SYRACUSE -- The crown of the Statue of Liberty will reopen next month for the first time since the September 11th terrorist attacks. Action News caught up with a local tinsmith who has incredible ties to Lady Liberty.
He's been hammering, molding and sodering for as long as he can remember. For Dennis Heaphy of Syracuse, it's all just a way of life. It's in his blood. His great-grandfather started D.J. Heaphy and Son back in 1892.
Dennis joined in the family tradition when he was 11 years old, but never could have dreamed what it would all lead to. "Well, it was just circumstance," Heaphy said. He started working on Ellis Island, building a theater, producing plays there and making repairs. "I happened to have the skills that they wanted initially," he said. And then he got a phone call he never could have expected. "He's saying we can probably find you something working as a tinsmith on the Statue of Liberty," Heaphy said. So he jumped at the chance, started working on the base and in the crown and then had one of those pinch-me moments. "I re-focused and realized that the tablet that she's holding is 30 feet from me and you start to giggle," he said.
Dennis even slept in the crown one night. Then, came the 9/11 attacks and the Statue of Liberty shut down for a time. The crown remains closed and will reopen this year on July 4th. "The security going into the place is intense," Heaphy said. "You have to go through metal detectors, but then you have to go through a puffer, which puffs up your clothes to see if there's anything underneath," he said.
If you've never visited Lady Liberty, take it from a local guy who does the repairs there. "Going into the Statue of Liberty really is a feather in your cap," he said.
