Charles Turner, Michael Bredemeyer, William Bohach, employees of Orient Beach State Park that built the model lighthouse from February to July. (Credit: Amanda Olsen)
As you approach the kiosk for Orient Beach State Park, the lighthouse models are hard to miss. Each one represents a real lighthouse that can be seen from the park and has a working light timed as close as possible to the original.
This July, a new entry joined the ranks. Standing more than 5 feet tall, the Long Beach Bar Lighthouse, or “Bug” Light model, took park staff about six months to build.
“They [the original models] were made by our carpenter shops in Babylon. They’ve been there for many years. Those are the five lighthouses that you can see from here. And there’s one that’s on Plum Island,” said Michael Bredemeyer, park supervisor. “This was all done in house. It was a fun project for everybody because we get to look at the original down there … To some degree, everybody’s got their fingerprints on it.”
Once staff decided to undertake the construction, they carefully compiled a list of materials. At first they thought to build at least part of the model with plastic, for the sake of longevity, but soon decided to use wood as the sizes of plastic material were too limited.
“We spent probably an hour preparing our list of stuff. And then we spent probably two hours, I think, shopping in Riverhead that day; we picked up everything,” said William Bohach, one of the staff members who worked on the model.
The model was completely built by eye from pictures, without any sort of plans. The initial inspiration came from a postcard they sell in the gift shop. “They looked at the pictures and they figure out the size, which is the magic of this project. Anybody can build stuff from plans, even me,” said Mr. Bredemeyer. “They were trying to get as identical (as possible) to the one out there.”
Because of the location’s susceptibility to wind, salt spray and storms, the staff wanted to go the extra mile when it came to assembly. No corners were cut in the Bug Light’s construction.
“Everything’s glued, caulked, everything, every seam. So we’re trying to make it hurricane proof. We put three coats of paint on it. So, you know, this is very well built to try to keep it for a long time. We did vent holes in between the floors, that way everything will dry out,” said Bill Hughes, another staff member.
Other members also praised the durability of the final result. “That thing will float. If we get a big storm and it floods, that thing’s gonna be floating across the bay,” said Mr. Bohach.
As a finishing touch, the staff included a time capsule in the top of the light with facts about the park and the lighthouse.
Lighthouses enjoy a very special following, with enthusiasts traveling long distances to see them. Dawn Masterson and Alexandra Demetriou, both of Lindenhurst, have been coming to Orient Point on vacation for 50 years, and one of the attractions is the lighthouses. “I love it. There’s so many lighthouses out here. We go out through the ferry. We often look at the lighthouses and take pictures as we’re going out,” said Ms. Masterson.
Ms. Demetirou was also enamored with the new model. “I think it’s fantastic. We just took our picture in front of it. I love it.”