Le Roy's Statue of Liberty ready to come home
Le Roy’s miniature Statue of Liberty is pictured recently at McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory in Ohio, where experts refurbished the 65-year-old statue. (Photo courtesy of Lynne Belluscio.)
After three months in Ohio, Le Roy’s landmark Lady Liberty is finally ready to come home.
When is she due back?
Historical Society Director Lynne Belluscio isn’t saying. But it will be sooner rather than later — and she encourages residents to be on the lookout for the miniature Statue of Liberty, which has stood on the Oatka Creek bank since 1950.
An official rededication won't take place until this summer, but the statue could make a surprise appearance or two before then, she said.
In any case, it's been years since Lady Liberty looked so good. Belluscio shared a photograph from McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory in Oberlin, Ohio, where the statue was shipped in November for repairs and restoration. Its thin copper plating — which was coming apart at the seams, and damaged in places — has been repaired and its color brightened.
The project was funded by a “Strengthen the Arm of Liberty” campaign that raised more than $15,000 to have the statue refurbished and its base replaced.
Alumni groups, the Le Roy Family Moose Center and numerous individuals contributed to the fund. Le Roy’s Orcon Industries donated the customized crate Belluscio used to drive the statue to Ohio this past November.
She gave a “special thank you” to everyone who donated to the project, as well as the Orcon team that built the shipping crate.
Donations to the fund are still being accepted care of the Le Roy Historical Society, P.O. Box 176, Le Roy, NY 14482.
The statue — which stands about 8 1/2 feet tall — was one of many installed across the United States to mark the 40th anniversary of Boy Scouts of America. Le Roy’s version was sponsored by local Scouts.
Belluscio is organizing a rededication celebration in conjunction with the Oatka Festival in July.
Here is how the statue looked when it was brought to Ohio in November. (Photo courtesy of Lynne Belluscio.)
