OOL Museum this weekend welcomed family of Emelee Arbuckle

Photos by Tom Rivers: The Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum presented a light show on Saturday that honored Emelee Arbuckle, who was 23 when she died in a motorcycle accident in Florida in 2013. Her family has left bricks with her name engraved at about 300 lighthouses around the country. The bricks are typically buried or left in the water close by the lighthouse. Oak Orchard is the fifth lighthouse to find the brick and contact Emelee’s parents.

Ken and Karen Arbuckle of Melbourne Beach, Fla. visited the Oak Orchard Lighthouse on Saturday evening for a special light show as a tribute for their daughter, Emelee. The show was in addition to the nightly 30-minute light show that starts a half hour at sunset. That light show mimics the Northern Lights.

POINT BREEZE – The Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum presented a special light show on Saturday in honor of a Florida woman was passed away at age 23 on Dec. 29, 2013 from complications following a motorcycle accident.

Emelee Arbuckle was connected to the water. She was the top coxswain on her high school rowing team. She was also an artist who wanted to teach art to disabled children.

Her parents, Ken and Karen Arbuckle, visited Point Breeze over the weekend. The Arbuckles have left about 300 engraved bricks at lighthouses around the country. They were at the Oak Orchard Lighthouse on Aug. 4, 2024 and buried a brick engraved with their daughter’s name and nickname: Emelee “Bean” Arbuckle.

The Arbuckles typically will bury a brick at the southeast corner of a lighthouse or leave in close to shore in the water.

At the Oak Orchard Lighthouse, a new lighting system was being installed in August to display a light show that would mimic the Aurora Borealis. Lighthouse volunteers worked with A.J. Hetzke of IlluminFx Lighting Systems to install the system which debuted on Aug. 14.

Cheryl Giacherio was digging at the southwest corner on Aug. 7, creating a hole for one of four corner canisters for the lights. The top of the lighthouse has 192 lights for the show.

When Giacherio dug down in the dirt, she found a brick in honor of Emelee “Bean” Arbuckle. An internet search showed the story of Emelee, and helped connect the lighthouse museum to her family.

It was the fifth brick that has been found with Emelee’s name.

The Arbuckles made the trip up from Melbourne Beach, Florida on Friday, and presented a collage with a poem by their daughter that will be on display in the lighthouse.

The lighthouse museum had a special tribute for the family on Saturday night. Hetzke of IlluminFx created a new light show for Emelee.

“Thank you so much for honoring our girl,” Mrs. Arbuckle told a group at the lighthouse on Saturday night. “No one has ever done anything like this for us.”

Emelee Arbuckle is shown at left. Here is the brick that was found last month with her name at the Oak Orchard Lighthouse.

Emelee’s mother feels like it was a God-ordained miracle that the brick was discovered at Oak Orchard. Her husband usually buries the bricks in the southeast corner. This time, he put it at the southwest corner, right where a hole would be dug a year later for the light show.

“This was God,” Mrs. Arbuckle said. “He was coordinating this to all come together. You need to recognize these miracles when they happen.”

She thanked Hetzke for the light show, which was set to music.

“With the music, you can feel it in your heart,” Mrs. Arbuckle said.

She and her husband have been to at least 400 lighthouses in the past 12 years, trying to leave a memorial brick or a “handheart” of her and her husband’s hands creating a heart shape. The Arbuckles take a picture of that heart shape with the lighthouse in the background if they can’t get up close in person. Some of the lighthouses are off limits to the public. (They stopped by the Braddock Point Lighthouse in Hilton on Saturday but couldn’t get close enough to leave a brick because it’s on private property.)

The Arbuckles are happy when people find a brick with their daughter’s name, and reach out to her parents.

“It’s about saying Emelee’s name so it isn’t forgotten,” Mr. Arbuckle said.

Here are other photos from the light show on Saturday night.

Press Release, NYS Department of Transportation

CARLTON – The New York State Department of Transportation is advising motorists that State Route 18 in the Town of Carlton, Orleans County, will be closed to all traffic between Waterport Road and Hard Road beginning at 6 a.m. Monday, September 29, to accommodate a culvert replacement project.

Motorists should follow posted detours using Route 18, Route 63, Route 104 and Route 98. The road is expected to be reopened by mid-October.

Motorists should anticipate travel delays during this time and are advised to seek alternate routes if necessary. Construction activities are weather dependent and subject to change based on conditions.

Motorists are urged to slow down and drive responsibly in work zones. Fines are doubled for speeding in a work zone. Convictions of two or more speeding violations in a work zone could result in the suspension of an individual’s driver license.

Photos courtesy of Marsha Rivers: This mosaic compass was created by artist Kim Martillotta Muscarella in her Albion studio.

POINT BREEZE – The Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum this evening celebrated a new addition to the grounds at Point Breeze by the Oak Orchard Harbor: a mosaic compass.

Kim Martillotta Muscarella created the mosaic piece in a project funded through a Ripple grant from the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council.

GO Art! also directed another $5,000 grant to the lighthouse for a light show each day for a half hour after sunset. The light show mimics the northern lights. That project and the mosaic compass enhance the grounds, trying to bring more people to see the lighthouse and Point Breeze area.

Kim Martillotta Muscarella stands by the mosaic compass she made for the Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum.

“The creation of a compass rose to complement the lighthouse was part of the original scope of the proposed lighthouse work, but was delayed due to cost,” said Chris Manaseri, the museum president. “The GO Art! grant was a means by which the Lighthouse Board might accomplish competing its original proposal at a lower and indirect cost.”

Manaseri, who is also an artist, approached Muscarella last winter. She is the owner of the Marti’s on Main art gallery. She created the mosaic at her studio at the gallery.

Lighthouse Museum President Chris Manaseri thanks Kim Martillotta Muscarella for her work creating the compass rose mosaic that has been installed in the lighthouse garden.

Photo by Isabella Zasa: Kim Martillotta Muscarella shows Orly the Ox the mosaic when it was in the early stages back on Aug. 1. Orly is the Orleans County mascot for its bicentennial celebration this year.

Photos by Peggy Barringer

CARLTON – These photos of the northern lights were taken Sunday night by Peggy Barringer at Lakeside State Park between 9:15 and 10:30 p.m.

Barringer of Albion said the display was “truly jaw-dropping!”

Courtney DePaula sent in this photo of the northern lights in Kent last night.

Photos courtesy of Melissa Ierlan

CARLTON – A historical marker highlighting the “Ancient Mound” built by the Algonkian Indians in Carlton has been refurbished with fresh paint.

Dave and Dar Krull are shown with the marker at their home on Oak Orchard River Road. They are with niece Kailah, and great-nieces Sidney, Shelby and Rylee Ierlan.

Melissa Ierlan of Clarendon recently stripped the marker down and repainted it. The marker notes Algonkian Indians built this Ancient Mound in the second period or Polished Stone Age. It was excavated in 1932-’33 by Charles Wyman Palmer. The marker was installed by State Education Department in 1932.

Located on Oak Orchard River Road about 1 ½ miles west of The Bridges. It’s at the south end of a long private driveway and not visible from the road.

Ierlan has refurbished about 40 historical markers in recent years.

These photos show some of the marker’s transformation before it received its final coat of blue and yellow paint.

Press Release, Orleans County Tourism Department

Photo courtesy of Captain’s Cove Motel and Marina and Maverick Sportfishing: From left, Brett Lopresti, Amy Lopresti and Captain Chris Lopresti hold the derby-winning king salmon.

WATERPORT – Amy Lopresti of Rochester landed a 33-pound king salmon on the final day of the 2025 Fall LOC Derby, securing the lead for the $20,000 grand prize.

Lopresti caught the fish Monday while aboard the Maverick on Lake Ontario in Orleans County. She was using a Hawk’s Custom Spoon. The salmon was weighed in at Captain’s Cove in Waterport, officially tipping the scales at 33 pounds, 3 ounces.

“This is exactly the kind of world-class fishing Lake Ontario and Orleans County are known for,” said Ron Bierstine, Orleans County Sportfishing Coordinator. “To see a fish of this caliber caught on the final day of the derby adds to the excitement and shows why anglers from all over come here to fish and compete. Get ready for those same open Lake trophies in the tributaries this fall, winter and spring! ”

The LOC Derby, held each spring, summer and fall, attracts anglers from across the region competing for cash prizes and recognition for some of the lake’s biggest salmon and trout.

More leaderboard results for Orleans County salmon and trout entries for the Fall LOC can be viewed by clicking here.

Museum embraces light show that mimics Northern Lights

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Professor Michael Richmond showed this photo of an aurora borealis during his talk on auroras at the Oak Orchard Lighthouse’s annual fundraiser at Carlton United Methodist Church.

Chris Manaseri, president of the Oak Orchard Lighthouse board, welcomes guests to a dessert buffet and special program at the Carlton United Methodist Church to benefit the lighthouse.

CARLTON – The Oak Orchard Lighthouse held its annual fundraiser Saturday night at the Carlton United Methodist Church on Archbald Road.

The event featured the usual dessert buffet, as well as guest speaker, Michael Richmond, professor of physics and astronomy at RIT, who also runs the RIT observatory.

Richmond, who has taught at RIT since 1997, earned his bachelor’s degree in astrophysical sciences at Princeton and a Ph.D in astronomy at the University of California at Berkeley. His program was chosen because of the recent installation of aurora-like lights on the lighthouse.

Richmond said most of the continental United States doesn’t see auroras as clearly or often as Point Breeze does. He explained it takes gas, solar wind and a strong magnetic field to create an aurora. He also said earth is not the only planet to have auroras.

He passed out special glasses for the audience to wear to determine the color of gases in an aurora, which then determines the kind of gas it contains.

Lighthouse board president Chris Manaseri welcomed guests and introduced Dave Giacherio, who with his wife Cheryl was instrumental in acquiring a grant for the aurora-like light show recently installed at the lighthouse.

“The aurora over the lighthouse was accomplished by the cooperation of the entire community,” Giacherio said. “Chris negotiated with New York State and helped dig the holes in the stone around the lighthouse.”

He also acknowledged Peg Wiley, who was in attendance, and the late Dick Anderson for their initial efforts to build a lighthouse and for maintaining their support.

Wiley said she was particularly interested in the evening’s program, as her father-in-law Robert S. Wiley once built a spectrograph for Bausch and Lomb, where he worked for 55 years. One of the telescopes he worked on has the largest eschelle ever built up to that time and is in a stellar observatory in the Atacama Desert of Chile.

Michael Richmond, professor of physics and astronomy at RIT, shows the audience a device which helps determine the type of gas in an aurora.

Manaseri shared the importance of this fundraising event.

“We still have to pay insurance and upkeep on the property,” he said.

The Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum is run by a 10-member board with the help of half a dozen docents, Manseri said. The museum is open from 6 to 8 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and from noon to 3 p.m. Sundays from May to October.

The evening’s dessert buffet prepared by board member Larry Grimes featured ambrosia, chocolate cake, carrot cake, pineapple upside down cake, peach cobbler and blueberry cobbler.

The evening concluded with drawings for centerpieces and a 50/50 drawing.

Volunteer finds buried memorial brick for Florida woman, one of 400 around the country

Photos by Tom Rivers

POINT BREEZE – This brick is one of about 400 that are placed at lighthouses around the country in honor of Emelee Arbuckle of Melbourne Beach, Fla., who died at age 23 on Dec. 29, 2013 from complications following a motorcycle accident.

Arbuckle was the top coxswain on her high school rowing team. She was also an artist who wanted to teach art to disabled children.

Arbuckle’s family placed the bricks at lighthouses, putting them near iconic buildings that stand close to the water. They are inscribed with her name and nickname, “Bean.”

At the Oak Orchard Lighthouse, the brick was buried near the southwest corner of the 32-foot structure, where the light is shown in this photo.

On Aug. 7, a group of volunteers were digging four holes in rock hard dirt at the lighthouse. Drought conditions made for difficult digging.

The volunteers dumped some water on the dirt, to try to ease the shoveling. They needed to dig the holes for four cannisters that would be part of a new light show display at the museum.

Cheryl Giacherio was digging at the southwest corner when she found the brick with Arbuckle’s name. Museum volunteer Kim Charron cleaned the stone and did some research online about Arbuckle. One article said about four or five of the bricks have been discovered at lighthouses, including one in the water at New Bedford, Mass.

The Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum intends to keep the brick on display inside the museum where there are brochures and merchandise available about the Oak Orchard Lighthouse.

The lighthouse now has a nightly 30-minute light show that starts a half hour at sunset. In addition to the four cannisters on the ground at the corners, the top of the lighthouse has 192 lights for the show.

A new light now shines on an iconic site at Point Breeze

Photos by Tom Rivers

POINT BREEZE – The lights changed colors and direction, creating a Northern Lights feeling last night on the Oak Orchard Lighthouse.

Thursday was the debut of a new light show that is expected to be a nightly event well into the future.

About 100 people came out to see the first light show. It started at 8:45 p.m., a half hour after sunset. The light show is set to go every day a half hour after sunset. The show will be for 30 minutes. The 32-foot-high lighthouse, built in 2010, will then be illumined at night with low intensity white light.

“It’s very calming,” said Wendy Young of Kendall. “I think it will be a great draw for the area.”

Marlene Seielstad and her husband Erik were among the crowd gathered to see the light show. The Seielstads brought their own lawn chairs.

“It’s very cool,” Mrs. Seielstad said. “It’s definitely brighter than I thought.”

She said it will be interesting to come back as the weather changes to see how the light reflects off the trees, ground and lighthouse in different conditions.

The Oak Orchard Lighthouse museum received a $5,000 grant through the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council for the project. Museum officials led by volunteer Cheryl Giacherio wanted to create a Northern Lights effect on the lighthouse.

They saw photos of the lighthouse from May 10, 2024 when there was a dazzling display of the Northern Lights. The spectacle in the sky has inspired the lighthouse’s board of directors to pursue a light show on the structure.

The museum touts the new light as “Aurora Over The Lighthouse.” The museum contracted with IlluminFx Lighting Systems in Rochester for the display. That company has created lighting shows for the Alamo, a battleship in Wilmington, NC and the nearby Churchville dam in Monroe County.

Larry Albanese, museum vice president, is very pleased with the result. He expects many lighthouse lovers and other curiosity seekers will make the trek to Point Breeze to see the light show.

“This is the only lighthouse lit up like this,” he said.

There will also be about a dozen other special displays on holidays, including the upcoming Labor Day.

David Giacherio, another museum volunteer, helped dig the holes for the four corner lights. There are also 192 smaller lights on the top part of the lighthouse.

“This will be a benefit to the community,” Giacherio said.

It brings more attention to the lighthouse, shining a new light on an iconic building. He hopes the local businesses see more customers because of the light show.

He credited his wife Cheryl for bringing the energy to bring an idea from about a year ago to reality. Mrs. Giacherio had the idea to light up the lighthouse in multiple moving colors, and she found the company to do it. The museum board rallied behind the project, securing the funding through GO Art!

“The whole thing has been a lot of fun,” Mr. Giacherio said about the year-long effort. “It all came together. I think it’s kind of cool.”

Many people wanted to be part of history and get photos of the debut lights show.

Photo by Tom Rivers: The Oak Orchard Lighthouse is shown on May 10, 2024 during a dazzling display of the Northern Lights. The spectacle in the sky has inspired the lighthouse’s board of directors to pursue a light show on the structure.

POINT BREEZE – The Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum will debut a light show tonight that will mimic the Northern Lights.

The “Aurora Over The Lighthouse” show is expected to be dedicated at 8:30 p.m. with the half-hour show to follow.

The museum was awarded a $5,000 grant from the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council to install lighting equipment for the show.

The lighthouse museum hired IlluminFx Lighting Systems in Rochester for the display. That company has created lighting shows for the Alamo, a battleship in Wilmington, NC and the nearby Churchville dam in Monroe County.

A.J. Hetzke, owner and general manager of IlluminFx Lighting Systems, programmed a show that will create the swirling green, purple and blue lights of the Aurora Borealis. He also programmed about a dozen other displays for holidays, including a orange-themed one for Halloween, green for St. Patrick’s Day, pink for Valentine’s and several others.

Lights and equipment installed to create a Northern Lights effect on lighthouse

Photos by Tom Rivers: Chris Manaseri, president of the Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum, holds one of the four larger light fixtures that will be installed in the ground at each corner of the lighthouse, with each capable of illumining two sides of the building. There will be 192 smaller lights up top on the lighthouse on the parapet around the light.

POINT BREEZE – A team of volunteers have spent the day installing lights and computer equipment at the Oak Orchard Lighthouse so the iconic site at Point Breeze can display a light show resembling the Northern Lights.

The first half-hour show is expected to go on after the sunset this evening around 9 p.m. The Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum wants the first one to be tonight on National Lighthouse Day.

The OOL Museum received a $5,000 grant through the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council to hire IlluminFx Lighting Systems in Rochester for the display. That company has created lighting displays for the Alamo, a battleship in Wilmington, NC and the nearby Churchville dam in Monroe County.

A.J. Hetzke, owner and general manager of IlluminFx Lighting Systems, programmed a show that will create the swirling green, purple and blue lights of the Aurora Borealis. He also programmed about a dozen other displays for holidays, including a orange-themed one for Halloween, green for St. Patrick’s Day, pink for Valentine’s and several others.

Hetzke said the lighting projects add “immeasurable value” to sites that are already much loved by their communities.

A.J. Hetzke (left), owner and general manager of IlluminFx Lighting Systems, hands off a string of 48 lights to go on the west parapet near the top of the 32-foot-high lighthouse. Museum volunteer John Vandemortel, right, installed the lights along strips of metal that were placed on the parapet on Wednesday. They are up in the top of the lighthouse which was built in 2010.

John Vandemortel, left, and Board VP Larry Albanese work on getting the lights secure at the top of the lighthouse.

Albanese said the light show should bring more attention to the lighthouse as well as Point Breeze.

“It’s an opportunity to bring people up here who haven’t been here before,” Albanese said.

David Giacherio, left, and Chris Manaseri dig one of the four holes for the corner lights. It was tough digging with a hard ground.

The lighthouse was built in 2010 as a replica of one from 1876. That original lighthouse toppled from a windstorm in 1914.

Manaseri said he is eager to see the light show.

“It will be vibrant and changeable,” he said. “It should mimic the effect of the auroras.”

The museum board plans to have the half hours shows nightly through the end of October. The board will consider feedback from the community. After the half-hour light shows, the building will be illumined all night with a low-level white light.

A.J. Hetzke of IlluminFx Lighting Systems meets with museum volunteers this afternoon in the main room of the lighthouse. They discussed their plan for installing lights and digital equipment. Clockwise from right of Hetzke include Larry Albanese, Gregg Squicciarini, John Vandemortel and Chris Manaseri.

David and Cheryl Giacherio work on getting another hole dug. Cheryl Giacherio pushed to get the lighthouse illumined after seeing photos of the lighthouse during a breath-taking Northern Lights display from May 10, 2024.

Cheryl Giacherio said the new light show will allow more people to feel the wonder of the Northern Lights, even if it’s recreated through the light show.

“Seeing the photos of the Northern Lights at the lighthouse was our inspiration,” she said. “We thought wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone could see and experience it.”

The Oak Orchard Lighthouse is shown on May 10, 2024 during a dazzling display of the Northern Lights. The spectacle in the sky has inspired the lighthouse’s board of directors to pursue a light show on the structure.

Photo by Tom Rivers: A fisherman tries to catch big fish in the Oak Orchard River in October 20, 2023.

CARLTON – The county has extended an agreement for public fishing access along the Oak Orchard River.

The County Legislature on Tuesday reached an agreement of Roy and Scott Salmon of Park Avenue in Carlton. They will give public access to 15.8 acres of property and will be paid $79,000 over the five years, or $15,800 annually beginning August 22, 2025 and ending August 21, 2030.

The agreement gives the public access along about 4,000 feet of the Oak Orchard River, including at some of the most desirable fishing spots.

The $79,000 over five years is an increase from the $69,000 in the current five-year agreement from 2020 to 2025.

The county first entered into an agreement with the Salmons in August 2007. That first agreement was $7,500 annually over three years. The county in 2007 pushed to reach a deal with the Salmons for public access after the family put about 50 posted signs along their property.

Fishing is the county’s top tourism attraction, generating about $28 million in economic activity in Orleans, according to a report from the state DEC based on 2017 data.

The Oak Orchard is a popular draw, especially in the fall during the annual salmon and trout runs with many anglers coming from around the state and country to fish in the river.

In addition to public fishing access, the agreement allows the Salmon property to keep its vegetative cover to protect water quality and riparian habitat, and to also be available for fishery and habitat management, research and educational programs.

The county has signs on the Salmon property, urging anglers to respect the land, by taking out trash and fish carcasses.

CARLTON – Route 279 will be closed to traffic beginning on Monday for the replacement of a bridge over Beardsley Creek.

Traffic will be closed in Carlton on Route 279 between Park Avenue Extension and Route 104.

The closure is expected to last through September, the Orleans County Emergency Management office said today.

There will be detours posted for alternate routes.

The Orleans County Legislature in February accepted the $1,188,874 bid from CATCO in Alden to replace the bridge on Route 279. The project is 95 percent reimbursable by the state through the Bridge NY program with the local share at 5 percent.

The Legislature also approved an agreement with Bergmann Architectural Associates in Buffalo to be paid $189,692 for construction inspection and support for the Beardsley Creek bridge project. That is also 95 percent funded by Bridge NY.

Photos by Tom Rivers

POINT BREEZE – Dean Marine & Excavating Inc. from Michigan has big pieces of equipment in the Oak Orchard Harbor today. Dean has been scooping sediment from the harbor to make the channel more passable for boaters.

The Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $2 million contract to Dean Marine & Excavating to perform the dredging work at the oak Orchard and soon to follow, Great Sodus Bay.

A total of approximately 15,000 cubic yards of material from Oak Orchard is contracted to be dredged and placed in designated open lake sites. The harbor was last dredged in 2021. That followed a seven-year stretch when it was dredged in 2014.

Dredging of these harbors ensures accessible depths for vessels traveling the Great Lakes and enables recreational boating which supports more than $24 million in business revenue and labor income to the transportation sector combined, the Army Corps stated in a news release.

Oak Orchard Harbor is a shallow-draft harbor. Recreational boating facilitated by the harbor supports $6.8 million in business revenue, 94 direct, indirect, and induced jobs, and $6 million in labor income to the nation, the Army Corps said.

Great Sodus Bay also is a shallow-draft harbor on the southern shore of Lake Ontario. Recreational boating facilitated by the harbor supports $9.3 million in business revenue, 142 direct, indirect, and induced jobs, and $8.7 million in labor income to the nation

Orleans County Legislator John Fitzak said the dredging at Oak Orchard took a lot work and collaboration. Fitzak said the cooperation with our federal delegation, in particular Congressman Morelle, was key. Morelle’s district briefly included approximately the northern half of Orleans, but another redistricting has since put Orleans totally in Cluadia Tenney’s district.

“When redistricting brought Congressman Morelle to Orleans County, we were eager to take him on a tour of community assets and he was very interested in learning about our federal priorities,” Fitzak said.  “Among several issues, we focused on the importance of Oak Orchard Harbor to our local tourism and recreational economy and the need to ensure safe passage of boats through it. He was well aware of the dredging issue and wanted to help.”

Fitzak was also part of the local delegation that travels to Washington, DC each year to further lobby for community priorities.

“These trips allowed us to keep our top issues front and center, with federal leaders and paid off when funds were provided for dredging,” Fitzak said. “Our federal delegation delivered for us and we are very appreciative.”

This photo is from a boat launch looking north to the lake.