R.E.S.P.E.C.T. please...

  

Here at Gettysburg, and all tourist areas around the country, Summer has begun and people are traveling and they're out and about. Every year, come about April, the first tour busses begin to come into Gettysburg and the tourist season begins with a yawn and progresses slowly to a primal scream by end of Summer. This is a good thing; many businesses in Gettysburg depend on tourists to fill their tills despite a short season, however, in some ways it's a bad thing because with the coming of the tourists also comes the days of frustration for the caretakers of the Gettysburg Battlefield.

Now, having said that, before you scrunch up your face and throw me to the wolves, let me clarify a few things. People who visit here are, for the most part, good, law abiding citizens and we welcome them, but there are a few who come here and just do what they please without caring about how it upsets other people and THAT just shows a disregard for the place you are visiting.

I've been visiting the battlefield for many years and what I see is so disburbing to me and many other people, I want to voice that here, just in case those people are listening.

Here's what I see during my trips to the battlefield:

• Parking in NO PARKING areas

• Parking in spots that are dangerous to pedestrians

• Driving the wrong way on POSTED one way avenues

• Parking in the grass during or after heavy rains

• Not looking out for children or animals who may be crossing the avenues

• Not cleaning up after your dogs

• Throwing cans behind monuments (beer, soda, etc.)

• Large groups walking in the middle of the road and not watching the traffic behind you

All these things happen on the Gettysburg Battlefield, they happen quite frequently, and they are a nusiance. I am at a loss to understand how some people who come here just blatantly show their disregard for the rules and their utter lack of respect for what these fields represent. Shame on those people. Think about where you are, keep it in your head that this is living history, we're trying to save it for your children and your grandchildren!

All that is asked of you while you visit this place is RESPECT. It's a small request, but it's impact is monumental.

NO WOODEN FENCES!

Was anyone else out driving around town yesterday? If you were, you may have been surprised to see the activity up on Reynolds Avenue. I was on my way into town and drove past the avenue, but wasn't really paying attention to the fields at that time. It was on my return trip that I passed by the fields and saw that, yes, true to their word, the NPS has taken down the fences that not too long age were mistakenly put around that group of fields.

I first saw the piles of posts laying in the grass and I was very surprised that this happened so quickly after the rumblings were heard about the incorrect positioning of the fences.

I like that look so much better, someone has a fence fettish for sure!

I have to admit that when I first realized that the fences were down, I wanted to yell, "YAY"!, but what popped into my head was a phrase by Joan Crawford out of the movie , "Mommie Dearest", that she screamed at her young daughter, "NO WIRE HANGERS"! Sounds silly, I know, but it fits my title I think, and besides quite a few people were that angry when they saw those fences go up; a little more research and a lot less action is what's needed here...just sayin

Thriving In The Wheatfield

Walk through the Peach Orchard and look at those of young trees there; stroll down along Wheatfield Road and you'll see browning grass; make your way through the winding road that snakes through Devil's Den, up and around the Triangular Field and you'll see more of the same. The scorching heat has browned most of the grass; the trees in some areas are wilted, dead or just about dying, but bypass Cross Avenue and walk down along the Wheatfield where you will see all of the above, but something that just jumps out at you...these yellow blooms shooting upward out of the weeds! We all know that weeds will thrive in any kind of climate; but it's a miracle that any kind of flower at all would survive this opressive heat; in some spots only the weeds are surviving.

I'm a sucker for a yellow flower! Pretty young things they are!

NPS Acquires Josiah Benner Farm

The Josiah Benner Farm purchase brings excitement for the National Park Service. I've always like this farm, wanted to live there! Now thanks to the Civil War Trust, it belongs to the people and will be a great undertaking for the NPS.

A Nice Evening Surprise

Last weekend the battlefield had spurts of people coming in. The heat may have kept some away, but we had a good soaking rain shower and then the dust cleared away. The battlefield is devoid of lights except for cars, or flashlights or cameras, except of course when there is a full moon (it's most bright then). I remember looking at the weather channel and seeing that there was supposed to be a thunderstorm, but also there should have been a full moon. The darkness that followed after the storm made it difficult to see anything, as those of you who have been down in Devil's Den after dark know, but then all of a sudden, a slight light appeared over Little RoundTop...it was subtle at first, looking at it was hard on the eyes, but then the heavy cloud cover parted and there it was in all it's brightness...a full moon.

My friend and I grabbed the camera and she stuck it out the window of the car and there it is! That's the best "moon shot" that I've ever gotten...almost looks like an angry dragon watching over The Roundtops.