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Winter 2008 ...
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President's Message -
Historic Preservation Depends Upon Your Generosity
Please Help HGAC by Making a Monetary
Contribution Theoretically, a community can be successful maintaining
and preserving its historic character, whether that community has an historic preservation organization or not. What is most
important is that the community has people who are interested in carrying out historic preservation projects. Every year,
HGAC recognizes with a preservation plaque a handful of such people in Gettysburg and Adams County who have put their energy
and money into preserving their homes or historic buildings. Over 100 plaques have been bestowed by HGAC over the years, but
there are many times that many people who practice historic preservation in our community without any recognition at all.
Thanks are due to many people from many generations for the historic preservation success that Gettysburg and Adams County
have seen.
Taking care of what has been given to us by our ancestors is the right thing to do and as such, historic preservation
is a moral imperative. It is our own responsibility, and not something that we should sit back and expect someone else or
some agency to take care of. As a community, it is only natural that we should work together on historic preservation, because
as a group we are capable of so much more than we are as individuals. HGAC strives to encourage preservation of a wide range
of historic structures, objects and places within Adams County through recognition, education and coordination of a number
of activities. But even modest efforts take money to pull them off.
HGAC tries to have our programs and projects pay
their own way whenever possible, but new projects typically require some seed money and that is what we are asking you for
now. Our primary income is a result of renting the GAR Hall, but even that money does not cover the cost of operating and
maintaining the building. Any year-end donation that you can make to HGAC would be a great help to us as we ramp up our activities
for 2009. If there is a particular project that you want to support, you can specify that your donation be targeted to that
project. The Barn Preservation Project was started with a grant from PHMC, but it has survived from year to year, on specific
gifts from HGAC members and friends like you. Other projects that you might consider specific support for are: our monthly
educational program, the quarterly newsletter, the GAR Hall, the Architectural Warehouse, the expansion of the Adams County
Underground Railroad Network-To-Freedom, the Electric Map Museum Project, updating and reprinting the Light in the Window
(House Awards Booklet) and other publications, or establishment of an historic preservation (façade) easement program.
Obviously, HGAC would be happy for you to remember us with a monetary gift of any size for any purpose whether or not you
want to target that gift. HGAC is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and your contributions to it are tax deductible.
Thank you for your generosity. - CM
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All gifts are tax deductible. |
Our Mailing Address: Historic Gettysburg-Adams County, Inc.
PO Box 4611 * Gettysburg, PA. * 17325
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HGAC Electric Map Museum Initiative Update Since I last reported on the HGAC Electric Map Museum Project in our fall newsletter, a task force
has been established and it has met four times. The task force has a steering committee that is chaired by Judi McGee, and
that is composed of the following HGAC members: Judy Pyle, Chuck Teague, Curt Musselman and John Phillips, legal counsel.
Additional task force members include David Maclay, Jeannette Smith, Walter Smith and Maria Pukownik.
The task
force considered and ranked nearly twenty buildings/properties in Gettysburg in regard to their suitability for the project.
The primary candidate we are considering moving forward with is a vacant lot on Steinwehr Avenue. We are now identifying the
costs and available funding for HGAC to engage a consultant to help us create an Operations Plan/Feasibility Study for the
project. This is consistent with our desire to carry out this project at no-or-low cost to HGAC.
The following vision
statement for the project was drafted by the task force so that our members could have a clearer understanding of where we
are going with this project.
"The HGAC Electric Map Museum will meet three major objectives; it will preserve
the existing Rosensteel Electric Map model and program, it will provide educational programs investigating the geography of
the Battle of Gettysburg using the traditional map as well as more modern mapping tools and techniques, and it will provide
an income stream for funding historic preservation grants to 1863 era houses, barns and buildings within Adams County."
In addition, the HGAC Electric Map Museum will promote tourism in a way that preserves heritage (keeps the electric map)
and embraces progress (by demonstrating the latest advances in mapping technologies and by including changing exhibits placed
by today's mapping company leaders, to highlight mapping innovations). This result is consistent with the objectives from
the Governor's Conference on Heritage Tourism held in Gettysburg in the spring of 2008.
The development of The HGAC
Electric Map Museum: The Battle of Gettysburg in Maps, Then and Now could be a key component in the revitalization of the
Steinwehr Avenue corridor. This project can be a focal point for the neighborhood to increase visitation, create jobs and
continue to expand its service driven economy.
Income from the museum will support HGAC's preservation efforts in
Gettysburg and Adams County, with a focus on the structures and landscapes of 1863. These efforts include matching grants
for barn maintenance from the Barn Preservation Project and the possible creation and support of an historic building façade
easement program within Adams County.
If you are interested in helping out with the HGAC Electric Map Museum Project
task force, please call Judi McGee at 338-9368 to volunteer.
- CM
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Barn Preservation Workshop A Success On Saturday October 11th over forty people participated in the Barn Preservation Workshop held by HGAC at
the GAR Hall. Sheila Miller, President of the Historic Barn and Farm Foundation (HB&FF) of PA told us about the formation
of that group and how it is an outgrowth of the statewide barn survey that was attempted a few years ago by the Center for
Rural Pennsylvania. The HB&FF has hired an intern to help combine the information gathered in that survey with the information
being collected by local groups such as the HGAC Barn Preservation Project. We will probably have an opportunity to learn
more about the HB&FF first hand, since it appears they are likely to hold their annual conference in Gettysburg next June.
David Maclay, one of our HGAC Barn Preservation Project survey team leaders, and a professional timber framer impressed
the audience with a very snappy slide show highlighting the joinery techniques that he has found employed in many of the barns
visited during the HGAC Historic Barns Survey. The barn survey is an ongoing activity of the HGAC Barn Preservation Project
and results in barns being listed in the Adams County Historic Barns Registry. If you would like to have your barn included
in the registry, please call us at HGAC to have your name added to the list.
Ken Sandri, an historic preservation specialist,
shared an extensive collection of photos of barn construction details that are generally characteristic of a particular age.
On the afternoon tour of the barns of the Gettysburg Battlefield that almost thirty people went on, Ken was invaluable in
pointing out features of the barns that spoke to their construction, renovation and history. Our licensed guide for the day
was the very able Terri Latschar who shared the always sobering details of the struggles and suffering that occurred in and
around the barns of the battlefield in 1863.
Much positive feedback was received on the content and organization of the
workshop along with the request to do it again. Ken Sandri and Sheila Miller are both on the board of the Historic Barn and
Farm Foundation of Pennsylvania, and they have expressed an interest in a similar tour associated with their annual meeting
in Gettysburg next June. My sincere thanks go to Elizabeth Hoffman and her committee who arranged for and served the light
refreshments at the workshop. I would also like to thank the following members of the Barn Preservation Project who volunteered
their time preparing for, setting up and running the workshop: David Maclay, Bruce Kile, Marcia Kile, Bob McIlhenny, Judy
Pyle, Kay Glas, John Horner and Barb Mowery. The Historic Tour Company of Gettysburg and Wes Ayre provided the driver and
the bus used for the tour of the battlefield barns. Wes has been a long-time friend and a constant supporter of HGAC's
activities and we appreciate his generosity. - CM
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Successful
Grant Writing @ HGAC HGAC members and board of directors members
will have the opportunity to attend a mini-workshop on making successful grant applications on Saturday, January 17, 2009
from 9AM until noon at the GAR building. The workshop
will be led by Debra McCauslin, historian and former HGAC board member, and Maxine Willis, who taught physics at Gettysburg
High School until her retirement. Both McCauslin and Willis have made successful grant proposals for a number of projects,
and Willis has led grant-writing workshops for several school districts. Participants should have a grant proposal in mind, and should bring their working applications with them to this
workshop. To register, please send a check for $10-
made to Historic Gettysburg Adams County to: HGAC, Box 4611, Gettysburg, PA 17325; If you have any questions, please call Judy Pyle at 337-2839 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mid
Winter Presentation Historic Gettysburg Adams County, Inc will have a public presentation on Tuesday, January 20 at 7:30 pm at GAR Hall on Gettysburg's
East Middle Street. The topic will be the Quaker Valley Quilt and presenters are Judith Pyle and Debra McCauslin. The Quaker Valley Quilt was
donated to the Menallen Friends Meeting a few years ago in honor of William and Rosanna Wright, who served Menallen Friends
Meeting for many years as the clerk and historian. The quilt is a signature quilt and believed to have been created
sometime between 1847 and 1851. There are 76 signatures on 72 quilt squares. Pyle and McCauslin have researched the
names on the quilt and found them to be Friends (or rather Quakers) from York and Adams County, PA and also other Quakers
from Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana. The Quaker Valley quilt was recently exhibited with other Quaker quilts at the Virginia
Quilt Museum in Harrisonburg, Virginia. It was also featured in the book called Quilts & Quaker Heritage; Selections
from an Exhibition, Virginia Quilt Museum, May 3 - September 22, 2008, published by Mary Holton Robare of Winchester,
VA, who also coordinated the exhibit. Pyle and McCauslin will talk about their research and provide a PowerPoint© presentation.
The quilt will also be shown at the presentation. Pyle
currently serves on the HGAC Board of Directors and Deb McCauslin formerly served on that same board a few years ago. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Underground Railroad Tours of Adams County
Underground Railroad
Tours of Adams County have been very successful in 2008. These tours are possible due to the cooperation of HGAC and Biglerville's
Hollabaugh Brothers, Inc. who, several years ago, worked together to craft a limited access agreement to the Yellow Hill
Cemetery. Debra McCauslin of For the Cause Productions has created the tour and presented it to over 1,000 people in 2008.
Her tours proceeds were donated to several non-profit organizations. Several group tours are scheduled for 2009. If you
are interested in booking a tour, call Deb at 717-528-8553 or contact her via her website at www.gettysburghistories.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Recent Event...
The Inns of Gettysburg Area held their 12th Annual Holiday
House Tours on Saturday, December 13th. Included
on this years tour was the Historic GAR Building. Members of HGAC were on hand to give the tour and a brief talk on the history of the building. Beth
Hoffman and her committee also provided holiday refreshments to the 220 people who visited. An
added treat for guests was a
short visit from the murals artist, Virginia McLaughlin, who talked briefly about the paintings. Proceeds from the event are
to benefit the GAR Building, the Wills House, Christ Lutheran Church and the Daniel Lady Farm. Our thanks to all who participated! Be sure to pick up the new "Inns of the Gettysburg Area" cookbook ($10 -) with recipes from the famous Dobbin House and the Farnsworth House, as well as many others. For more information, or to get a copy,
please contact:
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info@hgaconline...
Historic
Gettysburg-Adams County, Inc.
PO Box 4611 * Gettysburg, PA. * 17325
717-334-5185
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