Lighthouse organization at Point Breeze will honor key leader on Aug. 10

Event also includes photography exhibit of Oak Orchard Lighthouse, presentation from geologist on Great Lakes shorelines

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Founding president of the lighthouse at Point Breeze, Peg Wiley, points to the area where a compass wheel was supposed to go. People from every state and dozens of countries have visited the lighthouse.

POINT BREEZE – As soon as Peg Wiley learned back around 2000 there used to be a lighthouse at Point Breeze, she was obsessed with the idea of seeing it rebuilt.

Twenty-four years later, the founding president of the Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum Board has continued to support efforts to “Keep the Light On” and will be honored at a special function from 7 to 9 p.m. on Aug. 10 at the Carlton United Methodist Church.

The Keep the Light On fundraiser and dessert buffet will also feature guest speaker Roy Widrig, a New York State Sea Grant geologist and author of “Working with Nature, A Guide to Native Plants for New York’s Great Lakes Shorelines.”

Peg Wiley stands in front of the lighthouse at Point Breeze, a project which she initiated and saw to fruition in the early 2000s. On Aug. 10 a fundraiser for the lighthouse at Carlton United Methodist Church will also honor Wiley as the founding board president.

Widrig will share how Lake Ontario’s shoreline can change in an instant, but has taken more than 30,000 years to form. In his presentation, he will talk about New York’s geologic history and how it affects the lives of shoreline residents to this day.

An additional feature of the evening will be an exhibit of the winning entries in the “Capture the Light” photography contest.

Wiley’s obsession with a lighthouse at Point Breeze actually began before she and her husband Richard (known affectionally to many as “Wiley”) moved to Point Breeze from Cranberry Pond in Greece, where Wiley had a marine mechanics business.

“I already knew when we moved here in 2002 there used to be a lighthouse at Point Breeze,” Peg said. “I was interviewed before we even closed on the property that was Oak Orchard Riverside Marina.”

The Wileys had originally planned to build a house and business on Sandy Creek, when the realtor they dealt with told them he had just listed a marina with house and five acres on the Oak Orchard River.

The rest is history.

Peg joined the board of the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce, where she met Wayne Hale and Jerry Senecal, who became big supporters of the lighthouse and both worked to promote tourism in the county. Later in 2002, Peg met Dick Anderson at the Wooden Boat Festival, who had a replica set up of the original lighthouse.

The first serious steps to rebuilding the lighthouse occurred in 2003 when the Wileys, Marge Sage, Dan and Marietta Schuth and Gabriele Barone met under the bridge at the county marine park.

The Orleans County Chamber allowed the new Oak Orchard Lighthouse committee to operate under its umbrella until they could form their own not-for-profit organization, which was accomplished by Wiley and Cheryl Staines in 2004.

“Then we were on a roll,” Peg said. “Our first fundraiser was a formal dinner in the evening at the park. It was magical. Lynne Menz was standing next to me, and I looked at her and said, ‘We are going to do this.’”

Major fundraisers were chicken barbecues until Gene and Joey Haines purchased the Barbary Coast and opened their doors for more elegant fundraisers.

The Oak Orchard Lighthouse committee raised $275,000 and with an $84,000 Environmental Protection Fund grant they were able to break ground in March 2010. Other early supporters were Dick Anderson, Larry Albanese, Diane Blanchard, Jamie Kowalski, Diana Jeffords, Cheryl Staines, Mike Masters, Bill and Nancy Karcher, Bob Waters, Neil Johnson, Paula Mills, Joan Higley, Jamie Bragg, Kim Remley, Ann Mattice, Ben Jones, Lonnie Davidson and Virginia Kropf.

Construction continued throughout the summer and fall, during which time many days would find Peg wrapped in a blanket to keep warm while watching the lighthouse take shape.

A memorial walkway was completed in 2012, and bricks are still available for sale, to honor or remember a friend or loved one. Marble benches around the walkway were carved by George Graham of Oakfield. Space was allowed to build a compass rose, but that has yet to be accomplished.

Peg had stepped down as president and became vice president of the board in 2008 so she could write the Federal Environmental Protection Fund matching grant. She retired totally from the board and her job with the County Health Department in 2014 when her husband had health issues. Since then, she has fought through two bouts of cancer, but never wavered in her support of lighthouse fundraisers.

The Lighthouse board has continued to sponsor a fundraiser every year, from dinners at the Carlton Recreation Hall to basket raffles and last year’s presentation at Carlton United Methodist Church by Lake Ontario sailor Susan Peterson Gately.

Wiley said the Lighthouse board is looking for a large, affordable venue where they could have bigger fundraising events.

“These fundraisers are so important, as we have to pay for everything connected with the lighthouse, such as the insurance, upkeep and electric bills,” she said.

Wiley is excited and flattered about being honored at the Keep the Light On fundraiser.

“I am thrilled to have played a part in rebuilding this piece of history, and so happy to see the tourists it brings to our area,” she said.

Tickets for the Aug. 10 fundraiser are $20 per person (of which $10 is tax deductible) and can be purchased at Oak Orchard Neighborhood Association Concerts in the Park on Tuesday evenings, from Friday to Sunday at the lighthouse or by calling board president Chris Manseri at (585) 315-9799 or board member Larry Albanese at (585) 230-7829.

Donations to the lighthouse can also be mailed to Oak Orchard Lighthouse, P.O. Box 23, Kent, 14477.

The Carlton United Methodist Church is located at 1196 Archbald Rd., Waterport.