Bench at Marine Park dedicated in memory of Joey and Gene Haines

Posted 26 July 2019 at 11:26 am

Provided photo: Chris and Pat Haines sit on a bench dedicated to Chris’s aunt and uncle.

Courtesy of Frank Panczyszyn, member of Oak Orchard Neighborhood Association

CARLTON – The Oak Orchard Neighborhood Association dedicated a special concrete park bench at the Orleans County Marine Park near Point Breeze in memory of a special couple, the late Joey and Gene Haines.

They were longtime residents of Orleans County, deeply involved in the community, and were charter members of OONA 11 years ago. Gene and Joey purchased the former Barbary Coast restaurant at Point Breeze, making it their home, as well as a gathering place for many charitable community functions, including fundraisers for the Oak Orchard Lighthouse. Their home also served as a meeting place for the Oak Orchard Neighborhood Association.

Joey and Gene were very special people who gave selflessly of themselves to a wide variety of passions, all within the community and the county they loved. As each passed on, donations were made to OONA in their honor. OONA decided to use these donations for this memorial bench, a fitting memory to the Haines couple. The bench is in the location where Joey and Gene were seen at OONA concerts over the years, handing out life jackets to children going down to the marina docks.

The dedication was made on Tuesday at OONA’s Summer Concert in the Park series. Among the 300 people in attendance were Chris and Pat Haines, who now reside in Savannah, Georgia. They had been long-time residents of Orleans County. Chris is the nephew of Gene Haines.  The bench will now be a lasting memory to Joey and Gene Haines.

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