Le Roy's Lady Liberty heads to Ohio for repairs

Le Roy's Statue of Liberty is shown packed in a customized crate donated by Orcon Industries, to ensure its safekeeping while it's delivered this morning to Ohio for restoration. (Photo courtesy of Lynne Belluscio)

The Le Roy Historical Society raised more than $15,000 this past summer to “Strengthen the Arm of Liberty.”

This morning, the rubber hit the road, so to speak.

Historical Society Director Lynne Belluscio left shortly after dawn on a four-and-a-half-hour trip to Oberlin, Ohio. Safely crated and tucked into the bed of her Toyota Tundra, was the miniature Statue of Liberty that has stood on the Oatka Creek bank since 1950.

“She’s traveling in luxury,” Belluscio said.

Her destination was McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory near Oberlin. Specialists there will restore the damaged and deteriorated statue — in time, Belluscio hopes, for a grand rededication ceremony during the Oatka Festival next July.

McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory has estimated repairs would cost between $5,000 and $7,000. The “Strengthen the Arm of Liberty” fundraising campaign launched this past spring, set a goal of $10,000 to ensure a safe margin.

In the end, slightly more than $15,000 was raised by alumni groups, the Le Roy Moose Family Center and numerous individual donors.

Orcon Industries of Le Roy, which does industrial packaging, donated a customized cushioned crate in which to transport the fragile statue.

“That’s how it’s getting out there,” Belluscio said. “That was their contribution to this project, and of course that box will stay out there and will bring her home when she’s finished.”

Belluscio was expecting to return to Le Roy this evening. The statue will stay in Ohio from six to eight weeks. 

“But as far as I’m concerned, they can keep her all winter,” Belluscio said. “There’s a lot of work to do before she can go back up.”

That’s because Liberty’s base — or plinth — will have to be replaced before the statue can be returned to its spot opposite Wolcott Street School.

The star-shaped curbing will be kept in place, but an architect has recommended a new, cast stone base. Plans call for new landscaping (existing shrubbery has undermined the statue’s base) and new lighting that will be paid for with any funds left over after the statue is restored.

Ideally, Belluscio said, the Lady Liberty can be rededicated during a celebration tied to the Oatka Festival. The original dedication ceremony drew a crowd of thousands, included a military flyover and involved dozens of area Boy Scouts who sponsored the statue’s purchase. 

Le Roy’s statue was one of many installed across the country, in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of Boy Scouts of America.

Next year’s rededication will help thank everyone who supported the statue’s restoration, Belluscio said.

“People have been very generous,” she said. “It’s a really good example of how the community has come together to support something they all feel really good about.”

A crate carrying Le Roy's Statue of Liberty is pictured outside the Jell-O Museum. (Courtesy of Lynne Belluscio)

Randy Vink, account manager for Orcon Industries, is pictured with Le Roy's Statue of Liberty. (Courtesy of Lynne Belluscio) 

These two photos of Le Roy's Statue of Liberty illustrate damage to its face and deterioration of its copper plates. The statue was originally installed in 1950 and repaired once during the 1980s. It is now being restored in Ohio. (Courtesy of Lynne Belluscio)

Le Roy's miniature Statue of Liberty was dedicated during a gala creekbank ceremony in 1950. A rededication ceremony for the restored statue is slated for next summer.