Photos by Tom Rivers

CARLTON – Corey Roger of Cheektowaga stands on the bank of the Oak Orchard River on Friday evening and casts his line, trying to catch a Chinook salmon. Roger already caught a coho.

There were hundreds of people fishing along the Oak on Friday evening, and the parking lot near the Waterport Dam included many out-of-state license plates.

Roger said he has been to the Oak in the fall for eight years. He expected to be down along the river at 4 a.m. today to get a good spot in the river.

He said this is the ideal time to be fishing in the Oak, before the crowds get bigger.

“Right now there are more fish than people,’ he said.

John Buck, 26, holds one of three Chinook salmon he caught on Friday. This one is about 18 pounds. Buck is spending a week fishing in Orleans County. He made a four-hour drive from Seilinsgrove, Pa. He said he will also try Sandy Creek and Johnson Creek. He said he’s been making the trek annually for the past eight years.

A line of anglers try to catch salmon at the Waterport Dam. The person in front is trying to reel in a big salmon.

A fisherman from Brooklyn tries to catch a Chinook salmon in the Oak Orchard River on Friday evening.

Fishing is big business in Orleans County, according to survey by the state Department of Environmental Conservation that put the total economic impact at $27,989,393 in 2017.

Out-of-state anglers account for 70 percent of the fishing economic output in Orleans County, $19,620,488 of the $27,989,393, according to the survey that was released in 2020.

County residents who fish accounted for $1,767,334 in economic activity while other New York state residents outside Orleans represented another $6,601,571.

Oswego which includes the Salmon River is the highest-ranked county with $192.7 million in total economic impact from fishing.

The Brooklyn fisherman said he hadn’t caught a fish yet on Friday but was thankful to be out in the great outdoors with the changing fall colors on the trees.

The Waterport Dam is a popular place in October with anglers trying to catch a big salmon or trout.

This fisherman has a heavy Chinook salmon on the line.

These two fishermen are ready to reel in a big fish at the Oak Orchard.

Photos by Tom Rivers

WATERPORT – The Lord’s House at 2038 Eagle Harbor Rd. is getting a fresh coat of paint and new look with members of the church, and help from other congregations. They have been busy today with paint brushes and sprayers, changing the main color from white to gray.

This photo shows Jonathan Allis on the scaffolding and Leon Johnson on the grounds, both using sprayers with gray paint.

Johnson is a member of The Lord’s House and Allis attends the Agape United Methodist Church in West Seneca, where his wife Rebecca Allis is the pastor.

Raymond Pendergrass of the Shiloh Church is Albion joined the effort today to help paint the church. Pendergrass used to attend the church in Waterport. He volunteered today, wanting to “send blesses” to The Lord’s House.

Chuck Weed of the Agape UM Church traveled to Waterport today from Buffalo to help paint the windows.

The church’s pastor, Rebecca Allis, is from Medina and is friends with Eddie English, pastor of The Lord’s House.

They met through Pastors Aligned for Community Transformation or PACT, a group of pastors mostly in Orleans County.

English has preached at her church and she has been at the pulpit at The Lord’s House.

English said the church wanted to improve the outside of the building, and he is grateful for the help. Oak Orchard Assembly of God also is helping with the project, paying for scaffolding and some paint. The Lord’s House also had a chicken barbecue recently with the proceeds going to the painting project.

“The inside looks good but we know people judge the outside,” English said. “We want people who go by to say, ‘What an improvement.’”

English is hopeful the building’s new look will be done before the cold weather comes.

“We want to be one of the lights to help brighten up the neighborhood,” he said.

Anyone interested in helping to paint or in donating to the effort can contact Rose English at 585-331-7963.

Eddie and Rose English are pictured outside the church this afternoon. They have led The Lord’s House for 16 years.

The church moved from downtown Albion to the former United Methodist Church in Waterport after acquiring the building at the county tax auction in 2011.  The building had been vacant for about 20 years.

The building was in disrepair, in need of major repairs. English was called a fool by some in the community. Some church members also were skeptical about moving to a building out on the country that needed so much work.

English, with help from church members and some local residents, worked diligently to make the building ready for worship services. They painted, upgraded electric and plumbing, and put in a new bathroom, an outside ramp, a new pulpit and other improvements.

English said he is focused on given the outside an improved look. He said he is thankful for the help from people at his church and others from other congregations.

“God has put the right people with the right hearts in our path,” he said.

Photos by Ginny Kropf: This little restaurant at the end of Route 98 in Point Breeze is seeing new life under the ownership of Gatlen and Danielle Ernst, who opened it as Gilligan’s Galley on Thursday.

Danielle and Gatlen Ernst of Albion stand behind the counter of Gilligan’s Galley, the new restaurant they opened Thursday in Point Breeze. Gilligan’s will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week.

POINT BREEZE – After several successful years of owning two marinas and a restaurant in Point Breeze, Gatlen and Danielle Ernst have gone out on a limb to open another restaurant.

Located at the end of Route 98 in Point Breeze, Gilligan’s Galley opened its doors Thursday.

Several restaurants were in business there in recent years, but since the pandemic it has remained closed. John Brown and Dave Tuft of Batavia were previous owners. A year ago Brown approached Gatlen and asked if he would be interested in buying the place.

“I thought, ‘Am I nuts,’” Gatlen said.

He and Danielle are the owners of Lake Breeze Marina, which they purchased in 2014, and the former Four C’s Marina, which they purchased later that same year.

Gatlen had worked at Lake Breeze for 10 years and Danielle was a stay-at-home mom when they became owners of the marinas. They immediately started making improvements, redoing the docks, updating the cottages and adding two more cottages. Four C’s had a small restaurant with outdoor seating overlooking the docks, which has been very popular during the summer.

They finalized the purchase of the new restaurant last October, but didn’t start renovations until March. They replaced table tops and the counter top, added beams made from trees in their yard, and created a tiki theme with thatching and bamboo in the ceiling.

The name for the new restaurant, Gilligan’s Galley, comes from Gatlen’s childhood, when his friends called him “Gilligan.” Galley, of course, is the nautical name for a kitchen on a boat, and what could be more appropriate for a restaurant within a few steps of Lake Ontario and the Oak Orchard River.

Gatlen Ernst shows off the new décor in Gilligan’s Galley, the new restaurant he and his wife Danielle opened Thursday at Point Breeze. The remodeled décor features a tiki-theme thatched ceiling, wood beams cut from trees in their yard and new natural wood counter top.

The Ernsts plan to be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week. They may add breakfast later on. They will serve nightly specials, featuring home cooked comfort food. They hope Friday night fish fries will be a big hit, being offered Buffalo style, potato chip crusted, blackened grilled or plain.

Gatlen said they have applied for a liquor license and would like to have Bills parties, seeing they have several televisions in the restaurant.

Among the customers on opening day were Teresa Poler and her neighbor Paul Kenyon of Lyndonville.

“It’s lovely to have something like this close by,” Poler said. “Everything was very good.”

Gatlen said the area is getting a boost from increased traffic from Canada. That was curtailed during the Covid pandemic.

There are also picnic tables for outdoor dining, and Danielle said next year she would like to do something interesting with the back yard.

ALBION – Today’s recycling collection will be delayed for the fire lanes in Carlton and Yates due to the Modern Disposal Services truck being down for repairs.

Full completion of recycling for these fire lanes will take place on Tuesday, sad Jack Welch, the Orleans County chief administrative officer.

“We apologize for any inconvenience this creates for our residents along the fire lanes,” Welch said. “If these residents leave out their uncollected recycling, Modern Disposal will have your recycling collected tomorrow.”

Photo by Ginny Kropf: The Ryan children enjoy ice cream treats at the new food truck Rush’s recently put at their farm market on Eagle Harbor Road, Waterport. From left are Demetrius, 11; Piper, 5; Devin, 8; and in back, Mary Jane, 12.

WATERPORT – There’s something new in the neighborhood and it’s drawing a lot of attention at Rush’s Farm Market on Eagle Harbor Road.

During the past few weeks, Kenneth Rush decided to do something he has thought about for a couple of years – get a food truck.

“I thought this would be a positive thing to do,” said Rush, who is the fifth generation on the Rush farm. “There’s nothing like it in the neighborhood.”

Nicci Nicholson works in the truck with Ken.

In addition to soft ice cream cones, floats and Sundaes, they sell burgers, hotdogs, French fries, blooming onions and friend pickles.

The Ryan children who live nearby, love to walk to the market for ice cream on a hot day. Mary Jane Ryan, 12, likes the floats, but she is going to try a fried pickle one of these days, she said.

Demetrius, 11, said they sometimes come several days in a row, and hopes there will be more ice cream flavors added.

Rush’s Farm Market is owned by Gregg and Elizabeth Rush. In addition to selling homegrown produce, Elizabeth runs a flower shop on the site.

“The food truck has brought people out of their houses after Covid to share an ice cream cone together,” Elizabeth said. “Grandpa Ken likes to come up and enjoy a hotdog. The truck is a complement to my flower shack.”

The food truck is open from 4 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and noon to 8:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Elizabeth said the market expected to have homegrown corn this week.

Photos by Tom Rivers

CARLTON – The Brick Band performed on Tuesday at Oak Orchard Marine Park on Route 98 and some of the crowd left their lawn chairs and danced to some of the band’s well-known country songs.

There was a threat of rain earlier in the afternoon but the concert went on without a drop of rain.

Ryan Klatt is lead singer and guitarist for the band, which has been performing for years in the concerts organized by the Oak Orchard Neighborhood Association.

The concert series started last Tuesday and continues weekly through Aug. 2. The concerts start at 6 p.m. and go until about 8:30.

The lineup for the rest of the summer includes:

• July 12 – Old Hippies playing nostalgic rock and folk
• July 19 – The Who Dats performing dance rock
• July 26 – Feedback playing pop, motown and R & B
• Aug. 2 – Mr. Mustard performing The Beatles, period

Photos by Tom Rivers

CARLTON – Dave Viterna, right, and Marty Hobbs perform “Solitary Man” by Neil Diamond as part of the opening concert for the Oak Orchard Neighborhood Association’s summer concert series.

The Dave Viterna Group performed blues and classic rock for 2 ½ hours for a crowd of more than 500 people.

The attendance at the concert, are well over 500 people, is a record for an OONA concert, said one of the organizers, Tracy Panczyszyn.

The lineup for the rest of the series includes:

• July 5 – The Brick Band performing country, classic rock and patriotic
• July 12 – Old Hippies playing nostalgic rock and folk
• July 19 – The Who Dats performing dance rock
• July 26 – Feedback playing pop, motown and R & B
• Aug. 2 – Mr. Mustard performing The Beatles, period

Kathleen Furlong sells 50/50 raffle tickets. OONA was able to give away $600 from the raffles and keep $600 to help pay for the concerts and support other community causes.

There is a $2 admission charge to attend the concerts.

Don Knapp of the Clarendon Lions Club cooks hot dogs. The Lions have been a long-time food vendor at the OONA concerts. There are several other food and beverage vendors at the concerts.

The Clarendon Lions Club teams includes, from left: Tom Persia, Vivian Ward, Kevin Johnson, Don Knapp, Beth Johnson in back, Roger Boynton, Melanie Adams and Randy Robishaw. June Knapp also was part of the Clarendon group on Tuesday evening.