The Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum Committee in Point Breeze, NY, must have felt like they spent the spring and summer of 2009 on a roller coaster at the Seabreeze Amusement Park in nearby Rochester.

On the last day in May, they received the long awaited word that they had been awarded a matching grant that will allow them to begin the process of starting construction on a reconstruction of the 1871 Oak Orchard Lighthouse and park. The original lighthouse that had been deactivated in 1905 was destroyed by a storm in 1916. For more details on their plans, see the April 2009 issue of Lighthouse Digest.

At the beginning of August, the bids were opened by their engineering and architecture firm. To everyone’s surprise, all three bids were over . . . in fact, way over, by at least $100,000! The lighthouse committee’s is now literally, going back to the drawing board to look at possible modifications to the site. Options include a new design for the foundation that will be much less expensive than what was originally drawn up. Also, they are looking at possible modifications to the framing lumber that may lower the cost by using standard lumber in the structure rather than dimensional lumber. Once the committee has the suggested modifications, the job will go out for bid again. In addition, they may just build the lighthouse and the ramp to it initially, with the rest of the project, including an extensive walkway with a compass rose, being completed in a later phase.

The Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum Committee’s founding president, Peg Wiley, said the group was determined to not let this “bump in the road” slow them down. So ten days later, on August 14, as scheduled, they held a groundbreaking ceremony. The group hopes that 2010 will be the culmination of their lighthouse odyssey, which began in 2003, with the building of the reconstructed Oak Orchard Lighthouse.