A heart-tugging discovery while installing light system at Oak Orchard Lighthouse

Volunteer finds buried memorial brick for Florida woman, one of 400 around the country

Photos by Tom Rivers

POINT BREEZE – This brick is one of about 400 that are placed at lighthouses around the country in honor of Emelee Arbuckle of Melbourne Beach, Fla., who died at age 23 on Dec. 29, 2013 from complications following a motorcycle accident.

Arbuckle was the top coxswain on her high school rowing team. She was also an artist who wanted to teach art to disabled children.

Arbuckle’s family placed the bricks at lighthouses, putting them near iconic buildings that stand close to the water. They are inscribed with her name and nickname, “Bean.”

At the Oak Orchard Lighthouse, the brick was buried near the southwest corner of the 32-foot structure, where the light is shown in this photo.

On Aug. 7, a group of volunteers were digging four holes in rock hard dirt at the lighthouse. Drought conditions made for difficult digging.

The volunteers dumped some water on the dirt, to try to ease the shoveling. They needed to dig the holes for four cannisters that would be part of a new light show display at the museum.

Cheryl Giacherio was digging at the southwest corner when she found the brick with Arbuckle’s name. Museum volunteer Kim Charron cleaned the stone and did some research online about Arbuckle. One article said about four or five of the bricks have been discovered at lighthouses, including one in the water at New Bedford, Mass.

The Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum intends to keep the brick on display inside the museum where there are brochures and merchandise available about the Oak Orchard Lighthouse.

The lighthouse now has a nightly 30-minute light show that starts a half hour at sunset. In addition to the four cannisters on the ground at the corners, the top of the lighthouse has 192 lights for the show.