Clarissa Street Reunion: A vital Rochester neighborhood gathers to remember what happened

Friends were meeting, relatives were reuniting and both history and future were being celebrated Saturday at the Clarissa Street Reunion.

Isaac Walker listened to the music on a shady, joyful, peaceful street as he held a photograph taken by Terrell Brooks, a Revisiting the Rochester Narrative fellow from the Democrat and Chronicle.

Walker, husband of Kathy Dexter — an elder of Clarissa Street, has been coming to the reunion for years. He’s watched it persist, noting it has mostly stayed the same, a community centered event with music and friends.

But “it’s really about the story,” said Walker, referring to the construction of U.S. 490 and the destruction of the Clarissa Street community.

Renee Long and Shalom Singer were checking out the event Saturday, too.

This reunion has a New Orleans flair, they said. "We just wanted something that has a little more flavor to it,” Long said, and the Clarissa Street event does.

Remembering connections to local Rochester history

Rochester's Third Ward in the 1950s and 1960s was a neighborly place where "everybody got along," Toni Lomax said on Saturday.

She grew up in a house on Greenwood Street, which she said is still standing. Her mother, Mary Tyson, worked at the Pythodd Club.

At the Clarissa Street Reunion, Lomax spotted a black-and-white photo of Tyson working at the Pythodd. "She was part of all of this," Lomax said.

When "urban renewal" swept through, her family was not displaced. Still, they lost something. All of a sudden, the neighborhood was "Corn Hill."

"They OK. But we were OK," she said.

Music, food, vendors in Corn Hill for Clarissa St. Reunion

As she pointed out her favorite handmade fabric Teddy bears, Clarissa Street Reunion vendor Gail Mitchell shared what made them special. The ones with Disney patterns are first on her list. She also likes the ones she puts in tutus. Some of the bears have matching earrings dangling from their little ears.

For Mitchell, sewing started out of necessity. She grew tall and thin, and shopping for clothes as a teen ended in frustration. Sleeves wouldn't cover her arms. Skirts were too short.

"My mother said, 'You gotta learn how to sew,'" Mitchell said, who now sells her creations for fun in her retirement.

"It's my therapy," said Mitchell, who lives in the Rochester area.

What is the Revisiting the Rochester Narrative Fellowship? The D&C's Revisiting the Rochester Narrative fellowship is designed to look at preconceived ideas about specific Rochester communities and historic events that shaped them.

The goal is to connect the past and present to create a deeper understanding about the city and its residents. This summer, the fellows have focused on examining the Inner Loop highway.

The Clarissa Street Reunion website is https://www.clarissastreetlegacy.com/.

This weekend, the Revisiting Rochester Narrative Fellows were taking portraits of people at the Clarissa Street Reunion.

The fellows heard stories about the Third Ward community, the Inner Loop highway's impact and collected memories from people who lived in the neighborhood.

Follow the reunion on Instagram: @clarissastreetreunion_585; https://www.instagram.com/clarissastreetreunion_585

Follow us on Instagram: @democratandchronicle; https://instagram.com/democratandchronicle

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Rochester Black history on Clarissa St.: Corn Hill's vibrant story