on Thursdays and fish on Fridays. And real mashed potatoes.”

He said his focus will continue to be quality over quantity and he invites customers to come back and check it out.

Overall, he said Rudy’s is a generational thing.

“It’s forging of bonds and the commitment of building something together that ultimately is bigger than everyone involved,” Hoffmeister said.

Of his menu he said, “If we are going to do specials, they are going to be good.”

Rudy’s, 118 West Center St., is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

MEDINA – Local veterans are urged to attend a meal catered by Zambistro at 5 p.m. on Nov. 8 at the Medina High School Cafeteria.

The Medina National Honor Society is hosting the event, which is funded by donations collected by the NHS.

Veterans and their families are urged to RSVP by Nov. 1 by calling the school office at 798-2700 or email NHS advisor Zachary Harris at

zwharris@medinacsd.org.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – A group gathers in the chapel at Boxwood Cemetery on Saturday evening for the third annual Boxwood at Night event.

The Friends of Boxwood Cemetery lighted up many of the monuments, trees and other parts of the cemetery, inviting the public to “see the cemetery in a new light.” More than 200 people attended.

Sandra and Tom Philbrick portray Susan and John Bland at the Bland family plot. The Philbricks now live in the Bland family home on West Center Street.

Mr. Bland owned several businesses in Medina, while Mrs. Bland was known for keeping a beautiful garden and maintaining an active social life. She gave Medina Memorial Hospital a good deal to acquire 10 acres for the hospital.

The event included nine different docents who portrayed people buried in the cemetery.

Miranda Starr portrays George Beach, who was born in 1842 and died in 1902. He was active in a pharmaceutical business and manufactured iron goods in Medina.

Catherine Cooper, Orleans County historian and retired director of the Lee-Whedon Memorial Library, shares the story of Mary Lee-Whedon whose father left money for the community to a public library in the 1920s. Cooper said the library has been a gift of knowledge and has helped strengthen our democracy.

Jessica George of Albion and her daughter Harper, 8, check out the extra large Lite Bright that was part of the event.

The street on the south side of the cemetery was lined with torches to help illumine the path when it got dark.

The cemetery took on a different feel with the colorful display of lights.

Reinhard Rogowski portrays the late Robert Waters, who was an active community booster and the publisher of The Journal-Register. Waters died at age 90 on July 29, 2015. He led the Medina Sandstone Society and helped find a new use for the Medina Armory, among his many community efforts. He also loved to wear a bow tie.

One of the stops included a display with a list of the 107 people buried in the potter’s field. Of those 107, only 28 have head stones. The Friends of Boxwood Cemetery would like to install a plaque in the cemetery listing all 107 people.

Frank Ferri portrayed Robert H. Newell who ran a high-end shirt business in Medina on West Center Street. The business at one time had 100 employees on three floors. Ferri displayed scissors, a thimble and one of the shirts from the factory.

The Orleans County String Band played Appalachian music while people strolled on the north side of the historic cemetery on North Gravel Road.

Shawna Baldwin portrays Harriett Davey and reads a passage from Edgar Allan Poe, the famous writer who died in 1849, the year Boxwood opened.

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Matt Hill, brother-in-law of Kwandrans Tae-Kwan-Do owner, Bob Kwandrans Jr., teaches a class in their new space at the YMCA in Medina.

MEDINA – A martial arts studio which began in 1988 on East Center Street has made a move to new quarters.

Kwandrans Tae-Kwon-Do started classes at space in the YMCA in September, said founder Bob Kwandrans Jr.

“We reached out to the YMCA, where Jesse (Cudzilo – the Y director) offered us the opportunity to work together and continue to offer a proven service to the community.”

Black Belts who teach classes at Kwandrans’ Tae-Kwon-Do are, from left, Matt Hill, Aidyn Jackson, Debby Farfaglia (who runs the school), Phoebe Kirby and Ross Tetrault.

Bob Kwandrans Jr. was 11 years old when he started karate training with Dick Borrell of Batavia. When he was a senior in high school, he started teaching Tae-Kwon-Do, and by 1988, he had opened Kwandrans Tae-Kwon-Do on East Center Street.

The family’s interest in martial arts stems from Bob Sr.’s training as a police officer in Washington, D.C. After moving back to Western New York, he and his sister started teaching Tai-Kwan-Do in Batavia.

Since 2006, he and his wife Johanna have lived near Fort Wayne, Ind., where he opened another Tae-Kwon-Do studio, and they both teach, along with their son and daughter.

A class of Tae-Kwon-Do students at Kwandrans’ Tae-Kwon-Do studio go through their routine at their new location at the YMCA. Standing at left rear is teacher Matt Hill, brother-in-law of the studio’s founder Bob Kwandrans Jr.

When he opened his first school in Medina, there was a handful of students, Bob said. Today that number has grown to 50 to 60.

His first location was a small room on East Center Street, and in 1992 Bob was able to secure a larger space at 115 East Center St.

Several years prior, Debby Farfaglia of Lockport had brought her oldest son to a class. Two years later, her youngest began lessons. Like so many students, the parents get interested because of their children, and Farfaglia began lessons herself, eventually getting her Black Belt. Today she runs the school in Medina.

What attracted her to Tae-Kwon-Do is the discipline, self-defense, balance and coordination it develops in an individual.

“I like to be busy,” she said. “I don’t like to sit around. Getting involved in Tae-Dwon-Do was one of the best moves I could make.”

Kwandrans said he has had the best people in the world on his staff, and called Farfaglia his “anchor.”

“I think the world of her and her family,” he said.

Farfaglia said they love their new space at the YMCA, where classes begin with Little Dragons. Farfaglia started the classes for children 4 to 6, and now Jess Sutch is their leader, who teaches them the basics at their level, adding fun and games.

Dylan Wood and Abigail Sutch, both 10, go to school together and are also in sports together.

“Abby didn’t want to come to Tae-Kwon-Do by herself, so she talked Dylan into it,” Jess said.

Besides teaching, Jess is also working on her double Black Stripe. The next step will be her Black Belt.

Mary Ann Wood’s children, Frankie and Dylan both take Tae-Kwon-Do and when her daughter asked her to join them, she did.

“I started because the kids wanted me to, and now I’m really into it,” she said. “I hope to get my Black Belt.”

Matt Hill, left, poses with Black Belts and other Tae-Kwon-Do instructors during classes at the YMCA. Front row, from left, are Matt Hill, Brayden Meakin, Judd Degenhardt, Sam Cammarata and Rosemary Kirby Second row, from left, are Collin Fritton, Patrick Grollmes, McKenna Fritton, Graham Kirby, Blade Moskaluk, Michael Manley and Easton Hornquist. Third row, from left, are Brody Brendlinger, Justin Kirby, Phoebe Kirby, Ross Tetrault, Debby Farfaglia (who heads the Medina facility), and Aidyn Jackson.

There are 12 levels to reach a Black Belt, beginning with white, Farfaglia said. Each level requires learning a different pattern, and that takes at least 24 classes.

Megan Johnson’s son Sam, 8, is in an Advanced Tae-Kwon-Do class and he loves it.

“He had a ton of energy as a little kid,” Johnson said. “His dad is a Black Belt, so when Sam was 5 and expressed an interest in it, we signed him up. I’ve absolutely seen a difference in his behavior. It has given his confidence a big boost.”

She said the move to the YMCA was a great thing.

“This is a wonderful place here and it is a wonderful partnership,” Johnson said.

Kwandrans’ brother-in-law Matt Hill is also a Black Belt and has taught at the studio since 2000.

“I was a late bloomer,” Hill said. “I didn’t start training until I was 33 and I’m 57 now. I enjoy fitness, but most of all, I enjoy seeing others improve and get the most out of Tae-Kwon-Do.”

(Left) Debby Farfaglia and Aidyn Jackson are both Black Belts. In the background is Jess Sutch, who just started leading the Little Dragons class and is working toward her Black Belt. (Right) A student in the Little Dragon class lands on his feet during a jump on the mat, while helper Aidyn Jackson watches in the rear.

“It’s been a great move here,” Farfaglia said. “Jesse has been wonderful to us.”

Likewise, Cudzilo is happy to have more of the community utilizing the YMCA’s facility. The space used by Tae-Kwon-Do was a multi-purpose room that had been under-utilized, he said.

“They have been having their belt ceremonies here for years, so when they reached out to see if our relationship could grow from there, I was thrilled to foster that partnership,” Cudzilo said. “Respect, perseverance and personal development fit our mission, also.”

He said welcoming Kwandrans’ studio to the YMCA allows them to offer the people of all ages in Orleans County the opportunity to grow.

“We strive to offer rich and diverse programs to the community, and this is a way to do that,” he said.