Rose Blanche Lighthouse under repair

Workers are replacing four windows in the lighthouse tower and touching up the masonry to prevent leaks.

They will also be sanding down and repainting metal railing around the light itself.

Rose Blanche residents William Keeping and Henry Dollimount have been doing much of the work to the lighthouse. Mr. Keeping said working on a stone structure is very different from working with wood. The men need both carpentry and masonry tools as they install wooden frames into the rock and concrete structure.

Lighthouse manager Madonna Lawrence said like any property, the lighthouse needs maintenance over time. In the past few years, workers at the lighthouse have noticed water leaking into the building from the windows. Mrs. Lawrence said the wind often forces rain in through the cracks.

She said the source of the leaks was difficult to find because of the lighthouse’s double-walled structure. The building has an exterior and an interior wall, with a layer of sand in the middle. Water would sometimes come in at one point on the exterior and run out through a completely different point.

Mrs. Lawrence said the windows have to be custom made because of their size. They have ordered a special near-unbreakable glass to prevent all sorts of damage.

Mrs. Lawrence said much of the funding for the project came from the Department of Human Resources, Labour and Employment. The Rose Blanche Lighthouse Committee used its own funds to for much of the work as well.

Funding isn’t just going towards the lighthouse itself. Work was also done at the entrance to the site. Workers replaced the bandstand flooring with new pressure-treated lumber, and the multi-purpose building will be levelled.

A new sound system has also been purchased for the bandstand. Mrs. Lawrence said the PA system will make it easier to attract local musicians from across the southwest coast. Having the equipment on site will make it easier and cheaper to bring them in for an afternoon or an evening. Mrs. Lawrence hopes the site will host more local music next season.

Mrs. Lawrence said after a slow June, traffic at the site seems to be increasing. Although they were down 300 visitors in the month of June over last year’s numbers, the site was up 90 visitors in July from the previous season. August numbers have been up so far.