Group rallies to save Panmure Head lighthouse

A community group is rallying to save P.E.I.'s oldest wooden lighthouse.

Panmure Head lighthouse was built in 1853 and isin serious need of repair. It has chipped paint and a decayed railing.

It's one of 40 island lighthouses the federal government decommissioned this summer. While it is no longer being maintained, it remainspopular with visitors, and locals are raising money to buy it.

Margaret MacLeod lives in its shadow on the eastern shore."I was born here, grew up here, decided to settle here. It's a part of the furniture here in P.E.I.," she said.

So MacLeod and a group of locals are raising money to take over the lighthouse.

Saving it for the future

Glenna Campbell-Peardon, president of thePanmure Island Lighthouse Association, said the group needs plenty of help.

"We just want to maintain it for the future. We want to have it looking good and there's asbestos inside, so we have to have that removed. We've got all sorts of work to do," she said.

Fisherman Bill Peardon said he looks for the lighthouse every time he's headed home.

"It's still very nice to turn the boat and see the Panmure light," he said.

He would like to see it preserved, he added.

The lighthouse was originally built after locals petitioned for it, and the new group is hoping to save it with the same community activism.