An iconic part of Oswego is being restored.

The Oswego Lighthouse, opened in 1934 and used to be manned 24/7 by lighthouse keepers. In the 1960s, that responsibility shifted to the Coast Guard from the shore. In the 1990s, the beacon became fully automated by solar power. By 2009, the building was falling into disrepair, and the city bought the lighthouse to revitalize it.

Volunteers have been putting in hard work to restore the lighthouse since 2014. From the exterior to the interior, volunteers invest time to bring the lighthouse back to its former glory. The lighthouse is being leased by the city to the H. Lee White Maritime Museum to do the restoration work.

“So we're all retirees just interested in the lighthouse and helping out. I like volunteering. So I'm handy with different things, wood work, and anyone can scrape and paint," said Dan Ruddy, a volunteer with the restoration.

On a visit in late May, volunteers were scraping the floor of the radio room by hand to prepare to sand it down. The lighthouse has several rooms to be restored. On the main floor are the radio room, the bedroom and the kitchen.

One of the benefits of volunteering is the amazing view.

“They were hard to open, so we went and we put grease fittings on a lot of the hinges, you know? Helps them open up a lot easier," said Chuck Hutcheson, a volunteer with the restoration, about keeping the shutters of the structure functioning.

The shutters continue to get greased regularly, and one of the only projects professionally done was painting the outside of the lighthouse. 

“I just like it out here. It's a lot of fun. It gives me a sense of pride that I'm helping to do something. It's on the historic registry, this lighthouse," said Hutcheson. “I'm leaving my legacy here helping restore the lighthouse and keep it functioning.”

He continued, “We want to get it back to pretty much what it looked like back in the 30s, when lighthouse keepers were here. That might give people a sense of time and history and what the lighthouse keepers actually did out here, how they lived out here, how they survived out here. We're all volunteers who do the work. We don't get paid. Just a labor of love.”

The H. Lee White Maritime Museum’s website has a spot to sign up to volunteer. If you want to climb the stairs of the lighthouse, you can. Tours begin for the season on Friday. The tours can be booked online. Adults are $30; children are $20.