New museum opens in Gettysburg

A new museum, the Seminary Ridge Museum, opened in Gettysburg on July 1.  This opening was in conjunction with the 150th celebration of the Battle of Gettysburg.

The museum building was a part of the Lutheran Seminary.  And, it was up in the cupola that Brig General Buford surveyed the area before the Battle of Gettysburg.  The building has been restored, and the exhibits showcase how the building was being used as a hospital during the battle.  Many of the rooms are decorated with enlarged paintings by Dale Gallon.  There are interactive things to do.  The one I enjoyed the most was where you could sit down at a screen and go through a series of questions to see how you might handle a situation--such as, If you were a Quaker, and found a slave hiding in your barn, what would you do?  You go through a series of questions about the scenario, and then they tell you who this actually happened to and what that person did.  There are also a number of rooms that are decorated to look like they did when used as a hospital.  There has been a great deal of attention taken in putting these rooms together--right down to seeing flies on the faces of some of the sleeping men.

This museum is open from 10AM to 5PM, and they will let people enter up until 4:30PM.  However, a half hour could never be enough time to see all this museum has to offer.  When visiting, you would want to have at least 1 1/2 hours to enjoy all four floors.  Also, for an extra charge, you can be taken on a special tour to the cupola and get a wonderful view of the entire area just like General Buford.  If, however, you don't have the nerve--like me--to climb all the way up there, there is a display with photographs showing you the 360 degree view from the cupola.

Another interesting note is that as you go from room to room, you will occasionally find a light gray stripe of paint on the floor at times.  These indicate where a wall used to be.  In many cases as you enter a room through an archway, you will find a door to your left and a door on your right with fireplaces at either end of the room.  But when you see the paint marks on the floor, you then realize you have entered an area that was formerly two students rooms.  A unique use of space.

I feel this museum has been very well done and well worth the admission.

The 150th anniversary re-enactment of the Battle of Gettysburg

 The battle scene on Friday was all cavalry.  Seeing several hundred troops on horseback getting into the fight was really something.  You can see how big the crowds were by looking at how full the grandstands were in the background of this picture.

 

I sat and talked with some of the ladies of the Dixie Rose Aide Society.

 

 

I was also glad to be able to sit in the shade on a bale of hay to listen to the 2nd South Carolina String Band play Civil War music.

 

The heat was extreme all day long.  The only way I was able to stay out there for over six hours to enjoy the encampments and lectures on fashions, spies and the Generals of the North was because I had taken with me a six pack of Gatorade.  By the time I left I had consumed 5 of the bottles and never had to go to the bathroom.  Ok,  a little too much information.  Then when it was time to leave I could hardly walk any further.  A very kind person who was riding around in a golf cart got me to the entrance gate, and then another person with a golf cart helped me to get across the road to the particular parking area where I had left my car.  Thank heavens that person helped me.  Even though I remembered the green flag with the letter "D" below it was my area and I had parked in the third row back, I still had difficulty in finding my car.  If I had been on foot, I know I would have sat down in the grass and just cried from the heat and frustration.  Anyway, I am glad I attended this event; but I was so tired by the time I got home, I probably looked like the man below.

 

A rededication of the National Soldiers Cemetery in Gettysburg

For a part of the 150th celebration of the Battle of Gettysburg, there was a rededication of the National Soldiers Cemetery.  A military band played before the ceremonies for a while along with a female vocalist.  One of the keynote speakers was Charles Gibson.

Then there was a slide presentation on the big screens while individuals on stage read quotes from soldiers and civilians.

I left a little early and headed toward the cemetery.  Every grave there had a flag and a lite candle.  I was glad I got there when I did as the sun was setting quickly, and I had just enough time to get a couple of pictures before it was too dark.

People moved about the cemetery and spoke in hushed voices.  The entire evening was truly inspiring.

There is a new exhibit at the Gettysburg Military Park and Visitors Center.  On display at this time are articles used by a number of famous individuals.

Pictured left is the saddle that General Reynolds was riding when he was killed at the beginning of the battle of Gettysburg.

And, below is the uniform and hat worn by General Meade.

Other important articles on display were owned by Clara Barton, General Grant, President Lincoln and others.  This new addition to the museum was very interesting.

A new attraction--The Spangler Farm

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Spangler Farm was opened up for the public to see.  It is another of those sites where you go to the Gettysburg Military Park and Visitor Center to get on a shuttle bus that takes you to this farm.  There is still a lot of work to be done on the property, but the program being presented in conjunction with the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg was very special.  A friend of mine, Bill, who is also the brother of one of my co-workers at the Shriver House, was doing a first person interpretation of a Civil War medical cadet dramatizing how he felt when all of the wounded had started to arrive and the conditions they suffered under.  He also explained how emotionally distraught he was at how overwhelming the work was and to see some of his friends being brought in and knowing they would not survive their wounds.  His performance was emotionally felt by everyone there.  I later spoke with Bill to tell him what a wonderful job he had done.  You see, when one historic interpreter compliments another interpreter, the one receiving the congratulations really knows they have done an excellent job during their presentation.  In this line of work you may not hear many compliments and tips are even fewer, so a compliment like this means a lot.

Also, while on this property I found out this is where General Armistead was brought for treatment of his wounds.  It was the small stone building pictured below where he later died.

I am not sure how long this particular program will be going on, but it certainly was worth the visit.  For now it is being done on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

The Lincoln look alike contest

Another event for the 150th anniversary was a Lincoln look-alike contest at the Shriver House.   James Getty, who has portrayed Mr. Lincoln for many years, was one of the judges.  And, you can see we had quite a crowd and local TV filming this event.

 

 This four year old won one of the prizes for most unique.  But the most unique was a couple who had their tiny dogs dressed up in stove pipe hats (Sorry, that picture was a blur.).  The man seen below in the background with the white hankie showing on his suitcoat was the all time winner chosen by the judges.

There was a major disappointment on this day.  A friend was the one heading up the 4th of July local parade this year.  This would have been the first time in 25 years that a 4th of July parade was being done.  Two hours before the parade started, two men crashed a car into a house during a police chase.  They were armed and on the run, so the police said the parade had to be cancelled.  The men were captured within an hour, so it was truly a huge disappointment that the parade could not go on after all.  There were more than 45 entrees and there was going to be a line up of characters covering the American Revolution all the way up to the present.

New Oxford Antique Day

I usually have to work on this day each year, but I got lucky this time and had off.  It was a hot day outside, but there was enough shade here and there to get a little relief from the heat.  I wandered around for hours exploring all the stands that lined the streets for more than four blocks.  I am at the point in my life that I already have so much STUFF that I get very particular about what I might select, but I did find one more antique perfume bottle to add to my collection.

One place I really enjoyed was the New Oxford Coffee Co.  I got an iced Irish mocha and a rather large piece of their homemade apple cake.  Thank heavens there are still some places where you can get something that still has real flavor to it!

Memorial Day Parade

One big advantage to working at the Shriver House is that I always have a front row seat for any and all parades.  The parade this year lasted for a quite a while with a nice variety of entries.  There are always groups of soldiers and nicely decorated vehicles.  This year my friend's young son, pictured above, marched in the parade wearing a WWI uniform.  There were other men representing every type of soldier ranging from the American Revolution thru present days. 

I was very pleased to see the support for the parade by the community and visiting public as you can see in the picture above with the crowd that had assembled.

 

It's been a L O N G few months since my last posting.

2013 did not start out very well for me.  During February I was sick with the flu.  I was still recuperating in March, but did not feel very well.  At the end of March, during my THIRD visit to the doctor's, I was told that my gastric reflux had gotten worse and that was why I was still coughing so much.  Since I had not had any severe heartburn episodes, I would have never guessed it was GERD giving me the terrible taste in my mouth.  One good thing came out of it, I lost a few pounds since nothing tasted that good to me for a couple of months.  And, then there was April.  On April Fool's Day I was heading north to visit an elderly Aunt when I was stricken with kidney stones.  I barely got myself back to Columbus where my son lives before the pain was so bad I could hardly breath.  Well, three days in the hospital and $25,000 in medical bills later and I was starting to recover. And, then on my last visit to the urologist, I took a nasty fall and badly injured both knees.  I probably should not have gone back to work as soon as I did, but now I really need the job with all those medical bills, of which I still owe over $3,000; and that is after my insurance paid!
It has taken me all this time to finally get back some of my energy.  So, on to more pleasant things.  Before leaving home I was told about an automobile museum in Harrisburg, PA, which was the first thing I got to see on a day off from work.

For a good part of this museum it was a stroll down memory lane for me--and, no I do not mean the Model-T.  There were so many vehicles from the 1950's and 60's.  The old style gas station scene was pretty cool as was the scene at the outdoor movies.

There was also an entire area of old buses and a gallery of motor cycles.  I'm not a diehard enthusiast about vehicles, but this place was still pretty interesting.