Gettysburg Brush Cutting Report
The day dawned with drizzle, but as our thirty-nine intrepid volunteers arrived at the Leister Farm/Meade’s Headquarters site on April 23 the rain stopped and the weather just kept improving. In only 2 and ½ hours we dismantled historically inaccurate fencing on the west side of the Taneytown Road from Meade’s Headquarters all the way to the Hummelbaugh Barn. We trimmed brush away from the stone wall on which that fence was placed for the entire length of that fence line. We also trimmed another hundred yards or so of brush away from an east-west stone and rail fence line. On the east side of the Road we replaced portions of the fence. It was a daunting endeavor and I would have been happy had we completed the task in 3 ½ hours if at all. Park Service Supervisory Facility Operations Specialist Randall Hill stated that we did a wonderful job!
Give the following Round Table troopers a pat on the back and maybe an adult beverage when you next see them; Paul Bartlett, Chuck Cannon, Mike Cavanaugh, Jim Duffy, Jeff Heller, Kim Jacobs, Dick Jacoby, Tony Major, Bob McHugh, Ed Oechsle, Sam Parker and Dr. Gerry Sherwin,
In addition to our members, John Duffy brought 14 scouts from Troop 89 in New Tripoli and Bob McHugh brought 5 Saucon Valley High School students to swell our ranks. Members of the Weaver, Root and Schenkel families rounded out our platoon of workers.
After a short break we headed in bright sunlight to the Cannon Restoration facility on Seminary Ridge where Lucas Flickinger gave us an informative tour. We came away with an enhanced appreciation for the ongoing never ending maintenance and restoration work that the folks at Gettysburg National Park do every day. We really appreciate his taking time from his weekend to give our volunteers a special treat.
Special thanks go to Dick Jacoby who coordinated the fence crews, Bob McHugh who brought ice water to keep us all going, Mike Cavanaugh for traffic duty and Tony Major and Jeff Heller, aka Mathew Brady for making a photographic record of the day.
In addition to helping Gettysburg National Park tell the story of this historic event the most gratifying part of the day was the inclusion of 18 young people in our number. Some folks today are dismissive of our young as lazy with no interest in our common past. We are happy to report that the torch of historic preservation is being passed to some exceptional young people.
Sincerely,
Ed Root.
