Stir it Up

we're cookin'

Blue Tomato developed the branding for The Red House. This 150 year old mansion in western New York was once part of the UnderGround Railroad System. Today, it has been converted into an event center with proceeds going to benefit youth development programs in the area. The article below, features the owners, Steve and Nancy Wickmark and the generosity they shared with a 13 year old Babe Ruth World Series baseball team from Queens, New York, that needed a place to crash.

As featured in the THE POST-JOURNAL, JAMESTOWN, New York - August 16, 2008

With Open Arms

By Scott Kindberg

The city of Jamestown was the first community in the nation to host a Babe Ruth 13-year-old World Series 28 years ago.

Thanks to the assistance of Steve and Nancy Wickmark of Cassadaga, New York, history is being made again.

''With one swing of the bat, they solved a major problem for us,'' host president Russell E. Diethrick Jr. said.

Steve and Nancy Wickmark welcome two Babe Ruth baseball players.

In other words, the Wickmarks, who returned to live in Chautauqua County from Seattle just last month, have hit a figurative home run by opening an unoccupied 15-room French colonial home they own on the shores of Cassadaga Lake so that it can house one of the World Series teams.

The beneficiaries of the couple's generosity are the Jamestown Babe Ruth World Series Committee, which had been scrambling for host families and, most importantly, a group of young men from College Point, N.Y.

''I saw (the article in The Post-Journal a few weeks ago), and it said they needed multiple homes,'' Steve said. ''I thought, 'I've got a home, but it holds multiple people.' It's huge.''

Built in 1860 and once part of the Underground Railroad system, the home has been completely restored and it sits on 6 acres about 400 yards from the ninth green at Cassadaga Lakes Country Club on Frisbee Road.

''We got it for the Chautauqua County community to use for youth purposes,'' said Steve, who was formerly the director of operations for the child welfare system in the state of Washington. ''We want to host events, and any money that we receive from it is going to be recycled into youth development programs.''

For the next eight days, however, the kids from the borough of Queens will be the Wickmarks' first guests.

''It's ahead of schedule,'' Steve said as he enjoyed a picnic dinner Thursday evening at Jamestown Community College, courtesy of the East Side Fellowship, while awaiting the arrival of the Mid-Atlantic Regional champions. ''We weren't going to be doing anything until spring, but we saw this notice and thought, 'Well, we said we were going to do something for youth.' This seemed like the right way to jump in.''

To make it all possible, five team mothers will be staying with the 13 boys in the house and will cook their meals. Meanwhile, the Cassadaga community has opened its collective arms to help, too. For example, Nordy's Pizza, Cassadaga Lakes Country Club, Grandma's Family Kitchen and Cassadaga Shurfine will all be providing a free meal for the team.

''Everybody we've asked has said, 'Absolutely,' '' Steve said.

In addition, beds have been donated and are on the home's first floor.

''Two of the living rooms are for the sleeping area,'' Steve said, ''and we've got the dining room set up, and they can all eat at one table.''

Nelson Santiago, the manager of the College Point team, was appreciative of the local committee's efforts and the generosity of the Wickmarks.

''I think this is wonderful, it's awesome,'' he said.

Pat Ohl, the co-chairman of the host family committee with Kathy McMaster, agreed.

''It just all fell together,'' she said. ''This is the first time this has ever been done. I told the boys we had the first 13-year-old World Series (in 1980) and this is the first time we've put all the boys in one house that somebody donated out. We'll be talking about them for years.''

The Wickmarks, who live in another home in Cassadaga, preferred to deflect any attention.

''I look at it this way,'' Steve said. ''Two months ago, I was responsible for a child welfare system and I had almost 9,000 kids in foster care that I was responsible for. What's 13 ballplayers?"

''Everybody said we're doing a great thing. We're not doing anything. We're just making a house available.''

"MY HOUSE IS WORTH WHAT?!"

The episode featuring Kim on the HGTV show, will air in late March - early April. We'll keep you posted!

Stir it Up

With Open Arms

"MY HOUSE IS WORTH WHAT?!"

Have a Spoonful

cedar house rule

Who's Getting Sauced?

Looking for a Great Recipe?


Stir it Up we're cookin' Blue Tomato developed the branding for The Red House. This 150 year old mansion in western New York was once part of the UnderGround Railroad System. Today, it has been converted into an event center with proceeds going to benefit youth development programs in the area. The article below, features the owners, Steve and Nancy Wickmark and the generosity they shared with a 13 year old Babe Ruth World Series baseball team from Queens, New York, that needed a place to crash. As featured in the THE POST-JOURNAL, JAMESTOWN, New York - August 16, 2008 With Open Arms By Scott Kindberg The city of Jamestown was the first community in the nation to host a Babe Ruth 13-year-old World Series 28 years ago. Thanks to the assistance of Steve and Nancy Wickmark of Cassadaga, New York, history is being made again. ''With one swing of the bat, they solved a major problem for us,'' host president Russell E. Diethrick Jr. said. Steve and Nancy Wickmark welcome two Babe Ruth baseball players. In other words, the Wickmarks, who returned to live in Chautauqua County from Seattle just last month, have hit a figurative home run by opening an unoccupied 15-room French colonial home they own on the shores of Cassadaga Lake so that it can house one of the World Series teams. The beneficiaries of the couple's generosity are the Jamestown Babe Ruth World Series Committee, which had been scrambling for host families and, most importantly, a group of young men from College Point, N.Y. ''I saw (the article in The Post-Journal a few weeks ago), and it said they needed multiple homes,'' Steve said. ''I thought, 'I've got a home, but it holds multiple people.' It's huge.'' Built in 1860 and once part of the Underground Railroad system, the home has been completely restored and it sits on 6 acres about 400 yards from the ninth green at Cassadaga Lakes Country Club on Frisbee Road. ''We got it for the Chautauqua County community to use for youth purposes,'' said Steve, who was formerly the director of operations for the child welfare system in the state of Washington. ''We want to host events, and any money that we receive from it is going to be recycled into youth development programs.'' For the next eight days, however, the kids from the borough of Queens will be the Wickmarks' first guests. ''It's ahead of schedule,'' Steve said as he enjoyed a picnic dinner Thursday evening at Jamestown Community College, courtesy of the East Side Fellowship, while awaiting the arrival of the Mid-Atlantic Regional champions. ''We weren't going to be doing anything until spring, but we saw this notice and thought, 'Well, we said we were going to do something for youth.' This seemed like the right way to jump in.'' To make it all possible, five team mothers will be staying with the 13 boys in the house and will cook their meals. Meanwhile, the Cassadaga community has opened its collective arms to help, too. For example, Nordy's Pizza, Cassadaga Lakes Country Club, Grandma's Family Kitchen and Cassadaga Shurfine will all be providing a free meal for the team. ''Everybody we've asked has said, 'Absolutely,' '' Steve said. In addition, beds have been donated and are on the home's first floor. ''Two of the living rooms are for the sleeping area,'' Steve said, ''and we've got the dining room set up, and they can all eat at one table.'' Nelson Santiago, the manager of the College Point team, was appreciative of the local committee's efforts and the generosity of the Wickmarks. ''I think this is wonderful, it's awesome,'' he said. Pat Ohl, the co-chairman of the host family committee with Kathy McMaster, agreed. ''It just all fell together,'' she said. ''This is the first time this has ever been done. I told the boys we had the first 13-year-old World Series (in 1980) and this is the first time we've put all the boys in one house that somebody donated out. We'll be talking about them for years.'' The Wickmarks, who live in another home in Cassadaga, preferred to deflect any attention. ''I look at it this way,'' Steve said. ''Two months ago, I was responsible for a child welfare system and I had almost 9,000 kids in foster care that I was responsible for. What's 13 ballplayers?" ''Everybody said we're doing a great thing. We're not doing anything. We're just making a house available.'' "MY HOUSE IS WORTH WHAT?!" The episode featuring Kim on the HGTV show, will air in late March - early April. We'll keep you posted!	Have a Spoonful saucy thoughts cedar house rule THE RULE - Always keep the house full and they will keep coming back. I recently purchased a little cedar bird feeder house for the courtyard at Blue Tomato. I thought it would be nice to bring a little bit of nature into the city. It took the birds a couple days to realize it was there. A few showed up to check it out. Then, apparently went and told every bird in the SouthSide about the little cedar house, because, before you knew it, there were about 100 birds cramming themselves into the house. It was a feeding frenzy. And by the end of the day, they managed to completely empty out the house. I was frustrated by this at first. Really, it had to do with me having to go out in the bitter cold every single morning to refill the house. On one morning, I was so busy returning calls, responding to emails and planning the daily schedule, that I completely forgot to refill the house. And to be honest, I had seen that the feeder was empty and kept putting it off. "I'll get to it", I thought. I could see the birds hanging around wondering what was going on. "Why is it empty?" By the time noon rolled around, I had a minute to run out and finally fill the house. And much to my surprise the birds were all gone, not one was left...waiting for me. "How strange", I thought. So I filled it back up and waited for them to return. It took awhile, but after an hour or so they started coming back around. I haven't forgotten to fill the house ever since that day. It became clear to me, if I don't feed them, someone else will, and I'd like those birds to keep coming back to my house. I realized that it's very similar to the way you manage clients. If you maintain constant contact through simple communication, they won't ever forget about you. If you continously respond in a timely manner to your clients needs and deliver not only a great product, but you let them know you are there when they need you..they will keep coming back for more. Kim Collins - owner/creative director Who's Getting Sauced? clients we're serving "Working Together for One Great Moment" We are very excited to be working with Parrish Law Offices. We created this ad for the Pittsburgh Youth Ballet’s Nutcracker performance program. Blue Tomato created this classic, yet modern identity for The Red House in Cassadaga, New York. Looking for a Great Recipe? bringing fresh produce to the market 1911 wharton street, pittsburgh, pa 15203 412.445.2720 www.bluetomatodesign.com