For more than one million people, greater Rochester is home. A foreign exchange student recently asked me what our city is known for. Certainly, we can claim the garbage plate and Kodak, but the truth is we are living in the birthplace of many other innovative people and ideas. You might be surprised to learn what else was made right here in the (585). Did you know the first-ever business franchise was not a fast-food restaurant, but a beauty salon? Martha Matilda Harper used her life savings of $360 to open the first beauty salon in our region in 1888. Before her salon at 517 Powers Building opened, it was commonplace for hairdressers to make home visits to their customers. Harper developed her own hair tonic, and her floor-length hair was featured in advertisements for her products. In 1891, Harper eventually expanded to more than 500 locations and was the